MR. Jl NHS SMITU^-JAVA. 101 



hopper, and transported himself into the wilds of Gren- 

 ville, there to ruralize and plant tea. Such ardor was 

 highly deserving of success. His prospect, I fear, is 

 the poorest. Mr. Smith is now going on four years 

 in America ; and from his letter may be collected his 

 failure. His letter is dated 4th July, '51, directed to 

 the editors of the Journal of Commerce, and in Avhich 

 lie wrote : 



" On that day, (4th July,) I plucked from several of 

 my green tea plants, a small quantity of tea leaves. 

 The small number of my plants, and the partial growth 

 of Oie leaves, forbade my attempting to gather beyond a 

 sufficiency for experiment, but enough I apprehend to 

 confirm and establish the important fact, that the tea 

 plant of China is congenial to our climate ; that the tea 

 is pure American growth, unmixed with any herb or 

 material ; that it is cured by solar heat alone, and is in 

 every respect the genuine tea of China tea plant?. Its 

 fragrance, flavor, and physical qualities, may undoubtedly 

 be dianged by the process of manipulation and manufac- 

 ture." There arc two things I would advise Mr. Smith 

 to do, viz : If his mode of manipulation and manufacture 

 has undoubtedly changed the fragrance, flavor, and phys- 

 ical qualities of his tfas, to give up manipulating and 

 manufacturing, for if the physical qualities and fragrance 

 and flavor be changed, what other property of tea re- 

 mains to be changed, I am at a loss to know. And 

 secondly, if after the time he has spent he finds his tea 

 plants few in number, and his tea leaves of a p 1 

 growth only, to get rid of his plants also. 



JAVA. It was impossible for the cultivation of the 

 tea plant to succeed under the unfavorable patronage of 



