The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-03-18
rcu in China.

before the Young Mems Christian Assoc
iation of that city by China 1,ai Sun,
Chinese imperial commissioner -
ALE spoke excellent English, without
o particle of foreign twang, and with on
ly slight mis-accent now and then.
After alluding bricady to the intense cx-
clusivencss Of the Chinese, he said that
tea grows in every province in China, ex-
cept three or four upon the northern most
Siberian border, but the quality and
quantity produced depends largely upon
the locality. The tea-plaut grows five or
six feet high, and is like our currant
shrub, only little thicker. The leaves
are in shape and size like those Of the
willow. They are picked about the mid
die of Aprial, in May and July; some-
times there are gleanings as late as Au-
gust. The leaves are not picked one by
one, but stripped off in handfuls by men, +,
women and children, who go about doing
this work. There arc very few large
plantations it is rare even to find one
of hudrcd acres, but there are tea pat
chcs cvcrywherc.-Thc real business of
the country people is raising rice for food
but they cultivate tea and silk as extras,
and for pocket-money as the Irishman
raises a pig. When the leaves are strip
ped off, they are exposed in cool, dry
place, for day Or two, then rolled into
a ball on table Of bamboo stats, and
dried in the juice of the leaves. After
they have been dried in the sun, they are
put into an cgg-shaped iron pan over a
charcoal fire, and incessantly stirred un.
Ill certain point of dryness is reached.
The operator stirs with his hands, thrust
ing them in all portions of the pan, and
practice enables him to dry the leaves
almost exactly alike. The raiser goes
through this process, and then brings his
tea in bamboo baskets to the merchant.
who adjudges its quality and buys it at
prices varying from Sl5 to $50 per
picul, equal to 1881 ponnds. s.-Thc mcr-
chant mixes his purchases together in a
large reservoir, and at his convenience
weighs out number Of pounds of tea
leaves, and women and children spread
them upon large stage and separate the
leaves into grades, according to quality.
The tea stalks are the lowest grade, and
the sortcrs are paid by the number Of oun-
ccs of stalks they bring in Children earn
from four to five cents 4 day; the very
best workers rarely earn as much as ten
cents n day. Americans could hardly
live upon such wages, and until other
nations can raise tea for II cents pound
they connot compete with China in its
production.
After the sorting each grade is packed
by itself in chests of bamboo baskets :
the first for expectation, the latter .or
home consumption. y chest OF tea in
China weighs from 100 to 10 pounds,
and half chest from GO to 20, and there
are smaller boxes, or caddics, containing
from five to ten pounds. The chests are
filled to their utmost capacity, the pack
crs even jumping in the boxes to get in
the last possible ounce. The chests are
made perfectly tight, and matted and in
terlaccd outside with bamboo netting, rs
we get them on this side the water. The
tea is them ready for export, and is or
dercd by importers through tea-tastcr
The faster is paid from $4,000 to $4,000
per year. And his molus operandi is az
follows: lie has long, narrow table
on which GO or 20 cups are set; boy
weighs exactly one ounce from a sample
by into one Of these cups, aud if he has
samples enough, all the cups are usel
Hoy water is then poured into each cup,
and after five minutes the boy calls the
master who sips from every cup, holds
the liquid in his mouth 4 moment, and
then elects it and notes in his book the
quality Of the tea. The purchaser or
dcrs upon the tastcrs estimate, and
when his packages arrive at the warchous
about one in 20 is opened for comparison
with the sample. If it proves of inferior
grade, material deduction is at once
made in the price, SO that without con-
nivancc with the tea.tastor the adultera-
ton of tea is next to impossible in China
Sometimes after the first drawing the
leaves are collected redressed. but this is
the only way in which adulteration is
practiccd. In comparing the contents Of
the chest with the sample, the leaves are
then examined to'see whether they are old
or young or midde-aged, The younger
the leaves the chocer will be the tea.
Tea in China means black tea, unless
green is specially designated. 1t is still
in disputc,evcn in lis home, whether black
aud green tea belong to the same species
The speaker thought them branches of
the same variety, black or green accord =
ing to the localities where they grow. II
seed of black tea be planted ip the
green tea region, few generations will
make them both alike. When the black
tea i high green can readily be turned
into black, but black cannot be made TO
appear green. The latter obtains its blu
ish color, artilicialy, Prussian Blue being
used in eoloring, but in such small quau-
titles as to be harmless The averaga
anual yield of tea plant is about 20
ounces, and too much rain effects the
quality as well as the amount. The plants
live from twenty TO thirty years, and when
old, are frequently cut down AMI a young
shrub grated into the old stock Quick
er rlturns are thus obtained, out the plant
does not last so long,
Ten or twelve drawings of pure tea are
required to obtain a limpid liquid, and
fifteen drawings will not usually exhaust
all of its strength. Tea is drank pure in
China, but there are very different way.
of preparing it, The Chinese tea connois.
seurs purchase an article costing various
ly from SIG per pound to $50 an ounce,
If he uses this chociest kind, which is
only grown on the tops of mountains and
OF which only 10 or Is piculs are produc-
ed in the kingdom, he has a baby" tea.
pot, an inch and half high, 'aud about
an inch 10 diamater. A pinch of tea IS
put in, about twenty drops If hot water
turned on, and it is ready to sip. 1t
would he verv intoyicatinr IN 1r;nf ,n,,oh.