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IT will be almost invariably found, in taking tea 

 leaves out of a tea pot, that there can rarely be found 

 one that has not the appearance of the tea leaf. I have 

 seen a few exceptions, where the tea had an unpleasant 

 flavor of tar, or something of that kind, about it, in which 

 there were other leaves than that of the camelia kind. 



However, there are so many leaves closely resembling 

 those of tea, that there is a very wide scope for adulter- 

 ation, without resorting to the clumsy expedient of 

 mixing leaves of every tree or bush that might be at 

 hand, and so render detection an easy matter. 



" The teas of the districts of Py-Kien. Cza-Sy, &c., 

 &c., &c., the leaves are thin and small, and of no sub- 

 stance, and whether green or black, or made with great 

 care, yet have no fragrance. This, however, is used for 

 congous. Tea is also produced as far as Yen-Ping, 

 Shang-u, &c., &c., &c., and other places, but is unfit 

 for use ; there is reason to believe that tea frm these 

 places are constantly mixed with low congou, and that 

 many of the congous technically termed " faint," come 

 from these places, as will be seen by the accounts re- 

 ceived from other Chinese, where some of the above 

 places are enumerated as producing tea forming a part 

 of the tea exported as congous." Ball. 



