140 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 



tea properly is by far the most expensive item in tea- 

 culture. It can only be profitably raised where labor is 

 very cheap. The tea-plant grows well and flourishes in 

 California, and in many localities of the South ; but we 

 cannot compete with Asiatic labor at 4 to 6 cents per 

 day in curing it. If it can be preserved in jars or cans 

 in its green state, so compacted as to expel all the air, 

 and sealed so as to prevent evaporation and fermenta- 

 tion or change, it is very possible that the culture of tea 

 in our own country may become a profitable pursuit : 

 the product, too, may be superior. Herb-tea is much 

 better made with the freshly gathered plant than when 

 the dried herb is used. I trust that those who are 

 experimenting with the tea-plant in the South and on 

 the Pacific coast will test the preservation of tea by Ensi- 

 lage. 



