VARIETIES OF THE TEA PLANT. 47 



The leaf of the China bush never exceeds 4 inches. The 

 indigenous leaf is a bright pale green, the China leaf a dull 

 dark green colour. The indigenous ' flushes/ that is, produces 

 new tender leaf, much more copiously than the China, and this 

 in two ways : first, the leaves are larger, and thus if only even 

 in number exceed in bulk what the China has given ; and 

 secondly, it flushes oftener. The infusion of Tea made from 

 the indigenous species is far more ' rasping ' and ' pungent ' 

 than what the China plant can give, and the Tea commands 

 a much higher price. The young leaves from which alone 

 Tea is made are of a much finer and softer texture in the indige- 

 nous than in the China ; the former may be compared to satin, 

 the latter to leather. The young leaves of the indigenous 

 moreover do not harden so quickly as those of the China, thus 

 if there is any unavoidable delay in picking a flush, the loss is 

 less with the former. In the fact that unpruned or unpicked 

 plants (for picking is a miniature pruning) give fewer and 

 less succulent young leaves which harden quicker than pruned 

 ones, the two varieties would seem to be alike. The China 

 variety is much more prolific of seed than the indigenous ; 

 the former also gives it when younger, and as seed checks 

 leaf, the China is inferior in this as in other respects. The 

 China is by far the hardier plant. It is much easier to rear, 

 and it will grow in widely differing climates, which the indige;- 

 nous will not. 



A patch of indigenous with a mature flush^on it is a pretty 

 sight. The plants all appear as if crowned with gold (they 

 are truly so if other advantages exist), and are a great contrast 

 to the China variety if it can also be seen near. 



I have now, I think, pointed out the leading characteristics 

 of the two original varieties of the Tea plant, and it stands to 

 reason no one would grow the China who could get indigenous. 

 But the truth is, a pure specimen of either is rare. The plants 

 between indigenous and China are called ' hybrids.' They 



