TEA

TEA is produced by different species of thea or camellia. It has generally been imagined that China was the only country where the tea-plant would grow, or where it could be cultivated and manufactured. Recent investigations, however, have dissipated this delusion. It has been found that the Japanese and the Brazilians as well as the Chinese have cultivated tea with success; and, what is of the utmost importance to Britain, it has lately been discovered beyond all doubt that the tea-shrub is indigenous in our Indian territories of Upper Assam, being found there

through an extent of country of one month's march from Suddya and Beesa to the Chinese frontier province of Yunnan. For this most important and valuable discovery we are chiefly indebted to the indefatigable researches of Captain Jenkins, Lieutenant Charlton, and C. A. Bruce, Esq.

Mr Abel the botanist, who accompanied Lord Amherst upon his embassy to China, says,—

"The green-tea districts in the province of Keang-nan are embraced between the 29th and 31st degrees of north latitude, and are situated on the north-western base of a ridge of mountains which divide the provinces of Keang-nan and Keang-see.

"The black-tea districts in the province of Fo Kien are contained between the 27th and 28th degrees of north latitude, and are situated on the S. E. declivities of a ridge of mountains, dividing the province of Fo Kien from that of Keang-nan. Thus the whole range of the great districts of China from which Europe is supplied with tea, from the highest to the lowest degree of latitude, is from 31° to 27°. According to the missionaries, the tea-plant thrives in the more northern provinces, as at Pekin; and from Kempfer, it would appear that it is cultivated in Japan as far as 45° north.

"From every account given of the tea-plant, it succeeds best on the sides of mountains, where there can be little accumulation of vegetable mould; our opportunities of seeing its cultivation were few, but were all in favour of this conclusion. The plantations were always at some elevation above the plains, in a kind of gravelly soil, formed in some places by disintegrated sandstone, and in others by the debris of primitive rocks. A large and flourishing plantation of all the varieties of the tea-plant (brought together by Mr Bell, the principal tea-inspector at Canton) is situated on an island close to Macao, in a loose, gravelly soil, formed by the disintegration of large grained granite. Judging from the specimens collected in our route through the province of Keang-nan, whence the green tea is provided, the rocks consist chiefly of sandstone, schistus, and granite. As to the precise nature of the rocks of the black-tea country in the province of Fo Kien, I have no exact information; but as the great ridge, separating that province from Keang-see, is a continuation of one separating the latter from Canton, it is perhaps legitimate to conclude, that their constituent rocks are the same, and that the hills and soil on the eastern side are the same as we found them on the western side of the ridge, and that they are covered by a soil like that in which the camellia flourishes; the vegetation chiefly consists of the same kind of plants. But the success of the American plantations proves that the tea-plant will flourish within the tropics; and that it will grow vigorously within them, is proved by the fine plants in Sir H. Low's plantations at St Helena."

In China the hills on which tea is cultivated are not high, and the plantations where the soil is favourable extend over their entire face from the summit to the base. The difference of the temperature from that of the adjacent plains is scarcely perceptible; but it is on the nature of the soil that the quality of the tea principally depends. Rain falls in March and April in moderate showers, and the atmosphere is extremely moist; the finest leaves appear at this time, and are plucked early in April. In May the rain is very heavy, and the leaves begin to be of inferior quality.

The seeds are put into the ground towards the end of February, or early in March, and spring up almost immediately. The plants stand about three feet and a half distant from each other. They require scarcely any manure; only at first a little mud or thick mulch is applied to each plant. No other tree is planted among the tea-shrubs, but they are propped up with bamboos. Seedlings of one year's growth, if too thick, are thinned; but their leaves are not used for two years. After this the leaves of every plant are gathered three times a year, young and old indiscriminately. The gatherers and the driers of the tea are quite distinct classes, the wages of the former being from fivepence to sevenpence of our money per day, while some of the latter receive as much as 200 dollars for the season. A man can gather about fifteen pounds of tea-leaves per day; the price of labour in India being only from twopence to three-pence per day. Should the plantations which have been commenced in that quarter succeed, the teas of Assam should be procured at one half the cost of those of China.

