THE FARMER AT HOME. 419 



for which she is mainly dependent on Sweden for the supply, although 

 she has attempted to produce it in her American colonies. 



TATTOOING. Among all the known nations of the earth, none 

 have carried the art of tattooing to so high a degree of perfection as 

 the inhabitants of the Washington islands. The regular designs with 

 which the bodies of the men of Nukahiwa are punctured from head 

 to foot, supplies, in some sort, the absence of clothing; for, under so 

 warm a climate, clothing would be insupportable to them. Many people 

 here seek as much to obtain distinction by the symmetry and regularity 

 with which they are tattooed, as among us by the elegant manner in 

 which they are dressed ; and although no real elevation of rank is 

 designated by the greater superiority of these decorations, yet as only 

 persons of rank can afford to he at the expense attendant upon any 

 refinement in the ornaments, it does become, in fact, a badge of 

 distinction. 



The operation of tattooing is performed by certain persons, who 

 gain their livelihood by it entirely, and those who perform it with the 

 greatest dexterity, and evince the greatest degree of taste in the dis- 

 position of the ornaments, are as much sought after as among us a 

 particularly good tailor. Thus much, however, must be said, that the 

 choice made is not a matter of equal indifference with them as with 

 us ; for if the punctured garment be spoiled in the making, the mis- 

 chief is irreparable ; it must be worn, with all its faults, the whole 

 life through. 



TEA. The culture of tea in China seems simple enough. The 

 plants are raised from seeds, sown in the places where they are to 

 remain. Several are dropped into holes four or five inches deep, and 

 three or four feet apart. The plants rise up in a cluster when the 

 rain comes on, and require little further care, except of removing 

 weeds, till they are three years old, when they yield their first crop of 

 leaves. They are seldom transplanted, but sometimes four or five 

 plants are put close together, so as to form a fine bush. After grow- 

 ing seven or ten years they are cut down, in order that the numerous 

 young shoots which then spring out, may afford a more abundant 

 supply of leaves. In some districts the bushes grow unrestrained, in 

 others they are regularly pruned to keep them low. 



The gathering of the leaves is performed with great care. They 

 are usually gathered singly, first in March or May, according to the 

 district, when the leaves are scarcely expanded ; the second about two 

 months later, or May and June ; and the third in August, or about 

 six months after the second ; but the times necessarily differ in differ- 

 ent districts, as well as the number of crops to be obtained ; some avoid 

 the third for fear of injuring the bushes. When the leaves are 

 gathered they are dried in houses which contain small furnaces, on 

 each of which there is a flat iron pan, and upon this, when heated, 

 the leaves, partially dried by exposure to the sun, are thrown ; which 



