Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-07-05
AMERICAN TIA.
ITS CULTURE HAS BEEN REVIVED IN THB
CAR0LlNAS.
Tea from the Smith Farm Brought Eighty Cents a
Pound-Amsrican Leaf is Better for Back
Than Green Tea.

Pound-Amtrlcan Leaf IS oeIer lVE DlaCk
Than Green Tea.
Some fine specimens of American tea
have been sent from Fayette, n. u,
this season To Northern markets, and
the results of the sales seem to indicate
that the culture Of this crop in parts OF
the South may yet lead to large for
tunes. II is not generally known that
attempts were made TO establish tea
gardens here before the war, and that,
| since the end of that outbreak, system
attic efforts have been made TO revive
the old gardens. Prof. Massey, OF the
| State Agricultural College, has been
instrumental In trying TO spread intor-
nation among the farmers concerning
| the culture OF tea, and few have been
induced TO put out gardens. Inc tea
sent from the old Smith farm this sea-
son brought so cents pound, and some
from the Summervlle gardens in South
Carolina brought as high as 81 pound
Last summer the tea cut at Summer
Vile amounted to a dozen or two
pounds, and this year several times
that amount has been sold.
When General lie Due was the United
States Commissioner of Agriculture I'M
der President Hayes, he started tea
growing experiments In the South. Inc
Agricultural Department: planted the
tea gardens at Summerville, ,. u, OUT
when General re Duo went out OF OIL
fee the tea plants were abandoned 10
grow up wild with the weeds ana
bushes. A number OF Southern farm
ers. however, obtained plants from this
garden and started private little patches
of tea for their own use. Here and
there throughout the South small plan
tatiops of tea may be found,
but the growers know little about
tea culture ard only cultivate
the gardens in a rude, uniformed way
for their private use. AS far back as
1917 Junius Smith, OF Greenyllle, >. Z,
started tea garden on his place, where
he showed considerable skill and know
ledge in handling the plants. But the
war broke up his venture, and left the
gardens 10 take care OF themselves.
The tea plants had 10 struggle for years
for a position among the pines, cherry
laurels and green briers. But despite
these unfavorable surroundings, they
have continued to thrive, and to-day
they are tea trees rather than plants.
They have demonstrated by this success
their right TO live on the soil.
Mrs. Junius Smith, widow OF the DIG
tea planter, still lives on the place and
makes tea from the plants that her hus-
band started Ia the ante-bellum days
Some of this tea has been sold and test
ed In New York, bringing invariably
from so cents TO 81 pound. But down
in South Carolina DR.. Charles Z. Shep'
ard, than whom no man has done more
TO introduce and popularize tea culture,
has revived the old government gar
dens at Summervills. His pretty
country place is called Plnehurst, and
near his home are six tea gardens OF
recent planting averaging an acre each,
aud others are in course OF preparation
for planting. The plants are now In
excellent condition and from some OF
the gardens several crops have already
been sold 10 the North. DR.. Shepard
is an enthusiastic eXperimenter aud I'M
derstands the culture OF tea TO perfec-
ton. He has raised the plants from
various kinds Of seeds, but the chief
plants are of the Assam hybrid, an
India tea formed by crossing the native
plants with the Chinese. He also owns
the old Nuvington plantation, where
the first government experiments were
made, and although he has leased
1t he reserves the right to remove
Il III go NJ On this ntn T,lprQ
many new plants have sprung up, and
quite thicket Of trees and bushes are
formed. Some OF these were trans
planted to his new gardens, and other
plants were imported from China and
Japan. He is testing the growth on
various soils and situations TO see which
ia the best for tea culture. He Is also
experimenting with ali OF the different
varieties OF teas TO ascertain the right
kind for this country. One Washington
dealer who uses only the finest quality
OF tea has offered TO take all that can
be raised at Pinehurst at very high
prices.
DR.. Shepard says that the leaf grown
in the South is better for black than
for green tea, and that the cost Of pack
ing is about 25 cents pound Of cured
tea. On a large scale, and with the
best apparatus for gathering and cur
ing, this cost might be largely reduced.
He feels confident, however, that cheap
rate culture could never be made profit
able here, on account OF the lower
wages that rule In Japan and India AID
China, but the higher-grade teas can be
grown with considerable profit. DR..
Shepard is increasing his tea gardens
every year, and when the plants are old
enough to yield good crops, be proposes
TO put in good machinery and start into
tea selling for money.
Prof. Massey says that the finest tea
be ever tasted was grown In the South,
and he has no doubt but it will be a
future profitable crop in the Carolinas'
Mr.. Jackson, an expert tea grower from
Assam, who had charge OF the Summer
willie plantation under General La Due,
saws that with negro labor he can raise
tea more cheaply than is done with
suolIe labor In India, because OF its
greater reliability In regard TO the
hardness OF the tea-plant, all observers
seem 70 agree that north Of 35 degrees
il IL unwise TO attempt 10 cultivate
il. Around Old Point Comfort, where
oome plants have been growing more or
less feebly for years, the winters cut
the plants badly, and on the upper part
Of the Delaware peninsula they were
entirely killed. But south Of these
poipts. in the piney woods country, ex-
tending from Raleigh TO the Gulf, tea
plants can be grown with great success
and the time may not be far distant
when American tes will compete open
n. IA nnarkat with that shipped