The districts of India in which the native tea has been discovered, lie between 94° and 96° of east longitude, and 26° and 28° of north latitude. Muttuck, which is to the

south of the Deeree river, is a country that abounds in tea, and it might be made one extensive beautiful tea-garden; and were the hills and valleys of Assam all cultivated, they would be sufficient to supply the immense demand of Britain.

The tea-plant, which is an evergreen, grows in China to the height of from three to six feet, but seldom more than three. The plants which have been discovered in Assam are much taller. Mr Bruce relates, that in going over one of the low hills behind Jeypore, he came upon a tea-tract which must have been two or three miles in length, on which the wild tea trees were as thick as they could grow; and one of them he found to be three feet in circumference and about sixty feet in height, but this was an extraordinary instance; and he is of opinion that the effect of regularly cultivating the plants in tea-gardens, transplanting and trimming them, and plucking off all the young leaves from month to month as soon as they appear, will tend to stunt and shorten the growth, so that they will not generally rise higher than in China.

The tea-plants in Assam have in general been found to thrive best near small rivers and pools of water, and in those places where, after heavy falls of rain, quantities of water have accumulated and cut out for themselves numerous small channels. In Assam the wild tea-plants are never met with growing in the sun, but invariably under the shade in thick woods or jungle.

The following extracts are from Mr Bruce's Report on the Tea Plantations in Assam.

"With respect to the tea-plant being most productive on high or low ground, I cannot well say, as all our tracts are on the plains; but from what little I have seen of the hill tracts, I should suppose they were not more productive. In China, the hill tracts produce the best teas, and they may do the same here. Almost all my tracts on the plains are nearly on the same level, I should think. Nowhere, perhaps, is a little higher than Tiagri, and Tiagri a little higher than Kahung; but I believe they are equally productive, although, if I leaned towards any side with my limited experience, I should say that the low land, such as at Kahung, which is not so low as ever to be inundated by the strongest rise in the river, is the best. The plants seem to love and court moisture, not from stagnant pools, but running streams. The Kahung tracts have the water in and around them; they are all in heavy tree-jungles, which makes it very expensive to clear them. An extent of 300 yards by 500 will cost from 200 to 300 rupees (from £20 to £30); i.e. according to the manner in which the miserable opium-smoking Assamese work. Last season it was with the greatest difficulty that I could get a sufficient number of hands to gather the leaves. The plucking of the leaves may appear to many a very easy and light employment, but there are not a few of our coolies who would much rather be employed on any other job. The standing in one position so many hours occasions swellings in the legs, as our plants are not like those of China, only three feet high, but double that size, so that one must stand upright to gather the leaves. The Chinese pluck theirs squatting down. We lie under a great disadvantage in not having regular men to pluck the leaves; those that have been taught to do so, can pluck twice as many as those that have not; and we can seldom get hold of the same men two seasons running. I am of opinion that our trees will become of a smaller and more convenient size after a few years' cultivation; because, trimming of the plants, and taking all the young leaves as soon as they appear, month after month, and year after year, and the plants being deprived of the rich soil they had been living on from time unknown, must soon tell upon them. Transplanting also helps to stunt and shorten the growth of these plants. The Chinese declared to me, that the China plants now at Deejoy would never have attained to half the perfection they now have under ten years in their own country.

