70 GARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY 
of almonds and are much relished by the natives. They yield an oil 
esembling almond oil. The tasar silkworm is said to be fed on its 
leaves. It is a popular street tree in Florida. The collection also 
includes another species whose fruits are valuable in dyeing and tanning. 
Thea sinensis, or TEA, a native of China and India, belongs to the 
Ternstroemiaceae, the family to which the camellia belongs. The 
tea plant reaches a height of 20 feet in the wild state, but under culti- 
vation is kept pruned to 3 or 4 feet. The flowers look like single white 
roses, and have the fragrance of roses. Tea cultivation was introduced 
into China about 350, and taken to Japan in the 9th century by two 
Chinese priests. Tea is cultivated now in China, Korea, Japan, and 
as far south as the Malay peninsula. Attempts have been made to 
grow it in Africa, the West Indies, Bengal, Carolina, and many other 
warm countries. The plant will grow, but the leaves lack the true 
aroma. For good tea the plant must be grown rapidly and must be 
kept pruned so it will send up quantities of small new branches. For 
the better grades of tea, only the terminal bud and the upper leaf of 
each shoot is picked; for medium grade, the bud and two leaves; for 
cheap grades, the bud and three leaves. Picking tea requires expert 
workmen who must be able to snip off the twig with the thumb and 
forefinger. After picking, tea leaves may be treated in two ways. 
One way produces green tea; the other black. Green tea requires 
the smaller amount of work—the leaves are dried in trays over a slow 
fire for a couple of hours, then run through rollers. For black tea, the 
leaves are dried by exposure to the air, then run through rollers, then 
spread out under damp cloths and allowed to ferment, then rolled 
again, and then dried. Different terms are used in different countries 
to designate different grades of tea. The very best grade of tea is never 
seen in this country, and is said to sell for something like $250 a pound 
in China. 
Theobroma Cacao, or Cacao, a native of tropical America, belongs to 
the Sterculiaceae, a family with no local representatives. This tree 
bears, on the trunk and branches, pods that contain the cacao beans 
from which chocolate and cocoa are made. As many as 40 varieties 
of cacao are cultivated, different varieties varying widely in flavor. 
The plant grows in shade in the forest, and artificial shade must be 
supplied the young plants in cultivation. Usually the shade is supplied 
by such crops as cotton, manioc, and bananas. For the grown trees, 
shade is usually supplied by planting coral-trees between the rows. 
Cacao cultivation requires much waiting and expense. A fair crop 
is never secured until 10 years after a plantation is set out. A large 
tree bears as many as 400 pods. The fruit is edible, but is valued for 
the seeds, about 60 to the pod. The seeds are removed from the pod 
and taken at once to factories where they are fermented and sweated 
to remove the flesh that adheres to them. Later the beans are dried 
and prepared for market. The beans lack their flavor until they are 
roasted. After roasting, they are crushed, and the shells removed. 
From the kernel, or cocoa nibs, the cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter 
of commerce are prepared. 
Thespesia populnea, is a member of the Malvaceae, or Mallow family. 
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