TEA. 



81 



the bile contains only 3.8 per cent, of nitrogen, of which only the 

 half, or 1.9 per cent., belongs to the taurine ; bile contains, in its 

 natural state, water and solid matter, in the proportion of ninety 

 parts by weight of the former, t-o ten of the latter. If we sup-= 

 pose these ten parts, by weight of solid matter, to be chloric acid, 

 with 3.87 per cent, of nitrogen, then 100 parts of theine would 

 contain 0.171 of nitrogen in the shape of taurine. ]Srow this 

 quantity is contained in 0.6 parts of theine, or 2 grains S.lOths of 

 theine can give to an ounce of bile the nitrogen it contains in the 

 form of taurine. 



Althougli an infusion of tea contains no more than the one- 

 tenth of a grain of theine, still, if it contribute in point of fact 

 to the formation of bile, the action even of such a quantity can- 

 not be looked upon as a nullity. Xeither can it be denied, that 

 in the case of an excess of non-azotised food, and a deficiency of 

 motion, which is required to cause the change of matter of the 

 tissues, and thus to yield the nitrogenised product which enters 

 into the composition of the bile, that in such a condition the 

 health may be benefited by the use of compounds which are 

 capable of supplying the place of the nitrogenised substances pro- 

 duced in the healthy state of the body, and essential to the pro- 

 duction of an important element of inspiration. In a chronical 

 sense, and it is this alone which the preceding remarks are in- 

 tended to show, caffeine, or theine, &€., are, in virtue of their com- 

 position, better adapted to this purpose than all nitrogenised ve- 

 getable principles. The action of these substances in ordinary 

 circumstances is not obvious, but it unquestionably exists. Tea 

 and coffee were originally met with among nations whose diet 

 was chiefly vegetable. 



Considerable discussion has taken place regarding the tea 

 plants ; some say that there is only one species ; others that there 

 are two or three. Mr. Fortune, who visited the tea districts of 

 Canton, Fokien, and Chekiaog, asserts that the black and green 

 teas of the northern districts of China are obtained from the same 

 species or variety, known under the name of Thea Boliea. Some 

 make the Assam tea a different species, and thus recognise three : 

 T. Cantoniensis or Boliea, T. ViiHdis, and T. Assamica. The qua- 

 lity of the tea depends much on the season when the leaves are 

 picked, the mode in which it is prepared, as well as the district in 

 which it grows. The green teas include Twankay, Young Hyson, 

 Hyson, Grunpowder, and Imperial ; while the black comprise 

 Bohea, Congou, Souchong, Oolong, and Pekoe. The teas of cer- 

 tain districts, such as Anhoi, have peculiar characters. 



The first tea imported into England was a package of two 

 pounds, by the East India Company, in 1664, as a present to the 

 king ; in 1667, another small importation took place, from the 

 company's factory at Bantam. The directors ordered their ser- 

 vants to " send home by their ships 100 pounds weight of the 

 best tey they could get.""^ In 1678 were imported 4,713 lbs. ; but 

 in the six following years the entire imports amounted to no more 



