104 NUTRITIVE PLANTS. 



year, which correspond to the second and third already mentioned : 

 others confine themselves to one general gathering of their crop, 

 towards the month of June : however, they always form afterwards 

 diiferent assortments of their leaves. 



An infusion of tea is the common drink of the Chinese ; and in- 

 deed, when we consider one circumstance in their situation, we must 

 acknowledge that Providence has displayed much goodness in scat- 

 tering this plant with so much profusion in the empire of China. 

 The water is said to be unwholesome and nauseous, and would, 

 therefore, perhaps, without some corrective, be unfit for the pur- 

 poses of life. The Chinese pour boiling water over their tea, and 

 leave it to infuse, as we do in Europe ; but they drink it without 

 any mixture, and even without sugar. The people of Japan reduce 

 theirs to a fine powder, which they dilute with warm water until 

 it has acquired the consistence of thin soup. Their manner of 

 serving tea is as follows : They place before the company the tea- 

 equipage, and the box in which this powder is contained ; iliey fill 

 the cups with warm water, and taking from the box as much 

 powder as the point of a knife can contain, throw it into each of 

 the cups, and stir it until the liquor begins to foam ; it is then 

 presented to the company, who sip it while it is warm. According 

 to Du Halde, this method is not peculiar to the Japanese j it is 

 also used in some of the provinces of China. 



The first European writer who mentions tea is Giovanni Botero, 

 an eminent Italian author, who published a treatise about the year 

 ^590, of the causes of the magnificence and greatness of cities. He 

 does not indeed mention its name, but describes it in such a manner 

 that it is impossible to mistake it. " The Chinese, (says he) have 

 a herb, out of which they press a delicate juice, which serves them 

 for drink instead of wine ; it also preserves their health, and frees 

 them from all those evils which the immoderate use of wine pro- 

 duces among us." 



Tea was introduced into Eourope in the year l6l0, by the Dutch 

 East India Company. It is generally said, that it was first imported 

 from Holland into England, in 1666, by the lords Arlington and 

 Ossory, who brought it into fashion among people of quality. But 

 it was used in coffeehouses before this period, as appears by an act 

 of parliament made in 166O, in which a duty of 8d. was laid on 

 every gallon of the infusion sold in these places. In 1666 it was 



