266 



i::^;^^r^i^i'Z^\n^^M find (§2013) how 

 Lighly we think of Mr Hay's essay ; and h 

 uJe to conceive in what way Jt wiH J- - '^ 

 to him in the arrangements ot his fioweis. 

 Loudon's Magazine. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MARCH 4, 183S. 



TEA SHRUB. 



The Rev. Calvin Wait, of Warren cotinty in 

 d.is Sta.o. l,as addressed to the Hort,cnltural Soc- 

 etv of Pittsl)uri.h a communication in relerence to 

 LrLb, whiclt grows extensively ■" L;--- 

 townshi.., of that county, and winch >s supposed 

 oTe e real Tea Shrub. The principal reason 

 i ned for this belief is the resemblance wh.i 

 ■I'ea .nade iro.n it bears to the nnported. M, 



"^^'iXi l,e highly gratified if the Socie^ 

 take an interest in examining this ^"W"-;! ^'.^ 

 Shrub. The belief that it is the rea/ a t.clc s 

 th esen.blauce which Tea made from it be.n-s to 

 imported Teas, as we have not the means oi eon- 

 a"'ng th. shrubs. It is found most co.muo^,^ 

 L hi^h land, growing in a light sandy so 1 The 

 (.eight does not generally exceed ""•'^^ ieet T e 

 leaves are green, not far from an inch in length. 

 The flowels are white. The seeds resomble 

 those which are sometimes found m impoited 

 Tea. The kind or flavor of Tea very mneh de^ 

 pends upon the season and manner of cunng it 

 It niay be cured in the month of June beiore the 

 leaves are fully grown, and in July when it is m 

 blossom (which, perhaps, is the best time,) and 

 later in the season till frost comes I have ascei- 

 tained by trial that dilftrent shades of color can 

 be produced in curing." 



We profess no great skill, in these matters, and 

 are nerhaps, too little of enthusiasts, yet a sub- 

 i^,.; 'o curious and interesting, surely deserves to 

 l.e closely looked into. Meanwhile we are 

 t..mpteJ to extract from the EncycopcAa Jhnen- 

 ranan portion of the article » Tea." _ Pe,»,. .Id- 



'"""The tea plant so strongly resembles tile camel- 

 lia in its botanical characters, that it has lately 

 h.en referred to that genns. The flowers mid 

 leaves are, however, much smaller. The shiub 

 attains the height of five or six feet, and is brand- 

 ing and evergreen. The leaves are alternate 

 oval-oblong, serrated, about an inch ami a halt in 

 length, of a dark, glossy-green color, and tirm 

 texture. The flowers are solitary or in pans, 

 dlsiiosedin the axils of the leaves -the corolla 

 white, and compo.sed of six petals. It is a native 

 of China and Japan, and has been cultivated, and 

 i„ common use in those countries, trom the most 

 remote antiquity. Tea was hardly known m bu- 

 rope before the middle of the seventeenth century, 

 ■ but now has become an article of such comnier- 

 <-ial iuiportance in that portion of the globe, as to 

 emplov more than filiy thousand tons of sh.piung 

 in the'transportation of it trom Cant.ni. btill so 

 vist is the home consumption, that it is alleged, 

 that were Europeans to abandon the commerce 

 altogether, the pric. would not be much dimmish- 

 ,.J in China. It apjiears to he cuhivated m all 

 parts of China, even in the vicmiiy ot 1 cKm, 

 which is in the same latitude as riiiladeli.h.a, and 

 has a very similar climate. It succeeds l«^st in 

 south exposures and in the neighborhood ot run- 

 ning water. As the seeds are very apt to spoil, 

 and scarcely one in five will germinate, it .s nsna 

 to plant several in the same hole, at the depth ol 

 (.bur or five inches. The plants requin; little fur- 



tb;;eare than that of removingtl^wee^stjUtheln^^^^ 



tUird year, when the leaves may be f '' ;; ;,/;>3 ,y ^le lower classes. That which is brouglit 

 seven years, the plants have attained the "''fc'" ^T^^; ^ c,,,^,,, „„„ ..ndergocs a second roasting 

 six feel; but, as they bear few '-^-^^'.f.X . wim owing, and packing, &c. ; and many hundred 

 trimmed down, which produces "^^'^.^ "'"';, I ^^„,„,„ „,^' employed for these purposes. A a 

 of new leaves. The leaves are Pl'f ^^ f ' "' ^^ ^^ "^ ,,,,,, ,J ol" tea, the flowers of the cav^dha 

 by one, with many precautions; and o,^ ly f' « '; ° <; ^-^^^ ... ,„ „, eollected. The leaves in- 



jur to fifteen pounds are collected '" « f J; ''^ ^"^^f ^.^ p„„t are often used, and sometimes 

 a district in Japan, where^dieU^P^ar^seuW^d^^ .f the'other species of eamelUa. though 



ted with peculiar care,. 



