345 
torrid zone; though it is to be found also in the province of Yunnan, , to the 
southward of it.* 
The southern countries of Europe, and some provinces of North America, 
would suit it, particularly the latter, the heat there in summer being such, 
that vegetables make quicker and more early shoots, and therefore acquire 
more strength and firmness before the winter commences. 
To propagate the Tea-tree in Europe it is necessary to procure seeds 
from China. Care must be taken that they be fresh, sound, ripe, plump, 
and moist internally. After being well dried in the sun, they may be in¬ 
closed in bees wax; or, left in their capsules, they may be put into very close 
canisters of tin or tutenag. Thouin , in his directions to Perouse , recom¬ 
mends these and other seeds to be placed in alternate layers of earth or sand,. 
in tin boxes, closed up exactly, and placed in solid cases, covered with waxed 
cloth; the boxes to be placed in a part of the ship the least accessible to mois¬ 
ture, and the most sheltered from extreme heat or cold. Mr. Sneyd was very 
successful in having seeds packed up in absorbent paper, and surrounded 
by raisins or moist sugar, which kept them in a state fit for vegetation. 
American seeds are frequently brought over by putting them into a box, not 
made too close, upon alternate layers of moss, in such a manner as to admit 
the seeds to vegetate. This might be tried with the seeds of the Tea-tree; 
and to succeed more certainly, some of the seeds might be sown in pots or 
boxes, when the vessel arrives at St. Helena, and after passing the tropic of 
Cancer, near the latitude of thirty degrees north. 
But the best method seems to be, to sow ripe seeds in good light earth 
in boxes, at leaving Canton; covering them with wire, to prevent rats and 
other vermin from coming to them ; and taking care that the boxes be not 
exposed to too much air, nor to the spray of the sea. A little fresh or rain 
water should be sprinkled over them now and then; and when the seedling 
plants appear, they should be kept moist, and out of the burning sun. If 
young plants can be procured in China, they may be sent over in a growing 
state in boxes, forty inches long, by twenty inches broad, and as much in 
depth, having a few holes bored through the bottom. 
When the trees arrive in England, they must be kept in a green-house 
during the winter, and in the open air during the summer. If they come 
Staunton, Embassy, Vol. II. p. 264 . 460. 
4 S 