"I may here observe, that the sun has a material effect on the leaves; for as soon as the trees that shade the plants are removed, the leaf, from a fine deep green, begins to turn into a yellowish colour, which it retains for some months, and then again gradually changes to a healthy green, but now becomes thicker, and the plant throws out far more numerous leaves than when in the shade. The more the leaves are plucked, the greater number of them are produced. If the leaves of the first crop were not gathered, you might look in vain for the leaves of the second crop. The tea made from the leaves in the shade is not near so good as that from leaves exposed to the sun; the leaves of plants in the sun are much earlier in season than of those in the shade; the leaves from the shady tract give out a more watery liquid when rolled, and those from the sunny a more glutinous substance. When the leaves of either are rolled on a sunny day, they emit less of this liquid than on a rainy day. This juice decreases as

the season advances. The plants in the sun have flowers and fruit much earlier than those in the shade, and are far more numerous; they have flowers and seeds in July, and fruit in November. Numerous plants are to be seen, that, by some accident, either cold or rain, have lost all their flowers, and commence throwing out fresh flower-buds more abundantly than ever. Thus it is not unfrequent to see some plants in flower so late as March (some of the China plants were in flower in April) bearing at once the old and the new seeds, flower-buds, and full-blown flowers,—all at one and the same time. The rain also greatly affects the leaves, for some sorts of tea cannot be made in a rainy day; for instance the Pouchong and Minghee. The leaves for these ought to be collected about 10 A. M. on a sunny morning, when the dew has evaporated. The Pouchong can only be manufactured from the leaves of the first crop; but the Minghee, although it requires the same care in making as the other, can yet be made from any crop, provided it is made on a sunny morning. The Chinese dislike gathering leaves on a rainy day for any description of tea, and never will do so unless necessity requires it. Some pretend to distinguish the tea made on a rainy and on a sunny day, much in the same manner as they can distinguish the shady from the sunny teas—by their inferiority. If the large leaves for the black tea were collected on a rainy day, about seven seers, or fourteen pounds, of green leaves would be required to make one seer, or two pounds, of tea; but if collected on a sunny day, about four seers, or eight pounds, of green leaves, would make one seer, or two pounds, of tea;—so the Chinamen say. I tried the experiment, and found it to be correct. Our season for tea-making generally commences about the middle of March, the second crop in the middle of May, the third crop about the first of July; but the time varies according to the rains setting in sooner or later. As the manufacture of the Sychee and Minghee black teas has never been described, I will here attempt to give some idea how it is performed.

"Sychee Black Tea."—The leaves of this are the Souchong and Pouchong. After they have been gathered and dried in the sun in the usual way, they are beaten and put away four different times; they are then put into baskets, pressed down, and a cloth put over them. When the leaves become of a brownish colour by the heat, they throw out and have a peculiar smell, and are then ready for the pan, the bottom of which is made red-hot. This pan is fixed in masonry breast high, and in a sloping position, forming an angle of forty degrees. Thus the pan being placed on an inclined plane, the leaves when tossed about in it cannot escape behind, or on the sides, as it is built high up, but fall out near the edge close to the manufacturer, and always into his hands, so as to be swept out easily. When the bottom of this pan has been made red-hot by a wood fire, the operator puts a cloth to his mouth, to prevent inhaling any of the hot vapour. A man on the left of him stands ready with a basket of prepared leaves; one or two men stand on his right with dollahs, or shallow baskets, to receive the leaves from the pan, and another keeps lifting the hot leaves thrown out of the pan into the dollah, that they may quickly cool. At a given signal from the Chinaman, the person with the basket of prepared leaves seizes a handful and dashes it as quick as thought into the red-hot pan. The Chinaman tosses and turns the crackling leaves in the pan for half a minute, then draws them all out by seizing a few leaves in each hand, using them by way of a brush, not one being left behind. They are all caught by the man with the dollah or basket, who, with his disengaged hand, continues lifting the leaves and letting them fall again, that they may quickly cool. Should a leaf be left behind in the pan by any accident, the cloth that is held ready in the mouth is applied to brush it out; but all this is done as quick as lightning. The man that holds the basket of leaves watches the process sharply; for no sooner is the last leaf out of the pan, than he dashes in another handful, so that, to an observer at a little distance, it appears as if one man was dashing the leaves in, and the other as fast dashing them out again—so quickly and dexterously is this managed. As soon as one basket has received about four handfuls of the hot leaves from the pan, it is removed, and another basket placed to receive the leaves; and so on, until all is finished. A roaring wood fire is kept up under the pan, to keep the bottom red-hot, as the succession of fresh leaves tends greatly to cool the pan, which ought always to be scrubbed and washed out after the process is over. In China these pans are made of cast iron, and if great care is not taken, they will crack in the cooling; to prevent which, one man keeps tapping the inside of the edge of the pan briskly with a wet broom, used in the cleaning of the vessel, while another pours cold water in gently; thus it cools in a few seconds, and is ready for another batch of tea. The leaves are rolled and tatched the same as the other teas, and put into the drying basket for about ten minutes. When a little dry, people are employed to work and press the leaves in the hands in small quantities, of about one and half to two rupees' weight at a time, for about half a minute; they are then put into small square pieces of paper, and rolled up; after this they are put into the drying basket, and permitted to dry slowly over a gentle fire for some hours, until the whole is thoroughly dry. This tea is not sold in the China market; it is used principally as offerings to the priests, or kept for high days and holidays. It is said to be a very fine tea, and there is not one man in a hundred who can make it properly.

