Vol.lX. — No.l. 



AND IlOin ICULTiJRAL JOUUNAL. 



3 



l)i'0|ilc of lioth scxt'S ill Jiip.ii) are iiistriirlcil by 

 nuistors, in ilie samo iiiiimn r iis l'",uni|ic.iiis in 

 danriii;.', ami utiiur liraiirliis of polite oiliii ulioii. 

 '1 lie Cliiiusc pour liol water npuii llie trii, an<l 

 draw ntVilie inln.-ion in ilii; manner now prarii.<eil, 

 cxicpiiii;; lliat tliey seldom aild eit.ier .-iniiar er 

 milk. Their iiniglitior< the Jupanesi-, rednoe tlieir 

 tea lo a fine |m\vcler, hv griiuliii;; the' leaves in a 

 liamliiiill ; ii is ilien mixed with hot water into a 

 tliiii pulp, in whieli I'mni it is cippcil, |iariieu- 

 larly liy pi'rsons of eoiisecpn-nee. In their parties, 

 the lea laMe fmnilnrc, with the powdered tea iii- 

 closeil in a liox, is set liefnre the rnmpaiiy, and ilio 

 cops are "then tilled with hot water, and as much 

 of the powiUr as wonid fill a eonniioii lea— poon 

 is taken out of the hox, and pnt into euih eiip, 

 aii<l tlu n stirred and mixed top;i t'ler with a eiirioiis 

 deniicniated inslrmnenl, till llie liquor loams, ill 

 whieh slate it is pri seined lo the eompaiiy, and 

 sipped while warm. 'I'he eominon people, wlm 

 can only ohiain a coais-rtea, hoil it lor sonic lime 

 in water. Eai ly in the iniirniiiir lliey pnt a large 

 kettle of water over the fire, with the tia inclosed 

 cither in a hag or a kind uf lu'.sket, to prevent an 

 impediment in drawing' off the liquor ; aud this 

 forms thi'ir drink for tlie<luy. The water in Chi- 

 lians said to he nauseous and miwhole.soiiie, and, 

 without this corrective, to he unfit for the purpo 

 8es of life. Tims, we see. Providence has in 

 every instance provnled a remedy fi.r evil. 



The celclirated traveller Kalin ohserves, tJiiil 

 in sui-li long journeys as his, through the de.^erts 

 in hot countries, where the water is unfit for use 

 and full of insects, tea is almost as necessary iis 

 fooil, as it relieves a weary traveller more than 

 can he imagined. Dr Clarke, in his travels vnl. 

 ii. p. 533,) says, ' the exhausted iraveller, reduced 

 liy c.oniimial fever, aud worn hy incessant toil, 

 witliont a liipK of any comfortable repose, expe- 

 riences in this infusion the most cooling and bal- 

 Bailiie virtues; the heat of his blood ahates, his 

 spirits revive, his parched skin relu.xcs, and his 

 eirenglh is renovated. 



We have experienced that tea will retain its 

 flavor when kepi in ;;las9 or china jars, better than 

 in wood or metal, silver excepted. 



As tea contains vulaiile parts that should tic 

 pre erved, and in which its better qualities exist, 

 the tea-pot should be handed to ea> h person on 

 a tray, with the cups and sugar, for when made 

 out of the room, all its reviving spirit has evapo- 

 rated before it lyaches the guest. It is not the 

 l)itt(!riies8, but lliu fragrance of tea that is cheer- 

 ing. 



It has been observed that the itirusion made in 

 silver is stronger than that whieh is produced in 

 lilack earthenware. Polished surfiiecs retain heat 

 better than dark rough siirfaees, eoiiseqiienlly the 

 caloric being confined in the former ea-^e, iniisl 

 net more powerOdly than in the latter. It is far 

 ther leniarked, that the silver when filled a sec- 

 onil lime, prodiiecs worse tea than the earthen- 

 ware ; aud that it is advisable to use the crockery- 

 ware, iinle.-'s a siKer vessel can he prociifed suffi- 

 ciently larv'e lo contain at once all that may be re- 

 quired. These fae's are readily explained, hy 

 coiiside ing that the action of heat, retained ie 

 the silver v<-ssel, so far exhausts the heih, as !<i 

 leave little flavor for a second dilution; whereaf- 

 the reduced leniperaliire of the water in the earth- 

 enware, hy exiracling only a small portion at first 

 leaves some for iheai-tioii of suhseipieiit dilutions. 

