254 Herbs of our own Growth in lieu <?/ Tea. 
PART III. 
Herbs of our own growth in lieu of tea. Advan- 
tages arifng from tea. "Taxes propofed in lieu 
of tea. Calculation of the ex pence of te a. 
Moderation in expence neceffary . 
LETTER XI. 
To Mrs. O 
Madam, 
I F you made it the condition of your leaving off the ufe of 
tea, I would turn botanist or gardener, to difcover herbs 
more healthy in quality, and more delicious in tafte, than the 
choiceft produce of china. Let me recommend to you to exert 
yourfelf, and make experiments of this kind : for this purpofe 
you mull; gather the herbs in their mod perfedt (late ; and 
obferve the fame rules as the Chinese pradtife with their tea : 
they fhould be cut when the flowers are budding, and imme- 
diately after the morning dew is dried away : if herbs have any 
moifture. on them, they will not dry kindly ; and if the fun adls 
upon them intenfely, their fubtler virtues will be loft. 
Some of the learned pretend, that if betony is gathered 
when juft going to flower, the ufe of it will cure inveterate 
head-achs ; and that it has all the good qualities of tea, with- 
out the bad ones. 
You 
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