No. 149.] 363 



withstanding, tlie nse of it cnntinncs to find its advocates ; anci 

 will become mor<3 universal, when all that country situated be- 

 tween 31 and 38 degrees of latitude, coiisisting of parts of North 

 and South Carolina, Tennessee, the north parts of Georgia, Ala- 

 bama, and possibly Lonisiana, become, as I now predict they will, 

 great tea growing dls'ricts. We shall then enjoy tliat grateful 

 article of diet, more highly and deliciously flavored, than any 

 that has ever yet reached ns from that benighted country, China — 

 as it is well known to us all, that a sea voyage of 15,000 miles 

 impair* itti flavor. The Russians drink much better tea tliau w© 

 do, from the fact that they import it over land, and consequently 

 obtain it free from the iJl eifects of a voyage. It has been known 

 to sell as high as $50 per pound at St. Petersburgh. What a lux- 

 ury ',vill it I:e to us to raise our own ica^ and drink an article at 

 least as delicious as that cosJing in Russia $50 per pound 1 The 

 boy now lives who will see all tliis come to pass. 



Llebig observes, " W3 shall certainly never be able to discover 

 how me'ii were led to the use of iha hot infusion of leaves of s 

 certain shrub (tea,) or of a decoction of certain roasted seeds 

 (collee.) Some cause there raust be, which would explain how 

 the practice h.ia beeorrio a necessary of life to whole nations." 



Universal experience iias taught mankind, that tea is a very 

 valuable diluent, and extremely useful when febrile complaints 

 first begin to attack man ; being astringent as well as sedative, it 

 is particularly rrfreshing, and renovates the system rapidly after 

 great, fatigue — and I truly believe the use of it, among the lower 

 classes particularly, has been exceedingly beneficial as affording 

 a substitute for stronger and more hurt:ful s'imulants. In China^ 

 the poor people r&ite the tea plant in their gardens, in sufiT.cient 

 quantities to afford them enough for their own use, and wheu 

 the leaves are picked, they are dried in an iron kettle, by fir© 

 heat, ru'il th.ey curl up, and when fit for picking, are placed in 

 baskets and hung to the rafters of Iheir cor,t;ige3, tliere to remain 

 one year before considered fit for use. 



The following is a list of the teas known in ccnraerce, and 

 usually exported from China to foreign countries, to wit . — 



