140 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[September, 



000,000 pounds of teas into Great Britain, 

 that country lakes some 50,000,000 pounds of 

 India teas, and but a trifling quantity from 

 Japan. Tliis country consumes only about 

 1,500,000 pounds of the India i>roduction 

 while the consumption of .Japan tea has 

 reached, ae before stated, .35,00O,O(J0 pounds, 

 equal to about 600,000-i chests. Camparative- 

 ly little of the Japanese teas are sold iu Phila- 

 delphia or its vicinity. The bulk of them is 

 consumed in New England and throughout 

 the Northwest. In Philadelphia, and in most 

 large cities in this section of the country. 

 Oolong is the popular tea. Oolong is a va- 

 riety of black tea, supposed to possess the 

 flavor of green tea. 



The great bulk of the tea imported into this 

 country is by steamer, via the Suez Canal, to 

 New York. The last direct importations 

 (and they had also been the first for thirty 

 years,) into the port of Philadelphia by sail- 

 ing vessels were made by the firms of John H. 

 Catherwood & Co., andE. C. Knight & Co., 

 per bark Guerini, in 1872, and Kate Caruie, 

 in 187-2, each vess'l bringing a cargo of about 

 12,000;^ chests. Since then tlie former firm 

 has imported all its teas into New York, and 

 the latter firm has retired from the business. 

 Varieties and Qualities of Tea. 



The varieties of tea are numberless, and the 

 buyer and broker must become familiar with 

 them. Of the China teas there are the gun- 

 powders, the imperials. Young Hysons, t'.ie 

 Hysons, the Twankey and the Oolongs. Of 

 the Oolongs there are the Formosa, the Foo- 

 chow and the Amoy varieties, named after 

 the localities where they are grown. The 

 Formosa teas are the finest and most expen- 

 sive. Of the .Japan teas there are the colored 

 Jap, the basket fired, an expensive black tea 

 cured in a peculiar manner in baskets, etc. 

 Japan dust is the sweeping from the floors of 

 the tea houses. Pekoe tea, cured in a pecu- 

 liar manner and flavored by burning flowers 

 beneath it, is used by mercliants to mix with 

 and flavor other teas. Besides all these varie- 

 ties, the buyer or broker has to distinguish 

 between first crop tea, made of the tender 

 leaves that shoot forth in April or May, and 

 low mediums, gathered late in the season 

 from the lower part of the bush. A variety of 

 tea grown on low, marshy land looks as well 

 as some of the more expensive brands, but it 

 is said to be the poorest tea on the market. 

 The general appearance of tea has something 

 to do with its value. Indeed, green tea is 

 colored in order to improve its appearance. A 

 pound of homely black tea of the variety 

 known as basket fired, however, may be worth 

 two pounds of green tea, but it might not sell 

 as well among those who are accustomed to 

 green tea. 



Cultivation of Tea. 



Tea has been successfully cultivated in 

 various parts of this country, not as a means 

 of profit, but for the sake of having the orha- 

 mental and rare shrubs. Some years ago the 

 Department of Agriculture endeavored to 

 have made a systematic series of practical ex- 

 periments in the culture of tea in Delaware, 

 Maryland, Virginia, West Virgiiua, North 

 Carolina, South Carolina, Georgiii, Alabama, 

 Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkan.sas, Missouri 

 and a portion of the Pacific Coasi . The cal- 

 culation was that as the sections correspond 



geographically with the latitude in which tea 

 is successfully cultivated in China, Japan and 

 Assam, and the conditions of temperature, 

 soil, etc., are about the same this country 

 could engage in an industry that was annually 

 draining some $20,0C0,000 from the United 

 States. Propagating plants were distributed, 

 but no practical success towards establishing 

 the industry as such resulted. 



Tlie condition of the tea trade is not what 

 may be termed satisfactory to those engaged 

 in it. The consumption has not kept pace 

 with the increase in population, and prices of 

 all grades have struck a lower average than 

 has been known for the past thirty years. 

 Teas have .sold (wholesale) as low as ^ cents 

 per pound recently, and they range from that 

 up to about 80 cents per pound. One fact 

 that may not be generally known is that the 

 finest teas never come to this country, but are 

 sold in China and Japan from .$5 to .S14 per 

 pound. These will not bear transportation 

 across the ocean. 



Adulterated Teas. 



The law recently enacted by Congress to 

 prevent the importation of adulterated teas 

 into this country is one that interests the 

 trade clo.sely. On this point Mr. Cather- 

 wood, head of one of the oldest and most 

 extensive tea-houses in this country, said : 



" In the early days of the China trade pure 

 teas only were exported, but the increase of 

 and competition in the business led John 

 Chinaman to learn and practice tricks that 

 have demoralized the trade, by furnishing un- 

 principled dealers with such large quantities 

 of adulterated and spurious teas that Great 

 Britain a few years ago passed an act ex- 

 cluding from entry for consumption into that 

 country all spurious and adulterated teas. 

 These, in consequence, found their way to 

 this country, to the great detriment of the 

 trade and the injury of the public health. To 

 remedy the evil Congress passed, at its last 

 se.ssion, a 'law to prevent the importation of 

 adulterated and spurious teas' and if this law 

 shall be rigidly enforced, as it should be, it 

 cannot fail to prove of great benefit to the 

 trade, and insure a rapid increase in the con- 

 sumption of tea in the United States, by 

 securing to those who use it a pure and 

 wholesome article instead of the trashy stuff 

 that, in recent years, has been sent here in 

 such wholesome quantities." — Philadelphia 

 Ledger. 



