Palladium Of Virginia And The Pacific Monitor

AGRICULTURAL.

[From the New-York Farmer.]

On the Culture and Manufacture of Tea, communicated by an American gentleman, for the New-York Farmer and Horticultural Repository.

You ask of me some notices of the state of Horticulture in Brazil. It would be as easy to furnish you with a sketch of the notions upon political economy entertained by the Patagonians, or an elaborate essay upon the state of the fine arts among the Hottentots. A people who know nothing of butter except as it comes to them salted from Ireland, and who derive all their potatoes from the same country, cannot be supposed to have made any brilliant discovery in farming or horticulture. It is accordingly of the simplest kind. They get as much from the earth as can be obtained with the least possible trouble, and smile incredulously if you tell them of the importance of paying more attention to the introduction and culture of foreign vegetables. Of late years, the numerous French, English and American residents, have shown them the possibility of raising these vegetables, and one may now see in the market occasionally cabbages, turnips, and even salad! There is, however, a Royal Botanic Garden, formerly under the direction of a skilful German; but now going rapidly to decay, under the slothful management of a Portuguese Friar. As the garden has obtained some celebrity in books of travels, I will furnish you with a few remarks which I made when I visited it in 1826-7. And as the most interesting feature of this garden was the extensive tea plantations, I herewith furnish you with such notes as relate more immediately to that subject.

Tea plants occupy a space from 8 to 10 acres in the garden. They are planted at the distance of four feet from each other. They are handsome shrubs about 2 feet in height. When I saw them they looked rather bare, as they had recently been stripped in part of their leaves. This is repeated several times during the year; and hence arises the different sorts we have in the market. No particular care seems to be taken of the plants, and they bloom in the months of July, August and September. You are aware that the old king of Portugal, Don John, when driven to Brazil, took great pains to introduce the cultivation of the tea plant. He not only obtained the plants: but also two or three hundred Chinese who were perfectly acquainted with their management. They are now scattered about the country. I have several times been accosted by one of them with a request to purchase some teas, samples of which they carry with them. It made one almost fancy himself in the celestial empire.

The most curious circumstance in relation to tea is the ease with which it is prepared for market. I witnessed the whole operation and can therefore speak confidently on the subject.

The gathered leaves are exposed to the air for a few hours, until they begin to color. They are then put into iron pans over a slow fire, and stirred about until they become soft, which is in ten minutes or longer, according to the judgment of the operator, when they are thrown out to another person who is ready to receive them. This person holds before him a flat wicker, or willow grate, about two feet wide and four feet in length, slightly inclined towards the floor. He strews the leaves over this frame and lays up on it another frame of the same dimensions and materials. This is moved rapidly to and fro for several minutes and by this simple operation the leaves are curled up and fall at the lower end of the frame into baskets conveniently placed for their reception. This part of the process surprised me exceedingly, for all travellers assert that every leaf is rolled up separately by hand, and I have even heard it maintained that it is only the small and delicate hand of a Chinese can be advantageously employed for this purpose. Those leaves from which the moisture has not been sufficiently expelled, remain adhering to the frame, are of course not affected by the process and are returned again to the heated pans. When a sufficient quantity of the curled leaves has been obtained, they are placed for a short period over a strong fire to drive off any remaining moisture, and are then put up into papers or chests for immediate use.

I enquired how much tea could be obtained annually from a single shrub, but no one appeared to have ever thought on the subject; they were unable at least to make a tolerable guess about it. Judging from the size of the plant and the number of times it is stripped, I should conjecture that each plant would produce about three pounds annually; and this I think is still within bounds.

It is propagated by slips, and was of the species T. viridis, of green tea.

I do not know if any attempts have been made to introduce the cultivation of the tea plant into the United States. but if it could be once introduced, I have not the least doubt but that it would be a much more profitable crop than cotton or sugar. Six men could cure and prepare for market the crop of an hundred acres; and the most laborious and tedious part of the operation, the picking and assorting leaves would only require the aid of women & children.

At a time when the English are straining every nerve to introduce the culture of the Tea Plant into their East Indian possessions, under the expectation of being at no distant day, shut out from the Chinese market, it may well be worth our while to enquire whether we cannot render ourselves independent also of a foreign supply. I do not pretend to any profound acquaintance with the "metaphysics of commerce," as political economy has been called, but I should certainly think that our Tea trade cannot be very profitable to the country, as it is one in which neither our staple commodities nor the products of our manufacturing industry, can be given in exchange.

Let us examine whether our climate or soil offer any impediments to the successful introduction and cultivation of the tea plant.

There is no country in the world perhaps, whose climate resembles our own so much as that of China. This country extends with a medium breadth of 600 miles along the eastern sea; and is included between the 22d and 41st degrees of north latitude; north easterly winds prevail and bring with them the same kind of weather which we experience in the U. States. From a meteorological table derived from Dr. Lynn, who accompanied the English embassy in their travels from the southern to the northern extremity of China, it appears that during the months of September, October, and November, the thermometer varied between 45 & 75 degrees, though it was rarely as low or as high as either of these points. There were frequent and sudden changes of temperature, amounting to 10 or 15, and even 20 degrees within twenty four hours. Our Dr. Rush had long ago pointed out in some of his philosophical essays, the very great resemblance in these particulars between the climate of China and that of the United States, and hence we may conclude that there is nothing in our climate to prevent the successful cultivation of the tea plant.

Dr. Abel mentions that the green tea district is embraced between the 29th & 31st degrees; which correspond to the northern parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi: as

The black tea districts are confined within narrower limits, that is to say, between the 27th and 28th degrees of north latitude. Florida, Louisiana, & Texas would correspond with this in United States.

As the temperature of the atmosphere in the United States is to the west of an great Appalachian ridge of mountains which is higher than in corresponding latitudes on the sea coast, I confidently expect that the tea plant could be successfully cultivated to unveil, perhaps, the policy of the Chinese in restricting its more general cultivation to a district of not more than 250 miles in extent. it is found, however growing in the latitude of 32 degrees corresponding nearly to that of Savannah in Georgia, and we know from Kämpfer that it is successfully cultivated in Japan, as far north as the 45th degree of latitude. It has also been introduced at St. Helena at the Cape of Good Hope, and as we have seen above, at Rio de Janeiro.

Having thus shown that there is nothing in its geographical situation opposed to its introduction into the United States let us examine the nature and composition of the soil upon which it is most extensively raised in China

The intelligent author above quoted, states- that it appeared to be the most generally cultivated on sides of mountains, where there can be but little accumulation of vegetable mould. The plantation at Rio de Janeiro, was on level plain, composed of loose sand, resulting from the decomposition of granite rocks. As far as the tea district has been examined. the rocks of the country are found to consist of sand-stone, slate, and granite. "The result of all observations has clearly shown that for the successful cultivation of the tea plant, nothing more is required than a meagre soil and a moderate temperature. Both these requisites I believe may be found in our country; it only remains to mention one circumstance that may be supposed to be adverse to the raising of tea. We are accustomed to see it in our hot houses, and hence we might be led to conclude that it would not flourish in the open air all the year round. The only meteorological table to which I have been able to refer, shows that in the latter part of the month of November, the thermometer stood in black tea district at 40, and the observations for that month. showed a continual and regular decrease of temperature. We all know that ice and snow are familiar occurrences in the northern districts of China; and we have already seen what a striking resemblance there is between that climate and our own.

I conclude then that the tea plant might withstand even severe frosts; and I am not acquainted with any circumstance to oppose its introduction into the United States.

Respectfully yours,
J. E. D.