the dried leaves of the tea plant.—A commodity with which we are so well acquainted, which affords a beverage so generally used and so generally agreeable, and which forms so considerable an article of commerce, must excite curiosity to know something of its history, and of the nature of the plant from which it is obtained.

The tea plant is a native of Japan, China, and Tonquin, and has not, as far as we can learn, been found growing spontaneously in any other parts of the world. Linnaeus arranged it under the class of polyandria, and order of monogynia, and Thunberg, one of the most distinguished pupils of that illustrious botanist, who resided 16 months in Batavia and Japan, has clasped it in the same manner as his master. Several of the British botanists, on the other hand, refer it to the order of trigynia; deriving their authority from a plant in the duke of Northumberland's garden at Sion-houfe, which had three styles.

Linnaeus says that there are two species of the tea plant; the bohea, the corolla of which has six petals; and the viridis or green tea, which has nine petals. Thunberg makes only one species, the bohea, consisting of two varieties; the one with broad and the other with narrow leaves.

The tea plant, which is an evergreen, grows to the height of five or fix feet; Le Compte says ten or twelve. The leaves, which are the only valuable part of it, are about an inch and a half long, narrow, indented, and tapering to a point, like those of the sweet briar, and of a dark green colour. The root is like that of the peach tree, and its flowers resemble those of the white wild rose. The stem spreads into many irregular branches. branches. The wood is hard, of a whitish green colour, and the bark is of a greenish colour, with a bitter, nauseous, and astringent taste. The fruit is small, and contains several round blackish seeds, about the bigness of a bean or large pea.

This plant delights in valleys, is frequent on the sloping sides of mountains and the banks of rivers, where it enjoys a southern exposure. It flourishes in the northern latitudes of Pekin as well as round Canton, but attains the greatest perfection in the mild temperate regions of Nankin. It is said only to be found between the 30th and 45th degree of north latitude. In Japan it is planted round the borders of fields, without regard to the soil; but as it is an important article of commerce with the Chinese, whose fields are covered with it, it is by them cultivated with care. The Abbé Rochen says, it grows equally well in a poor as in a rich soil; but that there are certain places where it is of a better quality. The tea which grows in rocky ground is superior to that which grows in a light soil; and the worst kind is that which is produced in a clay soil. It is propagated by seeds; from six to twelve are put into a hole about five inches deep, at certain distances from each other. The reason why so many seeds are sown in the same hole is said to be, that only a fifth part vegetate. Being thus sown, they grow without any other care. Some, however, manure the land, and remove the weeds; for the Chinese are as fond of good tea, and take as much pains to procure it of an excellent quality, as the Europeans do to procure excellent wine.

The leaves are not fit for being plucked till the shrub be of three years growth. In seven years it rises to a man's height; but as it then bears but few leaves, it is cut down to the stem, and this produces a new crop of fresh shoots the following summer. We are informed by Kömpfer, that there are three seasons in which the leaves are collected in the isles of Japan, from which the tea derives different degrees of perfection.

The first gathering commences at the end of February or beginning of March. The leaves are then small, tender, and unfolded, and not above three or four days old: these are called fichi-thaa, or "tea in powder," because it is pulverized; it is also called imperial tea, being generally reserved for the court and people of rank; and sometimes also it is named bloom tea. It is sold in China for 20d. or 2s. per pound. The labourers employed in collecting it do not pull the leaves by handfuls, but pick them one by one, and take every precaution that they may not break them. However long and tedious this labour may appear, they gather from 4 to 10 or 15 pounds a-day.

The second crop is gathered about the end of March or beginning of April. At this season part of their leaves have attained their full growth, and the rest are not above half their size. This difference does not, however, prevent them from being all gathered indiscriminately. They are afterwards picked and assorted into different parcels, according to their age and size. The youngest, which are carefully separated from the rest, are often sold for leaves of the first crop, or for imperial tea. Tea gathered at this season is called roo-ti-faa, or "Chinese tea," because the people of Japan infuse it, and drink it after the Chinese manner.

The third crop is gathered in the end of May or in the month of June. The leaves are then very numerous and thick, and have acquired their full growth. This kind of tea, which is called ben-ti-faa, is the coarsest of all, and is reserved for the common people. Some of the Japanese collect their tea only at two seasons of the year, which correspond to the second and third already mentioned; others confine themselves to one general gathering of their crop, towards the month of June: however, they always form afterwards different assortments of their leaves.

The finest and most celebrated tea of Japan is that which grows near Ud-fi, a small village situated close to the sea, and not far distant from Meaco. In the district of this village is a delightful mountain, having the same name, the climate of which is said to be extremely favourable to the culture of tea; it is therefore inclosed by a hedge, and surrounded with wide ditches, which prevent all access to it. The tea shrubs that grow on this mountain are planted in regular order, and are divided by different avenues and alleys.

