TEA TREE. 
before they are delivered to the purchaser. 
Every leaf passes through the fingers of a 
female, who rolls k up almost to the form 
it had assumed before it became expanded 
in the progress of it*s growth. It is after- 
wards placed on thin plates of earthenware, 
or iron, made much thinner than can be 
executed by artists out of China. It is con- 
fidently said in the country, that no plates of 
copper are ever employed for that purpose. In- 
deed, scarcely any utensil used in China, is of 
that metal, the chief application of which is 
for coin. The earthen or iron plates are placed 
over a charcoal fire, which draws all remaining 
moisture from the leaves, rendering them dry 
and crisp. The colour and astringency of 
Green Tea is thought to be derived from the 
early period at which the leaves are plucked ; 
and which, like unripe fruit, are generally green 
and acrid. The Tea is packed in large chests, 
lined with very thin plates of lead, and the 
dried leaves of some large vegetable. It is too 
true, that the Tea is pressed down into those 
chests by the naked feet of Chinese labourers, as 
grapes are pressed by the wooden shoes df Eu- 
ropean peasants; in which last case, the juices 
are 
