W^- 



TEA 



experiments. Nevertheless, the resultant patches and 

 larger gardens unquestionably produced Tea of fine 

 flavor, although very generally devoid of that strength 

 of liquor which latterly, and especially since the intro- 

 duction of the Indo-Ceylon Teas, appears to constitute 

 a most desirable quality for many consumers. It may 

 be presumed, however, that this failure in pungency 

 was largely due to defective curing and particularly 

 to inadequate rolling of the leaf, in consequence of 

 which the cup qualities of the Tea were 



not fully developed. 



So far as is known, it remained foi the 

 National Department of Agriculture to be 

 gin, twenty years ago, the trst serious at 

 tempt to pioduce American commercial Tea 

 Unhappilj, the letirement fiom office of 

 Commissioner Wra G he Due, to whose 

 great mteiest in this subiect the inception 

 ot the expel iment was due , the sin us 

 piostiation by illness of Mr Tolin Til n 

 who had cultivated Tea m India iml iii I i 

 wliosp m-imgement the seed \\ is olit nii. .1 

 .ind tht _u bus cstibhshed, the gie.it ,hs 

 tin r lb t n n from its source ot ton 

 tr .1 \\ 1 1 I 1 r IS also the unfa-ioiable 

 opini ri I ill quent commissionci as 



to till uliiiii (t siRLCss of the uudertak 

 ing combined to cause the total abandon- 

 ment by the Government of the tea gar- 

 dens which It had established on the same 

 "Newington" plantation that embraced the 

 adjoining site of the later formed Pinehurst 



The Pinehurst investigation owed its on 

 gm to the belief that the previous attempts 

 to demonstrate the feasibility of American 

 Tea culture had been arrested before reach- 

 ing detiiiite conclusions. More careful cul- 

 tivation and manipulation, the result of pro- 

 tracted observation, with the consequent 

 production of a higher class of Teas, might reverse the 

 generally entertained opinion that the cultivation of 

 Tea, as an industry, in this country must always prove 

 a failure. It was hoped that success in this field of 

 agricultural enterprise would furnish employment for 

 thousands who are now idle and give a value to vast 

 acres at present worthless. 



The local experiments, begun about ten years ago, 

 were wisely on a small scale; but they have been gradu- 

 ally increased until they now embrace about sixty 

 acres planted in Tea, a commodious factory equipped 

 with the requisite mechanical appliances, facilities for 

 the application of irrigation to some of tlie tp.i-£rardens, 

 and a well-tramed corps of youthful tea pirkii~. WIumi 

 the gardens shall have arrived at full lii.tnnL, iIm ^m- 

 nual crop should exceed 12,000 ponmK mi .!i\, in-h 

 grade Tea, and this quantity should siilliii f..i- iln- ..l,- 

 .iect in view: viz., to determine whether commercial tea 

 may be profitably grown under the local conditions of 

 soil, climate and labor. It was obviously desirable to 

 conduct experiments with as many varieties of seed 

 and on as different sorts of soil and location as pos- 

 sible. To this end, partly by the kind assistance of 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture and partly by pur- 

 chase from domestic and foreign producers, a consider- 

 able variety of seed, representing many of the choicest 

 sorts of Tea, was obtained. Gardens were established 

 on flat and on rolling land, in drained swamps and 

 ponds, and on sandy, clayey, loamy and rich bottom 

 soil. 



It was from the outset expected that many of those 

 attempts would prove either partially or wholly unsuc- 

 cessful, but with very few exceptions the gardens are 

 fully answering the expectations. The annual crop has 

 gradually, but steadilv. grown from less than one hun- 

 dred pounds tu :>.oon iinunils ot dry Tea. Several years 

 of Pxpcrimi'Tii.itiMii havi- iliveloped' a system of pruning 

 in keeping with tin- lorril rlimate. The hopefully crucial 

 trial oci-urr.-il ..ii F.Iuuarv U, 189!). when the thermom- 

 eter fell ti. zii". Fahr.'iih. it-tlii' lowest recorded tem- 

 perature ill i:,(i viar- .if ..l.-iivaiiMii, but with compara- 

 tively few cxri-iitioiis fli,. f,:i -;ir(l.-ns escaped serious 

 injury, although f.ill.iwi-.l by a iliiiiinished yield for two 



112 



TECOMA It to 



years in some instances. A Rose (Assam Hybrid) tea 

 garden at Pinehurst is shown in Pig. 2473. 



Charles U. Shepard. 

 TEA, OSWEGO. Monarda didyma. 



TEA, PABAGUAY. Ilex Paraguariensis. 



TEASEL. The species of Dipsacus. See p. 491 and 

 Fig. 719. 



2473. Assam-Hybrid Tea garden at P 



TfiCOMA (abridged from the Mexican name Tecomaxo- 

 chitl.). Iiioliiiliiig i'liinpsis, Campsidium, CourAlea, 

 PanddKfi. Steinilnhiiini and Tecomdria, Bignonidcece. 

 Trumpet Vine. Ornamental evergreen or deciduous, 

 climbing or upright shrubs, or sometimes trees, with 

 opposite, odd-pinnate or digitate leaves and showy 

 white, yellow, scarlet or violet flowers in panicles or 

 racemes, followed by mostly elongated cylindrical pods. 

 Most of the species are suited only for greenhouse cul- 

 tivation in the North, or for outdoor cultivation only in 

 subtropical or tropical regions. The hardiest species is 

 T. radicans, which may be grown as far north as Massa- 

 chusetts, at least in sheltered positions. The closely 

 allied T. grandiflora is somewhat more tender. The 

 latter, as well as T. radicans, var. speciosa, can be 

 grown as bushy specimens and will bloom freely on the 

 young shoots, even if cut back almost to the ground by 

 frost. Such plants can be easily protected during the 

 winter by laying them down and covering them with 

 earth. 



The following are w- 

 southern states and Ca 

 cool greenhouse and wi 



ted for cnlti' 



the 



Vapensis, jasm 

 /Smithii and stans. 'J', 

 leucoj'ylon can be growi 

 the warm greenlu.uM-. 

 tion of the first r, -|i. ri, - 

 namental climbiii- |.|aiii 

 adapted for i 

 rootlets and i 



■ ' ■■■'"! and 



rrcnias, with the excep- 

 i I ifd below, are very or- 

 riiilicans is particularly 

 rocks, as It climbs with 

 support. The Tecomas 



require rich, rather moist soil and sunny position. 

 Propagated by seeds, by greenwood cuttings under 

 glass, or by hardwood and also by root-cuttings and 

 layers. See, also, Sigiionia for culture. 



The genus contains more than 100 species, chiefly na- 

 tives of tropical and subtropical America, also found in 

 Polynesia, S. Asia and Africa. Climbing or upright 

 shrubs, sometimes trees: Ivs. odd-pinnate or digitate, 

 opposite, estipulate: fls. in racemes or panicles; calyx 

 campanulate, 5-toothed or irregularly 2-5-lobed; corolla 

 funnelform, with 5- or rarely 4-lobed limb; stamens 4, 

 2 longer and 2 shorter; style slender: ovary 2-loculed, 



