The record-union., 1895-08-10
a SOUTHERN TEA GARDEN:
The Plant Successfully Raised in
South Carolina.
An Interesting Experiment Which May
Give the South New and Very
Profitable Industry.

y
| Profitable Industry.
The only plantation on this continent
where tea is grown successfully for the
market is located at Pinehurst, near Sum-
merville, s. c. 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. 1t is queer
looking patch, this twenty acres. The
doctor has simply made a clearing in the
woods, and as the visitor emerges 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 branches.
| But it is not an orchard-it is a genuine
tea garden.
1t is the climate that fosters this tea
garden in this Carolina forest. The tenn
| peraLure Is just warm enough, the atmOs-
phere happens to be just right, and heat
| combined with moisture are two special
| requirements to make good tea leaves.
| The twenty acres contain several thou
sand Shrubs" From these the owner
hopes to secure this year about 900
| pounds Of black tea, which will retail at
! ~ hi
was about 500 pounds from au area of fif-
teen acres. The gardens contain shrubs
| raised from seed imported from Japan,
| China, Ceylon, FOrnOsa and Assam, Asia;
also what are called Assam hybrids,
which are considered the most profitable.
and CeylOn hybrids, which are obtained
! by mixing the seed of the pure Assam or
| Csylon with some other grade. The
shrubs grow six feet apart, as they re-
quire large amount of nourishment and
"exhaVst large area OF ground.
Straw or shingles are placed over the
| plants when the first shoots appear, and
care is taken to protect them from frost
| until they have reached hight of two or
| three feet when they become fairly hardy
and can Withstand usually the changes OF
temperature which occur during the
! year. The shrubs can be grown by graft
| ing, but are less hardy than If raised by
| the seeding process.
When the shrub is about three feet
high, the harvesting of the tea" begins,
and this Is perhaps the most interesting
stage of all. Armed with a sharp knife,
| the field hand cuts off in May about half
the leaves and smaller branches. II the
growth has been healthy, the shrub
throws out 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 suit
| able size, and the operation Is repeated
from May until October as often as the
| leaves come out. 1t is termed "hushing."
| 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. The pick
| ing is done by the native plckaninnies.
If you should chance to visit Pinehurst
in the picking season. you will sec
pleasant faced man of middle age, with
| light mustache. moving around, with d
soft hat pulled over bis brow TO shut out
the sun, and hands stuffed into the pock-
| cts of his double breasted jacket. This is
the father OF tea-growing in America"
| Dir. Shepard seems to be all over the
| place and at all times. He follows every
detail OF the operations, often showing
some picker the best mode of doing the
work.
| Then be goes off to the factory" and
the visitors follow him. This is a frame
| building standing among the trees. Here
the leaf is withered by being spread on
the floor of large drying-room. When
| it begins to roll in the hand like piece Of
| fine kid it is withered. Then it is rolled
| by machinery and The oily juices ex-
tracted. These juices, when dried. give
the leaf its peculiar flavor. The Sizes are
then sitted and fired" or thoroughly
heated, also by machinery. This is done
under the DOCTORS personat supervision,
as upon the process depends much of the
| flavor and coloring.
The leaves are strewn on metallic
sheets and placed in receptacle hot
| enough to bake potatoes. The sheets are
moved from time to time, and the rolled
| leaves stirred by certain method so that
| all receive a uniform treatment. A few
moments too much or two little OF this
"firing' may spoil the flavor and the
color. The utmost delicacy and accuracy
are required, and when the work is over
the expert can easily tell by his senses OF
smell and taste just about what price per
pound the batch will sell for. After
| firing the tea is ready TO be packed and
shipped. The total cost of picking and
curing pound of Pinehurst tea is about
| twenty cents. When it sells at 81 per
pound handsome profit is realized.
Perhaps DR.. Shepard will tell about his
| first visit to the Ashley River-he has
been all over the Carolina country
| where stands a tea tree which was planted
| in 1904 and is now over twenty feet high,
| though the leaves are not good for Steep
| ing purposes. This is probably the first
| of its kind i'll America, and IL gave him
| the idea that tea could be raised and have
commercial value. He brought his
| knowledge Of botany and chemistry into
| play, and, after careful calculation, fixed
upon Pinehurst as the right spot for his
| experiments. He owns 500 acres of the
pine lands in that locality.
| His hope is to prepare an American tea
which will bring $50 per pound from the
consumer. I'VE do not begin to get the
| best teas from China and Japan,"' be
says. They send us the sweepings and
| the most inferior grades. The Japanese
| would not think of drinking cup of the
beverage we call japan tea. They have
| mandarin teas, used by the higher classes,
which sell at from So to $40 per pound in
their country. l feel convinced that l
can raise even a better grade here, which
! will realize $50 per pound if cured prop
erly. OF course, it Will require elaborate
preparation, but the result is worthy of
the experiment."
| If invited to take cup OF tea with the
doctor, don't refuse, Tor ii you never
drank the genuine artie.e. and most prob
ably you haven't before, you will here
New York World.
JORNSBNS BULKY COPPER COIN