BeC. 1, 1898.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
409 
"TEA CULTURE IN AMERICA A SUCCESS" 
THE OUTPUT OF A TEA GARDEN IN 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 
Less thau ten 3ears ago, and soon after the ab- 
andonment of the last serious attempt to grow com- 
mercial tea in the Southern States, it seemed worth 
the effort to Dr. 0. 0. Shepard, of Summerviile, to 
repeal the experiment on a much more diversified 
plan, in the liopo that conditions might be found 
favourable to the sviccessful development of a new 
industry. It not necessax-y at this time to enter 
into a description of all of the " Pinehurst " tea 
gardens and the outcome of the various experiments 
instituted therein. It suffices to state that all avail- 
able sorts of tea, of soils and situations were utilized, 
and very divergent results obtained, which further 
investigations may modify, but hardly reverse. All 
of which data are to be published later, through the 
kind interest of the honorable Secretary of Agriculture, 
James Wilson. 
But, in view of the chief motive underlying the 
work, and especially because of certain results re- 
cently established which apparently prove the feasi- 
bility of making commercial tea in the Southern 
States, it may be well to iniblish an accou^ t of the 
"Rose Oarden " patch of tea. Its site was an old 
piney woods pond, with a black, linh (in humus) but 
sour surface soil, overlying quicksand and, yet lower, 
clay. The ground was thoroughly subsoil drained, 
heavily sweetened witli burnt marl and deeply 
ploughed. Abeut 1,000 plants of acclimatized Assam- 
hybrid tea were set out at 6 by 6 feet, •' quincunx." 
Whether from the slowness experienced in overcom- 
ing the original acidity of the soil or from the com- 
paratively feeble growth of the seedlings during the 
first few years — in this respect resembling its relative, 
the camellia japonica — little progress was made from 
1S90, the date of the establishment of the garden, 
until 1894, although some leaf was plucked from it 
in 1892. 
Again, the system of pruning practised at the start of 
the experimentation, whereby clean stems were main- 
tained had to be abandoned after the loss of many 
plants and a degree of disappointment which almost 
caused the cessation of further work in this direc- 
tion. 
At present the garden contains about 800 vigorous 
bushes each one composed of many stems, the result of 
cutting out the original main stem and inducing a 
luxuriant sucker growth. There are also about 200 
younger plants occupying the places where older ones 
died ; they naturally proJuoe less leaf. Altogether 
this garden of less than an acre may be fairly regarded 
as containing the equivalent of 900 plants in good 
bearing. 
The output of green leaf from i' has been as follows : 
—Crop of 1892, .56 pounds; ciop of 189.S, 81 pnnnds ; 
crop of 1894, 1.51 pounds; crop of 1895, pounds ; 
crop of 1896, 600 pounds ; crop of 1897, 648 pounds ; 
crop of 1898, 1,000 pounds to September 1st, with 
the prospect of reaching almost J, 200 pounds by 
the end of the season. 
It is to be noted that there has been a material in- 
crease each year over the preceding amounting to 
almost if not quite iOO per cent with the exceptioji of 
1897, when a prolonged autuTinal drought materially 
interfered with the leaf production. It is, of eouise, 
impossible to foretell to what limits this expansion may 
extend before reaching that slight annual variation 
which marks the maturity of the plant. But it would 
not bo surprising if the outturn were doubled within a 
year or two. Twelve hundred and sixty pounds of 
green leaf will afford 300 pounds of standard Pinehurst 
black tfa. 
On a basis of 900 plants in the " Rose Garden," the 
production per bush is five ounces of tea. If it were 
a full aero the yield would approximate 400 pounds. 
And if the plants had been placed at shorter distances 
apart, as is the practice in the Orient and now at 
Pinehurst, the output per acre should be materially 
larger. The average yearly production per bush iu 
60 
Japan does not exceed one ounos ; in China it is from 
one to two ounces ; in India and Ceylon three to five 
ounces. In the last-named countries there are estates 
which annually produce over 1 .000 pounds of tea to the 
acre ; but Ihey constitute the rare exceptions. Oriental 
tea gardens usually contain about 2,000 plants to the 
acre. 
This gratifying productiveness of an experimental 
garden of almost an acre affords good grotind for the 
belief that commercial tea may be grown in South 
Gayolina in quantity quite comparable with the 
average yield of the most favourably situated Oriental 
countries. But the ''Rose garden" is not to be 
regarded as an exceptional result nor of difficult 
imitation. Two larger gardens, also formerly piney 
woods ponds planted with' Darjeeling seedlings, pro- 
mise successful rivalry within a few years. And yet 
others appear to be awakening to a more vigorous 
productiveness. 
The cost cf a crop of 300 pounds of tea from the 
'' Rose Garden," by reason of its greater produc- 
tiveness, is much less than thut from Pinehurst, hs 
a whole. And yei, it is evident that very material 
reductions might be secured were its area even only 
ten-fold enlarged, much more so did it contain 100 
acres. The following tables show the actual cost of 
the several operations iu the growth, picking and 
caring of the crop of 1898 in tiie Rose garden, as 
also the estimated and n;aterially reduced expense 
for the same rate of production on a la.rger scale : — ■ 
Possible 
Actual cost 
reduced cost 
per pound. 
per pound. 
Pruning 
.. 3 0 
2c 
Manuring 
... o C 
2c 
Cultivation 
.... Us 
Ic 
Leaf picking . . 
.. ]4o 
8o 
Factory work ... 
... 6c 
27ic 
16c 
A glauce at the above table shows that the chief 
expense is that of gathering the leaf. Experience has 
demonstrated that a smart lad or grown girl can 
pick from a good " flush " twenty pounds of green 
leaf in ten hours, or, say, enough to make five pounds 
of tea. This should be done for 30 cents, or at 
6 cents, per pound. The supervision in the field will 
add 1 cent. With immature plants or poor " Hushes" 
there is necessarily much more labor to be spent, 
and consequently more time in securing the same 
amount of leaf. Again, the " fineness " of the pluck- 
ing materially influences its cost. The picking of 
a coarser and larger leaf or tv/o from each shoot 
greatly increases the yield and lessens the cost. 
But with medium leaf picking and in Southern 
localities where labor is cheap, with an outturn of 
at least 400 pounds of tea to the acre, this expense 
should not exceed 8 cents per pound. 
There remains to bo considered the cost of superin- 
tendence and the fixed charges for the outlay in the 
establishment of the garden and its maintenance 
until self-supporting. As to the former, the cost will 
largely depend on the size of the crop ; on a produc- 
tion of liiO.OOO pounds per annum it should not 
exceed 2 cents per pound of tea. The expense of 
putting the land in suitable condition for a tea garden 
should not exceed that for any other intensive crop. 
Tije cost of raising and setting out the tea seedlings 
will vary from f25 to $50 per acre, according to whether 
raised from domestic or foreign seeds. In the establish- 
ment of a large tea estate the initial expenses are 
necessarily heavy, but it should be borne in mind that 
once well done it is practically for all time. The 
best Japanese tea is said to be gathered from bushes 
200 years old. 
The leaf plucked from the " Rose Garden," as indeed 
from the whole estate, is fine ; i. o., it very rarely 
consists of more than the Pckoo tip and two 
leaves, and then only to the first Souchong. Here- 
tofore, and without the aid of a protective duty, 
it has been possible to sell all of the Pinehurst 
(black) tea at §1 per pound retail. It reiuttius to bs 
