Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1904-10-06
TEAS THAT ARE
WORTH FORTUNES
Twelve Hundred Kinds Are In China S
Show at the Worlds Fair===The Nest
POpulous Nation of the World Fer
the First Time Makes an Exhibit
Worthy of Her Greatness.

Many expositions of stupendous char
acter make up the Worlds Fair OF
1904. Each part is vast and distinct
show Each building shelters many
acres of wonderful tEings-wonderful
because they are the choicest of their
kind. Every nation on the globe is
represented. Every state and territory
is here with its best and making the
most Of its greatest opportunity.
The fact that China has not been 4
large exhibitor at worlds fairs gives
to her great exhibit here a prominence
quite exceptional. 1t is wonderland
of ingenious productions. We know
China best by reason of her extensive
exports of teas, which have found a
vast market in the United States for
generations. Her commercial interests
therefore prompted her to make a dis
play Of teas that we should not for
get.
In sealed glass jars China displays in
the Liberal Arts Palace some 1000
kinds of tea. Young Tyson and Old
Tyson have string Of tea relations
longer than the genealogical chain Of
Plymouth Rock. They are neatly Sc
lected Chops" in the language Of the
tea farmer, and these classes do not
embrace medicinal teas, which are
quite another lot in the rather modest
number of 100.
The teas exhibited vary in price from
a few cents pound to some rare and
exclusive kinds that are worth their
weight in gold, the tea in the latter
cases being placed on one side of the
scales and pure gold on the other
that is to say. the tea Of this expensive
kind is worth about 500 gold an ounce.
Only a very small quantity of this ex-
elusive leaf is exhibited, and it is
grown in carefully guarded tea planta-
tons or gardens right under the shad-
ows Of the great wall Of China. Its Gull
tivation is prohibited for any use save
for the imperial family Of China and
few of the favored high officials.
Mention has been made of the word
"chop" in connection with tea, and it
may be interesting to the everyday
reader to know what the word actually
signifies. The tea leaf is grown in va
rious districts of the Chinese empire on
large areas OF ground WHICH are uItvn
mistaken for single plantations. This
is hardly ever the case, as the large
tracts are very often owned by hum
dreds of different men, whose indlvid-
ual plots of ground bearing the tea
that each individual owner may cult
vate and pick his own crop Of tea.
Each owner likewise markets his own
tea and puts his own special mark, or
"chop." on the packages. Hence the
term "chop' signifies an individual
growth or picking of tea by one owner.
In an area Of tea land of. say, thou
sands acres. all apparently under one
ownership. there may be some forty.
fifty or more owners of the plantation
and consequently q like number Of
"chops" Of tea.
It must not be imagined that all these
different owners Of the tea get the
same price for their commodity-far
from it, as each of these individual tea
growers has his own secrets for i'm
proving the quality and flavor Of tea.
Take, for instance, tue Annoy and Flu
chau districts, whence must of tie tea
for the United States comes. The own.
ers Of "chops" of tea varying from 10
to 200 chests Of sc pounds each bring
samples of their goods to the various
foreign merchants for sale. These lat
ter turn the Chinssv ten growers over