DISTRIBUTION OF THE TEA TREE. 13 



missionaries also state, that tea grows in the 

 province of Pe-chy-ly, though not in the imme- 

 mediate vicinity of the capital j and all my inquiries 

 on the subject tend to confirm that opinion. I 

 was especially informed by the Pere Amiot of the 

 truth of this belief. Still the Chinese say, that 

 the northern provinces of Pe-chy-ly, Shan-sy, 

 Shen-sy, Shan-tong, and even Honan, are not 

 favourable for the growth of tea. Bell states that 

 he saw the tea plant in a garden at Peking, which 

 appeared like a currant bush ; but adds, " the 

 climate about that capital being too cold for this 

 shrub, there are only a few bushes of it found in 

 the gardens of the curious." (Bell's Travels, p. 235.) 

 There can be no doubt that the tea shrub is very 

 extensively cultivated in China ; and the pro- 

 bability is, that every province, by means of its 

 sheltered vallies, is enabled to contribute largely to 

 its own domestic consumption. Still the ground 

 allotted to the growth of this shrub, being com- 

 monly only such as is unproductive, hilly, or other- 

 wise unprofitable, as the embankments of arable 

 and cultivated ground ; and as every part of the 

 empire is not equally favourable to its growth, it 

 has often been questioned, how far the use of this 

 refreshing beverage is within the daily reach of the 

 lowest order of the people. It is without doubt 

 extensively used by all classes of the community, 

 even the lowest, in some form or other, throughout 

 this vast country ; but it is equally certain, that 



