gentleman in Shang-hae, being in conversation with
some Chinese from the green-tea country, asked them what reasons they
had for dyeing the tea, and whether it would not be better without
undergoing this process. They acknowledged that tea was much better
when prepared without having any such ingredients mixed with it, and
that they never drank dyed teas themselves; but justly remarked, that
as foreigners seemed to prefer having a mixture of Prussian blue and
gypsum with their tea, to make it look uniform and pretty, and as
these ingredients were cheap enough, the Chinese had no objections to
supply them, especially as such teas always fetched a higher price!'
The quantity of colouring matter used is rather more than an ounce to
14-1/2 lbs. of tea; so that in every 100 lbs. of coloured green tea
consumed in England or America, the consumer actually drinks nearly
half a pound of Prussian blue and gypsum! Samples of these
ingredients, procured from the Chinamen in the factory, were sent last
year to the Great Exhibition.

In the black-tea districts, as in the green, large quantities of young
plants are yearly raised from seeds. These seeds are gathered in the
month of October, and kept mixed up with sand and earth during the
winter months. In this manner they are kept fresh until spring, when
they are sown thickly in some corner of the farm, from which they are
afterwards transplanted. When about a year old, they are from nine
inches to a foot in height, and ready for transplanting. This is
always done at the change of the monsoon in spring, when fine warm
showers are of frequent occurrence. The most favourable situations are
on the slopes of the hills, as affording good drainage, which is of
the utmost importance; and which, on the plains, is attained by having
the lands above the watercourses. Other things being equal, a
moderately rich soil is preferred. They are planted in rows about four
feet apart (in poor soils, much closer), and have a very hedge-like
appearance when full grown. A plantation of tea, when seen at a
distance, looks like a little shrubbery of evergreens. As the
traveller threads his way amongst the rocky scenery of Woo-e-shan, he
is continually coming upon these plantations, which are dotted upon
the sides of all the hills. The leaves are of a rich dark-green, and
afford a pleasing contrast to the strange, and often barren scenery
which is everywhere around. The young plantations are generally
allo