626 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[April  r,  1893. 
of  the  leaves  was  owing  to  their  being  dried  on 
copper  pans,  but  this  I believe  is  not  correct.  It  is 
true,  however,  that  the  Chinese  can  so  change 
damaged  black  tea  by  the  addition  of  colours.  &c., 
that  it  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  green.  The 
principal  black  teas  are  named  _ Bohea,  Congou, 
Souchong,  and  Pekoe ; and  the  principal  green  teas 
are  Singlo,  Hyson,  and  Gunpowder. 
There  is  a species  of  tea  called  Tile-tea,  because 
it  consists  of  leaves  and  leaf-stalks,  compressed  in 
the  shape  of  a flat  cake  or  tile. 
The  had  kinds  of  teas  are  the  coarse  large-leaved 
teas,  which  are  obtained  in  the  third  picking  season. 
These  are  by  no  means  good  for  common  use,  and 
are  often  used  in  dyeing.  The  poorer  classes  of 
Chinese  also  use  them.  But  the  worst  kind  of  all 
are  the  adulterated  teas.  It  is  well-known  that  the 
Chinese  use  many  strange  substances  to  mis  with  their 
tea.  It  is  adulterated  still  more  in  England,  where 
the  leaves  of  the  elm,  ash,  hawthorn,  sloe,  and  apple, 
are  mixed  with  the  tea.  Old  tea  leaves  are  also  dried, 
and  chopped  up  with  stalks  of  raisins.  In  Germany, 
green  tea  is  adulterated  with  the  very  young  leaves 
of  the  strawberry  plant.  It  is  singular  that  we  cannot, 
in  England,  enjoy  the  very  fine  teas,  in  which  the 
Chinese  take  so  much  pride,  for  they  are  always 
spoilt  by  the  sea-voyage ; the  change  of  climate, 
and  the  dampness  from  the  water,  deprive  them  of 
their  fine  flavour, 
Ion.  Now,  papa,  that  we  have  heard  of  the  dif- 
ferent sorts,  will  you  give  us  the  history  of  tea? 
P.  If  we  do  not  find  the  subject  too  long.  I will 
try  and  make  it  as  short  as  possible. 
The  History  of  Tea—  Tea  has  a separate  history  in 
the  different  countries  in  which  it  is  used.  The 
Chinese  history  of  tea  begins  (like  many  more  Eastern 
histories)  with  a fable.  It  is  said  that  in  a.d.  516 
a good  Indian  prince,  of  religious  habits,  came  to 
China  as  a Missionary,  intending  to  set  a good 
example  to  the  natives  and  to  teach  them  their 
religious  duties.  However,  he  was  once  so  overcome 
with  his  long  fasting  and  want  of  rest,  that  he  fell 
asleep;  he  was  then  so  angry  with  himself,  that 
he  cut  off  both  his  eyebrows  and  threw  them  on  the 
ground.  Both  of  these  eyebrows  grew,  and  became 
tea  shrubs— the  first  ever  known  ! The  Indian  prince 
soon  discovered  the  virtues  of  the  shrub,  and  re- 
commended it  to  his  disciples.  They  all  declared 
that  it  gave  their  minds  fresh  vigour,  and  its  use 
became  general. 
The  English  History  of  Tea  may  begin  with  an 
Act  of  Parliament.  In  an  Act  of  Parliament,  of  the 
year  1660  or  1661,  it  is  ordered  that  8 d.  per  gallon 
fluty  be  charged  on  all  tea,  coffee,  or  chocolate  for 
sale.  Thus  you  see  that  all  three  of  our  well-known 
drinks  were  then  in  use.  Tea  had  perhaps  been 
introduced  to  England  some  time  it  is  most  likely 
that  it  was  procured  from  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company,  who  first  sold  it  in  Europe.  It  is  likely 
that  its  use  was  known  about  the  same  time  as  that 
of  coffee,  which,  you  may  remember,  was  first  sold 
in  England  in  the  year  1652. 
Ion.  Yes,  I remember,  papa,  your  telling  us  ot 
the  Greek  servant  who  opened  a coffee-house  near 
Cornhill. 
P.  The  continuation  of  the  history  of  tea  is 
connected  with  that  of  the  East  India  Company. 
It  appears  that  its  use  was  not  very  general  for 
some  time;  for  in  the  -year  1664,  they  purchased, 
as  a present  to  the  king,  two  pounds  and  two  ounces 
of  tea.  Five  years  later,  in  the  year  1669,  the  directors 
ordered  their  servants  in  India  “ to  send  home  by 
their  ships  one  hundred  pounds  of  the  best  tea  they 
could  get;”  to  be  sent  on  speculation.  In  1671,  we 
read  of  their  importing  a package  of  150  pounds  — in 
1678  they  imported  4,713  pounds.  It  then  became 
well  worth  the  consideration  of  the  company  as  an 
article  of  trade,  for  it  still  yielded  the  large  price 
of  60s.  per  pound.  The  East  India  Company,  there- 
fore, obtained  a “ charter,”  by  which  they  were 
allowed  to  keep  the  whole  tea-trade  of  England  in 
their  own  hands.  Such  a charter,  which  prohibits 
others  from  competition,  is  called  a monopoly  ; its 
purpose  is  very  unlike  that  of  the  Great  Exhibition, 
[jifl  the  Free  Trade  of  the  present  day.  On  the 
abolition  of  the  Company's  charter,  in  the  year 
1834,  the  tea-trade  immediately  improved.  The  yearly 
sale  was  then  above  31,000,000  pounds,  but  it^has 
since  increased  to  more  than  40,000,000  pounds  per 
annum,  and  yields  an  enormous  sum  of  money  to 
Government  as  duty. 