The care of this place is entrusted to people who are ordered to guard the leaves from dust, and to defend them from the inclemency of the weather. The labourers who are appointed to collect the tea abstain from every kind of gross food for some weeks before they begin, that their breath and perspiration may not in the least injure the leaves. They gather them with the most scrupulous nicety, and never touch them but with very fine gloves. When this choice tea has undergone the process necessary for its preparation, it is escorted by the superintendent of the mountain and a strong guard to the emperor's court, and reserved for the use of the imperial family.

As the tea shrub grows often on the rugged banks of steep mountains, access to which is dangerous, and sometimes impracticable, the Chinese, in order to come at the leaves, are said to use a singular stratagem: These steep places are generally frequented by great numbers of monkeys, which being irritated and provoked, to revenge themselves tear off the branches, and throw them down upon those who have insulted them. The Chinese immediately collect these branches, and strip them of their leaves.

When the tea leaves have been collected, they are exposed to the steam of boiling water; after which they are put upon plates of copper, and held over the fire until they become dry and shrivelled, and appear such as we have them in Europe. According to the testimony of Kömpfer, tea is prepared in the same manner in the isles of Japan. "There are to be seen there (says this traveller) public buildings erected for the purpose of preparing the fresh gathered tea. Every private person who has not suitable conveniences, or who is unacquainted with the operation, may carry his leaves thither as they dry. These buildings contain a great number of small ovens raised about three feet high, each of which has a broad plate of iron fixed over its mouth. The workmen are seated round a large table covered with mats, and are employed in rolling the tea leaves which are spread out upon them. When the iron plates are heated to a certain degree by the fire, they cover them with a few pounds of fresh gathered leaves, which being green and full of sap, crackle as soon as they touch the plate. It is then the business of the workman to stir them with his naked hands as quickly as possible, until they become so warm that he cannot easily endure the heat. He then takes off the leaves with a kind of shovel, and lays them upon mats. The people who are employed in mixing them, take a small quantity at a time, roll them in their hands always in the same direction; while others keep continually stirring them, in order that they may cool sooner, and preserve their shrivelled figure the longer. This process is repeated two or three times, and even oftener, before the tea is deposited in the warehouses. These precautions are necessary to extract all the moisture from the leaves."

The people of Japan and China generally keep their tea a year before using it, because, when quite fresh and newly gathered, it possesses a narcotic quality which hurts the brain. Imperial tea is generally preserved in porcelain vases, or in leaden or tin canisters covered with fine mats made of bamboo. Common tea is kept in narrow-mouthed earthen pots; and coarse tea, the flavour of which is not so easily injured, is packed up in baskets of straw.

An infusion of tea is the common drink of the Chinese; and indeed when we consider one circumstance in their situation, we must acknowledge that Providence has displayed much goodness in scattering this plant with so much profusion in the empire of China. The water is said to be unwholesome and nauseous, and would therefore perhaps, without some corrective, be unfit for the purposes of life. The Chinese pour boiling water over their tea, and leave it to infuse, as we do in Europe; but they drink it without any mixture, and even without sugar. The people of Japan reduce theirs to a fine powder, which they dilute with warm water until it has acquired the consistence of thin soup. Their manner of serving tea is as follows: They place before the company the tea equipage, and the box in which this powder is contained; they fill the cups with warm water, and taking from the box as much powder as the point of a knife can contain, throw it into each of the cups, and stir it with a tooth-pick until the liquor begins to foam; it is then presented to the company, who sip it while it is warm. According to F. du Halde, this method is not peculiar to the Japanese; it is also used in some of the provinces of China.

The first European writer who mentions tea is Giovanni Botero, an eminent Italian author, who published a treatise about the year 1590, Of the Causes of the Magnificence and Greatness of Cities. He does not indeed mention its name, but describes it in such a manner that it is impossible to mistake it. "The Chinese (says he) have an herb out of which they press a delicate juice, which serves them for drink instead of wine: it also preserves their health, and frees them from all those evils which the immoderate use of wine produces among us*."

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 Offory, who brought it into fashion among people of quality. But it was used in coffee-houses before this period, as appears from an act of parliament made in 1662, in which a duty of 8d. was laid on every gallon of the infusion sold in these places. In 1666 it was sold in London for 60s. per pound, though it did not cost more than 2s. 6d. or 3s. 6d. at Batavia. It continued at this price till 1707. In 1715 green tea began to be used; and as great quantities were then imported, the price was lessened, and the practice of drinking tea defended to the lower ranks†. In 1720 the French began to send it to us by a clandestine commerce. Since that period the demand has been increasing yearly, and it has become almost a necessity of life in several parts of Europe, and among the lowest as well as the highest ranks.

