TEA TREE. 
161 
this preparation is used, a piece about the size of a 
small bean is put into the boiling water. They also 
dry the buds of the tea shrub, and drink the tea 
made from them as a delicacy. 
When the tea has been kept till it has lost its 
flavour, and is no lorger fit to drink, it is used by 
the Asiatics to dye their silken stuffs, to which it 
imparts a chestnut brown colour. It is for this pur- 
pose that a vast quantity of the leaves is annually 
sent from China to Surat. 
Neither the Chinese, nor the people of Japan, 
ever use their tea before it is a twelvemonth old, as 
it is very apt to prove narcotic, and disorder the 
senses when fresh. Keempfer says that an infusion 
made from the green leaves will produce apparent 
drunkenness, and great nervous disorder ; these vio- 
lent effects, however, are considerably removed by 
drying. Nevertheless it ought not to be used the 
same year it is gathered. 
There can be little doubt that the fine effluvia 
from our finest tea is pernicious to particular con- 
stitutions. Dr. Lettsom distilled an ounce of highly 
odorous water from half a pound of green tea, which 
produced great nervous irritability, while that which 
remained in the retort was quite innocent. This 
gentleman has likewise mentioned some cases 
where we may fairly suspect this effluvia to have 
caused the mischief; of these the two following will 
be sufficient for our purpose. 
cc An eminent tea-broker, after having examined 
V OL. III. 
M 
