682 



C A M E L L I E &. 



imperfectly explored (the exploring of a wood is no 

 easy matter) ; there may be many more which have 

 hitherto escaped notice. 



CAMELLIE^E, or CAMELLIACE^E, a natural 

 order of dicotyledonous plants, containing only two 

 genera and eight distinct species. It is closely allied 

 to Ternstrcemacece, and by some authors is considered 

 merely as a subdivision of the order, frmn which it 

 differs only in its exalbuminous seed. The essential 

 characters of that order are : sepals from five to nine, 

 with an imbricated aestivation ; petals five to nine, 

 alternate with the sepals, often slightly cohering at 

 the base ; stamens indefinite ; filaments filiform ; 

 anthers roundish ; one ovary, with from three to six 

 filiform styles; capsule three-celled andthree-valved; 

 seeds large, fixed to the central margin of the dissepi- 

 ments ; no albumen. 



The plants of this order are smooth evergreen 

 trees or shrubs, with showy axillary flowers. They 

 are found in China, Japan, Cochin-China, or India. 

 The leaves of many of the species are astringent and 

 stimulating, and some possess slightly narcotic pro- 

 perties. The only genera of the order are Camellia 

 and Thea, which are highly important as affording 

 some of the most beautiful of our greenhouse plants, 

 and as furnishing the tea, which is such a valuable 

 article of commerce among the Chinese, and which is 

 now so extensively used all over the civilised world. 



Thea Bohea, or nigra and viridis, are said to be 

 the principal species from which tea is obtained. 

 The leaves of Camellia sasanqua, and other species 

 of that genus, are also frequently used. These, 

 however, must probably be looked upon as adultera- 

 tions. The tea districts in China extend from the 

 twenty-seventh to the thirty-first degree of north 

 latitude, and in Japan they reach the forty-fifth 

 degree. Some attempts have been made to rear the 

 tea plant in Europe, but they have not been attended 

 with any degree of success. It thrives well at Rio 

 Janeiro, where it has been lately cultivated. 



The tea plants are raised from seeds, andsuceede 1 

 best in sandy or stony soil on the sides of mountains. 

 The leaves are first gathered when the planes are 

 three years old. After six or ten years, the plants 

 are cither removed or cut down, so as to throw out 

 new shoots and leaves. The leaves are usually 

 plucked at two seasons of the year, spring and 

 September, the finest and most esteemed being those 

 which are gathered first. They are [ticked one by 

 one, and after being carefully selected, are exposed 

 to the steam of boiling water, and then heated to 

 a considerable degree on iron pans placed over 

 furnaces, so as to be dried, and deprived of any acrid 

 juice which they may contain. They are then 

 transferred, while warm, to large tables covered with 

 mats, where they are cooled by means of large pans, 

 and at the same time rolled up with the hand. This 

 process is repeated several times, a smaller degree of 

 beat being applied each time, until all the moisture 

 is completely expelled. They arc afterwards mixed 

 with some aromatic herbs, such as the leaves of the 

 Camellia sasanqua, and the flowers and buds of the 

 Oka frngrans, and are then put into boxes fit for 

 exportation. In the finest sorts of tea, each of the 

 leaves is rolled up separately. 



It has not been fully ascertained whether the 

 black and green teas are furnished by separate 

 species, or whether the difference between them is 

 merely to be ascribed to the age of the leaf and the 



mode of its preparation. It has been ascertained 

 that they are cultivated in distinct districts, but many 

 authors consider them as mere varieties. The green 

 tea is said to be prepared from the leaf in an immature 

 state, when it contains much of a narcotic juice, and 

 to be dried by exposure to the open air in the shade. 



Various varieties of tea are known in commerce 

 which are designated by particular names. There 

 are five or six different kinds of black teas, of which 

 the chief are, bohea, Congo or cong-foo, saotchong 

 or souchong, and pekoa. Of the green teas the 

 principal are, hay-suen or hyson, and tchu-tcha or 

 gunpowder tea, which is rolled up in a round form. 

 The green teas are chiefly prepared for exportation, 

 as the Chinese only use the black. 



All the teas ought to be carefully excluded from 

 the air and light, in order to retain their flavour. 

 They should be kept in wooden or leaden boxes, 

 which are never left open. 



Tea was first imported into Europe by the Dutch 

 East India Company early in the seventeenth century. 

 Some imported by them in the year 1666 was sold 

 for sixty shillings a-pound. It was first used in 

 Britain during the Commonwealth, and since that 

 time its consumption has increased with amazing 

 rapidity. In 1789, the tea retained in Britain for home 

 consumption was 14,534,601 pounds, yielding a net 

 revenue of custom and excise of 562.038/. 14*. 5</. ; 

 while in 1828, Jhe quantity retained amounted to 

 26,790,481 pounds, and the revenue derived from it 

 was 3,1 77,1 79/. 8s. More tea is consumed in Britain 

 than in all the rest of Europe. 



According to analysis, tea yields, by distillation, an 

 astringent matter, and a bitter styptic extract composed 

 of gallic acid and tannin. Tea is often adulterated 

 with the leaves of other plants, more especially those 

 of the Camellia Japonica and oleifera. The blossoms 

 and buds of Camellia snsanqua are said to furnish a 

 very strong and excellent tea. A kind of moss, 

 found on the Chinese mountains, has been employed 

 as a substitute for tea. In New Holland the leaves 

 of the Corr&a alba are employed instead of tea, and 

 in other countries we find those of the Pedicularis 

 lanata, Ceanothus Americanvs, Ilex Paraguensis, and 

 Symplocos Alstonia, &c., put to a similar use. It was 

 formerly stated, that the colour of green tea was 

 owing to its being dried on plates of copper, but this 

 is found to be an erroneous supposition. 



Tea has now become a necessary article of food in 

 Europe. This beverage, when prepared from the 

 fresh leaves of the plant, is said to be narcotic, and 

 hence the leaves are kept for twelve months by the 

 Chinese before being used. 



Good tea, taken in moderation, and prepared with 

 cream and sugar, is highly refreshing and invigorating, 

 and even produces a degree of exhilaration. The 

 traveller, when exhausted by fatigue, and worn out 

 by incessant toil, finds his strength renovated, and 

 his spirits revived, by the timely use of this excellent 

 beverage. It generally produces some degree o 

 perspiration, owing probably to the quantity of hot 

 water with which it is prepared. Tea sharpens the 

 intellectual powers, favours digestion, and gives a 

 new tone and vigour to the system. If tea, more 

 especially green tea, is taken in large quantities, it is 

 apt to produce nervous agitation, and to prevent 

 sleep. In hysterical and hypochondiiacal cases it 

 may l>e productive of prejudicial effects. The 

 infusion of tea is prescribed medicinally to promote 



