102 



TEA, 



Chinese monopoly, by introducing and cultivating the tea plant 

 in their rich and fruitful colonj^ of Java, That island lies between 

 the sixth and eighth degrees of south latitude. 



In 1828, the first espernnent in the cultivation of tea was made 

 in the garden of the Chateau of Burtenzorg, at Java, where 800 

 plants of an astonishing vigor, served as an encouragement to 

 undertake this culture, and considerable plantations were made in 

 many parts of the island. The first trials did not answer to the 

 expectations, as far as regards the quality of the article, the 

 astringent taste and feeble aroma of which caused the conjecture 

 that the preparation of the leaf, and its final manipulation, are not 

 exactly according to the process used in China. At present tea 

 is cultivated in thirteen Ilesidencies : but the principal establish- 

 ment, where the final manipulation is made, is in the neighbour- 

 hood of Batavia. The tea w^hich Java now furnishes yearly to 

 the markets of tlie mother country, may be stated at from 

 200,000 to 300,000 pounds. It is intimated that the government 

 intends to abandon this culture to the industry of private indi- 

 viduals, under the guarantee of equitable contracts. 



The mountain range, which runs through the centre of the 

 island, is the most productive, because the tea gardens, extending 

 from near the base, high up the mountains, reach an atmosphere 

 tempered by elevation. The plant escapes the scorching heats of 

 the torrid zone, and finds a climate, by height ratlier than by 

 latitude, adapted to its nature. But the plant is not confined to 

 lofty ridges. In the plains, the hedges and fences, if one may 

 so call them, are all planted with the tea shrub, which flourish in 

 greater or less perfection throughout the island. But, as has 

 already been intimated, the equatorial latitudes are not the most 

 auspicious for the vigorous growth of a plant that requires a tem- 

 perature equally removed from the extremes of heat and cold, and 

 the quality of the tea is as much affected by the climate as the 

 growth of the plant, A considerable quantity of tea is annually 

 shipped from Java to Europe ; but the extension of the cultiva- 

 tion is no doubt checked by the exceeding fertility of the soil, and 

 its adaptation to the growth of the rich products of tropical 

 regions. 



Mr. Jacobson, inspector of tea culture in Java, has published 

 at Batavia a w^ork in three volumes, upon the mode of cultivating 

 this plant, upon the choice of grounds, and the best processes for 

 the preparation and manipulation of the leaves. This book, the 

 fruit of many years of experience and care given to the subject, 

 has been well received by the cultivators who devote themselves to 

 this branch of industry. If, by means of careful experiments and 

 experience, the government succeed in conferring on the island of 

 Java this important branch of commerce, she may hope to obtain 

 brilliant results ; at all events, it will open to the country a new- 

 source of prosperity and riches. 



An interesting account of the tea plants, and the manufacture 

 of tea, will be found in Fortune's "Wanderings in China," in 