The Pouchong tea is made in the same way as the Sychee, with this exception, that it is not formed into balls.

"Minghee Black Tea."—The leaves (Pouchong) are plucked and dried in the sun, and are then beaten and dried in the shade for half an hour. This is done three successive times, and the leaves are very much shaken by a circular motion given to them in a sieve, so as to keep them rolling and tumbling about in the centre of it. This treatment continues until they are very soft; they are then allowed to remain for a short time. The contents of the first sieve are then placed in the centre of a close-worked bamboo basket, with a narrow edge, and the leaves are divided into four equal parts. The contents of the second sieve are placed in another bamboo basket like the former, and this basket is placed on the top of the first, and so on, piling one basket upon another, until all is finished;—there may be about two pounds of leaves in each basket. The red-hot pan is used the same as in Sychee, only now the men cast in one division of the leaves into the basket, and this is tumbled and tossed about in the red-hot pan like a plaything for about thirty seconds, and then swept out; another division is cast in, and so on, until all the prepared baskets have been emptied. The contents of each basket are still kept separate, by placing the leaves, when they come out of the pan, in separate baskets. The whole is a brisk and lively scene, and quite methodical, every one knowing his station, and the part he has to perform. The baskets are then arranged on shelves to air; the contents are afterwards tatched the same as our black teas, and fired in the drying baskets, but with this difference, that each division is placed on paper and dried. When it is half dry (the same as our teas), it is put away for the night, and the next morning it is picked, and put into the drying baskets over gentle deadened fires, and gradually dried there; it is then packed hot. This tea is a difficult sort to make.

"Shung Palo Black Tea."—Pluck the young (Palo) leaf that has not yet blown or expanded, and has the down on it, and the next one that has blown, with a part of the stalk; put it into the sun for half an hour, then into the shade; tatch over a gentle fire, and in tatching roll the leaves occasionally in the pan, and spread them all round the sides of the same; again roll them until they begin to have a withered and soft appearance, then spread them on large sieves, and put them in the shade to air for the night; next morning pick, and then fire them well. Some tea-makers do not keep them all night, but manufacture and pack the tea the same day. This tea is valued in China, as it is very scarce; but the Chinamen acknowledge that it is not a good sort. They prefer the teas the leaves of which are come to maturity.

