IMPEOVED BY CULTIVATION. 211 



oldest men in the trade, Cow Mow, upon this sub- 

 ject, whose age, known respectability of character, 

 and long intercourse with the East India Company, 

 must ever give weight to the opinions of that honest 

 merchant. The document states that " Tea has 

 been known from time immemorial. There is a 

 mountain called Singlo mountain. Tea was ori- 

 ginally produced here, so that the tea planted in 

 other places was called Singlo tea, also hill tea. 

 That which is called Yuen or garden tea is the 

 Singlo tea planted in gardens. This custom pre- 

 vailed so far back as the dynasty of Sung (960 — 

 1278). Hyson tea was formerly called garden 

 tea, and was first cultivated in the towns of 

 Hieu Ning and Moo Yuen. In the reign of Cang 

 Hee (1661 — 1722) a man used for his Chao Pay 

 (firm or sign) the two characters Hee Chun, or 

 Hyson. Shortly after all garden tea was called 

 Hee Chun, or Hyson." 



Tien Hing, another highly respectable merchant, 

 states : " The green tea grown in the towns of 

 Moo Yuen, and Hieu Ning differs in its cultivation 

 from that of other places. This tea is divided into 

 two kinds, the hill tea and the garden tea. The 

 leaf of the hill tea is of a yellow colour, small 

 and thin, and vapid in flavour, and makes middling 

 and common Hyson. The garden tea is grown in 

 vegetable gardens, and also on the borders and 

 embankments of fields. The ground must be 

 manured with the Tong Ping, and manure from 



p 2 



