No. 244.] 395 



On the 15th and 16th instant, I planted out the tea seed I brought 

 ■with me, on a small lot of land, but sufficiently large for my pur- 

 poses, presented for my use, free of rent, by Dr. Stone, with the of- 

 fer of another lot if I should require it, upon the same liberal terms. 



My tea plants were detained some days in Columbia for want of 

 a conveyance, and I was finally obliged to send them by railroad to 

 Hamburgh, opposite Augusta, a greater distance from Charleston, 

 thence by a return wagon, 130 miles, to this place. They came in 

 with six mules in a remarkably short time, being only five days in 

 running one hundred and thirty miles. They arrived here on Sat- 

 urday evening the 23d inst. In the mean time I was diligently oc- 

 cupied in preparing the ground for the reception of the plants, which 

 was no slight labor in this hilly, rocky, stumpy, rooty domain. On 

 Tuesday the 26th, I planted out the first tea shrubs ever cultivated 

 in the United States for agricultural and commercial furposes. 



Christmas made inroads on the 26th, and I planted out one case 

 only, of eighty plants in fine condition. Wednesday it rained all 

 day. Yesterday was a fine and frosty morning — ice in the garden 

 the thickness of a shillincf. With the assistance of six colored 

 men, I made great progress and planted three cases. I should have 

 finished to-day if the weather had been kind, but it rained all night 

 and still continues. It is cold and cheeriess without. I was gratified 

 to find, in the closing paragraph 'of your communication, that "bun- 

 ches of the plant in blossom" will impart an enchanting fragrance 

 to the saloons of Russia, brings the tact to my mind, that several of 

 the plants opened out yesterday, were in full bloom, with their leaves 

 fresh and green, as if growing in China; others with the blossom 

 buds just showing its snowy breast, ready to develope all its beauty; 

 you may therefore say^ that the tea plant is in blossom in South Car- 

 olina. I have found but five plants in the whole which I think of 

 doubtful vitality: those I have transferred to the infirmary and sub- 

 ject them to the most vigilant nursing. I have spared no expense of 

 time and am delighted with this part of the country as a tea grow- 

 ing district, and think the soil, climate, &c. most desirable. The 

 soil is light and thin, hard to cultivate for general agricultural pur- 

 poses. 



Mr. Holmes presented a bottle of Scuppernong wine for trial He 

 has had it lor twenty-three years. It was considered good light 

 wine. 



