Tea 



157 



hea viridis. • Fortune then left for the province of Fokien, fully convinced that he would 



nd the tea hills covered with Thea Bohea, since black tea was largely produced in the district", 



nd the species took its name from the Bohee hills in this province. In his book, " Wanderings 



in China," Fortune proceeds : " Great was my surprise to find all the tea plants on the tea hills 



near Foo-chow exactly the same as those in the green-tea districts of the north. , Here were 



then green-tea plantations on black-tea hills, and not a single plant of the Thea Bohea to' 



be seen. Moreover, at the time of my visit, the natives were busily employed in the manufacture 



f black teas. Although the specific differences of the tea-plants were well known to me*. 



TRANSPLANTING YOUNG TEA PLANTS 



I was so much surprised, and I may add amused, at this discovery, that I procured a set of 

 specimens for the herbarium, and also dug up a living plant, which I took northward to- 

 Chekiang. On comparing it with those which grow on the green-tea hills, no difference what- 

 ever was observed. It appears, therefore, that the black and green teas of the northern districts 

 of China (those districts in which the greatest part of the teas for the foreign markets are made) 

 are both produced from the same variety, and that that variety is the Thea viridis, or what 

 is commonly called the green-tea plant. On the other hand, those black and green teas which 

 are manufactured in considerable quantities in the vicinity of Canton are obtained from the 

 Thea Bohea, or black tea. And, really, when we give the subject our unprejudiced considera- 

 tion, there seems nothing surprising in this state of things. Moreover, we must bear in mind 

 that our former opinions were formed upon statements made to us by the Chinese at Canton, 

 who will say anything which suits their purpose, and rarely give themselves any trouble- 



OF THE 



UNIVERSITY 



