264 TEA-CULTURE, A PROBABLE AM' XICAN INDUSTRY. 



Mrs. R. J. Screven, Mclntosh, Liberty Co., Ga., 

 says : 



My experience is that the tea-plant does best in land somewhat 

 low, but not such as water will lie upon or is overflowed. I sow the 

 seed in the fall, as soon as they ripen and drop from the bushes, in 

 drills eighteen inches apart. They come up readily in the spring, 

 and by winter are from three to six inches high. Under the shade 

 of some large tree is usually the place selected for sowing the seed, 

 for if the plants are exposed to the hot sun while young, they 

 invariably die the first summer. When six months old they are 

 ready for transplanting; have generally a good supply of roots, 

 and can be set out at any time from the first of November to the 

 last of March. In putting them out, I have generally prepared 

 holes to receive them, to give a good start, so that fine, healthy 

 bushes will be obtained. In April, 1867, 1 think it was, Mr. Howard, 

 from Baltimore, who had been engaged on a plantation for several 

 years in the East, visited my father's plantation in this country, 

 and expressed himself as surprised at the splendid growth of the 

 tea. Being there at the time of gathering the young leaves, he 

 plucked from one bush alone, prepared the tea himself, and took 

 it on to Baltimore, where he had it tested and weighed. He wrote 

 back that it had been pronounced stronger and of superior flavor 

 to the imported, and that by calculation he was satisfied that four 

 hundred and fifty pounds of cured tea could be made here at the 

 South to one acre of ground 



Mr. J. W. Pearce, Fayetteville, N. C, writes : 



My plants are now about five feet high, very thick and bushy 

 near the ground ; have no protection from any kind of weather, 

 while the mercury has been as low as 10 below zero. They do not 

 seem to suffer from drought, as evergreens, and bear a beautiful 

 white flower, with little scent until nearly ready to fall. The seed 

 are like the hazel-nut ; have a hard shell and bitter kernel, and take 

 a long time to germinate. Hence it is better to plant them on the 

 north side of a fence or house, where they will remain moist. 

 They come up readily when left under the bushes where they have 

 been dropped. The plants then can be set out successfully if care 

 be taken to avoid breaking the long tap root peculiar to them. 

 Half a dozen plants furnish my family, of five or six persons, with 

 more tea than we can use. We prepare it by heating the leaves 



