540 



TUIAI TK \ 



lie* between tin- kingdoms of Bornou and Kanem. 

 in lat. 1-2 N., Ion. 17 K. As it 1ms not been 

 entirely explored, its north-eastern limits arc un- 

 known, and its extent is uncertain. It receives 

 two large rivers, the Yeou and the Shary, from 

 the south-west. 



TCHAI (in Turkish and Persian, river') ; found 

 in many geographical names. In Chinese geo- 

 graphical names, Tcha'i signifies fortified place. 

 Tat, Puo, Ooei, and other words, signify the same. 



TCH ANG (Chinese for middle) ; in many geogra- 

 phical names, as Tchang-Kone (Central Kingdom), 

 the name which the Chinese give to their empire. 



TCHERNY; a Sclavonic word, signifying black, 

 and sometimes tributary. Tcherny appears in many 

 geographical names, as Tchernikov, Tchernoritz. 



TCHING; Chinese for town and wall, as Sin- 

 Tching (New Town). 



TCHUDSKO LAKE. See Peipus. 



TEA (iAea). The tea plant BO strongly re- 

 semblcs the camellia in its botanical characters, 

 that it has lately been referred to that genus. The 

 flowers and leaves are, however, much smaller. 

 The shrub attains the height of five or six feet, 

 and is branching and evergreen. The leaves are 

 alternate, oval-oblong, serrated, about an inch and 

 a half in length, of a dark, glossy-green colour, and 

 firm texture. The flowers are solitary or in pairs, 

 disposed in the axils of the leaves ; the corolla 

 white, and composed of six petals. It is a native 

 of China and Japan, and has been cultivated, and 

 in common use in those countries, from the most 

 remote antiquity. Tea was hardly known in Eu- 

 rope before the middle of the seventeenth century, 

 but now has become an article of such commercial 

 importance in that portion of the globe, as to em- 

 ploy more that fifty thousand tons of shipping in 

 the transportation of it from Canton. Still so vast 

 is the home consumption, that it is alleged, that 

 were Europeans to abandon the commerce altoge- 

 ther, the price would not be much diminished in 

 China. It appears to be cultivated in all parts of 

 China, even in the vicinity of Pekin, which is in the 

 same latitude as Philadelphia, and has a very similar 

 climate. It succeeds best in south exposures and 

 in the neighbourhood of running water. As the 

 seeds are very apt to spoil, and scarcely one in 

 five will germinate, it is usual to plant several in 

 the same hole, at the depth of four or five inches. 

 The plants require little further care than that of 

 removing the weeds, till the third year, when the 

 leaves may be gathered. In seven years, the plants 

 have attained the height of six feet ; but, as they 

 bear few leaves, they are trimmed down, which 

 produces a great number of new leaves. The leaves 

 arc: plucked off, one by one, with many precautions ; 

 and only from four to fifteen pounds are collected 

 in a day. In a district in Japan, where the tea 

 plant is cultivated with peculiar care, the first 

 gathering takes place at the end of the winter, 

 when the leaves are young and tender, and are only 

 a few days old : these, on account of their scarcity 

 and dearness, are reserved for the wealthy, and 

 called imperial tea. The second gathering is at the 

 beginning of spring, when some leaves have attained 

 their full size, and others are only expanding : all 

 are gathered promiscuously, and afterwards sorted : 

 the youngest especially are separated with great 

 care, and often sold for the imperial. The third 

 and last gathering takes place towards the middle 

 of summer : the leaves are now fully expanded, of 

 inferior quality, and are reserved for the common 



people. In China the leaves are probably collected 

 in the >ame manner. 



There are two varieties of (lie tea plant T. I'iii- 

 ilia, with broader leaves, and T. boltea by some 

 writers considered distinct species. Formerly, it w;is 

 thought that green tea was gathered exclusively 

 from T. riridis ; but this is now doubtful; though 

 it is certain there is what is called the green /<.' 

 district, and the black tea district ; and the vai 

 of the one differ from those of the other district. 

 Doctor Abel was told, by competent persons, that 

 either of the two plants will afford the black or 

 green tea of the shops, but that the T. viridis is 

 preferred for making green tea. The names given. 

 in commerce, to the different sorts of tea, are un- 

 known to the Chinese, the imperial executed, and 

 are supposed to have been applied by the merchants 

 at Canton. The tea leaves, being gathered, are 

 cured in houses which contain from five to ten or 

 twenty small furnaces, about three feet high, each 

 having at the top a large, flat, iron pan. There is 

 also a long, low table, covered with mats, on which 

 the leaves are laid, and rolled by workmen, who sit. 

 round it. The iron pan being heated to a certain 

 degree by a little fire made in the furnace under- 

 neath, a few pounds of the fresh gathered leaves 

 are put upon the pan : the fresh and juicy leaves 

 crack when they touch the pan ; and it is the busi- 

 ness of the operator to shift them as quickly as 

 possible with his bare hands, till they become too 

 hot to be easily endured. At this instant, he taken 

 off the leaves with a kind of shovel resembling a 

 fan, and pours them on the mats : other operators, 

 now taking small quantities at a time, roll them in 

 the palm of their hands in one direction, while a 

 third set are fanning them, that they may cool the 

 more speedily, and retain their curl the longer. 

 This process is repeated two or three times, or 

 oftener, before the tea is put into the stores, in or- 

 der that all the moisture may be thoroughly dissi- 

 pated and their curl more completely preserved. 

 On every repetition, the pan is less heated, 

 and the operation performed more closely and cau- 

 tiously. The tea is then separated into the differ- 

 ent kinds, and deposited in the store for domestic 

 use or exportation. The different sorts of black 

 and green arise not merely from soil, situation, or 

 the age of the leaf; but after winnowing the tea, 

 the leaves are taken up in succession as they fall ; 

 those nearest the machine, being the heaviest, are 

 the gunpowder tea ; the lightest, the worst, is chiefly 

 used by the lower classes. That which is brought 

 down to Canton then undergoes a second roasting, 

 winnowing, packing, &c. ; and many hundred wo- 

 men are employed for these purposes. As a more 

 select sort of tea, the flowers of the camellia sasan- 

 qua appear to be collected. The leaves, indeed, of 

 this plant are often used, and sometimes those of 

 the other species of camellia, though that practice 

 is rather to be considered in the light of adultera- 

 tion. Several other plants appeared to be used as 

 substitutes for tea, as a species of moss, different 

 sorts of ferns, &c. ; and in Japan the leaves of the 

 olea fragrans are used to give it a high flavour. 

 The seeds of the tea plant, as well as of the camel- 

 lias, and especially of the C. oleifera, are crushed 

 for their oil, which is in very general use in the 

 domestic economy of China. 



The black teas, usually imported by Europeans 

 and Americans, are, beginning with the lowest 

 qualities, bohea, congo, camj>o, souchong, pouchont/, 

 pekoe ; the green teas are tu-ankay, ////son skin, young 



