TERNSTROMIACEiE. 151 



rolled and rapidly cooled so as to twist or curl properly. These operations 

 are repeated until the leaves are quite dry. The coarser leaves of the last 

 gathering are steamed so as to soften them, previous to subjecting them to 

 the heating process. After being perfectly cured, they are packed in baskets, 

 and again dried before being finally put in chests for exportation. 



The use of tea in China is of very ancient origin. According to the Japa- 

 nese tradition, a holy man by the name of Darma, visited China about the 

 year 516, to instruct the natives in the duties of religion. He led a life of 

 great abstinence, and especially denied himself the comforts of rest; but having 

 been worn out, he fell asleep ; as a penance for this transgression, he cut off 

 his eyelids and threw them on the ground ; each became a tea plant, and 

 Darma, having discovered the virtues of the shrub, recommended the use of 

 it to his disciples. 



The first account received in Europe of this article was that of Lynschot, 

 who states that the Japanese prepare a drink from an herb, which they offer 

 to their guests as a mark of high consideration. Caspar Bauhin speaks of 

 it in his " Pinax" under the name of Cha. About the commencement of the 

 seventeenth century, it was brought by the Dutch to Europe as an article of 

 commerce, but it was some time before it was generally used, as the sales of 

 the East India Company, about a hundred years since, did not amount to more 

 than 50,0.001bs., whereas, at present, the sales reach to twenty-eight or thirty 

 millions. In 1666 it sold for 60 shillings a pound, so scarce and valuable 

 was it at that period. Next to Great Britain, the greatest consumption of tea 

 is in Russia and the United States. That imported into Russia is said to be 

 far superior to any which has been subjected to the heat and delay of a long 

 voyage. In the Asiatic portions of that great Empire a kind of tea is used 

 which is unknown in other countries ; this is what is termed Brick tea, and 

 is said to consist of old and damaged leaves and stalks, moistened, pressed 

 into moulds, and then dried in an oven. In France, and the southern parts 

 of Europe, the consumption of tea is very small, nor has it been much 

 increased for many years past. 



Medical Properties, $rc — Volumes have been written for and against this 

 article ; some authors attributing to it the most pernicious qualities, such as 

 inducing nervous tremors, dyspepsia, dropsy, &c, whilst others again have 

 been as lavish in its praise. That the use of tea may be abused, there can 

 be no doubt, but it is equally certain that a moderate employment of it, and 

 especially of the better kinds of black tea, (which it may be noticed is the 

 only kind used by the Chinese,) far from being prejudicial, has a positive 

 power in calming nervous irritation and aiding the digestive functions, and 

 giving, after fatigue, a new life and tone to the system. The green tea is 

 very apt to affect the nervous system of those unaccustomed to its use, but 

 at the same time it does not appear that its constant employment is attended 

 with any ill effects. 



Tea is not used as a medicinal agent, properly speaking, though it is often 

 given warm, to aid in the production of diaphoresis, but does not seem to 

 have any greater power than any other mild infusion. From several analyses 

 made of it, it is shown to consist of a bitter extractive, mucilage, resin, gallic 

 acid, tannin, and a peculiar principle called Theine, on which its properties 

 depend. This substance, which is also found in coffee and chocolate, as well 

 as in the Mate, is a highly azotized principle, and has probably a much 

 greater influence on the system in aiding the assimilation of food than is 

 generally supposed, and hence the great use made of the various plants con- 

 taining it, by almost all nations. 



