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AGRICULTURE OF THE CHINESE.-NO. 11 . 
AGRICULTURE OF THE CHINESE.—No. 11. 
Harvesting of the Tea Leaves .—I have already 
said that the species of plant which produces the 
black teas, near Foo-chow, is the very same as that 
found in the green-tea districts of the north. 
Being further south, and of course in a hotter cli¬ 
mate, the tea plant of Fokien is generally grown at 
a high elevation amongst the hills. At the risk of 
some little repetition I will insert an account of my 
visit to the tea hills of Fokien. 
Every cottager, or small farmer, has two or three 
patches of tea shrubs growing on the hill sides, 
which are generally planted and kept in order by 
the members of his own family. When the gath¬ 
ering season arrives, the cottage doors are locked, 
and all proceed to the hills with their baskets and 
commence plucking the leaves. This business, of 
course, only goes on during fine days when the 
leaves are dry. 
The first gathering takes place just when the 
leaf buds begin to unfold themselves in early 
spring. This tea is scarce and of a very superior 
quality, being, in fact, tks same, or nearly the 
same, as that which is made from the young leaves 
in the green-tea district. The second gathering 
produces the principal crop of the season; the 
third crop is coarse and inferior. 
Preparation of the Leaves .—When the leaves 
are brought home from the hills, they are first of 
all emptied out into large flat bamboo sieves, and, 
providing the day is not too bright, are exposed in 
the open air to dry off - any superfluous moisture. 
When this moisture has evaporated, convenient 
portions of the leaves are brought in and thrown 
into a round, flat, iron pan, such as the Chinese use 
for boiling their rice, and are exposed to the heat 
of a gentle fire which is lighted below them. As 
soon as this heat reaches them, they give out a 
large quantity of moisture with a crackling noise, 
and they soon become soft and pliant. The per¬ 
son who attends to them stirs them about with his 
hands, and in about five minutes takes them out and 
puts in a fresh supply. The heated leaves are 
emptied out on a large round and flat bamboo sieve, 
which is placed upon a table at a convenient height 
from the ground, and the process of rolling com¬ 
mences. Three or four persons take a portion of 
the heated leaves and begin to squeeze and roll 
them in the manner which I have already described. 
This goes on for a minute or two, when each per¬ 
son takes his portion and examines the effects 
which have already been produced; it is then 
shaken well out upon the table, after which it is 
gathered up and the operation of rolling and 
squeezing goes on as before. This is repeated 
three or four times, and then the whole is shaken 
well out, on another large flat bamboo bieve, in 
Such a manner as to spread it thinly upon it. 
Up to this stage of the process, all the leaves 
have been subjected to the same treatment. But 
the tea in this district is now divided into two 
classes, each of which is treated in a peculiar man¬ 
ner. They are called, in the language of the dis¬ 
trict, Luk-cha and Hong-cha. The'former seems to 
be a kind of mixture of black and green, and I 
should imagine it only made for the use of the na¬ 
tives themselves; the latter is our common black 
tea. 
The Luk-cha is prepared in the following man¬ 
ner :—The leaves after being rolled and squeezed, 
are shaken out thinly, and exposed to the air to 
dry. Great care is taken not to expose them ia 
this state to much bright sunshine, and hence a fina 
dry day when the sun is partially obscured by thia 
clouds is always preferred for this part of the ope¬ 
ration. After being exposed for an hour or two, of 
even longer, as the case may be, for this depends 
on a variety of circumstances, such as the dryness 
of the air, or the convenience of the workpeople, 
they are brought within doors, and the drying pro¬ 
cess commences. The flat rice pan, in which they 
are heated, is so constructed, that it can be taken 
out at the pleasure of the cottager. It is now re¬ 
moved, and a bamboo sieve, exactly the same size, 
is put into its place, and filled with the leaves. A 
very slow and steady fire of wood, or charcoal, is 
now kept up, and the remains of the moisture in 
the leaves is thus gradually and slowly evaporated. 
After a few minutes, the sieve is lifted and placed 
in one of a larger size, with a closer bottom. The 
leavss are then well shaken up and turned over, and 
a»y of the smaller tea which falls through the open 
sieve, during the operation, is thus collected in the 
under one, and carefully saved. Both sieves are 
now placed over the flue, and the leaves carefully 
watched and turned frequently, for about an hour, 
when the tea is considered properly fired. Some¬ 
times, if the day is fine, it is exposed a little while 
to the sun, before it is packed away. 
The Hong-cha, or our common black tea, is pre¬ 
pared rather differently. In the first place, the na¬ 
tives seem more particular in the rolling pro¬ 
cess, especially when it is for the foreign mar¬ 
ket, although the operation is performed much in 
the same way. After heating and rolling, the 
leaves are shaken out on large screens, and subject¬ 
ed to the action of the open air; the natives in this, 
as in all other cases, taking care not to expose 
them to a bright and burning sun. This is a most 
important part of the manufacture. The black 
tea is left in this state sometimes for two or three 
days, before it is fired, which, doubtless, is one 
cause why the color of this tea is so much darker 
than those kinds which are prepared from the same 
plants and quickly dried. 
After being exposed for a sufficient length of 
time, to the action of the air, the leaves are taken 
in for the purpose of firing. Instead, however, of 
being heated in baskets, like the other kind, this is 
thrown at once into the pan. An old and experi¬ 
enced person takes his place at the furnace, and 
keeps up a slow and steady fire, while it is the 
duty of the younger branches of the family to keep 
the leaves in the pan in continual motion, and pre¬ 
vent them from being burned. This is done by 
means of little hand brushes, made from the pro¬ 
lific bamboo, the outer, flinty part being spilt for 
this purpose. The tea prepared in this manner 
soon becomes of a dark color, and is quite different 
in appearance from the Luk-cha. After it has been 
sufficiently dried, it has, of course, to undergo 
the other operations of sifting, picking, and di¬ 
viding, before it is fit to be packed up for a for¬ 
eign market. 
From hence it appears, that the black tea is 
rendered darker in color, first, by being longer ex- 
