4i6 
rHF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[December i, i8gi 
luaiu ciitranoo. wi'U the long Hues of Apshiu rubber 
trees, Rud tbo cluster of diifereut palms, (2) the 
avenue of lojal pa ni", (3) the different bamVoos at 
tho ponds, (-1) tho dist-irl view of the eatioaood 
bridge. Tbe view from the Ucrbariuiu is also oue of 
great beauty. • . , v 
Visitors to tho gardonc arc greatly assisted by toe 
intoliigeiit native servants detail- d to act as guides. 
They have a fair huowlcdge of the whereabouta ol 
almost all tbo important plants and seldom go wrong 
with regard to names. It should bo stated also that 
the natives employed iu widi ly different sti^ioua in 
tho cBtabliahmont prove, according to the Dirootor 
and the Superintendent, general efliciont. 
The Herbarium is rich iu certain directitns and enn 
be consulted by students under proper natrutions. 
The Museum ia aa yet amall. 
It remains to bo said that plants and seeds are tor 
sale at tho garden, at moderate prices. A Wardian 
case packed willi forty a.ssorted plants la shipped for 
40 rupees, fay about 10 to 20_ dollara. 
Tho iLlluonoe for good whicn has been crertoa 
ill Oejlon by the garden and its brunches is in- 
calculable. Tlio establiabment has proved a centre 
of scientific activity and of high economic value. 
O. L. O. 
G. A. SALA ON TEA DRINIUNG. 
A feminine codribulor to a contemporary appears, 
6QualIy witU tho tstiinable Mrs. I'Awcottj to be ue^ 
perately troubled in her miud toucliiug the supposed 
enormities of tCR-drinkiug by ladies— excei'ats which 
in tho opinion of tho eneraios of the tea-pot, are 
grievously aggravated when tho cup which cheers but 
not inebriates is occompaiiied by buns, sconos, short- 
bread, and especially by tho dark and dyspeptic 
plumoake. The foes of tea maiutaiu that tbero is 
an utter lack of diguity in tho speclncle of a bevy 
of ladies fitting at marble tables munchiug ludigea* 
tiou.broeding plumoake and sipping cijaally nuwho e- 
some tea " from thick white bowla oouveutionally 
known as tea-oups.’* It may_ bo ►sked, however, is it 
absolutoly esaonlial to ica-driuking that tho refresh- 
ment shonld be taken from a marble-topped table P 
Would it bo rqually criminal to sip Souchong or 
iJohoa while sitting at a table of plain deal covered 
with Americau clolii, oral an “oocasioiial ” walnut, 
or mahogany, or rosewood, or from tho convenient 
and pretty dwerf table of ebony and mother-of-pearl 
— the “mikra trapeau ” which the Greek ladies use 
as a support for the brOfS plateau that holda their 
dainty little coffeo-oiipa P And, again, leaving on one 
side as a moot point the wholeaomeuess or uuwhole- 
Bomeness of tea, is it not foolishly oalnmnious, in the 
year lb91, to call our tenenps "thick white bowls? 
At least, they have handles, and are supplemented 
by saucats : and, if the oorrospoudent of our contem- 
porary entered a ParUian oremorie in quest of a 
cheap breakfast, her oafe au lait or her chocolate 
would be served in what was lilcrally a thick white 
bowl very often with tho white glaae chipped off m 
DortiouB, and revcaliog tho coarse brown cnrtlion- 
waro beneath, end utterly destitute of a handle, 
to atone for the abseiioo of which the customer 
would be furnished with a big spoon of the very 
clieapest and most lack-lustre form of electro. Even 
in the most fashionatle cifda iu Pans, tho lea and 
JnfF^P, enns are thick and white and clumsy in pottmg, 
wbertarro hundreds of houses of refreshment in 
Inndou and at the seaside the tea cquipsge is light, 
Londoi »j.gtpful English pottery is fust becoming 
rt onir^ho molt elegant bu'; th/ cheapest in the 
world Irid, seeing that quite a picturcs.j^ae little tea 
rervico can be bought for five or six shillings, the 
Mingkst of refreshment-heuse “J^aicr wWU 
think it worth while to serve coffee in thick white 
^'^Nor docs tho indiolmeut sgaiiist tea stop at the 
charge tliat it is served at marlde tables and witl 
ugly and clumsy paraplioriialia. The ladies arc warned 
that, although the decoctions of the fragrant herb at 
"toa-timo” may be grateful and opiufottiDg, tea si 
" lunchcon-iime " is a dolusiou and a snare. In response 
to this somewhat vague acrusation it may bo per- 
missible to ask what is " *ea-timei' ” We d^id not 
discover tho properties of the toa-plaiit; tlio Cbinese 
grew it and dried it and infused it thousands of years 
before England was ever heard of, and yc.ur China- 
man will sip tin from morning until night. 
