70 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 



sumption, it is simply dried in the sun, tbe leaves are then broken up in 

 small fragments and kept dry until used. In this condition it resembles 

 the Chinese tea, and is similarly prepared as an article of food. 



For commercial distribution it is mostly reduced to a powdery state; 

 the leaves being dried or scorched by artificial heat until they become 

 sufficiently brittle to bo pounded into powder. Mate is prepared by 

 adding boiling water to a small quantity of the powder. 



It is asserted that Paraguay tea can be placed in market at rates 

 much below those of coffee, and that it is equal to the latter as a nourish- 

 ing beverage. 



CniNESE TEA-PLANT. 



Efforts to popularize the tea-plant are still continued. About 20,000 

 plants have been distributed during the year. Arrangements had been 

 made for a larger distribution of this plant in the Southern and South- 

 western States, but owing to the great reduction made in the appropria- 

 tion for this division, they had to be abandoned, and the propagation 

 limited to a few thousand only. 



The expectation that tea may become a staple article of our productive 

 industries is not diminished. Improved processes of preparation will 

 undoubtedly supersede the expensive hand manipulations that have 

 hitherto jirevented successful competition with cheap manual labor, and 

 as the plant becomes more widely known through these yearly distribu- 

 tions, and its hardiness and adaptability to a wide range of climates 

 becomes definitely established, public interest will in time be directed to 

 its cultivation as an article of commercial value. 



HEDGE-PLANTS. 



The jujube-tree, Zisyphus vulgaris, will form a good protective hedge 

 south of the thirty-eighth degree of latitude. It is of rapid growth, 

 thorny branches, and pinnate foliage of a bright, glossy, green color. 

 As a lawn-tree it is exceedingly beautiful, particularly when covered 

 with fruits, which are profusely produced. The cherry-like fruit is of 

 a dull red color when ripe, and is used for economic purposes m some 

 parts of the world, but it is not of much value as an article of food. 



The Chinese tea-plant will make a good ornamental evergreen hedge 

 where the climate is favorable to its growth. The periodical clippings 

 required to keep it in proper trim could be saved, dried, and utilized. 

 The experiment is worthy of trial, if for no other purpose than to ascer- 

 tain whether or not this would jirove to be a profitable method of gath- 

 ering the young shoots and leaves for tea, as seems highly probable from 

 the large surface of uniform growths which frequent clippings would 

 produce. 



The evergreen Euonymus, Euonymus Japonicus, also forms an admi- 

 rable ornamental hedge. The plant is easily grown from cnttings' of 

 dense growth naturally, but little care is requisite to keep it in good 

 condition. 



PHYLLOXERA VASTATRIX, (THE GRAPE-ROOT LOUSE.) 



For several years past considerable attention has been given to the 

 grape-root insect, and the injuries it inflicts upon vineyards, both in this 

 country and in Europe. Its life-history appears to have been thoroughly 

 studied ; its curious and somewhat perplexing transformations have 

 been elaborately explained by entomologists of both continents, and its 

 destructive capacities duly chronicled. 



