190 BRICK OR TILE TEA. 



the viscid juices which' they naturally contain would 

 be found sufficient to preserve them in any form 

 impressed on them. Indeed, one of the incon- 

 veniences experienced in the manipulation of tea, 

 is the necessity of constant attention lest the 

 leaves agglutinate and form into lumps or masses. 

 On a small scale, as in Caper, Long-tuon, and Gun- 

 powder teas, we have known examples of this power 

 of natural cohesion ; and in fact the same may be 

 remarked of all tea, as the twist and curl of the 

 leaf is fixed and rendered permanent by the gluten 

 contained in it, aided by heat, and the processes of 

 manipulation. 



But when we consider that this tea is for the 

 most part of very inferior quality, as I know from 

 personal examination, and may be classed with our 

 common Bohea, — consequently fabricated of leaves 

 deficient in natural gluten, — it is quite possible 

 that both the above expedients may be resorted to 

 in order to retain the leaves in a mass. Thus, the 

 use or otherwise of a gelatinous fluid may depend 

 entirely upon the quality of the tea. 



Regarding the districts where this tea is produced, 

 all my inquiries induce the belief, that the bulk is 

 the produce of the province of Szu-chuen, one of 

 the border provinces adjoining Tibet. It is there 

 packed in bales or parcels, secured with a kind of 

 basket-work of grass : and in the country known 

 by the name of Sifan (Moorcroft says Lassa) it is 

 further packed in raw skins of the Yak, the hair 



