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cobbler, and his ragged jacket to a sempstress, while he calls the barber to shave him as he waits for them; and such a trio at work for a man is not an uncommon sight.

The only woollen fabrics produced by the Chinese are felt for the soles of shoes and winter hats, and a sort of rug or carpet. It is not woven in looms from the yarn, but is made in small pieces by a fulling process which mats the fibres together. The consumption of it by shoemakers is very great, and nearly as large for winter hats among the common people. The rugs are woven with colored threads in rude imitation of figures, and are extensively used in the northern provinces; the pieces are a few feet square, and sown together for carpets or bedding. Hair and wool are both employed in their construction. The art of knitting is unknown, and of course all the fancy designs and worsted work which are made by ladies at the west.

merce.

Among the branches of Chinese industry, the growth and preparation of tea has been most celebrated abroad, and the gradual introduction and use of this beverage among the nations of the west, and the important consequences of bringing the two into more intimate intercourse, and opening to the Chinese the blessings of Christian civilization, resulting from the trade, is one of the most interesting results that have ever flowed from comThe demand for it gradually encouraged the Chinese to a greater production, and then succeeded the consumption of one and another foreign article taken in exchange for it, while the governments of the west derive too much advantage from the duties on it lightly to permit the Chinese to interfere with or hamper the trade, much less stop it. Thus one influence and another, some beneficial and others adverse, have been brought into action, until the encouraging prospect is now held out that this hitherto secluded portion of mankind is to be introduced into the family of nations, and partake of their privileges; and these consequences have gradually come about from the predilection for a pleasant beverage. Tea, gunpowder, printing, and the compass, are four things which have worked marvellous changes in the social condition, intercourse, disputes, and mental improvement of mankind; and probably all of them are traceable to China and Chinese ingenuity if Christianity, and its outflow of good government, intelligence, and improvement in the arts of life, can now be exchanged for them, both parties will be great gainers. No

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEA PLANT.

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commerce is so profitable as that in mental and moral acquisitions, and upon none has there been so prohibitive a tariff.

The notices of the growth, production, and kinds of tea, here given, are principally taken from an article in the eighth volume. of the Repository, the writer of which obtained them chiefly from a manuscript account written by one of the teamen, who bring it to Canton. The English word tea is derived from the sound given to it by the Fuhkien people, from whom at Amoy or Java the first cargoes were obtained. When first written tea, it no doubt was intended to be pronounced tay, as the French the is, and therefore, whether intentionally or not, the common Irish pronunciation is in this case the right one. All other nations call it cha, or that word slightly modified, from the name usually given it by the Chinese. The plant grows in almost every part of the provinces, in Corea, Japan, Annam, and the adjacent regions, and its infusion forms a common beverage for nearly two thirds of the human race. Its progress has been gradual in all those countries, and in Europe it has been well compared to that of truth: "suspected at first, though very palatable to those who had the courage to taste it; resisted as it encroached; abused as its popularity seemed to spread; and establishing its triumph at last, in cheering the whole land from the palace to the cottage, only by the slow and resistless effects of time and its own virtues." Wherever, indeed, it has been denounced, the opposition may usually be traced to the use of a simulated preparation.

The knowledge of the tea plant among the Chinese cannot be traced back further than A. D. 350, but its general introduction does not date prior to about A. D. 800, at which time it was called tu; the character soon after underwent a slight change, and received its present name of cha. Its botanical affinities ally it to the Camellia, and both have the same name among the Chinese; botanists call it Thea, and it is still a matter of dispute whether the different sorts are distinct species or mere varieties. They were perhaps originally the same, and long cultivation in different soils, temperature, and situations, has wrought changes similar to those seen in the apple or cherry; Mr. Fortune found them growing together, and Loureiro, a medical missionary in China, regards all the varieties as ascribable to these causes; though De Candolle divides them into three species, bohea, viridis, and cochinsinensis. The plant is from three to six feet high, and

usually presents a dense mass of foliage on an infinite number of small twigs, a result of the practice of cutting it down. In Assam, where it has been found wild, it reaches the height of thirty feet. The leaf is a dark green color, of an oblong oval shape, and the flowers are white, inodorous, and single; the seeds are like hazelnuts in size and color, three of them being inclosed in a hard husk, and so oily as to corrupt soon after ripening; this oil is rather acrid and bitter, but is useful for various purposes. The soil most favorable for the growth of tea is a rich sandy earth, with a large proportion of vegetable mould in it, and situations on the sides of hills, where there is a good exposure and supply of water, produce the best flavored leaves. The patches above the rice grounds are favorite situations, but the plant is seldom cultivated on the plains or lowlands. A loamy subsoil, with a sandy loose covering, produces a good crop of leaves, and in the plantations visited in the Ankoi hills in Fuhkien, much of it is colored with iron. The greater part of the tea exported is grown in the provinces of Fuhkien, Chehkiang, and Kiangsu, but all the eighteen produce it, except in the northern regions lying along the base of the table-land in Chihli and Shansí, though the eastern parts, between the parallels of 25° and 35° north, afford it in the greatest perfection and abundance. With the increased demand its cultivation has extended, and perhaps that of cotton has diminished in a corresponding degree; the southern hills of Fuhkien, the western parts of Kwangtung, and districts in Kwangsí, also afford it for foreign markets. Russia is supplied from Sz'chuen and the adjoining region, while Birmah gets a part from Yunnan.

