394« ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



the north ; and that hyson, and all its numerous varieties, are made from the 

 latter; and bohea, and all its varieties, from the former: but, comparing the 

 price of green and black tea in this country, and the quantity of the latter 

 which is consumed in proportion to that of the former, it is difficult to believe 

 that the black teas are all made from the leaves of Then Bo/tea, which is a 

 very distinct species, constitutionally much more tender than Thea viridis, 

 and of comparatively slow and diminutive growth. From Kaempfer, Thun- 

 berg, and Siebold we learn that the tea plant is extensively cultivated in 

 Japan, the various islands of which extend from 30° to 41° of north latitude ; 

 from which, in considering its extensive culture in China, and the great extent 

 of territory where it is found indigenous, it is easy to conceive that its va- 

 rieties may be as numerous as those o*" the grape vine or the apple are in 

 the south of Europe. Mr. Reeves has disputed, in Gard. Mag., vol. ix. 

 p. 713, 714., the correctness of some of Mr. Main's statements. Whoever 

 wishes to pursue this subject at greater length, and to consult a digest of all 

 that has been hitherto written on it, may peruse Royle's Illustrations, from 

 p. 108. to p. 113. 



The Thea viridis is sufficiently hardy to stand the air in the neighbourhood 

 of London, with little or no protection. There are bushes of it from 6 ft. to 8 ft. 

 high, and 20 ft. or more in circumference, in the Mile End Nursery, which, in 

 severe winters, have only a little pea-haulm or a mat thrown over them. There 

 are, also, large plants at Syon, at Purser's Cross, at Vere's Villa, at Bromp- 

 ton, at Upton, near Ham, at Lady Tankerville's, Walton on Thames (40 years 

 old, and 8 ft. high), &c, which, we believe, have never received any pro- 

 tection whatever. The plants at Mile End are in a deep sandy loam, and 

 they are remarkable for sending down their strong, thick, black roots in 

 a perpendicular direction to a great depth. There is a plant at Farnham 

 Castle, Surrey, almost as large as those in the Mile End Nursery; and 

 there are plants at White Knights, and at various other places, which leave 

 no doubt of the hardiness of this species. Indeed, it thrives far better in 

 the open air than in pots; probably owing to its constitutional habit of 

 throwing down its roots perpendicularly to a great depth. The only con- 

 servatory in which we have seen it in a prosperous state is that at Cashio- 

 bury, in Hertfordshire, where the glass roof is taken off during the greater 

 part of the year. The plant not only flowers freely in the open air, but 

 sometimes, as at Farnham Castle, it ripens seed. It is easily propagated by 

 layers ; and its general treatment, both in the nursery and in the pleasure- 

 ground, as a half-hardy shrub, may be considered the same as that of the 

 camellia; with this difference, that, being more of a bush than that plant, 

 and loving the shade still more, it does not seem to answer so well against 

 a wall. In the warmest parts of Devonshire, and the south of Ireland, it 

 might be grown as an article of field culture for its leaves ; and, if our pre- 

 judice in favour of the Chinese mode of preparation could be got over, and 

 the leaves could be slightly fermented, and dried in the same manner as the 

 best meadow hay is about London, being afterwards compressed into cakes 

 to keep for use, the principal nations of Europe might easily grow their 

 own tea, instead of importing it from China, if such a measure were found 

 necessary, or thought desirable. The culture of the plant for commercial 

 purposes has been tried at Rio Janeiro, at Algiers, and, we believe, in Aus- 

 tralia. There is much less difficulty in growing the plants, than in preparing 

 the leaves in the Chinese manner ; and, as this is principally performed by 

 manual labour, it can only be done profitably where the population is ex- 

 tremely numerous, and the means of living proportionably as cheap as in 

 China or India. At some future time an imitation of this process will, 

 probably, be effected by means of steam. 



The black tea (Thea Bohea) is a much more delicate plant, and is very sel- 

 dom to be seen in England in the open air in a thriving state. It will neither 

 thrive in pots, nor do well in a conservatory, unless it is quite close to the 

 class. The best situation for it seems to be a pit, where it may be covered 