"As the green-tea Chinamen have just commenced operations, I will try to give some account of this most interesting process. All leaves up to the size of the Souchong are taken for the green tea. About three pounds of the fresh leaves, immediately they are brought in, are cast into a hot pan (sometimes they are kept overnight when abundance have been brought in, and we have not been able to work all up); they are then rolled and tossed about in the pan, until they become too hot for the hand. Two slips of bamboo, each about a foot long, split at one end so as to form six prongs, are now used to tumble and toss the leaves about, by running the sticks down the sides of the pan, and turning the leaves up, first with the right hand, then with the left, and this as fast as possible; which keeps the leaves rolling about in the pan without being burnt: this lasts about three minutes; the leaves will then admit of being rolled and pressed without breaking. They are now taken from the pan, and rolled in dollahs, much the same as the black tea, for about three minutes, in which process a great quantity of the juice is extracted, if they be fresh leaves; but if they have been kept over night, very little juice can be expressed from them in the morning, on account of its having evaporated. The Chinamen say this does not matter, as it makes no difference in the tea. The leaves are then pressed hard between both hands, and turned round and pressed again and again, until they have taken the shape of a small pyramid. They are now placed in bamboo baskets or dollahs with a narrow edge, and the dollahs or bamboo frame-work, where they are exposed to the sun for two or three minutes, after which these pyramids of tea are gently opened, and thinly spread on the dollahs to dry. When the tea has become a little dry (which will be the case in five or ten minutes if the sun be hot), it is again rolled, and then placed in the sun as before; this is done three successive times. But should the weather be rainy, and there is no hope of its clearing, all this drying is done over the fire in a small drying basket, the same as with black tea. The green-tea makers have as great an aversion to drying their tea over the fire as the black-tea makers. The third time it has been rolled and dried, there is very little moisture left in the tea. It is now put into a hot pan, and gently turned over and over, and opened out occasionally, until all has become well heated; it is then tossed out into a basket, and while hot, put into a very strong bag, previously prepared for it, about four feet long, and four spans in circumference. Into this bag the tea is pressed with great force with the hands and feet; from fourteen to twenty pounds being put in at one time, and forced into as small a compass as possible. With his left hand the man firmly closes the mouth of the bag immediately above the leaves, while with the right hand he pommies and beats the bag, every now and then giving

