TEA. 



between the Ruffians ajid Chintfe, it was agreed that it 

 Ihould be demohlhod, that no caufe of umbrage or complaint 

 might be left to the Tartar hunters. 



The Tagouris, who appear to be the oldeft inhabitants of 

 the country, are tall, ftrong of body, and accuftomed to 

 labour ; they build themfcKes houfcs, fow corn, and culti- 

 vate their lands, although they have always been fufrounded 

 by Tartars w|jo live under tents, and are entirely ignorant of 

 agriculture. 



The Solon Tartars are ftill more robuft, braver, and of 

 greater ingenuity ; they arc almoft all hunters ; their women 

 mount on horfeback, handle the bow and the javelin, and 

 follow in the chace ttags and other wild animals. It is gene- 

 rally about the beginning of Oftober that thefc Tartars 

 depart to hunt fables, clad in a (hort clofc garment of wolf's 

 Ikin : they cover their heads with a cap made of the fame, 

 and carry their bows fufpended at their backs. 



They take along with them feveral horfes loaded with 

 facks of millet, and their long cloaks made of foxes' or 

 tygers' (kins, which they wrap round them to defend tliem- 

 felves from the cold, efpecially during the night. Their 

 dogs are trained to this kind of hunting ; they are accuf- 

 tomed to cHmb the fteepeft rocks, and know all the ftrata- 

 gems of the fables. 



The fables' flvins of this country are highly valued. Some 

 of the rivers that run into the Sagiialien^ula furnifh pearls ; 

 335 miles N.E. of Peking. N. lat. 47° 25'. E. long. 



123° 3°'- 



TE, a city of China, of the fecond rank, in Chan-tong, 



on the grand canal; 1 50 miles S. of Peking. N. lat. 37° 35'. 



E. long. 115° 50'. 



TEA-Tree, in Botany. See Thea. 



Tea, in common language, denotes the leaves of the tea- 

 tree, as they are imported into this country, and the infufion 

 of them in boiling water. The term is more extenfively ap- 

 plied to any other infufion of ordinary roots or herbs. 



Dr. Lettfom, in his botanical defcription of the tea-plant, 

 thinks it moft probable, that there is only one fpecies, and 

 that the difference between the green and bohea teas depends 

 on the nature of the foil, culture, age, and the manner of 

 drying the leaves. He adds, that it has even been obferved, 

 that a green tea-tree, planted in the bohea tea country, will pro- 

 duce bohea, and on the contrary ; and that on his examining 

 feveral hundi-ed flowers, brought both from the bohea and 

 green tea countries, their botanical charafters have always 

 appeared uniform. We are principally indebted to Ksempfer, 

 Le Compte, and Du Halde, for an authentic hiltory of the 

 culture of this exotic flirub, and the manner of preparing or 

 curing its leaves. 



The particulars of greateft importance that have been 

 recited, have lately been judicioufly coUefted, and the fub- 

 jeft further illuilrated by additional obfervations by Dr. 

 Lettfom. 



The tea-tree loves to grow in vallies, at the foot of moun- 

 tains, and upon the banks of rivers, where it enjoys a fouthern 

 expofure to the fun ; thougb it endures confiderable vari- 

 ations of heat and cold, as it flourifhes in the northern clime 

 of Peking, as well as about Canton ; ajid it is o'uferved that 

 the degree of cold at Peking is as fevere in winter as in fome 

 of the northern parts of Europe. However, the beft tea 



frows in a mild temperate climate, the country about Nan- 

 ing producing better tea than either Peking or Canton, 

 betwixt which places it is fitiiated. 



The root refembles that of the peach-tree ; the leaves are 



green, kmgiih at the point, and pretty narrow, an inch and 



half long, and jagged all round. The flower is much hke 



that of the wild role, but fnaaller. The fruit is of different 



6 



forms, fometimes round, fometimes long, fometimes triangu- 

 lar, and of tlie ordinary fize of a bean, containing two of 

 three feeds, of a moufe-colour, including each a kernel. 

 Thefe are the feeds by which the plant is propagated : a 

 number from fix to twelve or fifteen being promifcuoufly 

 put into one hole, four or five inches deep, at certain dif- 

 tances from each other. The feeds vegetate without any 

 other care, though the more induftrious annually remove the 

 weeds, and manure the land. The leaves which fucceed are 

 not fit to be plucked before the third year's growth, at 

 which period they are plentiful, and in their prime. 



In about feven years the ftirub rifes to a inan's height, 

 and as it then bears few leaves, and gi-ows (lowly, it is cut 

 down to the ftem, which occafions an exuberance of frefh 

 fhoots and leaves the fucceeding fummer ; fome, indeed, 

 defer cutting them till they are of ten years' growth. In 

 Japan, the tea-tree is cultivated round the borders of the 

 fields, without regard to the foil ; but as the Chinefe export 

 confiderable quantities of tea, they plant whole fields with 

 it. The leaves are not coUefted from the cultivated plan! 

 till it is three years old ; and after growing feven or ten 

 years, it is cut down, in order that the numerous youug 

 flioots /iiay afford a greater fupply of leaves. 



The beil time to gather the leaves of tea is while they are 

 yet fmall, young, and juicy ; and the different periods in 

 which they are gathered are particularly defcribed by 

 Kaempfer. The firft gathering of the tea-leaves, according; 

 to this author, commences about the latter end of February, 

 when the leaves are young and unexpanded. The fecond 

 collection is made about the beginning of April, and the 

 third in June. The firll collettion, which confifts only of 

 the fine tender leaves, is moft efleemed, and is called Im- 

 perial tea. Tlie fecond is called Tootsjaa, or Chinefe tea, 

 becaufe it is infufed and drunk after the Chinefe manner. 

 The lafl, which is the coarfeft and chcapeil, is chiefly con- 

 fumed by the lower clafs of people. Befides the three kinds 

 of tea here noticed, it may be obferved, that by garbling or 

 forting thefe, the varieties of tea become Hill further mul- 

 tiplied. The leaves are plucked cai-efully one by one, and 

 notwithilanding the feeming tedioiifnefs of this operation^ 

 the labourers are able to gather from four to ten qif fifteen 

 pounds each in one day. The tea-trees that yield often the 

 finefl leaves, grow on the fteep declivities of hills, where it 

 is dangerous, and in fome cafes imprafticable to colleft them. 

 The Ciiinefe are faid to vanquifh this difficulty by a fingular 

 contrivance. The large monkies which inhabit thefe cliffs 

 are irritated, and in revenge they break off the branches, 

 and throw them down, fo that the leaves are thus obtained. 

 The leaves fliould be dried as foon as pofTible after they are 

 gathered. 



The buildings, or drying-houfes, that are erefted for 

 curing of tea, contain from five to tenor twenty fmall furnaces, 

 about three feet high, each having at the top a large fiat 

 iron pan. There is alfo a long low table covered with mats, 

 on which the leaves are laid, and rolled by workmen, who 

 fit round it : the iron pan being heated to a certain degree by 

 a Uttle fire made in the furnace underneath, a few pounds of 

 the frefh-gathered leaves are put upon the pan ; the frefh and 

 juicy leaves crack when they touch the pan, and it is tht; 

 bufinefs of the operator to (hift them as quick as poflible with 

 his bare hands, till they become too hot to be eafily endured. 

 At this inftant he takes off the leaves with a kind of fhovel 

 refembling a fan, and pours them On the mats before the 

 rollers, who, taking fmall quantities at a time, roll them in 

 the palm of their hands in one direftion, while others are 

 fanning them, that they may cool the more fpeedily, and re- 

 tain their curl the longer. This procefs is repeated two or 



three 



