The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-29
TEA CULTURE IN NORTH CAROLINA.

Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Az
riculture. who is giving Southern agricui-
ture much attention. feels connueht
that in central South Carolina can be
produced all the tea needed by the
American people" General lie Due, the
6rst Commissioner of Agriculture, who
was 4 resident of Fayetteville in 1S94s
said that tea can be proftably raised
IN North Carolina. He wrote the fol-
lowing letter. which appeared in the
Fayetteville Observer, Noyermer 10,
1881:
"A reporter for the Home Journal,
New York family paper, published octo-
her ~. 1894, manages to inject into an
eighteen line paragraph six mis- state
nitnts. one for every thre lines. lie
should he set for a photo, illustrating
Truthful Jeems. 1t says:
Mrs. Daniel Butterfield, wife of
General Butterfield, with her accus-
tened interest III everything tending
to promote the growth of home Pro-
ductions, gave tea last week at
the beautiful Cragside, ner country
seat on the Hudson, to Introduce
to her friends the first American tea.
II was sent to her by General Lee
Duo. from South Carolina, where 1T
was grown by Prof. Chas. Shepard,
who was formerly i'll the .igricultu-
raj Department at Washington.
From the Department Prof. Shepard
obtained his first plants. and conf
menced IA small nursery which is
now increasing and he will soon be
able TO grow tea in commercial guam
titles. The flavor is most delicious,
like the finest English breakfast
tea. It's cost will be about half that
OF the imported article
THE first American grown tea was
grown and made by a physician who
had ben in China, and who brought
plants to Georgia and there engaged
in tea planting and making, in small
way. until interrupted by his untinlely
death. His tea garden was entirely neg
lected and grew up to young forest
trees, among which the tea shrubs lived
and thriyed, bearing crops of seed an-
nually These seed were distributed
through the country TO individuals gath
ering them as curiosities, and also by
the Department of Agriculture at Wash
ington. buying and sprouting and dis
tributing the plants. In 1878. 1879 and
1880 the then Commissioner of Agricul-
fure imported seed of the best yarie-
ties of tea plants from China. Japan and
India. and employed a Scofchman named
Jackson, who had been superintendent
OF large gardens in India, to start tea
garden in America A proper selection
of land was made near Summeryille, 5.
c.. and 200 acres were leased TO the
4oJ fafa for tua fpr ,pp
dollar by Mr.. Henry Middleton. OF
Charleston. S., G. The imported seed
were planted by Mr.. Jackson, on a
portion Of this tract, and from the nur-
sery thus established many thousand
plants have been taken. The Commits
sioner OF Agriculture who succeeded the
one referred TO above. abandoned the
tea growing experiment. and the prop
erty I'M Il few years back fell into the
hands of Prof Shepard, who is now
growing tea for market. A lady at
Georgetown, $. c., has also made few
pounds of tea for several years, and
Mrs. James Smith, at .-Eutaw," near
this city, has tea garden of 200 plants
from which she makes tea every year,
more or less, and for sale. She sells at
S1.G0 a pound. and could sell thous-
and times more than she makes. 1t was
the tea made by Mrs. Smith and also
some made by Professor Shepard that
attracted the attention, and contributed
to the pleasure, of the elegant and ac-
complished mistress of Cragside and her
friends. Let it be known that tea-grow-
ing is far more profitable than cotton
growing, and that a tea garden once
established is good for 30 to 40 years,
and will produce when at its best 300
pounds of tea to the acre, and intelligent
farmers will make trial of it as some are
now doing in this vicinity"