it a turn. Thus he beats, and turns, and works at it, tightening it by every turn with one hand, and holding on with the other, until he has squeezed the leaves into a small compass as possible at the end of the bag. He now makes it fast by turns of the cloth where he held on, so that it may not open, and then draws the cloth of the bag over the ball of leaves, thus doubling the bag, the mouth of which is twisted and made fast. The man then stands up, holding on by a post or some such thing, and works this ball of leaves under his feet, at the same time alternately pressing with all his weight, first with one foot and then the other, turning the ball over and over, and occasionally opening the bag to tighten it more firmly. When he has made it almost as hard as a stone, he secures the mouth well, and puts the bag away for that day. Next morning it is opened out, and the leaves gently separated and placed on dollahs, then fired and dried until they are crisp, the same as the black tea, after which they are packed in boxes or baskets. In China the baskets are made of double bamboo, with leaves between. The tea may then remain on the spot for two or three months, or be sent to any other place to receive the final process. This first part of the green-tea process is so simple, that the natives of this country readily pick it up in a month or two. The second process now commences by opening the boxes or baskets, and exposing the tea on large shallow bamboo baskets or dollahs, until it has become soft enough to roll, it is then put into cast-iron pans set in brick fire-places, the same as described in making the Sychee black tea. The pan is made very hot by a wood fire, and seven pounds of the leaves are thrown into it and rubbed against the pan, with the right hand until tired, and then with the left, so as not to make the process fatiguing. The pan being placed on an inclined plane, the leaves always come tumbling back towards and near the operator, as he pushes them up from him, moving his hands backwards and forwards and pressing on the leaves with some force with the palms, keeping the ends of the fingers up to prevent their coming in contact with the hot pan. After one hour's good rubbing, the leaves are taken out and thrown into a large coarse bamboo sieve, from this into a finer one, and again still finer one, until three sorts of tea have been separated. The first, or largest sort, is put into the funnel of the winnowing machine, which has three divisions of small traps below, to let the tea out. A man turns the wheel with his right hand, and with the left regulates the quantity of tea that shall fall through the wooden funnel above, by a wooden slide at the bottom of it. The tea being thrown from the sieves into the funnel, the man turns the crank of the wheel, and moves the slide of the funnel gradually, so as to let the tea fall through gently and in small quantities. The blast from the fan blows the smaller particles of tea to the end of the machine, where it is intercepted by a circular moveable board placed there. The dust and smaller particles are blown against this board, and fall out at an opening at the bottom into a basket placed there to receive it. The next highest tea is blown nearly to the end of the machine, and falls down through a trough on the side into a basket; this tea is called Young Hyson. The next being a little heavier, is not blown quite so far; it falls through the same trough, which has a division in the middle; this of course is near the centre of the machine. A basket is placed beneath to receive the tea, which is called Hyson. The next, which is still heavier, falls very near to the end of the fan, this is called Gunpowder Tea; it is in small balls. The heaviest tea falls still closer to the fan, and is called Big Gunpowder; it is twice or three times the size of Gunpowder tea, and composed of several young leaves that adhere firmly together. This sort is afterwards put into a box and cut with a sharp iron instrument, then sifted and put among the Gunpowder, which it now resembles. The different sorts of tea are now put into shallow bamboo baskets, and men, women, and children are employed to pick out the sticks and bad leaves; this is a most tedious process, as the greatest care is taken not to leave the slightest particle of any thing but good tea. But to assist and quicken this tiresome process, beautiful bamboo sieves, very little inferior to our wire ones, and of various sizes, are employed. The different teas are thrown into sieves of different sizes, from large gunpowder to dust tea; they are shaken and tossed, and thrown from one person to another in quick succession, making the scene very animating; in this way a great portion of the stalks are got rid of. After the tea has been well sifted and picked, it is again put into the hot pans, and rubbed and rolled as before, for about one hour; it is then put into shallow bamboo baskets, and once more examined, to separate the different teas that may still remain intermixed, and again put into the hot pan. Now a mixture of sulphate of lime and indigo, very finely pulverised and sifted through fine muslin, in the proportion of three of the former to one of the latter, is added; to a pan of tea containing about seven pounds, about half a tea-spoonful of this mixture is put, and rubbed and rolled along with the tea in the pan for about an hour, as before described. The tea is then taken hot from the pan and packed firmly in boxes, both hands and feet being used to press it down. The above mixture is not put to the tea to improve its flavour, but merely to give it a uniform colour and appearance, as without it some of the tea would be light and some dark. The indigo gives it the colour, and the sulphate of lime fixes it. The Chinese call the former Yoon-tin, the latter Acca. Large gunpowder tea they call Tyokas; little gunpowder, Choochee; hyson, Chingcha; young

