TEA. 



121 



quires to be kept moderately well weeded, and in no case must weeds 

 be allowed to overtop and shade the tea ; it is a crop requiring the 

 full sun. 



Planting. — No especial directions are necessary further than to say 

 that the plants must, if possible, be planted in the spring, in showery 

 weather, and not too deep; anyone who can plant a garden with 

 success can manage a tea plant. A little shade may be useful if hot, 

 dry, sunny weather ensues ; a few small boughs, stuck around the 

 plants, are all that is needed to prevent intense evaporation from the 

 soil and plants. I may mention that in deep soils the tea plant has a 

 tendency to form a long, bare tap-root, somewhat resembling a root of 

 salsify or carrot. The directions given as to germinating the seed on 

 a hard bottom were intended to obviate this tendency to form a long 

 tap-root, and start the plant in the way it should go, forming fibrous 

 roots; but if perchance a long tap-root is formed in spite of all 

 precautions, then,' in transplanting, it must be got out as entire as 

 possible, and more care will be necessary until the plant has com- 

 menced to make new roots and growth in its new position. The 

 kind of culture required while the tea plants are reaching utilisable 

 condition may be almost entirely performed by horse labour, if the 

 tea is grown in with other crops. 



I am not urging the formation of extensive plantations as yet, and, 

 consequently, I cannot pretend to regard the setting out and tending 

 of an ornamental hedge as anything but very pleasant pastime for 

 the intelligent farmer in his leisure hours. The base of the plants 

 should be kept free of weeds, and when 6 inches of growth is made, 

 the extremities of the shoots and the terminal bud and three leaves 

 below should be pinched out ; if this pinching is done in the growing 

 season the operator will not only be bringing his tea bush into a 

 spreading shape by the process, but will also be taking off the very 

 article which goes to make the bulk of the teas of commerce. This 

 pinching of the 6-inch shoots should continue until the plants reach 

 their third year, when a sufficient quantity of leaves will be obtained 

 for manufacturing purposes. 



Picking of the Crop. — When the shrubs are about three years old 

 there will be a sufficient quantity of leaves obtainable to warrant a 

 muster of the women and children of the farm, each of whom should 

 be instructed to nip off the young and tender growth with the finger 

 and thumb, at the point. The three leaves and terminal bud, together 

 with the tender stalk, make the very finest class of Souchong 

 teas, often ranking, if well made, as Pekoe Souchong, and worth at 

 least 5 dollars per pound. If a coarser tea is desired, the young 

 growth may be nipped out at the point. Some may question the pro- 

 priety of picking the stalk, but it is as tender as the leaves, and is 

 invariably used except in Caper and Gunpowder teas. The leaves 

 may be gathered in the apron or anything else ; there is no more 

 mystery about the matter than there is about gathering pease, or any 

 other crop, it being only necessary to select the young growth, for the 

 coarse leaves are not worth gathering ; they will not make good tea. 



Having briefly treated of the picking process, I will give a variety 



