312 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



To make tea, and to serve it in a genteel 

 and graceful manner, is an accomplishment 

 in which people of both sexes in Japan are 

 instructed by masters, in the same manner as 

 Europeans in dancing, and other branches of 

 polite education. 



The Chinese pour hot water upon the tea, 

 and draw off the infusion in the manner now 

 practised in England, excepting that they sel- 

 dom add either sugar or milk. Their neigh- 

 bours the Japanese reduce their tea to a 

 fine powder, by grinding the leaves in a hand- 

 mill ; it is then mixed with hot water into a 

 thin pulp, in which form it is sipped, parti- 

 cularly by persons of consequence. In their 

 parties, the tea-table furniture, with the pow- 

 dered tea inclosed in a box, is set before the 

 company, and the cups are then filled with 

 hot water, and as much of the powder as 

 would fill a common tea-spoon is taken out 

 of the box, and put into each cup, and then 

 stirred and mixed together with a curious 

 denticulated instrument, till the liquor foams, 

 in which state it is presented to the com- 

 pany, and sipped while warm. The common 

 people, who can only obtain a coarser tea, 

 boil it for some time in water. Early in the 

 morning they put a large kettle of water over 