Tea is usually raised by individuals, who cultivate a few dozen or scores of shrubs upon their own lands, and either cure the leaves themselves, or sell them to their neighbors after assorting them according to their quality. There are very few large plantations under the care of rich landlords, but each little farmer raises tea as he does cotton, silk, or rice upon his own premises. The seeds are thickly planted in nursery beds, because many of them fail from their oily nature, and when the nurslings are a foot or more high they are transplanted into rows about four feet apart; sometimes they are put in the spot designed for them, and if more than one seed in a hole succeeds, it is removed. No preparation of the ground is necessary, nor is much care taken to keep the shrubs in a healthy state; those near Canton are

CULTIVATION AND GATHERING OF THE LEAVES.

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usually covered with lichens, and when thus neglected worms attack the wood. The leaves are picked from the plant when three years old, but it does not attain full size before six or seven, and thrives according to circumstances and care from fifteen to twenty years, being in fact gradually killed by constantly depriving it of its foliage. Pruning the twigs to increase the quantity of leaves develops the branches laterally, so that large, healthy shrubs resemble a collection of plants rather than a single bush. The interspaces are frequently sown with vegetables, and the practice is to spread them as much as possible in order to prevent their being shaded. In the Bohea hills, where the best tea is produced, there is, according to the Chinese, considerable difference in the quality of the leaves from gardens not very far apart, and connoisseurs are as particular to inquire the name of the place whence their tea comes as western wine drinkers are to learn the names of the vineyards producing the best brands. The produce of old and celebrated nurseries is carefully collected and cured by itself, and one native authority states that the prices of these particular lots vary from $15 to $100 per pound.

The annual produce of a single plant of large size is said to be from 16 or 18 to 24 ounces; but an English visitor to the Ankoi hills ascertained that the common average yield was not far from six ounces, and that a thousand square yards contained between 300 and 400 plants. Three crops of leaves are gathered during the season. The first picking is about the middle of April, or whenever the tender leaf buds begin to open, and while the leaves are still covered with a whitish down; these, though not very numerous, produce the finest tea, and the notion that some of the delicate sorts of tea are made from the flowers has originated from the whitish appearance this down imparts to them; for no tea can be made from the thin, scentless petals of the tea blossom. The second gathering is about the first of May, when the shrubs are covered with full-sized leaves. Chinese writers say that the weather has great influence upon the condition of the leaves, and that an excess or want of rain mildews or withers them, so as materially to affect the quality and quantity of the crop. When the proper time has arrived, a large number of hands should be employed to gather the leaves rapidly, and at this period the whole population, men, women, and children, find employment.

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The leaves are collected by handfuls, stripping them off the branches as rapidly as possible, and throwing them into open baskets slung around the neck, in which they are taken to the curing houses. Each person can on an average pick 13 lbs. of leaves in a day, for which the wages are about six cents. The third crop is collected about the middle of July, and there is also a fourth gleaning in August, called tsiu lu, i. e. autumn dew, from the name of the season in which it takes place; the three previous ones are called first, second, and third springs. The two last crops afford only inferior kinds, seldom exported.

The quality of the different kinds of tea depends almost as much upon the mode of curing as upon the nature of the soil or the age of the leaf; some sorts are quite changed in their particular flavor by the curing and mixing processes they undergo. The operations of rolling are very simple. After the leaves are gathered and housed, they are carefully assorted, and the yellow and old ones picked out. The remainder are thinly spread upon bamboo trays and placed in the wind upon frames, where they remain until the leaves begin to soften; then, while lying upon the tray, they are gently rolled and rubbed until red spots begin to appear, when they are tested by pouring hot water upon them to see if the edge of the leaf turns yellowish. They must be rolled many times, and from the labor attending this process the tea is called kung fu cha or worked tea, whence the name congo. When the leaves have been rolled, they are ready for firing. The iron pan having been previously heated, the workman takes a handful of leaves and sprinkles them upon it, and waits until each leaf pops, when he brushes them off before they are charred. Such is the Chinese account of the mode practised in the Bohea hills. The pans are the iron boilers used in cooking, set in mason-work in an inclined position and at a convenient height; three or four are put into the same form, and heated by means of a flue passing lengthwise under the whole. The testing and rolling prior to firing is omitted in the common sorts, and the fresh leaves are thrown upon the hot pans, and there turned over and kept in motion by a workman before each pan, while another carefully attends to the fire. The heat soon forces the oil out of the leaves, and they crack and soften, and after four or five minutes are taken out into trays for rolling. This operation is performed upon tables made of split bamboos laid alongside each

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