Chap. VIIT. MODE OF MAKING COLLECTIONS. 



143 



often obliged to gather the seeds myself, and witli 

 my own people. Now we were better acquainted, 

 and my only difficulty was to prevent them from 

 bringing me too many. 



Having established myself in my old quarters in 

 the temple of Tein-tung, I went to work in Chinese 

 Style. It was given out by my people and the 

 priests that I had arrived for the purpose of making 

 purchases of tea-seeds, that I wanted five or six 

 hundred catty, and would continue to purchase all 

 that were brought to me, providing they were of 

 good quality, until that quantity was made up. 

 On the day following this announcement, and for 

 many days afterwards, the people began to flock to 

 the temple in great numbers, for the purpose of 

 selling their tea-seeds. The venders were chiefly 

 old men, women, and children — a class who could 

 do light work, such as gathering tea-seeds, although 

 not heavy field-labour. My time was fully occu- 

 pied from daylight until dark in examining, settling 

 the price according to quality, and weighing the 

 seeds. In this labour I was greatly assisted by my 

 good friend the priest to whom I have already 

 alluded, and who, having a small tea-plantation 

 himself, was an excellent judge of the seed. Many 

 were the little disputes we had as to quality and 

 price, which were always carried on with the most 

 perfect good-humour, and generally referred to the 

 priest for arbitration. He was much respected by 

 the natives themselves, and his word was con- 

 sidered as satisfactory and final. It was a pleasing 



