CIirNA TEA rtry 



brufih. Ho is nmking up soiuf accounts for hifl father, 

 in connection with the family's tea farm. The entries 

 he puts in that exercise-hook are s3inh(>lH of very 

 compUcated design. So rapidly and neatly do<'fl he 

 make these strange characters with his paint-brush, 

 that we are led Ity admiration of his handiwork to 

 challenge each other to write 1, 2, ',i, and n 1> o. as 

 quickly and neatly with pi'n or pencil. 



CliArrHK XU 



CHINA TEA — continued 



China produces very large quantities of green tea of 

 varj'ing qualities ; also, she converts a considerable 

 proportion of her anniinl tea-crop into ])lnck teas. 



Until towards the middle of the nineteenth century, 

 many people believed that the two distinct classes of 

 tea, green and black, were respectively prepared from 

 the leaves of two varieties of the tea-plant. Thea viridis, 

 and Thea liohea. A famous botanist, by name 

 Fortune, finally proved beyond doubt that this idea 

 was wrong. 



Fortune himself supported the very theorj' that he 

 eventually disproved. Prejudiced in its favour, he 

 went to China, and visited the tea-growing districts of 

 Canton, Fukien. and C'hekiang. At the outset of his 

 investigations, personal observation provided evidence 

 which wa.s all in support of the theory to which he hnd 

 pinned his faith. To his delight he found that the 

 black teas of the Canton district were being prepared 

 from the leaves of the Thea Bohea plant ; and when ho 

 went on into the province of Chekiang, a noted centre 



