Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-11-01
A NEW STAPLE.

From the Charleston, IS. CO. News.l
Neither cotton nor rice-the two great
staples of the South-are indigenous to the
soil Both are imported from the warm
countries Of the Eastern hemisphere. In
most Of the Southern States they have both
almost superseded the culture of their indi-
genous rivals, indigo and tobacco. They
were both particularly suited for slave labor,
and, therefore, acquired favor rapidly. BY
the abolition Of slave labor rice has almost
ceased to be a staple product OF our agrlcul-
ture, and the cultivation of cotton has been
materially curtailed. Is there not, then,
some other plant of worldwide consump-
tion, the cultivation Of which may be rem
dered more profitable under the new order
of things than that of either cotton or rice
In the search for such an article we are nat
urally led by the circumstances IN the his
tory of cotton and rice above alluded to, to
look for il among the well known agricui-
tural products ofthose countries OF climate
similar to our own, whence our present sta
piles were obtained. None of the produc-
tions of the East afford moro profit to the
producer than tea, while, at the same time,
none Is of more comparative cost to the con-
sumer in this country. Accordingly we
find the subject of the cultivation of tea al
ready attracting much attention among our
scientific planters.
A valuable but lengthy article on the cul-
tivation Of this plant has recently appeared
in the Southern Ctltiudtor standard agricul-
tural journal, published at Athens, Ga,
from which we make the following extracts:
In March, 1860, | received fifty plants
from the Patent Office. / kept them in
pots until February, 1861. They were then
planted out five feet each way, in loose
sandy soil. They grew off very finely; IN
April, 1862 | made small quantity OF tea,
and from that time to the present, 1866,
have supplied my family with five or six
pounds Of tea yearly from fifty plants. The
largest amount Of tea produced in China, Is
raised in the lands lying between twenty
eight and thirty-five north latitude.
That the plant will grow and flourish as
well or even better although an exotic)
through the whole Of the States bordering
the Atlantic and Calf, from North Carolina
10 Texas, l have not the least doubt. All
lands of Middle Georgia and the Carolinas,
which are now considered Of little value for
corn or cotton, can be made available, and
grow tea TO great advantage. In Middle
Georgia and other regions the cultivation of
cotton will decrease from this time onward.
The truth Of this fact is patent to all observ-
ers.
1t is an evergreen shrub; leaves from
three TO four inches long, one in width;
flowers white, one inch OF more in diameter;
centre filled with large number Of stamens,
with yellow anthers; capsule usually three
seeded; seeds the size Of a chinquapin; seeds
abundant; bloomsin October and November;
it seeds the next September grows from
cuttings and LAYERS. At the present time
,OS66) they are from six to seven feet high,
each plant covering space Of seven or eight
feet in diameter-so interloCking that II Is
with difficulty you can get between them,
To estimate the quantity which one acre
Of land planted in tea would make, l select
ed a medium sized plant, and collected the
leaves from it, The yield was one-fourth
of a pound Of tea The number Of plants
to an acre, standing five feet each way, is
l,764, which will make, four hundred and
forty-one pounds to the acre. Can we culu-
vate any plant that will compare with this?
At fifty cents per pound, 1t would make two
hundred and twenty dollars per acre.
Another very great advantage It has over
all other crops is, that neither cold or heat,
dry or wet, hail or winds, or insects injure it.
lt is certain TO be made as that the earth
turns on its axis. Whoever heard Of a fail
ure Of the tea crop Of China or Japan2
OF the quality Of the tea ! have made, l
can only say that connoiseurs have assured
me that they prefer il to the imported. Age
gives flavor 20 co1ee-sO with tea. Some
that is two years old ! find higher favored
than thas recently made.