Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-08-18
GROWING TEA.
PROSPECTS FOR An AMERICAN
INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE.
Can II be Done Here Experiments
Tea Gardens of the Department
of Agriculture-Culturc OF the
Plant in South Carolina.
TYHE Department Of Agriculture
is pushing experiments with
L tea culture in South Carolina,

III DtilNA AlAAN ~ va
is pushing experiments with
i tea culture in South Carolina,
" and the forthcoming annual
report will give Il glowing account OF
the prospects of this industry in the
United States. Last summer the first
pickings we're taken from plants that
sprouted in 1889. The product, sub
mitted to expert tea tasters and mer-
chants. has been pronounced excellent
and readily marketable at high price
II is declared to have a character dis
tinct from the teas Of any other coun-
trv. There is reason to believe that
it can be grown with profit on com
mercial scale Not requiring special
curing for export. like Chinese and
japanese teas, the leaves can he dried
for domestic trade and sold in bricks
like other herbs.
Ten years ago the Department of
Agriculture attempted to grow teas In
South Carolina. The effort was aban-
doned without fair trial, as Is now
believed, and it is being resumed. AT
the request of Uncle Jerry Rusk the
Department of State issued requests to
consuls at the tea ports for seeds Of tine
best teas. Experimental gardens have
been established near Summerville,
S. c., where plants Of japanese,
Chinese, Formosa and Assam hybrid
varieties are under cultivation. The
first seasons crop was thirty-eight
pounds of the cured article per acre.
1t takes four pounds Of fresh leaves to
make one pound of cured tea 1t is
expected that from 400 to 800 pounds
per acre Of fresh tea can be raised
yearly. In China the cost of picking
is one cent per pound Of cured tea.
The cost in South Carolina is six cents
q pound
On account of this difference in the
price of labor American teas can only
compete with high-priced imported
grades. 1t is estimated that the cost
of raising pound Of ter in South Car
olina is twenty cents. in addition to
the rental of the land. Ii successful
this new field for agricultural enter
prise will furnish an easy outdoor oc-
cupation for many who are unequal to
rougher employment in the fields
Taking an average every man. woman
and child in the United States con
sumes twenty-on- ounces Of tea per
annum. Just half Of it comes from
China, forty-two per cent. from Japan
and the balance from India and other
British possessions
The first plant Of this species grown
in South Carolina was set ont 10y
Michaux, the French botanist in 1901
fifteen miles from Charleston. During
tine Inter half of this century people
IN that section have cultivated little
patches and larger gardens Of tea.
which have produced crops of II fine
flavor. though usually not strong
enough to satisfy many drinkers. 1t
is believed, however, that the failure
of pungency has been due to defective
curing. Many families in that part of
the country to-day grow what tea they
require for household use. A Fayette-
vile n. c.. man writes that half
dozen bushes furnish his family of six
persons with more tea than they can
consume. His wife prepares it by
heating the leaves in an oven until
they are wilted, squeezing them by
hand until the juice is expressed from
them and finally drying them again in
the oven. The tea is then fragrant
and ready for use.
The tea plant is ever green. If left
to follow the intention of nature it as
sumes the form of slender tree from
fifteen to twenty feet in height When
grown for its leaves it has the appear
ance of low spreading bush, being
kept cut down. 1t bears a beautiful
white flower with little Scent. Bees
are very fond Of the blossoms The
seeds resemble hazel nuts. They have
a hard shell and bitter kernel. The
capsules Of these tea nuts make very
pleasant bitters. In some parts of the
South they are held TO be as good for
malarial fcyers rs quinine.
Tea is usually considered TO require
a hot and damp climate. IT cannot
be too warm if sufficiently moist 1t
IS said that pleasant climate to live
In cannot be good for tea. A good
tea climate cannot be healthy one.
Fever and tea go together. Such are
the opinions generally accepted on
this subject. Nevertheless, tea that is
grown in temperate climates is liked
much better by many people. 1t GER
tainly has a more delicate flavor,
though much weaker Teas that are
grown at moderate elevations in the
Himolayas fetch good prices in the
London market. The point is that tea
will grow anywhere, but not in many
climates will it pay. An ideal climate
for producing it is that Of Eastern
Bengal, where the thermometer never
goes down below fifty-fvc degrees, and
there is sometimes twenty-five feet OF
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