314 BOTANICAL DIFFERENCE. 



no certain record has been kept, or at least pub- 

 lished, of which I am aware after diligent inquiry, 

 of the locality of any such plants. It is obvious 

 from the remote distance of the tea provinces 

 situated 800 or 1000 miles from Canton (the only 

 port till lately accessible to Europeans), and the 

 jealousy and suspicion of the Chinese, in common 

 with all artisans and manufacturers on subjects 

 of craft, that specimens must be difficult to procure ; 

 and, even when obtained, a doubt must always 

 remain as to their being genuine or not. 



Thus, so far as Chinese testimony, and facts 

 collected from the Chinese are concerned, there 

 seems no reason for supposing that a natural dif- 

 ference exists in the plants in China, which furnish 

 the teas of commerce, any more than at Japan, 

 Java, or Rio de Janeiro. 



To the general reader it may be advisable to 

 observe, that there are two points involved in this 

 investigation of a botanical difference of the tea 

 plant. 1. Whether there is a specific difference 

 between the plants called the Thea Bohea, and 

 Thea Viridis. 2. Whether there be a specific 

 difference between the plants from which the black 

 and green teas are made. 



If some botanists deem the difference between 

 the Thea Bohea and the Thea Viridis, as seen in 

 our gardens, to be a specific difference, that is a 

 matter of fact which admits of no argument accord- 

 ing to their views and definitions of species. But 



