Retrospective Criticism. 491 



requires this sort of talent ; and the individual who holds it enjoys a salary 

 of 1000/. a year for tasting teas only." 



" The quantity of tea produced in China must be enormous ; for, with 

 the exception of Japan, a province of China, it has not been found prac- 

 ticable to cultivate it to advantage any where but in China Proper ; and 

 there the tea plant is spread, and not very thinly spread, over a square area 

 of 1,372,450 square miles. It is now a common beverage throughout the 

 whole civilised world ; and its use in China reaches to a very high antiquity." 



The frequent attempts to cultivate the tea plant in Brazil and elsewhere 

 (see Gard. Mag., vol.i. p. 332., and Vol. IV. p. 276.), Dr. Hooker repre- 

 sents as having been found impracticable ; that is, to an extent adequate 

 to the purposes of commerce, " mainly on account of the higher price of 

 labour." 



" Little more than a century ago, according to Lord Macartney, the 

 English East India Company did not sell more than 50,000 lbs. of tea, and 

 very little was smuggled. In 1784, the consumption of Great Britain was 

 estimated at 13,338,140 lbs. Now [1832], that of Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, exclusive of the dependencies, amounts to 28,000,000 lbs. America 

 carries on a vast trade in this article ; but Russia is stated to rank next to 

 Great Britain, inasmuch as 25,200,000 lbs. of tea are yearly imported and 

 consumed by the Russians. In consequence of the contiguity of Russia 

 and China, the Russian imports of tea are by land ; and tea obtained thus 

 promptly is said to excel in quality that subjected to a long voyage." — J. D. 



The Culture of Trevirdna coccinea,or Cyrilla, pulchella. (Vol. VII. p. 570. 

 and 605.) — Sir, At Vol. VII. p. 570., you recommend to my regard 

 Trevirana coccinea : but I beg to tell you that this charming plant has 

 long exercised its lovely fascinations on my sensorium ; and its attractions 

 are, it appears (Vol. VII. p. 605.), also felt by " An Amateur." I, never- 

 theless, differ in opinion from the Amateur, who deems it objectionable to 

 plant the tubers separately, and advises that every old ball of tubers should 

 be cut into four quarters, and that each quarter should furnish one pot. In 

 proof of what the individual tubers are capable of, planted one in a pot, in 

 one season, I send you an account of a plant now blooming here in a pot 

 5 in. wide, produced from an individual tuber : it is 1 ft. 8 in. high, and 2 ft. 

 in diameter, and forms a complete pyramid. The flowers now open are 

 in number 257 ; they are in great perfection as to colour, and in size are 

 generally three quarters of an inch in diameter. I am, Sir, yours, &c. — 

 Thomas Appleby. Horsforth Hall Gardens, Nov. 4. 1831. 



Cultivation and Cure of Tobacco. — Sir, The attention of your readers is 

 directed to the subject of the cultivation and cure of tobacco, by E. S., p. 42. 

 Its efficacy in destroying various insects, without injuring vegetation, is well 

 known, when properly applied ; but I think, by the method recommended 

 by E. S., the tobacco must burn too freely, and the smoke will be conse- 

 quently hot, which I am sure is injurious. The object should be, to pro- 

 duce the greatest quantity of smoke from the tobacco used ; and this, I 

 believe, is what is generally aimed at. It is a subject, however, deserving 

 the attention of gardeners, on account of its usefulness, especially as the 

 cultivation of tobacco is very simple. It requires, indeed, nothing more 

 than to be sown in a little heat, about the middle of March, and to be pro- 

 tected during the continuance of frost, or until about the middle of May, 

 when it should be planted in good rich soil, leaving plenty of room to grow; 

 say 3 ft. from row to row, letting the plants be at least 2 ft. apart. It 

 is very essential that the plants should not be crowded, or the leaves will be 

 thin and weak. Before the plants blossom they should be topped, and the 

 side shoots kept broken off" as soon as they appear. As soon as the leaves 

 come to maturity, I prefer cutting the plant down, and letting it wither and 

 dry in the shade before stripping off the leaves, which should be dried 

 carefully, but not too slowly. The process of heating by fermentation 

 should, I think, be only sufficient to destroy the greenness of the leaf (the 