 Il is supposed that lliu infusion is stronger iu •. 



globular vcs-el, than in any ono of a dinTereiit 

 liirm ; and this must be the ease, since it is de- 

 monstrateil thai a sphere contains u given ineHSure 

 niid(?r less siufaee than any other soliil ; from 

 which il follows, that where iheio arc two vessels 

 of equal capacity, one globular, and the otiie. 

 •scpiari-, ohlong, elliptic, or cyliiidric, the spherical 



ves>cl, having less .surface than the other, si 



throw oft" liss heal; and thai, consecpiently, the 

 effect will be greater iu the former case than in 

 the latter. 



The reason for pomiiig boiling water into the 

 vessel before the in'iisinn of the tea, is, that lieiiig 

 previously warm, it may abstract less heat from 

 the mixture, and thus admit a more powerful ac- 

 lion. It is, with equal facility, explained why the 

 inliision is stronger, if only a small quantity of 

 boiling water be first used, and more be added 

 some time alterwards. If we consider that only 

 the water iimi.eliately iu contact with the herb 

 can act upon it, and that it cools very rapidly, es- 

 peciallv in black eanhenware, it is clear that the 

 effect will he gieater where the heal is kept up hy 

 additions of boiling waier, than where the vessel 

 is filled up at oii<;<', and the fluid suffered !;radiial- 

 ly to cool. When the infusion has once been com- 

 pleled, it is found that any farther adilition of the 

 herb only affords a very small increase of strengtli, 

 ihe water having cooleil inneh below the boiling 

 point, and consequently acting very slightly: there- 

 fore it is better to make fresh lea in a second ves- 

 sel, than to add it to the exhausted and cool leaves. 

 It is hy the ap|ilicaiion of philnsophic princi- 

 ples to the onlinary and even trivial occurrences 

 of life, that S(;ience difTiises her benefits, anil per- 

 fects her claim to the gratitude of mankind ; there- 

 line, if one principle of making lea is pieferahle 

 to another, it should be ittended to, however 

 iriflin;; it may he consiilcred. 



The cultivation of the te.-i, we may naturally 

 conidnde, forms an i:iiportant [lart of thelmshand- 

 ry of the Chinese, since it is a vegetable in sinli 

 demand by the natives, for their home consump- 

 tion, and also in so great request for exportation. 

 It is therefore cultivated with much attention, al- 

 ■thoiigb it is often finind in its natural state, pai- 

 jtieularly on the rugged banks of steep mountains, 

 Uvhere it cannot be gathered without the greatest 

 ; difficulty and danger. In order to obtain this 

 tea where aei ess is impraeiicahle, the inhabitants 

 have resource to a singular expedient. • A great 

 nninher of monkeys generally resort to these 

 steep places, and being irrit;ited and provoked, 

 tear off the hianelies and shower thmn down 

 upon those who have teased them ; the aggressors 

 enllect these branches and strip them of their 

 leaves. 



'l''ie tea shrub does not thrive well in either a 

 sandy or (iit soil, altli(ni';h the Japanese plant it 

 as a border to their fields without regard to the 

 soil. 



