The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-03-14
A Chinese Tea Plantation.

Oh.hVsO hOu tuutbttVH,
We take the following account of a
visit to Chinese tea plantation from an
article in So. Nicholas Magazine:
breakfast over, we jumped ashore again,
and, desiring to conduct our sightseeing
systematically, started for the fields.
First we walked to the foot of hill
little distance off, where some men in
short cotton trousers and jackets were
laying out new plantation. The
ground was accurately marked off, and
in one place the little plants, only an
inch or two in height, were just showing
above the ground. In another, the
seeds-little round balls they looked like
were being planted in the rows.
Passing another field, where some mer
were at work with their hoes in true
Chinese style, stopping every few mo-
ments to smoke their pipes, we came at
last to where the plants had attained
some size and the actual picking was
going on. The plants themselves were
from two to six feet high, according to
age, and from repeated cuttings down
had grown into dense masses of small
twigs. Many of them were covered
with little white flowers, somewhat sim
liar to the. jasmine, and seeds inclosed
in casing not unlike that of the hazel
nut, but thinner and full of oil. Charley
thought they looked like little laurel
bushes to me, those that had been
we'll picked were not unlike huckleberry
bushes, only the leaves were, of course,
a much darker green. The first pick
ing, usually in April, is when the leaves
are very young and tender, commanding
a much higher price than those subse-
quently plucked. The second is a
month later, when they have attained
maturity and as unpropitious weather
would be likely to ruin them, great ex-
pedition is used in getting in the crop
the entire population turning out to
assist. A third, and even a fourth, fol-
lows but the quality rapidly deter;-
crates, and but small proportion of
these last pickings is prepared for ex-
port.
The plantations were filled with a
merry crowd, composed principally of
women and children. ali engaged in
stripping the bushes as rapidly as pos
sible, yet with great care and dexterity,
so as not to bruise the leaves. They
looked up from their work and screamed
to each other in their harsh cultural
tones, casting glances of astonishment
at the barbarians. Following some of
the coolies, who with filed bags were
trudging off to the curing-house, we saw
the most interesting operation of all.
Here, at least thirty young girls were
engaged in asserting the leaves, picking
out all the dead and yellow ones, and
preparing them for the hands of the
rollers and firers. Our entrance excited
quite commotion among the damsels,
as we were probably the first barbarians
they had seen, and we had the reputa
ton of living entirely ON fat babies. A
word from Akong, who had joined us
re-assured them, and in few minutes
Charley was airing his little stock O.
Chinese, more, 1 thought, to theil
amusement than their edification. Leav
ing this room we went into another
where the curing was in progress. Or
one side extended long furnace bull
of bricks, with large iron pans placed a
equal distances, and heated by charcoa
fires below. Into these pans leaves b,
the basketful were poured, stirred
rapidly for few minutes, and then re
moved to large bamboo frames, wher
they were rolled and kneaded until al
the green Juice was freed. They wer
then scattered loosely in large, fat Das
kets, and placed in the sun to dry
Subsequently,, the leaves were agai
carried to the furnaces and exposed to
gentle heat, until they curled and twiste
themselves into the shapes so familiar t
you all. Some of the finer kinds oftel
prepared for expectation are rolled owe
by hand before being fired. The grea
object appears to be to prevent the lea
from breaking; hence, in the commone
kinds and those intended for home con
sumption, which do not receive the sam
care, the leaves are found to be yer
much broken. In fact, the preparatio
of this latter sort is very simple mer
drying in the sun, after which it pre-
sents drv, broken appearance, lik
autumn leaves.