Our Local organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTURAL 

 AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



A stated mt-ctiii}; of the Lancaster County Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural Society was held in their 

 rooms iu City Hall on, Monday, September .3(1. The 

 t'ollowing^ named members were in attendance: 



Messrs. H. G. Rush, New Danville; Henry M.En 

 gle, Marietta; James Wood, Fulton; Casper Ililler, 

 Conestosa; Calvin Cooper, Bird in Hand; .John C. 

 Linville, Salisbury: W. W. Griest, city; F. R. Diffeu 

 derffer, city; Levi S Heist, Warwick; J. G. Rush, 

 West Willow; J. Hofrman Hershey, Salunga; Cyrus 

 H. Nelf, Manor; 3. M. Johnston, city; Johnson Mil- 

 ler, Warwick; Henry Shiffner, Bird in Hand; S. P. 

 Eby, esq., city; Hon. John H. Landis, Manor; C. L. 

 Hunpecker, Manheim; M. L. Greider, Mount Joy; 

 Hebron Herr, Lampeter; Eph. S. Hoover, Manheim 

 township. 



Calvin Cooper, of Bird in Hand, reported the apple 

 crop a failure, peaches are fine on healthy trees, 

 potatoes abundant hut some little rot, corn very 

 promising, tobacco mostly housed, and of good qual- 

 ify, grapes biidly damaged by mildew. 



Casper Hiller reported that the condition of the 

 corn had greatly improved since last meeting, late 

 potatoes are a partial failure, caused by wet weather 

 and a subsequent baking of the ground causing them 

 to rot, peaches are fine, but not abundant. 



Levi S. Reist said that six of his ten pound -apple 

 trees were laden with line fruit, the Smith Cider ap- 

 ples also bear well, but other varieties are a failure, 

 Concord irrapes are doing well. 



Henry M. Engle said that grapes with him were a 

 partial failure, being badly affected by mildew and 

 rot; the pear crop is very good; peaches pretty good; 

 corn as good a crop as evei grown; grass holds out 

 well; the clover is better than it has been for years. 

 He believes the bitter weed which is so annoying to 

 farmers, because it overruns the wheat stubble, 

 might be exterminated by cutting itr before it seeds. 



James Wood said the corn crop is a very good one; 

 the clover is growing finely but has little seed; the 

 apple crop is a failure; few peaches are grown in 

 this neighborhood; potato bugs have been very nu- 

 merous, and eaten up the vines; there are grapes 

 enough for family use, but not many to sill. 



J. Hoffman Hershey reported the corn crop good; 

 grass plenty; potatoes very abundant; pasture e.x- 

 cellent; plums and prunes rot on the trees; pears 

 very fine: apples scarce; peaches ordinary; tomatoes 

 an immense crop; grapes indifferent. 



Joseph F. Linville said the rosebugs, early in the 

 season, destroyed one-half of his grapes, the other 

 half are looking well; pasture is very good; he had 

 planted his early potatoes rather late, and they 

 turned out very well; the tops of the late potatoes 

 within two weeks past had blighted, become black 

 and died. 



Cyrus H. Neff reports an extraordinary crop of 

 corn; a good crop of grass; a good crop of tobacco, 

 about one-half of which has been housed. 



Planting Wheat Like Tobacco. 



F. R. Diffendertfer called attention to .an article he 

 had read in the ^4iKcricn)i Miller, relative to wheat- 

 growing in Belgium. It stated that the Belgians 

 set out their wheat plants much the same way we 

 set out tobacco plants in rows six inches apart, the 

 rows being twelve inches apart. They grow from 

 100 to 1.50 bushels per acre. He suggested that 

 some of our Lancaster county farmers give the plan 

 atrial. 



Some discussions followed, but none of the mem- 

 bers present seemed inclined to adopt the sugges- 

 tion. 



Referred Questions. 



The following (juestions were referred for answer 

 at next meeting : 



" When corn is sixty cents per bushel, what is the 

 value of a bushel of potatoes as feed for stock ?" 

 Referred to Cyrus H. Neff. 



" What is the best melhod of curing grapes in the 

 cluster for winter use ? ' Referred to H. M. Engle. 



The chair appointed Johnson Miller as essayist for 

 next meeting. 



On motion, a committee of three, of which the 

 President shall he Chairman, was appointed to 

 represent the society at the fair of the Lehigh County 

 Agricultural Society, to he held in Allentown, com- 

 mencing September '2.5th inst. The chair named H. 

 G. Rush, Johnson .Vliller and J. H. Landis as said 

 committee. 



James Wood, W. H. Brosius and J. C. Linville 

 were appointed a committee to represent the society 

 at the Oxford Agricultural fair, to commence on the 

 2l>th of September. 



H. M. Engle, Casper Hiller and Calvin Cooper 

 were appointed a committee on nomenclature, to 

 name new varieties of fruits and test fruits exhibited 

 at the meetings of the society. 



Calvin Cooper presented a resolution, which was 

 adopted, authorizing the committee on nomenclature 

 to award premiums at their discretion to those who 



