TEA. 339 



CULTIVATION. The pomegranate is raised from seed, 

 from layers, from cuttings, and suckers. It may be inocu- 

 lated or grafted. It requires a strong, rich soil. 



TEA. (Thea.) 



The tea tree is a native of China. It is chiefly culti- 

 vated between the 30th and 40th degree of latitude. It is 

 a low tree, resembling in its appearance a myrtle ; its 

 roots, that of a pear ; the flowers, those of the wild rose. 

 The fruit is of the size of a small plum, two or three 

 growing together. 



The quantity of tea annually imported into Europe and 

 America from China, probably exceeds 100,000,000 Ibs. 

 Good tea is deemed wholesome, if taken in moderation, 

 with a due proportion of cream and sugar ; but the fresh 

 leaves of the shrub, when made into tea, are highly narcotic, 

 producing giddiness and stupefaction, before the noxious 

 properties are dissipated by roasting. And it is not recom- 

 mended to drink of the infusion till it has been gathered 

 and prepared a year. There are, it is asserted, but two 

 kinds of tea, the green and the black. The rest are either 

 combinations of these, or products of different sorts, or 

 times of gathering and modes of management. The tea 

 plant might be easily cultivated in the Southern States, and 

 grows well in the Carolinas and Georgia. It is said to 

 have been successfully cultivated by a society of nuns at 

 Wurtzburg, in Franconia, in the lat. of 49 or 50 north. 



The tea tree, in China, grows equally in the level and 

 mountainous districts, but flourishes best in a light, rocky 

 soil. The seeds are sown in March, and transplanted into 

 rows four feet apart, and three feet in the row ; but it is not 

 generally allowed to grow more than six or seven feet high. 

 The trees begin to yield crops at the end of three years : 

 but at the end of six years the trees must be renewed, as 

 the leaves begin to grow hard and harsh. The leaves 

 which are gathered early in the spring are of a bright green 

 color; those of the second crop are of a livid green; 

 and those which are gathered last, or in the latter end of 

 spring, are of a dark green, and of the third quality. The 

 leaves of the extremities of the branches are most tender. 

 Those of the lower parts are the most coarse. After the 

 leaves are gathered, they are exposed to the steam of boil- 

 ing water. They are then made to shrivel or roll together 

 by being placed on plates of copper or iron, or of baked 



