T II A 



284 



T II V. 



wdly for sheth for cattle. The increase of agricultural 

 proJuce on a farm mokes the stacking "f corn out-of 

 u nia' M-ll as convenience. Tin' tem- 



ary thatching slacks, us well as of ha\ 



n'i ' ssary thnt sonic of the regular 



.m should be capable 01' thatching in :. 

 substantial manner, (hat there may lie no delay from want 

 , ;ular thateher. AVe "ill first describe the in- 

 mg hay-ricks and corn-stacks, as the simplest. 

 Tin- nek or stack having been formed into a proper 

 shape, either with a roof slanting from a rid ire. or conical, 

 ending in a central point, the straw is prepared hy moist- 

 it, that it may more easily hencl without breaking, 

 then forked up in a loose heap, the straws lying in 

 direction, and somewhat matted. Portions arc now 

 drawn out from this heap in handful*, which lays the 

 straws again in a more parallel order: these are placed in 

 a lof. .. hich will hold several of these bun i 



handful*, and arc thus carried to the thateher on the top of 

 the rick or stack. He seizes a handful, and bending one 

 end into a kind of a noose, he inserts this into the i 

 near the bottom of the roof, at one end if r 

 square roof, or at any convenient part if it be a round one. 

 He picscs dov.n the straw which he has thus inserted to 

 about half its length, in order to form the caves, which 

 extend a little beyond the lower part of the roof. AYheii 

 he has thus laid several liandfuls side by side BO as to 

 cover about a yard in width, that is as far as lie can con- 

 veniently reach without moving his ladder, he begins an- 

 other row a little above the place where he began, so that 

 the lower end of the straw now inserted may cover the 

 upper part of the first row, as tiles do each other. Thus 

 he proceeds upwards till he comes to the upper rii. 

 the roof, or to the point of the cone in a round stack. In 

 the latter case the covering diminishes to a point so as to 

 form a triangle. The ladder is now shifted a yard to one 

 side, and the same operation is performed, care being taken 

 that each fresh handful put on shall be interwoven with 

 that which lies beside it. so that no water can possibly 

 between them. Thus the work proceeds till the roof 

 i* completed, and it only remains to secure the upper 

 ridge in a square stack, or the point of the cone in a round 

 one. In the fii>t case the highest layer of straw is made 

 to extend beyond the ridge on both sides, and the ends 

 are brought together and stand up like the bristles on a 

 hog. A rope of straw has been prepared, and many small 

 rods, about two feet long, and cut sharp at the point : 

 these are inserted just below the ridge, in a line with it, 

 and about a foot apart ; one end of the straw rope is in- 

 serted into the stack, and twisted firmly round the pio- 

 jecting end of the first rod ; it is then wound once round 

 the next rod, and so on the whole length of the ridge : 

 this is done on both hides. The straws which form the 

 ridge are now cut with shears horizontally, to give it n 

 neat finish, and at each end a kind of ornami i 

 made by winding a straw rope round a handful of the po- 

 jceting straw, forming a kind of knot or bow. according 

 to the taste of the thateher. Hods and straw ropes t 

 round them are inserted near the edge of the slanting 

 side and all aJong the eaves, which prevent the wind from 

 blowing oft' the thatch. 



The only difference in tbe thatch of a round rick is, that 

 brought to one point, where it is tied with straw 

 rope wound round it, and formed into a kind of bow: 

 the rods are inserted a little below in a circle, and a straw- 

 rope twisted round them, and likewise around the circular 

 ra\cs. liarley is generally put into square stacks, and 

 ! ones. When the outside is neatly trimmed 

 -mooth, so that no birds can lodge in it. wheat 

 be kept for years, without dai 

 much better than "in a barn, or even in a granary. 



In thatching sheds and buildings which are to last many 

 years, the straw is prepared in the same manner, but the 



of the handfuls, as they are put on a latin 

 kept down by means of long rods, which are tied to the 

 nf the roof by meai : tar twine. A much 



thicker coat of stiaw i, put on ; and rye-straw, which has 

 prei d, as more lastin liable 



I with water than hollow straw. 



hich are 11 



* ri> ; h other and more carefully si 



A this kind of thatching is n peculiar trade, it rern 

 regular apprenticeship to be master of it. The thatching 



of temporary ric!, done from m 'ion, 



and a very little practice will enable any one to ] : 

 his stacks MiflicicMlly by a thatched . 



