tea. sig 



comfort; thus placing modern achievments 



infinitely above the most glorious of anti- 

 quity. We believe very little, if any, of the 

 Imperial tea reaches this country, as it is 

 most religiously preserved for the family of 

 the emperor and his court. It grows only on 

 a mountain in Japan, near Ud-si, a small 

 village, situated close to the sea, and not far 

 distant from Meaco, where the climate is 

 said to be pure and extremely favourable to 

 its culture, which is here attended to with 

 a delicacy unheard-of in Europe. The 

 mountain is surrounded by a vast ditch and 

 hedges, that render it impenetrable to all ap- 

 proach. The first purveyor of the Imperial 

 Court keeps commissioners here, who watch 

 the culture of the shrubs, which are planted 

 in regular avenues and alleys, daily watered 

 and swept to prevent the possibility of dust 

 falling on the leaves. Others are employed 

 to protect the plants from any inclement 

 change of the weather. The persons who 

 are appointed to gather and collect this tea, 

 are previously kept for several weeks in a 

 sort of training, and are not allowed to eat 

 fish, or any gross food, lest their breath or 

 perspiration should affect the leaves. They 

 are obliged also to wash themselves in the 



