THE LITTLE TEA BOOK 



Although the Chinese are not so 

 neat in their public habits as the 

 Japs, still their tea-houses and simi- 

 lar resorts are just as numerous and 

 popular as they are in the neigh- 

 boring country. Perhaps the most 

 interesting caterers in China, how- 

 ever, are the coolies, who sell hoi>- 

 water in the rural districts. These 

 itinerants have an ingenious way of 

 announcing their coming by a whis- 

 tling kettle. This vessel contains a 

 compartment for fire with a funnel 

 going through the top. A coin with 

 a hole is placed so that when the 

 water is boiling a regular steam- 

 whistle is heard. 



Plentiful as tea is in China, how- 

 ever, the poor people there do not 

 consume as good a quality of the leaf 

 as the same class in our own country. 



59 



