SOLON ROBINSON, 1850 371 



Yes, ma'am, and so I might as well begin at the begin- 

 ning. Tradition says it was first discovered upon the 

 desert coast of Virginia, south of the Chesepeake Bay, or 

 upon the equally desolate shore of North Carolina, and 

 for a long time was only known to one family of Indians, 

 who used to prepare it, and sell it to the early settlers of 

 that country. It now grows abundantly, both wild and 

 cultivated, in all that region and among the primitive 

 inhabitants is almost exclusively used instead of coffee 

 or "store tea." The shrub somewhat resembles the box, 

 is evergreen, of rather a pale color, grows ten or fifteen 

 feet high, and is most natural to a poor sandy soil, or 

 rather land without soil; that is, all sand. The bark, 

 leaves, and twigs are all made use of; but I believe the 

 young shoots are preferred. For winter use, they are 

 gathered in the fall and laid in a trough, chopped up some- 

 what fine, and then put into an iron pot which is carefully 

 heated, to wilt the leaves ; then the whole is packed away 

 in earthen jars, or dried, and is made by infusion in the 

 ordinary way of making "Hyson," "Souchong," "Oolong," 

 or any other ong, and makes quite as good a drink as 

 one half of the China teas in the country. 



Great faith is placed in the medicinal qualities of yau- 

 pon tea, by the people of the country where it grows. It 

 is related of a North-Carolina gentleman, who once had 

 a very bad cold, while at the Astor House, in New York, 

 and called for some yaupon tea, and on the waiter ex- 

 pressing some doubts about being able to find the article, 

 as he had never heard of it before, he thought him very 

 ignorant and wondered where he came from not to know 

 what yaupon tea was, as he had seen it and smelt it upon 

 the table every day since he had been there ; having mis- 

 taken the black tea for the real "native American" article. 

 Certain it is, that it is a tea very much esteemed by a 

 great many people, and it is worthy of inquiry whether it 

 is not deserving a more extended cultivation, and more 

 general use. I am told that in Princess-Anne county, 

 Virginia, a little patch of yaupon shrubs may be seen 