"The leaves of the green tea are not plucked the same as the black, although the tree or plant is one and the same, which has been proved beyond a shadow of doubt; for I am now plucking leaves for both green and black from the same tract and from the same plants; the difference lies in the manufacture, and nothing else. The green-tea gatherers are accommodated with a small basket, each having a strap passed round the neck, so as to let the basket hang on the breast. With one hand the man holds the branch, and with the other plucks the leaf, one at a time, taking as high as the Souchong leaf; a little bit of the lower end of the leaf is left for the young leaf to shoot up close to it; not a bit of stalk must be gathered. This is a very slow and tedious way of gathering. The black-tea maker plucks the tea with great rapidity with both hands, using only the forefinger and thumb, and collects them in the hollow of the hand; when his hand is full he throws the leaves into a basket under the shade of the tree; and so quickly does he ply his hands that the eye of a learner cannot follow them, nor see the proper kind of leaf to be plucked; all that he sees is the Chinaman's hands going right and left, his hands fast filling, and the leaves disappearing. Paho black tea leaf would make green tea, some gunpowder, and some young hyson. Pouchong, although classed as a second black tea, on account of the high price it fetches in the market, is a third-rate leaf, for it is rather larger than the Souchong. Some of it would make young hyson, and some skin tea. Souchong would make hyson and young hyson. Tyechong would make skin tea. I will here mention the different kinds of black tea, to make the matter more clear to those who take an interest in the subject. Thowong-Paho (the Sang fa is the same leaf as this) is the downy little leaf not expanded, and the one next to it that has just unfolded a little. This tea when made appears full of small white leaves, which are the little downy leaves just mentioned. Tiazee Paho is from the second crop, and nearly the same kind of tea, only a little older; the leaf next the small downy one (being a little more expanded), and the small leaf below this, are taken, making three in all: this has also numerous white leaves, but not so many as the former. Souchong is the next largest leaf; this is well grown, but embraces all the leaves above it. When the upper leaves have grown out of season for Thowong-Paho and Tiazee-Paho, they are all plucked for the Souchong from the third and fourth of the upper leaves. From Souchong leaves the Mischong and Sychee teas are made in the first crop, and no other. Pouchong is the next largest leaf; it is a little older and larger than the Souchong. From this leaf the Sychee and Mischong teas can be made in the first crop only. The Pouchong is never made in the second crop, on account of its not having a good flavour; many of the Souchong leaves are mixed up in this tea. The Tyechong leaves are those that are rejected from the Souchong and Pouchong, as being too large and not taking the roll. When the teas are picked, these leaves are put on one side. The Chinese often put them into a bag, and give them a twist, something in the green tea way, and then mix them up with the Souchong to add to the weight. This leaf (Tyechong) becomes worse in the second and third crops; it is a cheap tea and sold to the poor. All the black teas that are damaged have the flower of what the Chinese call Qai fa, another called Sow fa, mixed up with them. One pound of the flowers is put to each box of damaged tea. After the teas have been well trenched and mixed up with other sorts, these leaves give them a pleasant fragrance. The Sow fa plant is about two feet high, and kept in flower-pots; it is propagated from the roots. The Qai fa plant is from three to four feet high; one pound of the flowers is put to a box of tea. The plant was seen in the Botanical Gardens at Calcutta by our Chinese interpreter. The flowers of this plant are considered finer than those of the Sow fa."

"The black-tea makers appear to me to be very arbitrary in their mode of manufacture; sometimes they will take the leaves of the Thowong-Paho, or perhaps Tiazee-Paho; but if it has been raining, or there is any want of coolies to pluck the leaves quickly, or from any other cause, they will let the leaves grow a few days longer, and turn all into Souchong; which, it must be remembered, takes all the small leaves above it. If it is the first crop, the Souchong and Pouchong leaves may all be turned into Souchong tea; but even if it is the second crop, when the Pouchong leaves ought not to be gathered, they are nevertheless plucked and mixed up with the Souchong leaves. Almost all our black and all the green teas have just been made from one garden. When the green-tea makers complained that the leaves were beginning to get too large for them—that is, they were fast growing out of Souchong and running into Pouchong—the black-tea makers took up the manufacture, plucked all the leaves, and made excellent Pouchong; so that between the two there is not a leaf lost. When the black-tea makers have a garden to themselves they are cruel pluckers, for they almost strip the tree of leaves for the Souchong, and are not at all nice in the plucking; the third and even the fourth leaf on a tender twig is nipped off in the twinkling of an eye; they then look about for more young leaves, and away go the Pouchong, and Tyechong too, which is the largest leaf of all. But the green-tea men pluck quietly, one by one, down to Souchong. The black-tea men separate all their teas into first, second, third, and fourth crop; but

the green-tea manufacturers make no distinction; they prepare all the tea they can, throughout the season, box or basket it up, and when the season is over, they set off for Canton with their produce; at least all those who do not wish to sell their tea on the spot. The different merchants go in quest of it there. It now indiscriminately undergoes the second process; that is, the different crops all are mixed up together. No old leaves can be mixed in the green, as in the black tea; for the long rolling in the pan crushes them, and the fan blows them away, so that only the young leaves are left."—[Report on the Manufacture of Tea, and the Tea Plantations in Assam, by C. A. Bruce, presented to the Tea Committee, 10th June 1839.]

