, 1873-02-03

cation might havc been mndo impossible. lIo
would not llnyo Ind uninterrupted tin,o enough to
liaye tlouo It.
s::-----.:---..-.--s.
TEA.
Tho Doaton GtoJo recently furnished como
worry interesting statistics concerning tho toa
trade OF this country since tho repeat Of tho
duty, Which went into otfoct July !, 1872. At
tho tlmo Of tho repeal of tho duty, sufficient ton
for yoar'a consumption had accumulated III tho
Custom 11ouaoB, but, as groator part Of this
had boon Bold in advance, tho market was not
seriously Affected by taking Off tho duty. Tho
shipments, however, continued about aA usual
from Ohinn mud Japnn, 2i,9o7,o4o poundn
having boon exported from Juno 10
Oct. 10. against 2o,002,202 III tho pre-
vious year, 80 that tho market suffered
md pricoB fell, milking tho wholesale price Of
tea about % cents lowor, the duty mating tlif-
foronce Of 15 cents gold or about II contn cur
roncy; tho roal decrease in value therefore, be-
ing about conts. Sun Francsco Is tho maiu
distributing point Of worry large quantity Of tho
ten consumed in tho country. Tic indirect i'm
portations from England hayo almost entirely
coasod, likewise tho ton trade with Canala, by
reason Of tho duty Of 10 por cont placed on
Asiatio products imported through tho United
etates. Tho san Francisco trado, however, ia
suiforing from tho fact that 1t has recently bcon
shown that ton can DO brought from China
to New York, and oven to st. Louis, Mt loss cost
ria the suez Canal than overland from San
Francisco. Tho difference in price,, however
las not yet materially benefited consumers
Tho demand from tlis country ia simply cnor-
mouB. Tho United 6tatos Ia nation Of tea
drinkers. Old women, young womon, old men,
young men, oyen children, must hayo their daily
allowance Of tho cup which choors but not In
ebrlates, which rofreshos and at tho sumo timc
bronkB down, the nervoa Of our female
population quito as offoctually as liquors
GRO broaking down tho ncrvea Of
our nlalo population. The dolcterious
effects Of tea arc onsily.accountcd for. No arti-
clio Of commerce is adulterated to such an OK.
tent. nocont experiments woro nude in Gins
| gov, which showed that, out Of twonty-sovon
samples Of black toa, Six wore genuine, twenty
wore more or loBa adultoratol, aud one con-
tainod not single Loaf OF genuine tea. OF
eight specimens Of green ten, ovory ono was
more or loss painted and adulterated. Mr. Rob-
ort Fortune, in his recent work, "Tho Ton Dis
tricts Of China and Ind1n," describes tho
process Of tea-co1oring. a light bluo powder
ia prepared by tho Chinese in tho propor-
ton Of four parts Of gypsum to three parts Of
| Inn np1f In
during tho process OF roasting. About 1iye
minutes before the ten is removed from the pans,
sthe superintendent takes a small porcelain
Bpoon, md with 1t scatterB a portion of tho
coloring matter over the lenres in ench nan.
Tho workmen thop rapidly turn the loayos
around with their hands, until all assume the
proper color. To fourteen and half pounds Of
tea arc applied rather moro than M ounce Of
coloring mattor, SO that to ovory hundrod pounda
Of colorea groom ton conBumod in England o,
America the consumer drinks moro than huff q
pound Of PrusBiah blue and gypsum. The best
authoriticR state that nowadays thorq is scarcely
hundred weight Of puro green ton imported
into England or America. The writor above
quoted had curioslty enough to ask tho Chinese
whether tho tea would not DO bottor without the
coloriug. They replied, " Certainly, it would
and added that they novor drink tho dyed tce
thomsolvcn, but as Foreigners preferrea to have
the tea look uniform and pretty, and as Prussnu
{ blue and gypaum woro very clonp, and ths
foreigners wore willing to pay extra prices thoy
, accommodated them. One Of the most curious
facts connected with toa-lrinking was developed
] by a recent analysis made in London, showing
that tho low-pricod black teas consumed By til
poorer classes wero gonniue.
, Considering tho immense amount Of ton an
nually imported into this country, the fact tina
in great many fasnlios ton is on the table throt
tiuloa day, and the disclosures made concerning
eoloring and adulterations 1t is litt1o woudo
that nervous women abound, for women do tht
most Of tho tea-drinking. In the taco OF al
I these facts, 1t would be difficult
to convince any old or young woman, sitting
down to enjoy her compound Of toa-leayos
Prlasiau hluc, and gypsum, that it ia injuriou.
In it's effects. It Is ono of tho ouriostlos o
trado ns we'll as Of human nature, TINT psopl
should deliberately prefer prussan blue an
gypsum In their toa ut tho high price to II
puro article at low prIoe, and showa that noe
pie have so hardened and doprayca Their tasto,
that, lilso confirmed whskey drinkorg, it is on1
tho adulteratel article which gives them an
satisfaction.
d --z-
t The Yosemite Valley.
It will be remembered TINT, several years ag<
tho General Government gavo to tic State
California tract Of country in tho siorrn N.