The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-10-05
TEA CULTURE
IS A SUCCESS.
The Output of a Tea Garden
in South Carolina.
The Cost of Producing Tea and the
Profit Which May be Derived
From it

From it
Less than ten years ago. and soon
after the last abandonment of the last
serious attempt to grow commercial
tea in the Southern States, it seemed
worth the effort 70 Dr.. c o. Shepard,
| of Summerville, to repeat the expert
ment on much more diversified
plan, in the hope that conditions
might be found favorable to the suc-
cessful development of new indus.
try. It is not necessary at this time
to enter into a description of all of
the "Pineburst' tea gardens and the
outcome of the various experiments
instituted therein. 1t sufices to
state that all available sorts of tea,
of soils aud situations were utilized,
and very divergent results obtaned,
which. futasr Investigations many
modify. but hardly revise. All Of
which data are to be published later.
though the kind interis: of the honor'
able Secretary of Agriculture. James
Wilson.
But, in view of the chief motive
underlying the work, and especially
because Of certain results recently
established which apparently prove
the feasibility of making commercial
Zoo IN Tho Southern States. it NAV be
we'll to publish an account of the
"Rose Garden" patch of tea. Its
site as an Old piney woods pond,
with a black, rich Gin humus) but
sour surface soil, overlayiug quick
sand and, yet lower. clay. The
ground was thoroughly subsoil drain
ed, heavily sweetened with burnt
mari and deeply ploughed. About
1000 plants of acclimatized ASSUME
hybrid tea were set out at 6 by 6
feet, "quincunx " Whether from
the slowness experienced in over
coming the original acidity of the soil
or from the comparatively feeble
growth OF the seedlings during the
first few years-in this respect re-
senbling its relative, the camellia
iaponica-little progress was made
from 1890. the date of the establish.
ment of the garden. until 1894, al.
though some leaf was piucked from
it in 1892
Again, the system of pruning
practiced at the start of the expert
mentation, whereby clean stems were
maintained, mad to be abandoned
after the loss of many plants and a
degree of disappointment which
almost caused the cessation of fur.
ther work in this direction.
st present the garden contains
about 800 vigorous bushes, each one
composed of many stems. the result
of cutting out the original main stem
and inducing a luxurlant sucker
growth. There are also about 200
younger plants occupying the places
where older ones died they natu-
rally produce less leaf. Altogether
this garden of less than an acre may
be fairly regarded as containing the
equivalent of 900 plants in good
bearing
The output of green leaf from it
has been as follows Crop of 1892,
Sc pounds; crop of 1898, 81 pounds;
crop of 1894, ISL pounds ; crop Of
1895, 333 pounds crop of 1896.
600 pounds crop of 1897, GAS
pounds cropof 1898, 1000 pounds
to September l, with the prospect of
reaching almost l, 200 pounds by the
end of the season.
1t is to be noted that there has
been a material increase each year
over the preceding, amounting to
almost if not quite 100 per cent,
with the exception of 1897, when q
prolonged autumnal drought mate
rally interfered with the leaf produc-
ton. 1t is. of course, impossible to
foretell to what limits this expansion
may extend before reaching that
slight annual variation which marks
the maturity of the plant. But it
would not be surprising if the out
turn were doubled within a year or
two. Twelve hundred and sixty
pounds of green leaf will afford 300
pounds of standard Pinehurst black
tea.
On a basis of 900 plants in the
"Rose garden" the production per
bush is five ounces of tea If it
were a foil acre the yield would
approximate 400 pounds And #
the plants had been placed at shorter
distances anart. as is the practice