place at the end of the winter, when tl e le ye 

 L-e voung and tender, and ar.' only a few lays 

 o d: thes:, on account of their scarcity and deai- 

 ne's, are r;served for the wealthy, and call d ^m- 

 perial tea. The second gathering '^>^^'l^^ 

 nine of sprint, when some leaves have -^tt'""^^ 

 h- full size: and others are only expanding: al 

 a e lathered promiscuously, and afterwards sor t 

 I'dMhe yovingest especially are separated wi^ 

 areat care and often sold for the in,perial. T h^ 

 Th n ind ast gathering takes place towards the 

 llcof the summer: the leaves are now fully 

 ex ied, of inferior quality, and are reserved 

 tl the common people. In China the leaves a e 

 probably collected in the same mannei. Fh «e 

 Lretvvo varieties of the tea plant— T. vvidis 

 ::ith broader, leaves, and T. '-'- " J^^^. -'"^'^ 

 writers considered distinct species. /»■""'>'" 

 was thought that green tea ^as gathered exelu 

 sively from T. viridis ; but this .s now doubtful 

 though it is certain there is what is ca led the 

 ^nZ^ea district, >^A the Hack tea d^slrut■an^ 

 the varieties of the one difier f>om those oe 

 other district. Doctor Abel was told by compe- 

 tent persons, that either of the two P'^""^; " ;*; 

 ford the black or green tea of the shops, but ,1 at 

 ,|.e T. viridis is preferred f- -naking gre n t. • 

 The names given, in commerce, to the ditteient 

 so s of tea, "are unknown to the Chinese, the nn- 

 pcu'al excepted, and are -PPO-d to have been 

 appliftl by the merchants at Canton. The tea 

 l'. ves being gathered, are cured in houses which 

 ontai'n from five to ten or twenty --'' |"™--^ 

 about three feet high, each having "^ the top a 

 large, flat, iron pa-i. There ,s also a long, low 

 able covered with mats, on which the leaves are 

 laid, and rolled by workmen, who sit >-o""<l '; 

 The iron pan being heate.l to a certain degree by 

 a little fire made in the furnace underneath, a tov 

 pounds of the fresh gathered leaves are put upon 

 he pan ; the fresh and juicy leaves eraHv ^U en 

 .' touch the pan ; and it is the business ot the 

 „,„Lor to shifMhem as quickly as PO-'We with 

 1,1 bare hands, till they become «° ^'"^ '? J^ 

 easily endured. At this instant, he takes ofl tl e 

 leaves with a kind of shovel resembling a.fan, and 

 noirs hem on the mats: other operators now 

 dig small quantities at a time, roll them m the 

 all. of their hands in one direction, while a 

 i: -d set are fanning them, that they "-y -" ;'- 

 .nore speedily, and retain their curl the long, i 

 Thsp ocess is repeated two or three times, o, 

 oft;n^r, before the tea is put in the stores mrn^ 

 that all the moisture .pay be thoroughly d,.s pate 

 and their curl more completely l'>--'vcc On 

 everv repetition, the pan is less heate.l, and t c 

 openition perfi.rmed more closely atij cau uou^. 

 The tea is th..n separated into the d.flerent km.ls, 

 and deposite.l in the store for domestic use o. ex- 

 po, tati.n. Th.> difterent sorts of black and green 

 i'l not merely fro.n soil, situation, or the age of 

 the leaf; hut arter winnowing the tea, the leaves 

 takn..p in succession as they fall ; those 



.hat practice is rather to be --d"- '" ^^ ^ 

 of a.lnlteration. Several other plants app a. to 

 be used as substitutes for tea, as a species o imo ., 

 dift-erent sorts of ferns, &c. ; and m J"P.'"_; "^ 

 leaves of the o(ea fragrans are used to g'^« " ' 

 high flavor. The seeds of the tea plan, as we 

 as of the camellias, and especially of 1 e C. ok 

 /er«,are crushed for their ofl, which ^ " .„7,? 

 general use in the domestic economy oi China. 



PROPERTIES OP SUGAR. 



Dutrone calls sugar the most perfect alin.entaV, 



S 2 it, U.at'" sugar affonls the greatest qua.- 



,1 exelu- of any object mm > ^ ^.^^_ ^ ^^^^,„,, 



'^-^'^^''l::^tv rmX3".^"Sthe time when tlie^ 

 portation of sugar and the importation of g.au 

 were suspended from the want of ships. 



The plentifiil use of sugar in diet is one of tl. 

 be., ^e'ven.ives that ever has been a-ov^ered 

 tie diseases which are produced by wornis^ N 

 t . e seems to have implanted a love {ortU.j\ 

 n,ent in all chihUen, as if it were on purpose t 

 defend them from those diseases. 



s" Jo m rringle tells ns that the plague w 



na,"t fevers of dl kinds has been lessened by t 

 !e o su Ar Dr Rush observes, that, m disc 

 rofrhr.L, sugar is the basis of m^^ 



agreeable remedies, an.l it is useful in «ea 

 ;;:sses, and acrid dcfluxions in other part of t 

 body.-t 



. He that undertakes, says Dr Slare, to argne ag. 

 sweets in .-eneral, takes upon him a very d.fficu t ta. 



,„,e<.ts.-£rf»'«rrf6-' rVcsl Indies. 



* The celebrated Dr Franklin had taken large qua 



Lnd benefit fro,n if, but '^^':'^^^fiX 

 .nedic.nal ,.ait of the jam resided w'-''^- 



--''^^riis'i^rr^l^hetito 



::^c;::C:^iac„Jnd the same reliertlia 



opinion does not deserve a serious reflection. 

 Phil. T)-ans. vol. m. 



