Chap. V. 



SUJSTG-LO-SHAN. 



87 



thousand feet above the level of the plains. It is 

 very barren, and, whatever may have formerly been 

 the case, it certainly produces but little tea now ; 

 indeed, from all I could learn, the tea that grows 

 upon it is quite neglected, as far as cultivation is con- 

 cerned, and is only gathered to supply the wants of 

 the priests of Fo, who have many temples amongst 

 these rugged wilds. Nevertheless it is a place of 

 great interest to every Chinaman, and has afforded a 

 subject to many of their writers. 



The low lands of this district and those of Moo- 

 yuen, situated a few miles further south, produce the 

 greater part of the fine green teas of commerce ; 

 hence the distinction betwixt hill-tea and garden-tea, 

 the latter simply applying to those teas which are 

 carefully cultivated in the plains. The soil here is a 

 rich loam, not unlike the cotton soil of Shanghae, but 

 more free in its texture, being mixed with a consider- 

 able portion of sand. 



When forming our ideas regarding the low lands, 

 or plains, where the fine garden-tea is produced, it 

 should be kept in mind that the level country here is 

 not in reality low, but is a very considerable height 

 above the level of the sea — much higher, for example, 

 than the plain of Shanghae. From Hang-chow-foo to 

 Hwuy-chow-foo the distance is about 800 le (150 to 

 200 miles) ; and, when we take into consideration the 

 rapidity of the current, we see at once that the plains 

 about Hwuy-chow-foo must be a very considerable 

 height above those of Hang-chow or Shanghae, which 

 are only a few feet above the level of the sea. 