The  history  of  tea  in  Scotland  may  begin  with  an 
ancedote.  A pound  of  fine  green  tea  was  sent  to  a 
certain  lady  as  a rare  and  valuable  present.  The 
lady  took  care  to  have  it  cooked  ! It  was  served  up 
with  melted  butter  and  salted  meat,  but  the  cook 
found  that  the  tea  was  not  exactly  “ suitable.”  She 
complained  to  her  mistress  that  “she  had  tried  all 
manner  of  ways  to  cook  them,  and  she  didn't  believe 
that  all  the  cooking  in  the  world  would  ever  make 
those  foreign  greens  tender!” 
L.  And  now,  papa,  end  the  history  of  tea  with 
an  ancedote  ! will  you  ? for  I am  getting  tired  of  it. 
P.  Very  well.  Even  in  the  present  century  people 
will  stick  to  the  idea  of  cooking  tea.  I told  you  of  the 
quantity  of  coffee  used  in  Germany,  but  the  Germans, 
especi  illy  the  “ Rhinelanders,”  who  live  around  the 
river  Rhine,  drink  plenty  of  wine,  and  therefore  know 
little  about  tea.  A gentleman  whom  I know,  and  who 
is  an  artist,  was  travelling  in  Germany  about  40  years 
ago,  and  had  quite  tired  himself  by  sketching  all  day  ; 
so  when  he  returned  to  his  inn,  he  called  for  some 
tea  to  stimulate  his  weary  frame.  Poor  maul  his 
mouth  was  hot  and  dry ; how  long  and  anxiously  he 
waited  for  that  tea  1 At  length  it  came ! Yes ! 
In  came  the  maid,  triumphantly  bearing  the 
smoking  tea  in  a tureen.  “Very  odd  ! ” he  thought 
“ to  bring  me  my  tea  in  a tureen ; but,  never  mind, 
here  is  a ladle  ; they  wish  me  to  drink  it  like  soup.” 
No  sooner  had  the  German  damsel  tinned  her  back 
than  the  thirsty  man  lifted  up  the  lid  joyfully,  and 
— ah! — wha-a  a-at?  The  German  cook  was  no  better 
than  the  cook  of  the  Scotch  lady ! The  tureen 
was  full  of  tea  leaves,  which  formed  a hard  compact 
mass,  for  they  had  been  carefully  squeezed,  so  that 
all  the  water  had  been  drained  off\  He  was  much 
surprised,  but  not  half  so  much  as  the  people  of  the 
inn,  when  he  rang  the  bell  violently,  and  insisted 
on  their  bringing  him,  instantly,  the  water  those  greens 
were  boiled  in.  Fortunately  it  had  not  been  thrown 
away  ; and,  to  the  still  greater  surprise  of  the  whole 
household,  he  exchanged  his  tureen  for  the  steaming 
saucepan ; placed  it  before  him  on  the  floor ; and 
while  they  were  gone  for  cup  and  saucer  and  milk 
and  sugar,  he  ladled  some  of  "the  water  those  greens 
were  boiled  in  ” into  his  drinking-horn. 
So  you  see  that  the  quality  of  tea  may  not  merely 
depend  on  the  soil,  or  the  climate  and  country  in 
which  it  is  cultivated ; it  may  depend  on  the  people 
who  prepare  it.  There ! we  have  talked  long  enough 
about  tea! 
Lesson  on  Tea. 
Tea. — (Qualities).  Tea  is  a light,  dry,  shrivelled, 
crisp,  pulverable,  black  or  green  vegetable  substance: 
It  is  a natural  production,  but  is  imported  in  an  arti- 
ficial state.  In  its  effects  it  is  stimulating,  refreshing, 
and  exhilarating. 
The  tea  produces  those  effects  by  its  action  upon 
the  nerves,  because  it  contains  a peculiar  element 
called  Theine.  This  Theine  is  said  to  assist  in  form- 
ing bile,  and  thus  to  help  digestion.  Tea,  it  is  said, 
has  been  much  used  in  the  countries  where  vegetable 
food  is  eaten,  as  such  food  is  harder  to  digest  than 
animal  substances. 
Hatural  History. — Tea  is  the  leaf  of  a shrub 
growing  in  countries  outside  the  Tropics,  and  parti- 
cularly in  China  and  India.  The  operations  of 
picking,  drying,  rolling,  and  cleaning  of  the  leaves 
are  performed  with  great  care  and  require  much 
skill.  The  quality  of  the  leaves  depends  on  their  age, 
and  the  age  of  tfle.  plant;  it  also  depends  on  tfie 
situation  and  soil  in  which  the  plant  is  grown,  and  on 
the  time  of  picking.  There  are  three  picking  seasons 
in  the  year  ; the  leaves  of  the  first  picking  are  the 
best.  The  two  principal  sorts  of  tea  are  the  Black 
'i  ea  and  the  Gbeen  Tea. 
History.— Tea  was  introduced  into  England  at 
nearly  the  same  period  as  coffee,  about  two  hundred 
years  ago. 