Near the end of the first month of the Jap- 

 •iiiese year, that is, about the beginning of March, 

 ilie mothers of families with their children and 

 servants, go with their baskets into the ti-a plan- 

 tations, when the weather is hoi and dry, and 

 father ihe small tender leaves, that an; not above 

 three or four days old, and previous to their licinL' 

 unfolded ; these are picked off one hy one, tak- 

 ing great precaution not to break ihein or injure 

 rhe shrub. However teilioiis this may appear, 

 yet they will gather from four to ten, or fifteen 

 pounds iu u day. This first gathering is caMcd 



fkki tsian, or tea powder, becaiis.! it is used pnl- 

 lerised. Towards the eveiiiiiL', llioy curry these 

 leaves to thi; lioiisi; or building ercrteil for the 

 pur|>ose, containing n lltlintier of small stove.s, 

 where they are put on a liot p ilished Iron pieta 

 immediately, before they isavu timi: to frinent, 

 ill which case thi^y would torn blac!; ; they con- 

 rniue to turn them abmit until they are withered!, 

 when they are removed on to mats, or paper, ami 

 left to cool, after which the leaves are folded or 

 curled in the palm of llio hand : they are linn 

 placed on a secmid hot plate, and inrneil as beloro 

 with the hand till tln-y arc tolerably firm. They 

 are then cooled suddenly a second time, by agita- 

 ting the air. 'J'his operation is repeated three or 

 four times in order to extract all the moisture frniii 

 the leaves. The princi|)al olject of cooling the 

 leaves quickly is to preserve the curl, which must 

 also preserve much of the flavor. The more cu- 

 rious an; put into glass bottles well corked, others 

 into sipiare boxes varnisheit and liiieil with leail 

 and then ncaily papered. In about six days, this 

 tea is again spreail on the table and all the' leaves 

 that liav"; bteii over dried or siorched, are laUeu 

 out and pnt with common teii. ll is . fleu dried 

 a fifth lime, to make it more secure fir keeping. 

 The Dutch, with all tinir boasted ciciinliiicss, 

 have a disgusting practii-e iu drinkiui tea; lor in- 

 stead of adding sugar to their cup-:, they generally 

 suck a piece of su.'.ir candy, which llicy lake out 

 of their mouths when they drink. We hear of 

 instaiii'es iu that country, wlnre one piece is said 

 to answer the purpose of the whole family. 

 [Totjeconliniiod.J 



HOUTICULTIJUAL ANOMALY. 



The El iter of the Proviilcnce Free Press, in copy- 

 ing Mr Prince's coaimuoication from the New Riig- 

 lanil ran or of the 25t!i of Jane, lespetling lUiny 

 of his apple trees having produced double blossoais 

 this season, has added the follo'wing remarks: 



The confirmation of tlie truth of the above 

 anomaly in the vegetalile kingdom, I can ceilify 

 as coming under my observation. Above twenty 

 years ago, while a minor and living wiih my fath- 

 er, in the town of Mansfield, Mass. he inoculated 

 an apple tree, in the month of July, whici had 

 sprung np in the garden from the t^emi, was very 

 thrifty and the second year of iis growth. It was 

 inoeulaled about nine iiiidies from the ground and 

 the iii'Xt spring the top was taken oft". In the 

 month of May it blossomed. From one. bud tnere 

 sprang two disiiiict blossom.", ono of them was 

 the most extraordinary blossom that I ever beheld 

 on an apple tree. It was a ilimUe blossom ami 

 resembled In appearance a white rose, with [>e- 

 tals almost as large and equally as numerous. 

 The siein was of an iincomiiion length, I think 

 about 5 iiic-hes long. There was no apjKjarancc 

 of any apple attai lied to if. 



Another fact equally as singular was. that there 

 was another blossom from the same hud of usual 

 form and appearance, from which grew and came 

 to maturity an apple, remarkably fiiir and of lar- 

 ger size than common lor the kind, which was 

 the sour red streak. The ajjpli; stayed on until 

 plu(!ked off after the frosts in auiiimii had com- 

 menced. Many came to see the cnriMsitv, who 

 ilc( lareil ihev never .<aw or heard of tin- hke be- 

 lorc. The inocnlati.in {rrcw to the length of three 

 led that season, in twohri'iiebes. 



ISAAC STEARNS, Jb, 



Providence, Julj 15, IbSO. 



