The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-06

Gen lie Duo went out OF once the tea
plants were abandoned TO grow up wild
with the weeds and bushes. A number
of southern farmers. however, obtained
plants from this garden ana started pri-
vate little patches of tea for their own
use Here and there Throughout. the
south small plantations of tea NAV be
found, but the growers know little about
tea culture and only cultivate the gar
dens in a rude, uniformed way for their
private use. As far back as lS47 Junius
Smith, of Greenville, :. c., started a tea
garden on his place where he showed
considera BILE skill and knowledge in hand
ling the plants. But the war broke IN
his venture and left the gardens to take
care Of themselves. The tea plants had
To struggle Tor years for position among
the pines cherry laurels and green briers
But despite these unfavorable surround
ings 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 old
tea planter. still lives on the place, and
makes tea from the plants that her hus-
band started in those ante bellum DAYS.
Some of this tea has been sold and tested
in New York, bringing invariably from so
cents to 81 per pound. But down in
South Carolina DR.. Charles U. Shepard,
than whom no man has done more TO in
troduce and populariZe tea culture. has
revived the old government gardens at
Summerville His pretty country place
is called Pinehurst. and near his home
are six tea gardens of recent planting,
averaging an acre each, and 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 in the north. Dr.
Shepard is an enthusiastic experimeuter,
and understands the culture of tea
to perfection. he mas 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 huntington
plantation, where the first government
| experiments were made; and although he
! has leased 1t, he reserves the right TO re-
move the old tea plants. On this old
! place many new plants have sprung up
and quite thlcket of trees and bushes
are formed. Some of them 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
is the best for tea culture. He is also ex-
perimenting with all 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 picking is
about 25 cents per pound of cured tea.
On large scale, and with the best ap-
paratus for gathering and curing, this
cost might be largely reduced. He feels
confident. however, that cheap tea cul-
ture could never be made profitable here,
! on account OF the lower wages that rule
in Japan and India and China, but the
higher grade teas can be grown with con-
| siderable profit. DR.. Shepard is increas-
ing his tea gardens every year, and when
the plants are old enough TO YIELD good
crops he proposes to put in good ma
| chinery and start into tea selling for
| money.
! Prof. Massey says that the finest tea he
| ever tasted was grown IN the south. and
! he has no doubt but that it will be flu
! ture profitable crop in the Carolinas.
Mr. jackson, an expert tea grower from
Assam, who had charge of the Summer
! vile plantation under Gen. lie Due, says
that with negro labor he can raise tea
more cheaply than is done with coolie
| labor IL India, because of its greater re-
| liability. In regard to the hardness of
the tea plant, all observers seem to agree
that north of 35' itis nnWise to attempt
| 10 cultivate IT, Around Old Point Com
fort, where some plants have been grow
ing more or less feebly for years. the win
ters cut the plants badly, and on the
upper part of the Delaware peninsula
they were entirely killed. But south of
these points, in the piney woods country,
extending from Raleigh to the gulf,
tea plants can be grown with great sue
cess, and the time may not be far distant
| when American tea will compete openly
in the market with that shipped from
! China, Japan and India