Even in England, since the period when the use 
oi tea was first introduced, tiio hours at wbicli 
wo lake our meals havo beeu so frequently ysiiod 
that it is a matter of extreme difficulty to decide at 
what tour tea shonld most appropriately to consumed. 
Pope tells us that " Great Anna, whom three riolms 
obey, Did tomotimoa counsel lake and sometimes ten 
and, looking at tho fact that since in tbo days of 
Queen Anne Royalty and tho nobility and gentry break- 
fasted at eight in tho morning, dined at one, and 
supped at fi«bt, it is probable that toa-timo may have 
been between three and four p.m. There was, how- 
ever, as we learn irom Swift’s " Polite ConveroBtion," 
a seolioii of tho boau monde which did not breakfast 
until nearly noon. Miss Notable, when Tom Neverout 
comes to breakfast at Lady Sraart'e, admits that she 
nevi-r lises before eleven, and it ia at that hour 
that her L-idyship entertains her guest with tea, which 
is served with cream, and bread-aiid-bulter, Tho tea, 
of couise, is ill a " diah," which may have been a 
Binnll china bowl wilbout handles. Hogarth’s early 
pictures arc replete with evidence that the little black 
boy iu tho turban who bore tbe teakettle was in request 
not only at the orthodox tea-time, but at various periods 
tliroughoiit the day. Lady Sm.art, being apparently 
ratlicr a dissipated dauio, docs not dine until three ; 
but whin she has regaled her guests upon oysters, 
sirloin of beef, venison, pastry, pigeons, pudding, cider, 
end small beer, llie ladies adjourn to their tea, while 
the gentlemen sit down to scrions drinKing of claret 
and burgundy. When tliej are pretty full of ohoioa 
Galiio vintages they rejoin the ladies, and tea is again 
served round to botli s.-ies. Next Lady Smart rings 
for llie footman, and bids him take away the 
tea-tabica and bring candles, it being uudirstoo-i from 
tho context that it is now six o’clock on a September 
evening. Then they all go to quadrille, mnnille, 
spudille, and basto, and gamble fiirioui-ly until thrio 
in tho morning, more tea, and |■.os8ii)ly a little punch 
having liceii served iu the email hours. To all appear- 
ance, although tbo use of tea throughout the eigh- 
teenth century was from its great costliness almost 
exclusively confined to tho upper claeaes, it was drunk 
quite as frequently in polite society as it is a present 
by nil orders iu the community ; and it is worthy of 
remark that from tho time of its first introduction into 
Europe it has been subjected to most violent attacks, 
now on tho part of tho medical profession, and now 
on that of thess professors cf minor morals who aro 
always so anxious to put their fellow-creatures on the 
right path, but whose ignorance, prejudice, and lack 
of common sense lead them with melancholy frequency 
to follow a voty wrong path themsolves. There is no 
notice of tea being habitually drnuk in England prior 
to the Bestcratioii ; but so early as ItlU Tulpins, a 
colebrated physician of Amsterdam, advised all bis 
female patients to drink tea when they suffered from 
depression, and it ia extremely probable that when 
Mary ascended the throne of these kingdoms as ooii- 
Borl regnant with her liuabaud, at the Revolution, 
she brought with her from Holland a canister of 
tea, BS well as a provision of Dutch tiles, Dutch 
clocks, charity schools on tho Dutch model, Dutcli 
drops, Dutch dolls, and Dutch olcaoliness. Tea mado 
bat alow progress in France until sficr 1789, but in 
1801 we find the author of the " Almanach des Gour- 
mands " complaining that tca-partics, taking place at 
tlie unholy hour of three in the morning, had aup- 
plaiitid the “gofllers,’’ or after-suppers, of Parisian 
society. These postccnal teas wore attended by dishes 
of game and pastry, and by libations ol' punch and 
bishop ; but, at about the same period, it would 
appear that the frugal aud patriarchal Swiss had 
estaliliahed a regular five o’clock tea, to which, in its 
original simplicity, only bread-and-butter was added, 
slthuugh subsequeutly such complementary delicacies 
as bisoaits, macatcons, and even loos were tolerated 
