^p^HERE are few subjects in the vegetable kingdom 

 II ~\ that have attracted such a large share of public 

 notice as the tea plant. Much error for a long 

 time existed regarding its botanical classification, 

 owing to the jealousy of the Chinese government pre- 

 venting foreigners from visiting the districts where tea 

 was cultivated ; while the information derived from the 

 Chinese merchants at the shipping ports, scanty as it 

 was, could not be depended on with any certainty. So 

 that before proceeding to discuss the question of the 

 species which yield the teas of commerce it may be well 

 to notice those which are usually described as distinct 

 varieties in systematic works. 



Tea is differently named in the various provinces of 

 China where it is grown. In some it is called Tcha or 

 cha t in others Tha or thea, in Canton Tscha, and finally 

 Tia by the inhabitants of Fo-kien, from whom the first 

 cargoes are said to have been obtained, and so pro- 

 nounced in their patois as to give rise to the European 

 name TEA. By botanists it is termed Thea, this last 

 name being adopted by Linnaeus for the sake of its 

 Greek orthography, being exactly that of Oex a goddess 

 a coincidence doubtless quite acceptable to those who 

 use and enjoy the beverage as it deserves. 



The species of the genus Thea are few in number, 

 some botanists being of opinion that even these are of a 



