JAPAN. 21^ 



about a quart, a lighted reed is placed in it, which attrads the 

 fluid to that part. Neither of the trees which yield the Suma- 

 tran or Bornean camphors are yet afcertained ; Kaempfer fays, 

 " ex Dapbneo Sanguine non eji ;" fo it certainly is not even of the 

 fame genus as the Japanefe. 



Tbea Bobea, izc^, Sp. pi. 2. p. 589. Kaempf. Amcen,v.-p. c^o^. Tea; 

 817. Kaempfef^ Travels, i. 115. ii. appendix, 2. tab. 38, 39. The 

 tea cultivated in 'japan is the Bobea, the %fjaa of the Japanefe^ 

 the Tbeh of the Cbinefe. The origin of it has its legend equal to 

 any in the univerfe. Darma, the fon of an Indian king, who 

 fiourifned about the year 519 of the Cbrijiian era, arrived in 

 Cbina to preach his doflrine to the inhabitants. It feems he was 

 a fort of pope in India^ the twenty-eighth in fucceffion from the 

 founder of eaftern paganifm. He had vowed the greateft au- 

 fterities, particularly a perpetual watchfulnefs ; nature, worn out, 

 was obliged at length to fubmit to the refrefliment of fleep ; on 

 finifliing his flumbers, he cut off both his eye-brows, which had 

 dared to clofe, and flinging them on the ground, each became a 

 flirub ; Darma eat fome of the leaves, and to his great furprife, 

 found hirnfelf invigorated, fo as to undergo any labors or any 

 watchings ; he communicated the virtues to his difciples, and 

 tea became of univerfal ufe. It is therefore llyled by fome the 

 eye-brows of D^r;;^^; he is reprefented as a horrid ugly fellow, 

 with vaft eye-brows, wrapped in a great cloak, and Handing on a 

 reed, on which he had been wafted from region to region. 



We may be certain from this tale, that the tea plant was abo- 

 riginal of Cbina, It is cultivated byfowing, not in whole fields, 

 but round the borders in rows, fo that it may not hurt the land ; 

 good farmers manure the plants with human ordure. In feven 



years 



