No. 129. 1 349 



minated against those who deny tke universal application of any 

 means.) or the value to the public of any multitude of experi- 

 ments, except the composition of the soil upon which the various ex- 

 periments were tried, is also given. 



David Stewart, M. D., 



J^o. 11 JV. Eidaw-street, Baltimore. 



The Secretary then read the following extracts and transla- 

 tions made by him : 



[From La Normandie Agrioole. PreBented by A. Vattemare.] 



TEA. 



The journals lately announce that a gardener had found means 

 to make tea grow in the environs of Paris and of Antwerp j and 

 they say that the infusion, taste, and aroma of this tea are in no 

 respects inferior to the tea of China. The only objection is, that 

 when the leaves are dry, they exhale a perfume not so agreeable. 

 This is believed to be attributable to the bad preparation of the 

 leaves. 



The culture of tea in France is neither new nor astonishing. 

 The tea plant was imported by Linnseus, in 1763. It grows in 

 latitudes where the cold is from six to seven degrees (i. e. about 

 16 or 17 of Fahrenheit,) and often remains some time buried in 

 snow. Therefore, it is not the temperature, but the climate, 

 which is opposed to its cultivation profitably in France. 



At various periods attempts have been made here to graw it. 

 The plants grew well, and supported the rigorous winters with- 

 out suffering. Eut, whatever the reasons of it may be, the 

 leaves proved to be of an inferior quality to those of the East 

 Indies. Whether the art of preparing them is unknown, or 

 whether the product costs too much care and money, the tea cul- 

 ture has nowhere been persevered in. 



The first essays at its culture were made in the year 1765, in 

 Paris and in Corsica, and prospered for 25 years, when, without 

 any known motive, it was renounced. Since that other essays 

 have been made in divers places in France, at different periods, 

 but with the exception of Corsica, it had no success. The vege- 

 tation of the plant was beautiful during the first year, and some- 

 times the second, but the quality of the leaves always degenera- 