Tea was introduced into Europe in the year 1610, by the Dutch East India Company. It is generally said that it was first imported from Holland into England in 1666, by the Lords Arlington and Ossory. But that it was used in coffee-houses before this period, appears from an act of parliament passed in 1660, in which a duty of eightpence was laid on every gallon of the infusion sold in these places; and from the following entry which appears in the Diary of Mr Pepys, secretary to the Admiralty,—"September 25, 1661: I sent for a cup of tea (a Chinese drink), of which I never drunk before." In 1664, the East India Company bought 2 lbs. 2 oz. as a present to his majesty; and in 1667 they issued their first order to their agent at Bantam, to send home 100 lbs. of the best tea he could get. It continued to be sold in London for 60s. per lb. till 1707, though it did not cost more than 2s. 6d. or 3s. 6d. at Batavia. In 1689, instead of charging a duty on the decoction from the leaves, a duty of 5s. per lb. was laid on the tea itself. In 1715 green tea began to be used, and as great quantities were then imported, the price was proportionally lowered. In 1790 the quantity of tea retained for home consumption in Great Britain and Ireland was 1,643,095 lbs., and the duty amounted to L.580,362. Since that period the trade in tea has rapidly continued to increase till it has arrived at its present astonishing magnitude. Till 1833 the East India Company enjoyed a monopoly of the trade in tea, but by the act 3 and 4 William IV., c. 93, the trade was thrown open.

Sugar and tea are the most productive to the chancellor of the exchequer, of all the exciseable imports. These two articles alone yielded in 1836 a net revenue of L.8,858,700. In 1836 the net revenue from tea was L.4,184,165, and the quantity retained for home consumption was 49,142,236 pounds; in 1837 the net revenue was L.3,223,840, and the quantity retained for home consumption 30,625,206 pounds. The ease with which it can be levied has always been a great temptation to lay a heavy duty on this commodity;

and the consequence has been, that this, which may now be termed a necessary of life, has been burdened to the utmost limit of productiveness, and sometimes considerably beyond it. Previously to the 1st of July 1837, the duty, which had varied greatly from time to time, was, for Bohea, 1s. 6d. per pound; Congou, Twankay, &c. 2s. 2d.; and Souchong, Hyson, 3s. From that date a uniform duty of 2s. 1d. is charged on all sorts. Thus it appears, from the table of sales by the East India Company, that the duty on Bohea is nearly 300 per cent., the price of the pound of Bohea being 9¹/₁₀d., and the tax upon it 2s. 1d. On the other sorts the tax is about 100 per cent. It may fairly be anticipated, that a considerable reduction of duty on this healthful beverage would promote the comfort and sobriety of the community, without diminishing the amount of the revenue, in consequence of the increase of consumption which would necessarily follow.

When imported into the United States in American vessels it is duty free; but a duty of ten cents, or 5d. per pound, is laid on what is imported in foreign vessels.

An Account of the Quantities and Prices of the several sorts of Tea sold in England by the East India Company, in the year 1837 (May to December).

* Duty included.

The quantity exported by the Dutch and other nations, as compared with the exports of the British and Americans, is very small. Except Britain, Holland and Russia are the only European states in which the consumption of tea is considerable. In 1832 the imports into Russia were 6,461,264 lbs.; in Holland they amounted to about 2,800,000 annually. By the last accounts from Canton, the quantity of teas shipped from Hongkong and Tongkoo for England, since the first of July 1830, was, of Black Congou, 4,543,600 lbs.; Caper, 21,042 lbs.; Souchong, 31,174 lbs.; Pekoe, 66,500; and Orange Pekoe, 271,523 lbs. Of green tea the quantities were, Hyson, 292,400; Young Hyson, 45,778 lbs.; Hyson Skin, 38,700 lbs.; Twankay, 1,222,907 lbs.; Gunpowder, 138,000 lbs.; and Imperial, 69,000 lbs.