The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-11-28
A New Pennsylvania Product.

A New Pennsylvania Product.
1t has long been our belief that, thanks
4 to the bounty of God and the industry anG
skill OF man, these. United States can pro-
duce every necessary and almost every
luxury of life, without having resource tc
other countries. Two articles in ordinary
use-coffee and tea-have hitherto not been
cultivated here, but the former, largely
grown in Brazil, can certainly be grown
IN some parts of our vast empire, and as
for the latter, even Pennsylvania lies with
in the particular belt which is best adapted
for its production. That belt is pretty wide,
for it extends from the equator to the 45th
degree of latitude. Ere many years, Chi
ma will cease to have monopoly of the tea
| trade. The cultivation of the plant has
been successfully introduced into Java and
Brazil, and, still more largely, into Assam,
an East Indian province, lying between
| the Gauges and the Brahmapootra. The
cultivation of the tea tree, with the manu-
facture OF its leaves into an article of do
mestic consumption, is now in progress i'll
Pennsylvania, and the State Legislature
has granted q charter of Incorporation to
the American Tea Company. which under
takes to develop this new productive re-
source in Pennsylvania. The Hon. J. w.
Quiggle, late consul to Antwerp, is at the
head of this body, and the gentleman who
may be considered its working head is DR..
Spencer Bonsall, who reported to the Pat
ent-office, some years ago, in favor of cul-
tivating and manufacturing tea in the
United States, and acquired his practical
knowledge on the subject as superintend-
ent and chief manager on the lands in In
dia OF the Assam Tea Company.
The tea plant is indigenous in Pennsyl-
vania. By the use of machinery in pre-
pairing the leaves, superior article can be
produced here, and sold at the rate of from
pIpvnn tnlrfnan in,
kets; or about one-third of it's cost, when
manual labor is employed in the East In
dies. At present the product of tea per
acre is about 400 pounds, which may be
largely augmented. 1t grows wild in some
mot alb of the mountainous districts of
Pennsylvania, and is found there in great
abundance. Set machinery against the
Asiatic process of personal manipulation.
and the cost of manufacture here becomes
much lower than in China, Assam. or Java.
Ii may come to pass, in the time even of
living men, that Europe will import her
tea from the United States, and not from
China.
The green tea raised near Philadelphia
has the look, odOr and flavor of Asiatic tea, |
with slight herbacious taste, the conse-
quence of its not having been kept long
enough before bought to the test. This |
alone, makes it differ from ordinary Hyson |
Of good quality Philadelphia Press.
The REBEL IRoN-CLADs AGAIN.-We |
want to hear from those who can tell us
one or two things-either that the iron -clads |
IN the Mersey are not designed for the use
OF a belligerent Power, or that the mer-
chants of a neutral State have right to de-
sign vessels for such service, and are stand
ing upon that right. Mr.. W. S. Lindsay
addressed us yesterday in letter calculS-
ed to support the former proposiloD.
though when he censured Government for
stamping the broad arrow "upon every
ship supposed to be for the service of a
brave and oppressed people who have al
ready given abundant proofs that they are
q nation" he introduced the matter seri-
ously prejudicial to the force Of his protest.
Ii these rams are really not destined for
Mr.. jefferson Davis it signifies little what
claim the South Americans may have upon
our sympathies. But Mr.. Laird gives us
no clue to his views at all. Ninty-nine of
every hundred people in the country sus-
poet that the vessels detained by Govern
ment were intended to follow the Alabama,
and to be employed on the same service af-
ter the same fashion.
Mr. Lindsay talks of the "heavy blow"
inflicted upon very important branch
Of british Industry by the stoppage of
these vessels; but if we look all through
Mr.. Laird's speech we shall not discover
what this industry is which is this thus
damaged. For whom was the Alabama
built, and for what service was she design
ed? Mr.. Laird may go on launching ships
oV the score, but Government maintains
hat ship-builder has no right to be party :
% the equipment OF vessel Of war for hos
lie service against State with which Eng !
and is at peace. If either Mr.. Lindsay or
Mr.. Laird would deny this proposition, |
We should know what they meant or if
hey would establish the innocent destina- :
ion of these suspected iron clads, their
meaning would be clear enough; but as it
$, we are left in state of doubt and mis- :
giving by no means conducive to that con- :
'lusion which these gentlemen would de- !
'ire.-LoudO71 Times