SPECIAL REPORT ON TEA-RAISING IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 637 



exceeding 12 acres), and under no circumstances capable of bearing 

 the "fixed charges," which with little advance might apply to a much 

 larger acreage. For the immediate future there is no necessity of 

 erecting and conducting a regular factory such as may be found on 

 almost all Indian and Ceylonese plantations; although it would be de- 

 sirable to impart to all tea the uniformity of preparation which the per- 

 fected machinery of to-dfiy affords. With the substitution of steam 

 machinery for hand labor and the attendant economy, and an enlarge- 

 ment of the gardens to warrant such outlay, the difference between the 

 actual cost of Asiatic and American teas would be reduced to those 

 manual operations in the field where it is impossible to replace hand 

 labor by machines. Nor has the public had, as yet, an opportunity of 

 forming an opinion on the merits of American tea, and as an industry 

 it must rely on the patronage of our people. 



It is, however, natural to presume that some "ciphering" on the 

 question of profit has been indulged in. With some misgivings, but 

 nevertheless that this article may not be incomplete in this respect, we 

 submit the following (hoped-for) estimate of the expense involved in 

 raising and curing a pound of tea in this section, if the future results 

 corroborate those of the past. The following quotation is taken from 

 an article recently prepared for "American Gardening:" 



Estimated cost of tea to be produced at Pinehurst, when the gardens shall pro- 

 duce at the rate of 400 tooOO pounds per acre and per annum, and after the intro- 

 duction of machinery, whenever it is possible to substitute it for manual labor: 



Cents. 



Picking leaf 6. 00 



Withering leaf 0. 50 



Rolling by machinery 1. 50 



Breaking roll and sifting by machinery 0. 50 



Firing by machinery 0. 50 



Packing and boxes (in India, 2 cents) 4. 00 



Cultivation of land 5. 00 



Incidental expenses 2. 00 



Cost per pound of (cured ) tea 20. 00 



This estimate does not include the proper fixed charges, which must amount to a 

 large sum by the end of the sixth year after planting a garden, when under favora- 

 ble conditions the outlook should equal 400 pounds of (cured) tea. 



The reader must decide whether this exposition of the present out- 

 look of the Pinehurst farm is sufficiently encouraging to warrant the 

 rather roseate predictions that its friends* have indulged in; as also 

 whether there is justifiable ground for anticipating the successful es- 

 tablishment of an American tea industry. 



The U. S. Department of Agriculture has kindly consented to place on 

 exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition some of the Pinehurst 

 teas. 



EFFECT OF INTENSE COLD ON TEA PLANT. 



Beginning with the 27th of December, 1892, and terminating January 

 22, 1893, an exceptionally long period of intense cold prevailed in the 

 South Atlantic States and produced a marked effect on the local tea 

 gardens. Although considerable injury followed this cold wave, it was 

 well that this severe test should have been encountered thus early in 

 the experiment, especially if the proper lessons can be drawn from the 

 unusual experience. 



Mr. L. N. Jesunofsky, observer in the Weather Bureau at Charleston, 

 has very kindly prepared the accompanying table, which demonstrates 