Thatching is usually paid by the - i'K.1 square 



The thatchcr takes a line and throws ii 

 if it i~ square, the ends are pushed under the i 

 h side, to allow for the trimming, Jtc., and this 

 length is multiplied by the length ol the ea\es, with the 

 same allowance at tile 'ends. The price varies from iv. to 

 7*. or Kv. per square, according to the work. Hound 



measured by taking the circumfcrer.ee . 

 . multiplied by oiic-third of the slant of the cone. 

 with a similar allow:'.: 



THArMA'.NTIAS. [PoiJKXMUDA, vol. xix., p. 122.] 

 THAI'MA'SIA. [Sh\-\Yi.i 

 Til \\TKD. [Kv. 



THKA. a genus of plants of the tribe Cam 

 natural family of Ternstioniiaccif. which has been so named 

 from the slightly altered Chinese name of the dried Iverb 

 which now forms the almost univeisal ' .it 1 the 



Hntish Isles. Though now so extensively employed, the 

 introduction of tea into Europe is of comparatively re- 



origin. Mucpherson, in his 'Hist..;i ,jf I 

 pean Commerce with India,' states that 'tea sah is men- 

 tioned as the usual beverage of the Chinese by Soliman, 

 an Arabian merchant, who .n-count of his travels 



in the East about the year \. n. S5(l :' and that he had 

 unable to find any mention of it prior to the times of the 



Jesuit Missionaries, who entered China and Japan a little 



before the middle of the sixteenth century. Anderson, in 

 bil History of Commerce,' vol. ii., p. 17*. qu' 

 as giving the earliest account in 15tK), when he says that 

 ' they,' that is. the Chinese, have also an herb, out of which 

 they press a delicate juice, which ser -. drink in- 



stead of wine." Texeira. a native of Portugal, about the 

 1GOO, saw the dried leaves of tea at Malacca, and Olearius 

 found them used in l(i:j: by the Persians, who obtained 

 them from China by means of the I'sbeck Tartars. Tulpius, 

 in \\isObserr. Mi'ilifff, Kill, celebrates the virtues of thca. 

 Anderson says that no mention made l(i(X> . in 



the new book of rates, of ten, coffee, or chocolate, though 

 they are all mentioned in an act of parliament of the 

 year, whereby a duty of eight-pence is charged on every 

 gallon of chocolate, sherbet, and tea made for sale. But 

 the use of it at that time must have been new, for ! 

 in his- Diary,' writes, September i'l. KKil, ' 1 sent fora 

 cup of tea (a Chinese drink . of which I had never drank 

 before.' The Dutch East India Company probably first in- 

 troduced it into Euiope. and from Amsterdam i 

 brought to London. In the year 1GG2 King Charles II. 

 married a princess of Portugal, whence, AValler says, the 

 best of queens and lies! of plants we owe to tha' 

 nation.' &C. Hut tea must have continued to be brought 

 in small quantities only, frr in the year 1P>(>4 the 

 India Company purchased, forthe puipo uting 



to the king, two pounds and two ounces of tea. and in the 

 year HJ7S they imported 471:! pounds of tea. wine! 

 then lor the firs! time thought woith their attention as a 

 branch of their trade. (Macpherson. p. 131.) 



Tea must have been used in China from very early times. 



It is differently named in different parts of China, iis tcha, 



or cha. also tha, whence we have tsia. the, and lea. In 



in works in use in India, tea is called cha-khutai. or 



tea of Cathay. 



The genus 'flu a i- charaHrrised by having a calyx which 

 is persistent, without bracts, five-leaved, leaflets imbricated, 

 the outer ones smaller. Petals of the corol (i to !), hypo- 

 gMions, imbricated, the inner ones tin 

 together at the 1 nen* numerous, in several 



.ng to the bottom of the petals; filaments filifoim. 

 anthers incumbent, 'J-celled, oblong, with a thiekish con- 

 neetivum, cells opening longitudinally. <> 

 .'{-celled. Ovules -4 in each cell, inserted alternately into 

 the central angle, the upper ones ascending, the lower 

 pendulous. Style tritid. stigmas ;{, acute. Capsule sphe- 

 roidal, two to three lobed, three or by abort io 

 with loculicidal dehisceiiec. or wit Ii the dissepiments formed 

 from the turned-in edges of the valves. Seeds solitary or 



.rked with the ventral 



umbilicus. Cotyledons thick, fleshy, oily. No albumen. 

 Radicle very short. \erv near the umbilicus, centripetal. 



The genus Camellia is usually considered to be vi iv dis- 

 tinct from Thea; indeed by Cambessedes the two are sepa- 



