The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-14


--s natives are too accustomed to
ling the homegrown beverage to care
.5o,t the amusement, but the north
tors are pleased with the novelty,
ever come to this section without
ling Pinehurst in their itinerary, so
..1 the folks at home" that they
80 tea off the bushes.
'-.-..,,rst, The name leaves a pleasant
the tongue. Entering the South
-,.,s railroad train in the gloomy
.-,s.-,n depot, a ride of about forty
- through country fiat as a PAN
with here and there a cypress marsh
'....,rg the white monotony Of the soil,
Won 10 Summerville. the resort Of
-,.-+on,s elite in summer as well as
~ where the pine needles cover the
r.,gBd so thickly that one has to kick up
or three inches of them before he
~ the light, sandy loan so common
=. ,ovlands of the Carolinas. For the
mt Won notice little else but the tall
trees Then buildings appear here
p, .be~e in the forest, and short walk
9 Won TO the Piney Woods Inn. with
I'D verandas and widely opened doors
,,,rdovs. through which the air, heav-
.-,.4on with balsamic odor, is freely cir
to If any one were to tell you that
d -, ,aa YOU drink after your meal at the
4 nos crown. picked and cured within
-, niles of the table where you are
zinc Won would probably ridicule him.
On such A waste of landl Well, this
.o,,5ern soil is very deceptive, and what
=. 70 he sterile ground has elements
49,. Give strawberry plants, peach and
10 vines vigorous and rapid growth.
~ this immediate locality it brings
~ .to tea shrub. forcing it along so rap
S-.r tbat the leaves are large enough 10
W Gov market when it is three years
oh. At ,o,,+ira,,
The only plantation on this continent
where tea is grown successfully LOT Lne
,,,rta+ Is not very large. DR.. Charles
- sbenard who is making tea culture
bts lie work. thinks twenty-acres enough
"a law out in gardens at present, though
evsntuallv he expects to double this area.
And is a queer looking patch, this twen-
~ acres The doctor has simply made a
clearing In the woods, and as the Vlsltor
enerres from the trees into the open space
he sees what is apparently a stunted peach
orchard only the leaves are too small ana
Of very dark green. On closer exarnl-
nation the leaves resemble those on cur
rant 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 resent
f-.,sf frna NIT
the branches forking like peaches. But 1t
Is not an orchard-it is garden similar to
thousands in China and other Asiatic
Countries. 1t is a genuine tea garden.
To those who have seen the cheap prints
and China represe ntations of tea bushes
growing on mountain sides, these straight
rows along the fiat ground have an unfa-
m'iar look, but it is the climate,
and not so much the lay
Of the land" thas fosters
them Right in this climate 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 combined with moisture
are two special requirements TO make
good tea leaves. The twenty acres of gar
dens" contain several thousand shrubs"
We will call them. From these the owner
hopes tosecure this year about 1000 pounds
Of black tea, which will retail at 81 to $40
per pound. Last year his crop was about
60 pounds from an area of fifteen acres
This is considerably better than raising
cotton at the present prices, so he thinks
The gardens contain shrubs raised from
Tea seed imported from Japan, China, Cey-
lon, Formosa and Assam, Asia; also what
are called Assam hybrids, which are con-
s.dered the most profitable, and Ceylon
hybrids. which are obtained by mixing the
seed of the pure Assam or Ceylon with
some other grade. The shrubs grow six
feet apart, as they require large amount
Of nourishment and Exhaust" large area
Of ground Shingles or straw is placed
over the plants when the first shoots APP
pear, and every 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 with
stand usually the changes of tempera-
lure which occur during the year. the
Shrubs cam be grown by granting
out 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
sharp knife, the field hand cuts off in May
ABOUT half of the leaves and smaller
branches. If the growth has been healthy
NE shrub throws out a new foliage of
raves at once. These are the tea leaves
~S4AiAitICe. 4Hty Will run lIOll OllS "
Two inches in length, according to the va
Hely They are picked off. as fast as they
ieach suitable size, and the operation
~ repeated from May until October as Of
. .!a as the leaves come out. 1t is termed
nnshing.' The most profitable species
are naturally those that can bear the most
Aushlng. AT Pinehurst seven is the larg-
esl number of "flushes' during the sea-
II during the picking season that you
ST the genuine Carolina pickaninny in
al ms glory. Some of the urchins are not
- val as the rows of shrubs they are
fsilppng. Some are fat youngsters, with
les les black as ebony and shining like but
~, [l IN the sunlight. Over a hundred of
[ aleui hustle into the patch as soon as day
'dhs through the pines, and at it they
co. e. some have coat, shirt and trousers;
1g1He nave just the shirt and trousers,
NE occasionally you will run across a
ta7eged' roguish little rascal, just able
v-b ColoIe about in dirty cotton shift"
lee nanny" has put him there to
nm out of the way.
sumo Of the older boys and girls pick
sI 10 Twelve pounds yer day, making
so,el 81 cents. The average is nearer
gu pounds daily, however. which. when
ST., amounts to about two pounds for
IN you should chance 10 visit Pinehurst
nj, '-ie picking season you would see a