The following table will give an idea of the quantity of tea imported annually into Great Britain and Ireland since 1717:

<table> <tr> <th>From 1717 to 1726</th> <th>700,000 lbs.</th> </tr> <tr> <td>1732 to 1742</td> <td>1,200,000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1755 near</td> <td>4,000,000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1766</td> <td>6,000,000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1785 about</td> <td>12,000,000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1794 from</td> <td>16 to 20,000,000</td> </tr> </table>

Besides these immense quantities imported into Britain and Ireland, much has been brought to Europe by other nations. In 1766 the whole tea imported into Europe from China amounted to 17 millions of pounds; in 1785 it was computed to be about 19 millions of pounds†.

Several researches have been made in Europe to determine whether the tea plant grows spontaneously; but these researches have been hitherto in vain. When Captain Cook visited Teneriffe in his last voyage, Mr. Anderson his surgeon was informed by a gentleman of acknowledged veracity, that a shrub is common near Santa Cruz which agrees exactly with the description given of the tea-plant by Linnaeus. It is considered as a weed, and large quantities are rooted out of the vineyards every year: But the Spaniards who inhabit the island sometimes make use of it, and ascribe to it all the qualities of the tea imported from China.

Many attempts have been made to introduce this valuable plant into Europe; but from want of proper precautions most of these attempts have miscarried. The seeds, being of an oily nature, are apt to grow rancid during a long voyage, unless proper care is taken to preserve them. There are two methods of preserving these seeds: The first is, to inclose them in wax after they have been dried in the sun; the second is, to leave them in their husks, and shut them up closely in a box made of tin: but neither of these methods has been attended with general success, whatever care has been taken to obtain fresh seeds, or to preserve them. The best method would be, to sow fresh seeds in fine light earth immediately on leaving Canton, and to cover them with wire to secure them from rats and other animals that might attack them. The boxes ought not to be too much exposed to the air, nor to that kind of dew which rises from the sea. The earth in the boxes must neither be hard nor dry, and should from time to time be gently watered with fresh or rain water; and when the shoots begin to appear, they ought to be kept in a slight moisture, and sheltered from the sun. The tea-plants to be found in England have been procured by these means only; and though several of the young rising shoots perished, the last method proposed is probably that which may be followed with greatest success.

The finest tea-plant known in England was raised in Kew Kew gardens; it was carried thither by Sir J. Ellis, who brought it from feed: but the first that ever flourished in Europe was one belonging to the duke of Northumberland at Sion, from a drawing of which our engraving is taken. The plants which are cultivated in the gardens near London thrive well in the green-houfe during winter, and some stand that season in the open air. Linnaeus, who obtained this shrub in its growing state, contrived to preserve it in the open air in the northern latitude of Sweden. France has also procured some plants. There can be no doubt but they would succeed in many countries of Europe, if proper care were paid to their cultivation till they became inured to the climate. It will be a great advantage if we can rear that plant, which can never suffer so much from change of soil as from growing musty during the long voyage from China. Besides, the demand for tea is now become so great, that the Chinese find it necessary, or at least profitable, to adulterate it. Bad tea is now become an universal complaint. The abbé Grofier tells us, that there is a kind of moss which grows in the neighbourhood of the little city of Mang-ing-hien, which is sold as a delicate species of tea. If this delicious commodity is adulterated in China, can we flatter ourselves that none comes to us but what is pure and unmixed? How would our fine ladies like to be told, that instead of tea they drink nothing but the infusion of moss from the rocks of Mang-ing-hien (r)?

Of the chemical qualities and effects of tea on the constitution, many various and opposite opinions have been formed. About a century ago, Bontikoe, a Dutch physician, bestowed extravagant encomiums on the benefits of tea. With him it was good for every thing; and any quantity might be drunk, even to the amount of 200 dishes in a day. Whether Bontikoe in this case acted as a physician, or, being a Dutchman, was eager to encourage the sale of an important article of his country's commerce, is not easy to say. On the other hand, the pernicious effects of tea upon the nervous system have been often repeated, and very opposite effects have been ascribed to it. Some affirm that green tea is mildly astringent; others say it is relaxing: Some say it is narcotic, and procures sleep; while others contend, that taken before bed-time it assuredly prevents it.

Dr Lettsom, who has written the Natural History of the Tea Tree, made several experiments to determine its chemical qualities. He found an infusion of it preserved beef fresh; it is therefore antiseptic; and from its striking a purple colour with the salt (sulphate) of iron, he justly concludes that it is astringent; and he thinks also, that the essential qualities of tea reside in its fragrant and volatile parts.

