TEA 



TEA 



easily endured. At this instant he 

 takes off the leaves with a iiind of 

 shovel resembling a fan, and pours 

 them on the mats before the rollers, 

 \vho, taking small (juantities at a time, 

 roll them m the palms of their hands 

 in one direction, while others are fan- 

 ning them, that they may cool the 

 more speedily, and retain their curl 

 the longer. This process is repeated 

 two or three times or oftener, before 

 the tea is put into the stores, in or- 

 der that all the moisture of the leaves 

 may be thoroughly dissipated, and 

 their curl more completely preserved. 

 On every repetition the pan is less 

 heated, and the operation performed 

 more slowly and cautiously. The tea 

 is then separated into the different 

 kinds, and deposited in the store for 

 domestic use or exportation. 



"The different sorts of black and 

 green are not merely from soil, situa- 

 tion, and age of the leaf; but, after 

 winnowing the tea, the leaves are ta- 

 ken up in succession as they fall ; 

 those nearest the machine, being the 

 heaviest, form the gunpowder tea ; 

 the light dust, the worst, being chief- 

 ly used by the lower classes. That 

 which is brought down to Canton un- 

 dergoes there a second roasting, win- 

 nowing, packing, &c , and many hun- 

 dred women are employed for these 

 purposes. 



'• For more select sorts of tea, the 

 blossoms of the Camellia sasanqua 

 {Fig. b) appear to be collected, since 

 they are brought over land to Russia, 

 and sold by Chinese and Armenians 

 in Moscow at a great price. The 

 buds also appear to be gathered in 

 some cases. By far the strongest tea 

 which Dr. Abel tasted in China was 

 that called Yu-tien, used on occasions 

 of ceremony. It scarcely coloured 

 the water, and on examination was 

 found to consist of the half-expanded 

 leaves of the plant. 



" As substitutes for tea, used by 

 the Chinese, may be mentioned a spe- 

 cies of moss common to the mount- 

 ains of Shan-tung ; an infusion of 

 ferns of different sorts, and Dr. Abel 

 thinks the leaves of the common 

 camellia and oil camellia may be add- 

 U u c 2 



ed. Du Ilalde observes that all the 

 plants called tea by the Chmese are 

 not to be considered as the true tea 

 plant ; and Kaimpfer asserts that in 

 Japan a species of Camellia, as well 

 as the Oli'afragraiis, is used to give 

 it a high flavour." 



TEAK. Tcctona grandis. A splen- 

 did tree of the elevated lands of In- 

 dia, the wood of which appears to be 

 superior even to oak. It is strong, 

 light, oily, and free from dry rot. 



TEAM. " Nothing is of greater 

 importance in the management of a 

 farm than the cattle which perform 

 the necessary work in ploughing and 

 other operations on the soil, in draw- 

 ing manure to the land, and carrying 

 the produce to market. It is evident 

 that the smaller the expense of the 

 team which does the requisite work 

 in proper time, the greater the profit 

 of the farmer, and every saving in 

 this part of the expense of cultivation 

 is so much added to the clear gain. 

 Wherever the land is only partially 

 cultivated, and a portitm of it remains 

 in coarse pasture, which costs lutle or 

 nothing to the occupier, or where ex- 

 tensive open commons afford cheap 

 food for oxen, these last arc naturally 

 employed in farm labour. If four oxen 

 do only the work of two hor.-jcs, they 

 are maintained at a much smaller ex- 

 pense, and, alter working for two or 

 three years, their value is improved 

 for the purpose of fattening for the 

 butcher. The necessary gear is much 

 less expensive, especially where the 

 old yoke is still in use, whether across 

 the neck or the horns. In lact, for a 

 poor man who has only a few acres 

 of land, and who is situated near a 

 waste or common, oxen are by far 

 the most economical team. Many 

 writers on agriculture, who in gener- 

 al have more theoretical than practi- 

 cal knowledge of husbandry, have 

 maintained the general superiority of 

 an ox-team over that composed of 

 horses, and have given calculations 

 w hich appear clearly to establish that 

 point. But, on the other side, it may 

 be observed, that wherever arable 

 land is the chief object of the farmer's 

 attention, and the tillage of the soil 



7S5 



