| 
— 
~ 
“spray of the sea.* 
— ° 
416 
one in a thousand will verminate. Tf 
procured fresh in China, and sown in 
boxes filled with light earth immediately, 
they would germinate during the voyage, 
and only reguire to be now and then 
watered, and to be preserved trom the 
The Chinese are said 
often to substitute seeds of camellia, for 
those of tea, a cheat which, if suspected, 
may easily be guarded against. What I 
have to say upon the cultivation, prepa- 
ration, and use of tea, is taken from 
Kempfer, and other credible travellers; 
and although [ have very little to add to 
what they have said, I hope this extract 
will not be the Jess useful, as it will con- 
tain in one paper a union of the various 
dispersed facts, notvery generally known. 
» In Japan, the tea is sown in the month 
of February, in the borders of the culti- 
vated fields; not m a continued hedge, 
bur at moderate intervals, both that its 
shade may not be injurious to the crop, 
and that the leaves may be the more 
easily collected. As the seeds are very 
subject to be damaged, they put from six 
to twelve into one hole, not expecting a 
fifth part to grow. In China, they cul- 
tivate it in the open fields. It delights 
in the sloping banks of hills facing the 
south, and especially in the neighbour- 
hood of rivers and rivulets. When the 
plants are three years old, the leaves 
may be plucked. When seven years 
old, they ne longer bear any quantity ; 
the trunk is therefore cut down to the 
root, when the stool sends forth many 
new shoots, which afford a plentifal sup- 
ply. Sometimes this operation is deterred 
ull the'tenth year, ‘ 
The leaves are gathered one hy one, 
the best are what are collected at the 
eud of February, or the beginning of 
March, whilst they are tender and not 
entirely developed. This sort of tea is 
rare, dear, and reserved for the grandees 
and the rich: the Japanese dall it, ipe- 
rial tea, bloom tea, or bohea tea;F and is n° 
the highest esteem. The second yather- 
ing is made a month later, in which they 
pluck indiscriminately the leaves entirely 
opened, and those which are not quite 
* Pr. Roxburgh recommends covering 
seeds witha thick coat of mucilage of gum 
arabic, to be well dried on before the seeds 
are packed, The gum will prevent the eva- 
poration of the juices, and being soluble in 
water, willnot in the least retard the germi- 
nation when they come to be sowed. 
+ Tijaa bun Kempfer; but the buu or bo- 
hea of the Chinese, is not the same with the 
bohea of Commerce —T. 
" -Obseredtions on Tea. 
TTT ee eee ee 
[Dec. 1, 
so. Theseare afterwards separated ihitee " 
heaps, according to their ages. A nionth 
after this second gathering, a third aud 
last is made. This isthe most abundant? 
but the produce is a tea of less value, 
which is consumed by the common 
people. 
‘Lhe bohea, or-tea of the first quality, 
called by the Japanese, Ficks tsjaa,* is 
ground to a fine powder, which 1s taken 
mixed in boiling water. Its quality, how- 
ever, differs in degree, according to the 
soil, the climate and the age of the trees 
on which it grew. 
The tea of the second gathering, called 
Chinese tea, or too-tsjaa, is distinguished - 
into four sorts, according to its degrees 
of excellence. 
That of the third gathering, which the 
Japanese ‘call Ban-tsjaa, consisting of 
older and harder leaves, prepared too 
with less care, is likewise of different 
devrees of value. ag v 
‘Tie time of finishing the tea-harvest i8 
celebrated by feasts and diversions. 
The tea; most esteemed in Japan,’ 
yrows, according to Kempfer, in the vi- 
cinity of a small town, called Udsi, situs 
ated near the sea, Here is a celebrated 
mountain of the same name, the whole of 
which is occupied in the culture of the tea 
for the Emperor's use. This agreeable 
aud picturesqve mountain is entirely sur- 
rounded by a wide diteh, to keep out 
both men and beasts. The plantations 
are made in regular rows, and disposed 
in a manner very pleasing to the eye; 
and the paths and shrubs are swept and 
cleaned every day.t During the gather 
ing, 
* Thea molienda Kempfer, because it is pow- 
dered when used.—T. . 
+ Inthe original it is said, that the shrubs” 
are washed and cleaned every day ; but Kemp- 
ter, from whom this account is borrowed, 
only says, ‘¢ vive et frutices quotidie verrantur 
et repurgantur.” .He adds too, that the work-: ~ 
men are obliged to be very careful that they 
do not throw the dirt upon the leaves, and 
that for further security, many of the shrubs 
are surrounded with a hedge. This isnothing, 
like washing the trees. Besides bathing their. 
bodies during the gathering, the persons em- 
ployed in this business are, according to 
Kempfer, obliged to abstain from fish and | 
all unclean food, for two orthree weeks before 
they begin to gather, lest their impurebreath. 
should infect the leaves. The same author 
informs us, that when the leaves, thus ga- 
thered, have been rightly prepared, they — 
are put into paper bags, which are placed in - 
the finest porcelain vessels, and closely packed, 
therein, by filling the interstices with com=, 
mon tea. These vessels are conveyed to the 
f palace 
