TEKNSTKCEMIACE^. 



65 



DUutry ul the tea plant is generally supposed to 



in a helt iiitluded lietween the parallels of 25° 



lorf pndiHi- on hillsides than in the bottom 



bv tlie ('hiuese, but its quality aud pro- 



Assam, C'achar, Sylhet, Chit- 



Geui/raphy. — The native 

 be Chiua, but it grows well 

 aud 35° throughout Asia, and i 

 lauds. It is cultivated further norti 

 duetiveness are best in the al)ove-nanied belt. 



Tea is cultivated in Kaugra, tiurhwal, and in 

 tagoug, Darjeeliug, aud ('lu>ta-Nag|)ore. 



lu Hiudustau the cultivation has greatly increased, and is still iucreasiug, 

 The yield per acre ranges from 100 to 200 j)ouuds. The couditious of sue 

 cessful tea culture are, tirst, a 

 low, undulating, hilly country, 

 where the valleys have good 

 drainage ; second, a climate 

 warm, moist, and of uniform 

 temperature. Assam presents 

 a most favorable region, the 

 temperature seldom rising 

 above 95" in the daytime nor 

 falling below 60° at night, 

 while the rainfall is remarkably 

 uuiform throughout the year, 

 being about 12 inches monthly. 

 Wherever these conditions are 

 approached, tea may be success- 

 fully cultivated. Japan, Aus- 

 tralia, Jamaica, Brazil, and 

 parts of North America all 

 possess localities favorable to 

 tea culture, and if labor suffi- 

 ciently skilled and cheap were 

 obtainable, these countries 

 would be independent of tea 

 importations. In 1836 the at- 

 tention of the Indian Govern- 

 ment was called to Assam by 

 Dr. Royle, the botanist, as a 

 suitable locality for the cultiva- 

 tion of the jilant, which had 

 been found there in a wild state. 



Efijmolo;/ 1/. — The name T/iea is derived from the Chiue.se 

 l)rouounced Te/ia, the meaning of which is obscure. 



/lintor//. — It is not known when this plant was first used to furnish a bev- 

 erage, but it is well established that it has been an article of traffic for more 

 than fifteen hundred years. It was cultivated aud used in the Chinese Empire 

 in the fourth century, and in Japan in the ninth century. Early in the seven- 

 teenth century dried green-tea leaves were presented to a Russian embassy in 

 ("hiua, and forced on them against their protestations. When brought to 

 Moscow tlie tea met with very great favor. It did not make its ajipearance 

 in Euroi)e until about the middle of the .seventeenth century. 



It was brought to Europe by the Dutch East India Company, and intro- 

 duced into England from Holland by Lord Arlington. In 1664 the East India 

 Company picseuted tlie Queen of England with two pounds of tea. It cost at 

 Pk. Fl. — (j 



l'HK\ viRiDis (Tea) 



word, which ia 



