LADIES DEPARTMENT. 
195 
settlers of that country. It now grows abun- 
dantly, both wild and cultivated, in all that re- 
gion and among the primitive inhabitants is 
almost exclusively used instead of coffee or 
" store tea." The shrub somewhat resembles 
the box, is evergreen, of rather a ' pale color, 
grows ten or fifteen feet high,' and is most nat- 
ural to a poor sandy soil, or rather land with- 
out soil; that is, all sand. The bark, leaves, and 
twigs are all made use of; but I believe the 
young shoots are preferred. For winter use, 
they are gathered in the fall and laid in a trough, 
chopped up somewhat fine, and then put into an 
iron pot which is carefully heated, to wilt the 
leaves ; then the whole is packed away in 
earthen jars, or dried, and is made by infusion 
in the ordinary way of making " Hyson," " Sou- 
chong," " Oolong," or any other ong, and makes 
quite as good a drink as one half of the China 
teas in the country. 
Great faith is placed in the medicinal quali- 
ties of yaupon tea, by the people of the coun- 
try where it grows. It is related of a North- 
Carolina gentleman, who once had a very bad 
cold, while at the Astor House, in New York, 
and called for some yaupon tea, and on the 
waiter expressing some doubts about being able 
to find the article, as he had never heard of it 
before, he thought him very ignorant and won- 
dered where, he came from not to know what 
yaupon tea was, as he had seen it and smelt it 
upon the table every day since he had been 
there; having mistaken the black tea for the 
real " native American " article. Certain it is, 
that it is a tea very much esteemed by a great 
many people, and it is worthy of inquiry whether 
it is not deserving a more extended, cultivation, 
and more general use. I am told that in Prin- 
cess-Anne county, Virginia, a little patch of 
yaupon shrubs may be seen attached to nearly 
every house, and that hundreds of persons there 
never tasted of any other tea, and that hundreds 
of others who have tried the " boughten stuff," 
prefer the domestic article. I was assured by 
my informant that one gentleman lost the vote 
of the county in consequence of a story raised 
by his opponent, that he did not like yaupon 
tea, and ridiculed the use of it, and if elected, 
would probably go against levying a duty on 
foreign tea, for the benefit of the yaupon manu- 
facturer. 
To save my popularity, I therefore speak 
publicly of the goodness of yaupon, and that it 
is undoubtedly better than half the green tea 
imported into this country. And I candidly 
recommend its increased cultivation. It would 
at least afford something new, and that is more 
than we can depend upon when we buy a new 
tea with some heretofore unheard-of name. 
Ladies, when shall I have the pleasure of a 
cup of " yaupon " with you, raised in your own 
garden, and cured with your own hands ? 
Solon. 
REMARKS ON DIET. 
:.. While travelling on a steamboat from the 
city of P., I was thrown in company with a lady 
who was taking a very pale, sickly little girl to 
the country, for the benefit of~her health. She 
Avas much troubled with disordered stomach and 
bowels. In conversation with the lady on the 
subject, I inquired regarding the child's diet. 
" O," says she, " it results from no fault in diet, I 
assure you, for she is never allowed to eat a 
particle of fruit nor vegetables, and she has 
always been subject to such turns." I told her 
the results were what I should expect from such 
prohibitions; and directed her attention to a 
child then present, whose food consisted of the 
products of the field, garden, and dairy, exclu- 
sively; who scarcely ever had a bowel com- 
plaint. I argued that gross and highly concen- 
trated diet frequently caused inactionand dis- 
eased action of the bowels, in turn, while the 
freedom and regularity of function produced by 
fruits and vegetables, prevent the accumulation 
of morbiferous matter in the system, which 
causes disease. The mischief, however, does 
not always terminate in the bowels ; but what- 
ever organ is the weakest will suffer most. But 
flesh is thought by some, to be necessary to 
support the strength of the system. 
It has been argued that carniverous animals 
are the strongest. But are they? The lion 
may outdo the camel in a single effort ; but can 
he endure the continued exertion of the latter, 
for an equal length of time, with as little sus- 
tenance ? A flesh diet, too, directs an undue 
proportion of nervous energy to the base of the 
brain, thus robbing the intellect, and higher 
feelings of their natural stimulus. I do not 
mean to say that all should at once abandon 
animal food, but I do mean that we are quite 
too carniverous for the best interests of body or 
mind. . 
Important as is the kind of food, the quantity 
is of still greater importance. An Englishman 
on returning home from a visit to America, be- 
ing asked what he thought of the Yankees, re- 
plied ; " Their men are all gluttons, and their 
women all slaves," nowise complementary to 
either sex; but is there not much truth in what 
he said? 
The theory and practice of Dr, Cheyne was," 
" The lightest and least of meats and drinks a 
person can be tolerable easy under, is the short- 
est and most infallible means to preserve life, 
health, and serenity." Those who feel an in- 
disposition to take physical or mental exercise, 
immediately after meals, have eaten too much, 
and are exhausting, through their stomachs, 
energy due to the brain and muscles, and the 
power of the former is diminished by being 
overtasked. Hence, the greatest eaters are often 
thin in flesh, receiving less nourishment from -a 
large quantity of food, than the vigorous diges- 
tive powers of moderate eaters extract from a 
much smaller amount. When any extraordi- 
nary effort is to be made, physically or men- 
tally, the best preparation is rigid abstemious- 
ness. Let those who would possess sound minds, 
in sound bodies, and attain the greatest degree of 
intellectual power and moral excellence, of 
which they are susceptible, keep a guard over 
appetite, and pursue their onward course with 
minds untrammelled and spirits free. Amanda. 
