The Placer herald., 1870-03-12
6onse on0 Garnt.
TEA CULTURE IN CALIFoRNIA.-We clip
the following from $40 report Of the De-

the .followng from 1870 report Of the De-
parlment of Agriculture at Washington
Herr Schnell, the manager Of the exper
imental farm in Fl Dorado County, Califor-
MIA, i. where the japanese coonists are en-
pacipg in ca culture and the other pro-
ducts hitherto peculiar to their own country,
expresses b i'm self as convinced that as good
tea can be produced in California as is
grown in China or Japan. lie claims that
here is but one species Of tea known, the
Ihea Sinensis. Those plants describ-.
ed bv botanists under the names T.
BoLea, T. Viridis, 4. Stricta, DC. being
only varieties Of the T. Smensis, produced
hy different modes Of cultivation and geo.
graphical distribution. DR.. Won Siebold
places the .Sinensis under the Monddelphid
,,olyaadria, and to the natural family OF the
Camelliace9 The tea shrub in Japan is an
evergreen. from -four to six feet high, with
n straight stem and numerous irregula
branches. Growing wild, the shrub will
reach height Of fifteen to twenty feet. The
stem is Of bright gray color, and the wood
hard, with peculiar odor. On the young
branches are the short, soft, green, small
ItdNeb, dItduHeO III VI al C'IPt'Cdi
shape, with teeth on its borders, resembling
closely the leaves Of the wild rose. The
color is bright green, of different shades,
deepening as the season advances. Between
the leaves sprout the blossoms, which are
al first OF a rose color, but in the course of
their deveIopement assume lighter shades,
and finally, when full blown, are Of the
color Of the ordinary tea rose. When these
flowers fade away they leave a small fruit
which contains the seeds Owing to the
great quantity of oil contained in these seeds
their preservation is difficult. All the new
plants at Mr.. Schnell's plantation are raised
IRON seeds, which are planted iu rows from
four to six inches deep, in manner smi-
lar TO that in which beans are usually plant-
I'd; but it is probable that out Of the seeds
planted in each hi not more than one or two
will sprout, owing 10 the decay produced
10y the excessive quantity Of oil they contain.
The proper time for planting is stated to be
in November or December, when the sprout
will appear in about thirty days. BY the
ensuing May The plant reaches height
of about fourteen inches, when the perfect
and tender leaves are placed under imme-
diae manipulation. They are first put in
large copper pan and roasted, then placed
10 . baskets and shaken and swung in the
wind until they are dried of the moisture
that has been exuded by the heat, then
roasted again, then rolled in the palms Of
the hand to separate the leaves and prevent
their crumbling into powder; then dried
again in the baskets by shaking aud swing
ibg, and then put in jars, when they are
ready for market. The black teas are
oa,ted three times, the green teas but once
or twice. Every year the trees or shrubs
are trimmed down TO a height Of about three
feet; after they bad passed that height, and
when properly taken care of, they will pro-
duce good crops for upward of thirty years.
1t is necessary that the plant should have
the morning sun and be on the south side
Of bill, or the leaves will t,come yellow
and the tea be inferior. Mr.. Schnell has
about one hundred and twenty acres Of
good agricultural land ready for planting,
and about four hundred acres of rough land,
which be proposes to clear as soon as it can
be brought into requistion. The only ques
lion as to the success of tea culture 10 Cali
fornia is, whether labor can be obtained at
sufficiently low rates 10 render the business
profitable.
.ExrRAoRDINARY Cows.-Colonel Fitch, Of
New London, Connecticut, possesses a COW
that is remarkable in many respects. She
is one. fourth Ayrshire and three fourtbs Jer.
sey. She is now "a years old, has had Is
heifer calves in succession, and is now in
calf again. When l5 years old she gave II
II IL, - hoei1oe ba
milk and cream used in a family keeping
three servants. Every one Of her heifer
calves that has come to maturity bss proved
a first class butter COW.
lie has another COW, pure Ayrshire
that gives 5000 quarts of milk each year,
and Jersey COW that gives milk yielding
one pound Of butler to ST quarts of milk;
another AYRSHIRE COW that has given %
quarts Of milk per day for several weeks.
lie has a herd of 200 head Of Ayrshres
and Jerseys, and crosses between the two
breeds, that are said TO have no equals any
where for quality and quantity of milk and
butter.
EAST INDIA PIcKLE.-Chop Cabbage fine,
leaving out the stalks, together with three
or four onions, root of horse radish and a
couple Of green peppers to each cabbage
Soak the whole in salt and water for three
or four days. Spice some vinegar very
strong with mace, cloves, allspice and Gina
mon. Heat it scaldng hot. Add alum
and salt, and turn it on the chopped pickles,
which should previously have all the brine
drained from them. In the course Of three
or four weeks the pickles will be fit for use.
INGENIOUS LATHE.-A convict in the
Michigan State Prison has invented turn
ing,lathe, which turns sticks of variable
thickness and of any degree Of crookedness
1t is principally used in turning scyths-
sualbs, but it will do any sort of twisted
work equally we'll. Besides doing the labor
Of dozen men; it does its work with great
er accuracy than could possibly be done by
hand.
FRUIT AND DIsEAsE.-An eminent French