SPECIAL REPORT ON TEA-RAISING IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 629 



its liking" is the final judge, so far as the success of any particular 

 sort is concerned. u DC f/ustibus non est disputandum." Consequently, 

 smd from the outset of the Pinehurst experiments, the representation 

 of all the leading varieties has been sought for, and to-day there are 

 gardens of Japanese, Chinese (including Formosa), and Assam hybrid 

 fro in Ceylonese and American seed. That practically all are not rep- 

 resented is due to the great difficulty experienced in procuring sound 

 wed at this great distance from their sources. By carefully adapting 

 to each sort the manufacture most suited to develop its best qualities, 

 it may be possible to offer to a considerable portion of the community 

 its favorite teas, and thus to secure patronage, and, subsequently, 

 profit. 



The question of morals does not extend beyond the duty of the Gov- 

 ernment to suppress injurious teas or to expose adulterations. Of the 

 former, excepting the usually faced green teas, there appear to be very 

 few on the American market.* 



A sufficient reason why tea, in a commercial sense, suffers so little 

 adulteration lies in the cheapness with which it is grown in some 

 countries ; there is hardly anything that can be profitably substituted for 

 it without speedy detection. That an immense amount of trashy tea 

 is sold on the American market does not require further comment, that 

 fact being known to all. 



The prominent commercial factor is competition from the Asiatic tea 

 countries, including the price of labor there. A brief consideration 

 shows that the cost of picking tea leaf per pound of the cured tea (it 

 takes about 4 pounds of fresh leaf to make 1 pound of cured tea) hardly 

 exceeds 1 cent in Asia, as against not less than 6 cents here. The dif- 

 ference, 5 cents, constitutes a large part of the gross price which the 

 Asiatic producer receives for his cheaper grades. The long transpor- 

 tation costs only a bagatelle, say 1 to 2 cents per pound, on shipments to 

 American markets. As the production of American teas must be accom- 

 plished at a price which shall permit them to be offered, at our main 

 distributing points, at least on a parity with the same grades of foreign 

 goods, it follows that it is idle to expect to compete with any except 

 the superior foreign teas; but the American grower should realize that 

 with an increase in the price of his product he must diminish the num- 

 ber of possible purchasers. Among the agricultural conditions, none 

 exceeds in importance that of climate; and it will be well to reproduce 

 here the following rather ominous predictions and observations, as 

 they probably constitute the greatest obstacle to our success in the 

 minds of most persons. Col. Money has Avritten : 



The climate required for tea is a hot, damp one. As a rule, a good tea climate is 

 not a healthy one. The rainfall should not be less than 80 to 100 inches per annum, 

 and the more of this that falls in the early part of the year the bettor. Any climate 

 which, though possessing an abundant rainfall, suffers from drought in the early 

 part of the year is not, ccrtcris paribns, so good as one where the rain is more equally 

 diffused. As any drought is prejudicial to tea, it stands to reason hot winds must 

 be very bad. These winds argue great aridity, and the tea plant luxuriates in con- 

 tinual moisture. The less cold weather experienced where tea is the better for the plant. 

 It can stand and will grow in great cold (freezing point and lower in winter is found 

 in some places where tea is), but I do not think it will ever be grown to a profit on 

 such sites. That tea requires a temperate climate was long believed and acted upon 

 by many to their loss. The climate can not be too hot for tea if the heat is accom- 

 panied with moisture. Tea grown in temperate climates, such as moderate eleva- 

 tions in the Himalayas, is quite different to the tea of hot, moist climates, such as 

 eastern Bengal. Some people like it better, and certainly the llavor is moredelicate; 



* Fide " Foods and Food Adulterants," Part vn, "Tea, Coffee, ami Cocoa Prep- 

 arations." Bulletin No. 13, Division of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture. 



