TEA PLANT. 
225 
meagre soil and a moderate temperature ; and these may always 
be found on the mountains of tropical islands, and on the inland 
hills of temperate continents. 
With respect to the management of the plant whilst growing, 
and the gathering of its leaves, there is not, I apprehend, much that 
is necessary to be learnt. From the general statement of authors it 
appears, that after the seed is once committed to a favourable soil, 
little subsequent attention is required. A few plantations of 
green tea, seen by the Embassy in Keang-nan, consisted of very low 
plants, perhaps kept down by pruning ; as the Missionaries tell us 
that the plant of the green tea districts is never allowed to grow 
to a large size; but that in the black tea country it is suffered to attain 
its full height, which sometimes reaches to ten or twelve feet. In 
collecting the leaves the principal circumstances that seem neces- 
sary to be attended to are, to gather them at the proper seasons, 
to select the young leaves for the superior kind of tea, and the older 
leaves for that of inferior quality. The many varieties of tea seen 
in this country are doubtless the produce of the mixture of teas of 
different qualities, after their arrival in England. 
But granting that the preparation of tea is more complicated than 
there is reason to suppose, it might doubtless be obtained from the 
proprietors of tea plantations who frequent Canton during the tea 
sales ; and is perhaps even now in the possession of many Europeans. 
If ever it shall suit the policy of this country to derive the tea 
from any of our own dependencies, there can be no doubt that 
we shall cease to be indebted to China for an article that enters so 
essentially into the comforts of all classes of my countrymen. I have 
heard much of the difficulty of transporting plants from China, in 
sufficient numbers, and in such health as to give a fair chance to 
any experiment for their cultivation ; but cannot imagine where that 
difficulty lies. A great number of plants which were on board the 
Alceste for the purpose of being left at the Cape and at St. Helena, 
were in the most vigorous state the day previous to the wreck, and 
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