80 



TEA. 



individual, M. Jaiinet, in the cultivation of tlie tea plant in the island 

 of Mauritius. Chinese labourers were employed to assist him in the 

 further culture of this important plant, the expense being borne 

 by the Colonial Government : others were also engaged for a similar 

 purpose in the Botanical Garden. 



At a later period Mr. Boyer, of Port Louis, succeeded in raising 

 40,000 tea trees, and expressed the opinion that if the island of 

 Eeunion would give itself up to the cultivation, it might easily 

 supply France with all the tea she requires, which is but little. The 

 black tea that has been produced in that island is of a good quality. 



Although those climates where it has been introduced will grow the 

 plant, yet the manipulation of the leaf has hitherto been so little 

 understood that only two of these countries can yet claim tea as 

 among their leading productions. India and Java ex23ort quantities, 

 but the bulk is the produce of estates, under managers who very 

 frequently know comparatively little of the industry, and yet make 

 marketable tea. 



In Transcaucasus, under a latitude corresponding to the northern 

 parts of Niphon, Japan, good results have been obtained, and a com- 

 pany has been formed to carry on tea cultivation. 



In many other quarters the tea plant would be found to grow 

 well, but the difficulty to contend with in most of these is the cost 

 of labour compared with China and India. 



Production and Consumption of Tea. — We may note the gradual 

 increase of consumption in Great Britain and Ireland by the follow- 

 ing figures : 



Lbs. Lbs. 



1820 22,452,050 1860 76,816,394 



JL830 30,047,079 1870 117,551,152 



1840 32,252,628 1875 145,327,432 



1850 51,172,302 



Proportion per head of the population : 





Lbs. 





Lbs. 





Lbs. 



1840 .. 



.. 1-22 



1861 .. 



.. 2-69 



1869 ,. 



.. 3-63 



1850 .. 



.. 1-86 



1862 .. 



.. 2-70 



1870 .. 



.. 3-81 



1855 .. 



2-28 



1863 



2-90 



1871 .. 



.. 3-92 



1856 



.. 2-26 



1864 .. 



.. 3-00 



1872 .. 



.. 4-01 



1857 .. 



.. 2-45 



1865 .. 



.. 3-29 



1873 .. 



.. 4-11 



1858 .. 



2-58 



1866 



.. 3-42 



1874 



.. 4-23 



1859 .. 



.. 2-67 



1867 .. 



.. 3-68 



1875 .. 



.. 4-44 



1860 .. 



.. 2-67 



1868 .. 



.. 3-52 







In a paper by my friend, Mr. L. Wray, read before the Society 

 of Arts, in January, 1861, " On Tea and its Production in various 

 Countries," * he enters into some calculations on tea consumption, and 

 says : 



" We have no very certain means of estimating the quantity of tea 

 consumed in China, but we may nevertheless draw conclusions from 

 such data as we possess. Taking the population of the country, then, 

 at 400 millions, and considering that the use of tea is universal 

 amongst them ; that they drink it from early morning until they 



* ' Journal of the Society of Arts,' vol. ix. p. 137. 



