The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-05-24
SOUTHERN GROWN TEA
BY No Means an Impossible Prod.
uct Of America.
Staple Crop Of Far East Gives Promise
Of Playing important Role In In
dustries of Southern States
Annual Consumption.

American tea Is by no means an
impossible product OF the future,
says Secretary Wilson OF the depart,
ment Of agriculture. he being OF the
opinion that the obstacles IN the way
OF this achievement may finally be
overcome by persistent effort.
Tea is a staple crop OF India. Ceyion,
China and Japan, where cheap labor is
abundant, and at present extends the
promise of playing an important role
in the Industries OF the southern
states.
The work In tea culture carried on
at Summerville, S. c., has continued to
give favorable results, and although
last season was somewhat ~discourag,
ing from the standpoint of rainfall, the
year was very satisfactory, A machine
to prune the plants either in the nat or
convex type OF cut has done successful
work. saving expressive hand labor.
and tea-picking apparatus is now re-
ceiving attention, and some small
samples OF machine-picked tea have
been obtained. When these two oper.
atoms are successfully done by ma
chimes, the labor problem in the Amer.
lean tea raising industry will have
been solved.
OF the worlds annual consumption.
exclusive of the very large local use
In China (the extent OF which cannot
be determined) amounting to about
roc, 000, 900 pounds, 10000, 600 is pro.
duced in China, and the recent trou-
BILE there is bound to interfere to a
great extent with this industry and
will in all probability bring about a
readjustment Of the tea trade Of the
world.
The people of the United States, al
though considered a coifee-drinlSing
nation, consume annually upward OF
100, 000, 900 pounds OF tea, for which
$16, 000,0 900 or more are paid. The
imports of tea for every fifth year
from 1853 to 1908 inclusive, show a
general increase In the quantity of tea
imported, and 1t is possible by estab.
fishing a tea industry at home to great
ly increase the consumption, as has
been done in Great Britain since tea
became a staple OF her colonies in the
East Indies.
The secretary asserts that the abil.
ity of the tea plant to adapt itself to q
wide range of conditions is exceeded
only by wheat, and that the climate
Of the southern states Is in general
fairly suited to its cultivation; for
although the rainfall is much less than
In most of the tea-produclng countries,
the average annual temperature Is
lower, hence there is less evaporation
and therefore less rainfall is needed.
For its successful growth, the tea
plant requires a deep, fertile, well.
drained, friable and easily penetrable
loan, containing a large amount Of
well decomposed organic matter, such
as is found in much OF the southern
territory.
In establishing a tea plantation
'heic AS hotuih5 moio lhpoitohI lAan
the selection OF the seed, especially
when imported. As about one only In
every three shipments arrive In good
terminating condition, the cost of i'm
p~ortation assumes a high figure. When
gardens become general in this ccun-
try the expense Of importation WILL
become unnecessary, and even now tea
seed gathered from Pinehurst, South
Carolina, costs less than five dollars
per 100 pounds, while imported seed
cost $50 per 10 pounds. The difference
of cost Of labor which would appear to
condemn the attempt to establish a tea
industry here. does not exist to the ex-
tent GENERALLY believed"