592 TjiAuXSACTIO.^S OF THE AmEIUCAjV INSTITUTE. 



Varikties of Tea. 



The several varieties of tea, known under divers names, are 

 derived from tlie leaves of two species of the same shrub called bj 

 botanists thea chinensis and thea verides which belong to the family 

 of the camelias, and bear to them a strong and marked resemblance. 

 The teas of commerce are of two kinds, namely, green tea and Uach 

 tea, which are both produced from the leaves of the same plant, 

 diifering only in age and manipulation. To the green varieties 

 belong, Twankay, Hyson, Imperial and Gunpowder ; and to the Uaclc, 

 Pekoe, Louchoug, numbers one, two and three, Cougon and Bohea. 

 There are certain requirements in the cultivation andmanutacture of 

 tea, without which success can never be attained. They may be 

 briefly enumerated as (Ist), the suitability of the site selected for the 

 plantation ; (2d), its proximity to water or other carriage ; (3d), 

 labor ; (4tli), the experience theoretical and practical of the 

 manager ; and (5tli), a sufficiency of capital. 



Having premised thus much, I now take up the subject as to how 

 can California be considered as a tea growing country. Between 

 the parallels of twenty-six degrees north latitude and forty -six degrees 

 north latitude, lies that beautiful country containing thousands upon 

 thousands of acres of the best soil, so well adapted to the growth of 

 tea. The spurs of the ranges above and around the beautiful 

 city of Sacramento, the banks of the numerous rivulets which feed 

 the river that flows through that city ; nothing could possibly be 

 better for tea plantations. 



It would be superfluous to describe the different parts of California 

 geographically or topographically ; it will suffice to say, that from the 

 southern parts of California to its western boundary, and into the foot 

 of the Nevada ranges of mountains, and the lower ranges of hills 

 branching oft' them, or wherever the land has a sufficient natural 

 drainage, and is above the possibility of floods, there is, except in the 

 rocky localities, the land requisite for tea plantations. 



The sites and soil described in this article abound on the banks of 

 the river Colorado, and all the land between the coast ranges to tlie 

 Sierra Nevada is full of such; the banks of the river Sacramento are 

 also identical, and even in the territory north of California, stretch- 

 ing into the State of Oregon, there is land sufficient to grow tea for 

 the whole world. 



The fitness of the soil, temperature and climate of. California hav- 

 ing been satisfactorily shown, I would now ofl'er a few remarks as to 



