CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 123 



and more powerful teas if that can be called a recommen- 

 dation, but for smoothness of liquor, richness and delicacy 

 of flavor, such as are essential to every-day, universal 

 consumption, the China tea-leaf and French grape stand 

 and will continue to stand unrivalled. India and Ceylon 

 may claim to be the teas of to-day, but it remains to be 

 seen whether that day be long or short, as in my humble 

 opinion, without laying any claim to the prophetic, the 

 teas of the future as in the past will be China and Japan 

 teas. 



JA.VA TEAS. 



Tea culture was introduced to the Island of Java in 

 1826, the seeds and plants being obtained from Japan for 

 the purpose. The plants having thrived beyond expec- 

 tation, a plantation of 800 trees was formed the following 

 year in the residency of Buitzenorg, although samples of 

 tea grown elsewhere on the island were shown at an 

 exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1828. Another planta- 

 tion was subsequently established in the district of Carvet 

 in Preanger, from which its cultivation later extended to 

 Krawang and other residencies in the island. So success- 

 ful was the progress made that in 1833 the number of 

 trees in the latter residency was returned at more than 

 500,000. Up to 1842 tea was cultivated in Java exclu- 

 sively for Government account and under the immediate 

 supervision of its own officials, nearly 14,000,000 trees 

 being in bearing there that year. But the number of 

 laborers required for its cultivation and manipulation 

 becoming so large, the supervision so difficult, and the 

 results so unsatisfactory, the Government was eventually 

 compelled to relinquish many of its plantations to private 

 parties, contracting at the same time to purchase their 

 product at a fixed price. This change proved beneficial, 

 resulting in a still further extension and improvement in 