We have heard much of the bad effects of tea, but we have neither felt nor observed them. If it were so pernicious as it has been represented by some, its effects must certainly be evident in China, where it is drunk by all ranks; yet so far from being thought hurtful in that country, it is in high estimation. The present emperor has composed a kind of eloge on the virtues of tea. We are told by those who have written the history of China, that inflammatory diseases are less frequent there than in many other countries, which is ascribed solely to the liberal use of tea. It must be observed by all, that tea is an antidote against intemperance, and that he who relishes the one seldom runs into the other. Raynal says, that tea has contributed more to the sobriety of this nation than the severest laws, the most eloquent harangues of Christian orators, or the best treatises of morality. We have no doubt but it may be hurtful to some constitutions in particular circumstances; but we suspect that the nervous disorders so often attributed to tea, are rather owing to hereditary diseases, to want of exercise, and to irregularity in food or sleep, than to tea.

"Weak tea drunk too hot (says Dr Leake) will enervate, and if very strong, may prove equally pernicious by affecting the head or stomach. But when it is drunk in moderation, and not too warm, with a large addition of milk, I believe it will seldom prove hurtful, but, on the contrary, salutary. After study or fatigue it is a most refreshing and grateful repast; it quenches thirst, and cheers the spirits, without heating the blood; and the pleasing society, in which we so often partake of it is no inconsiderable addition to its value; for whatever affords rational pleasure to the mind, will always contribute to bodily health.

In this country teas are generally divided into three kinds of green, and five of bohea: The former are, 1. Imperial or bloom tea, with a large loose leaf, light green

(f) There is very good reason to believe, that the adulteration of tea is not confined to China. It is practised, and often with too much success, among ourselves. Mr Twining, a considerable tea dealer in London, published a pamphlet some years ago, in which he has exposed this infamous traffic. The information (he says) was obtained from a gentleman who had made very accurate inquiries into this subject.

The smouch for mixing with black teas is made of the leaves of the ash. When gathered, they are first dried in the sun, then baked: they are next put upon a floor, and trod upon until the leaves are small, then sifted and steeped in copperas with sheep's dung; after which, being dried on a floor, they are fit for use. There is also another mode: When the leaves are gathered, they are boiled in a copper with copperas and sheep's dung; when the liquor is strained off, they are baked and trod upon, until the leaves are small, after which they are fit for use. The quantity manufactured at a small village, and within eight or ten miles thereof, cannot be ascertained, but is supposed to be about 20 tons in a year. One man acknowledges to have made 600 weight in every week for six months together. The fine is sold at 4l. 4s. per cwt. equal to 9d per lb. The coarse is sold at 2l. 2s. per cwt. equal to 4½ per lb. Elder buds are manufactured in some places to represent fine teas.

For the honour of human nature, we hope such a traffic as this is not very common; but if it be, those concerned in it deserve exemplary punishment. The only way (Mr Twining says) to escape this adulterated tea, is never to purchase from those who offer their teas to sale at lower prices than genuine teas can be afforded; but to purchase them only from persons of character. green colour, and a faint delicate smell. 2. Hyfon, so called from the name of the merchant who first imported it; the leaves of which are closely curled and small, of a green colour, verging to a blue: And, 3. Singlo tea, from the name of the place where it is cultivated. The boheas are, 1. Souchong, which imparts a yellow green colour by infusion. 2. Cambo, so called from the place where it is made; a fragrant tea, with a violet smell; its infusion pale. 3. Congo, which has a larger leaf than the following, and its infusion somewhat deeper, resembling common bohea in the colour of the leaf. 4. Pekoe tea; this is known by the appearance of small white flowers mixed with it. 5. Common bohea, whose leaves are of one colour. There are other varieties, particularly a kind of green tea, done up in roundish balls, called gunpowder-tea.

TEA-Tree of New Zealand, is a species of myrtle, of which an infusion was drunk by Captain Cook's people in their voyages round the world. Its leaves were finely aromatic, astringent, and had a particular pleasant flavour at the first infusion; but this went off at the next filling up of the tea-pot, and a great degree of bitterness was then extracted; for which reason it was never suffered to be twice infused. In a fine soil in thick forests this tree grows to a considerable size; sometimes 30 or 40 feet in height, and one foot in diameter. On a hilly and dry exposure it degenerates into a thurb of five or fix inches; but its usual size is about eight or ten feet high, and three inches in diameter. In that case its stem is irregular and unequal, dividing very soon into branches, which arise at acute angles, and only bear leaves and flowers at top. The flowers are white, and very ornamental to the whole plant.

Mr White, in his Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, mentions a thurb which he calls a tea-tree merely from its being used by the convicts as a succedaneum for tea; for he had not seen the flower, nor did he know to what genus it belonged. It is a creeping kind of a vine, running to a great extent along the ground; the stalk slender; the leaf not so large as the common bay leaf; the taste sweet, exactly like the liquorice root of the shops.