Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-05
SOUTHERN TEA CULTURE.
Interesting Experiment of DIR. Shep-
ard I'm South Carolina.

Interesting Experiment of DR.. Shep-
ard I'm South Carolina.
From the St. Louis Globe Democrat.
The only plantation on this continent
whore tea Is grown successfully for the
market is not very large. 1t is near Sum-
merville, s. O. DR.. Charles U. Shepard.
who is making tea culture his life work.
thinks twenty acres enough to lay out in
gardens at present, though eventually he
expects to double this area. And 1t is
queer-looking patch this twenty acres. The
doctor has simply made a clearing in the
woods, and as the visitor energies from the
trees into the open space he sees what is
apparently stunted peach orchard, only
the leaves are too small and of a very dark
green. On closer examination the leaves
resemble those on currant bushes, though
they grow on stalks thick enough for tree
branches. Some plants are as high as the
waist, and some nearly as high as the head.
Planted at regular intervals and in rows
with branches carefully pruned, they do
resemble an orchard Of small fruit trees
with the branches forking like peach trees.
similar to thousands in China and other
Asiatic countries. 1t is genuine tea gar
den.
To those who have seen the cheap prints
and China representation Of tea bushes
growing on mountain sides, these straight
rows along the fiat ground have an unfa-
miliar look, but it is the climate and not
so much the clay of the land that fosters
them. Right in this Carolina forest the
temperature happens to be the best in the
country for tea growing-it Is just about
warm enough, and just about moist enough.
and heat and moisture are two special
The twenty acres Of gardens contain
several thousand SHRUBS" we will call
them. From these the owner hopes to
secure this year about 1900 pounds of black
fGc yIyhf vryi1 rnf~ ct to \
pound. Last year lis crop was about 800
pounds from an area of fifteen acres. This
is considerably better than raising cotton
al the present prices. SO he thinks.
The garden contains shrubs raised from
tea seed imported from Japan, China, Cey-
lon. Formosa and Assam, Asia: also what
are called Assam hybrids, which are con-
sidered the most profitable, and Ceylon
hybrids, which are obtained by mixing the
seed of tho pure Assam or Ceylon with
some other grade. The shrubs grow six
feet apart, as they require large amount
of nourishment, end "exhaust" a large
over the plants when the first shoots ap-
pear, and every care is taken to protect
them from frost until they have reached
height Of two or three feet. when they be-
come fairly hardy and can withstand
usually the changes Of temperature which
occur during the year. The shrubs can be
grown By grating, but are less hardy than
If raised by the seeding process. When the
shrub is about three feet high the "har-
vesting' of the tea begins. and this is per-
haps the most interesting stage of ALL
Armed with sharp knife, the field hand
cuts off in May about half Of the leaves
and smaller branches. II the growth has
been healthy the shrub throws out a new
foliage OF leaves at once. These are the
tea leaves of commerce. They will run
from one to two inches in length, according
to the variety. They are picked off as
fast as they reach a suitable size. and the
operation is repeated from May until Octo-
Der, often as the leaves come out. 1t is
termed flushing" The most profitable
species are naturally those that can bear
the most flushing. At Pinehurst seven is
the largest number Of '.hushes" during the
season.