220 TEA DISTKICTS OF CHINA. Chap. XII. 



prise, however, a few minutes afterwards niy break- 

 fast was placed upon the table, as if I had eaten 

 nothing. Sing-Hoo now presented himself, and 

 asked what he was to give the landlord for the treat- 

 ment we had received, observing at the same time 

 that he would make no charge. Of course I was 

 obliged to give the man a handsome present. Half 

 suspecting that Sing-Hoo or the coolies had been at 

 the bottom of the Tein-sin affair, I desired him to 

 take care and discourage everything of the kind for 

 the future. I knew that I had still a long journey 

 before me and many expenses, and it would not do 

 for me to run short of money by the way. 



I was now on the outskirts of the great black-tea 

 country of Fokien. I observed large quantities of 

 tea-plants under cultivation. They were generally 

 to be found on the lower sides of the hills, and also 

 in the gardens of the villagers. About ten o'clock in 

 the forenoon we arrived at Tsong-gan-hien, a large 

 town in the midst of the black-tea country, where 

 nearly all the teas of this district are packed and 

 prepared for exportation. Tsong-gan-hien, according 

 to observations made by the Jesuits many years ago, 

 is situated in latitude 27° 47' 38 7 north. It stands 

 in the midst of a fertile plain of small extent, sur- 

 rounded by hills, and is in the district of Kein-ning- 

 foo, a city to which I have already alluded in my 

 journey up the river Min. 



The walls of the city are about three miles in cir- 

 cumference. Both these and the ramparts are in 

 many parts ruinous and overgrown with weeds. 



