408 
feet asunder. From six to twelve seeds are de- 
posited in each hole; for in consequence of their 
oiliness, they are apt to become rancid, so that 
a considerable proportion do not germinate. The 
plants require to be carefully weeded while very 
young ; but are otherwise easily reared. Their 
leaves are not available for gathering till the 
third year after sowing; but they are then good 
and abundant. At seven years from sowing, the 
plants attain their full height, but they then 
have thinner and less valuable leaves than in the 
third and three following years; and at that 
time, they are generally cut over near the ground, 
so that they send forth an exuberance of new 
shoots, and may yield as strong, well-flavoured, 
and plentiful leaves as before; and, by this prac- 
tice of cutting over, repeated at suitable inter- 
vals, they can be rendered fairly or fully pro- 
ductive during an indefinite number of years. 
The leaves are gathered either singly or in sprigs; 
and can be collected by a diligent worker, some- 
times to the amount of ten or even fifteen pounds 
in a day, and on the average, to the amount of 
from four to six. The leaves are gathered at 
different seasons or upon different methods, ac- 
cording to the several varieties of the tea; and 
are torrefied in buildings adapted for the pur- 
pose, having a number of small furnaces, each 
about three feet high, with a large flat iron pan 
at the top. 
Bohea is gathered first from about the middle 
till the end of April, next from about the middle 
of June till about the middle of July, and next 
from the beginning of August till the end of Sep- 
tember; and if the demand be great, a fourth 
gathering is made later in the year, though at 
|, the serious risk of impoverishing next year’s 
crop. The leaves are put into large baskets to 
dry, elevated to receive currents of air, or ex- 
posed to the sun, if not too intense, for a few 
hours, when they begin to impregnate the air; 
then they are what is called tatched, which is 
done by throwing each time about half a catty of 
leaves into a flat pan of cast iron, which is hot, 
and stirring them with the hand. They are then 
taken out and again put into the baskets, and 
rubbed with men’s hands to roll them, after 
which they are again tatched in larger quanti- 
ties, and over a slower fire; which being accom- 
plished they are further fired in baskets over 
charcoal. This being completed, the tea is laid 
- upon a table, and the useless or bad selected from 
it; but being a common tea, it is not so care- 
fully examined as the other sorts. The best is 
_ of a small blackish leaf, and dusty, of a somewhat 
brackish taste; and it should be crisp. Reject 
- what smells faint and disagreeable. 
Congou requires great care in the making. 
The London dealers know three sorts of Congou 
teas, viz. Congou, Campoi Congou, and Ankay 
Congou. The first is a superior kind of bohea, 
larger leaf and less dusty. It should be chosen 
_ of a fresh smell, the taste less strong than bohea, 
to feel crisp, and easily crumbled. Those con- 
gous which run broken and dusty, of a heated 
smell, and faint unpleasant taste, should be re- 
jected. Campoi congou is a superior kind of 
congou, but much resembling it, but fresher and 
of a cleaner flavour, not unlike souchong. Ankay 
congou receives its name from Ankay where it 
is propagated. The leaf is small and wiry, and 
of a burnt smell. At Canton it has a high fla- 
vour, which is lost in the course of the voyage. 
This tea is little esteemed in London. 
Souchong, or Se-ow-chong, is made from the 
leaves of trees three years old, and where the 
soil is very good, of older leaves; but of the true 
souchong very little is produced. What is sold 
to Europeans for souchong is only the first sort 
of congou; and the congou is only the first sort 
of bohea.. Upon a hill planted with tea-trees, 
one only may produce leaves good enough to be 
called souchong, and of these only the best and 
youngest are taken; the others make congous 
and boheas. The London dealers distinguish three 
species of souchong. Souchong, or what is com- 
monly called so, should be crisp and dry, of a 
pleasant fragrant smell, and as free from dust as 
possible. When tried in water, the more reddish 
brown the leaves are the better, and the water of a 
lightish brown. It is sometimes of a high colour, 
and sometimes pale; but the tea, if good in other 
respects, should not be rejected on account of the 
colour. Avoid such as is broken, dusty, or foul, 
or that smells old and musty. Caper souchong 
takes its name from being rolled up something 
like a caper. The leaves of this should be chosen 
of a fine black gloss, heavy, of a fresh good smell, 
taste full flavoured and high. On being infused 
in water, it tinges of a bright reddish brown 
colour. Reject that which is dusty and broken, 
and of a faint smell. Padre souchong, or Pow- 
chong, is a very superior kind of souchong, having 
a finer taste, smell, and flavour. The leaves are 
larger and of a yellowish hue, not so strongly 
twisted. This tea, is scarce, and difficult to be 
procured genuine. That which is small and 
broken should be rejected. 
Pekoe, or Pé-how, is made from the leaves of 
trees three years old, and from the tenderest of 
them, gathered just after they have been in bloom, 
when the small leaves that grow between the 
two first that have appeared, and which alto- 
gether make a sprig, are downy and white, and 
resemble young hair or down. This tea is es- 
teemed superior to souchong. It should be 
chosen with small white leaves, or flowers at the 
ends of the leaves; the more flower it has, the 
more it is esteemed. It has a peculiar flavour; 
and it greatly improves souchong on being mixed 
with it. That which is old, small, and broken, 
with little flavour, should be rejected. 
Green teas are cured in the following manner: 
—When the leaves are gathered, they are di-. 
rectly tatched, and then very much rubbed by 
men’s hands to roll them, after which they are 
