630 THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 1, 1901. 
CULTIVATION OF TEA IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 
(The London Times, Monday, Feb. 4.) 
The pos.sibilitie* of tea production m tlie United 
States cannot fail to be of considerable importance 
to tliose who are interesteil in the tea industry 
in various parts of the Briti^sli Empire; in Indin, 
Ceylon, and Natal for example. In liis recently 
isisued annual report, the American Minister of 
Agriculture takes a liopeful view of the prospects 
of tea cultivatiort in the United States. It 
appears that for several years Dr. Charles U 
Shi'pard, of Summerville, South Carolina, has 
been experimenting with a view of obta,inin^; 
information as to the practicability of producing 
American tea, and his efforts promised so mucli 
of value that it seemed projier for the Department 
of Agriculture to render assistance. To this end 
arrangements were made with Dr. Sliepard, 
whereby certain machinery, &c., were to be 
furnished in order to settle some questions per- 
taining to the commercial production of tea. 
Throughout the work the question of labour 
has been an important one ; but through Dr. 
Shephard's efforts there has been adopted 
a method for utilising the labour of colored 
children. What he has accnmplished in 
this matter in his region could undoubtedly be 
brought about in other sections of the south, 
where much idle labour is awaiting proper utilisa- 
tion. He has established schools on his place, 
and in these the children are received and edu- 
cated, and at the same time are taught to pluck 
tea and perform other work in connection witli the 
production of the crop. For such work fair 
wages are paid, and in this wa.y interest is 
maintained. The experiments liave shown that 
tea may be produced in the United States in 
two wa;ys : — 1. By families in their gardens, as 
was demonstrated years ago to be entirely feasi- 
ble ; and (2) on a comiiiercial scale after the 
manner followed by the British East Indian tea 
establishments and the beet sugar industry. 
The work at Summerville was started with a 
view of ascertaining whether, under favourable 
conditions, tea plantations could be made to 
yield as much as the average Oriental production, 
and whether the crop could be marketed at a 
fair profit. The results obtained h.ave been af- 
firmative; the crop of 1900, although not so large 
as expected early in the season, exceeding that 
of any previous year by at le.ist 12 per cent, and 
the entire product being sold before it was all 
gathered to a prominent Northern distributing 
house at a price that gave a fair profit. As fur- 
ther evidence that tea can be profitably grown 
in the United States capitalists are already 
making preparations to begin the work in certain 
parts of the South on a more or less extensive 
scale. It has so far been shown that a good grade 
of tea can be grown and pub on the market in 
bulk at a cost not exceeding 15c per lb. Under 
average conditijns an acre will yield ~400 lb. of 
marketable tea, and this at I5c per lb, would 
make the expense of growing it $6 J per aore. 
The tea should sell in bulk for at least 
30c per lb. and tiie profit on this basis 
would be 100 per cent. Besides the cost of 
marketing, however, there are other expenses to 
be considered, such a.4 the salary of a superinten- 
dent and the interest of the money invested in the 
plant, whicl' would, of course, cut down the profits. 
From considerations such as the foregoing it is 
io(ei'i'e<i tii^t the commercial possibilities of tea 
production in the United States can uo longer be 
questioned, ljut there are still many points to be 
settled, especially as regaids the improvement of 
tlie proiluct. During last year experiments were 
undei taken for the purpose of determining the 
effect of irrigation on tea, and also tlio effect of 
shading; tiie plants from the direct rays of the sun. 
Work has likewise been inaugurated with a view 
of reducing the cost of the preparation of tea, 
especially the green tea. The experiments in irri- 
gating and .shading, which v;ill be continued, have 
given promising results, the shaded plants allbrd- 
ing nearly double the yield of the unshaded, and 
a much liner grade of leaf. In tlie future special 
attention will be given to the inanufactuie of pure 
green tea. This subject is now receiving the notice 
of both inventors and planters in the British Colo- 
nies, as they begin to realise the hopelessness of 
bringing American tea drinkers to use the black 
tea instead of tlie green. The manufacture of 
green tea in tlie United States can be made suc- 
cessful only by the invention of machinery which 
shall take tlie place of expensive iiand labour and 
prevent the waste wliicli accompanies the latter. 
Thene questions are all being investigated 
by the Department of Agriculture, and in addition, 
it is giving special attention to a study of the con- 
ditions in various parts of the South with reference 
to determining the localities where tea can be 
grown to best advantage. Experiments have been 
inaugurated by some of the experiment stations 
andplant.t distributed with a view of putting the 
work on a substantial basis. Much iieed is felt 
for young men capable of taking up this important 
problem, and the subject is especially comnieaded 
to the notice of the agricultural colleges in the 
Southern States. 
[Dr. Shepard is certainly making a stir; but 
all the same it is impossible he can compete, 
conniercially, with the cheap lacour and teas of 
Csylon and India.— Ed. T.A.] 
Raw Rubber at Bull Whak?.— We are en- 
abled, ''y the courtesy of the proprietors of Bull 
Wharf, to give two illustrations of the method of 
sampling india-rubber and gutta-percha for the 
market. The crude material arrives at this wharf, 
which is one of the most important in the rub- 
ber trade, from all parts of the world, and a 
consignment very often includes a larga variety of 
qualities. These have first to be unpacked and 
classified ; the packages are then tared, and an 
average sample of each parcel is taken and for- 
warded to the selling brykers. The firm having 
been for many years connected with this branch, 
of the Rubber Trade, and having on their staff 
men who have been used to the work all their 
lives, they at once appreciate the various points 
connected with the quality and different features 
possessed by each package, so that liiey can at 
once classify them according to their market value. 
In dealing with materials like india-rubber aaid 
gutta-percha, which have such very varied appear- 
ance, andean be adulterated in so many ways, it 
is important that this work should be done by 
men who thoroughly understand their work. The 
staff know approximately what a package should 
weigh, and if it is either too heavy or too light 
they would guess that something was wrong, and 
would immediately investigate the cause, and 
consequently place the package in a different) 
class to that which its ordinary denomination 
might entitle it to,— GiUta-PerchaTrades' Jour* 
nal, Jan, 21, • ' 
