Page:An account of the manufacture of the bla.pdf/15

 sure of the ﬁngers, it is taken off, when the Tea is ready. All the different kinds of leaves underwent the same operation. The Tea is now little by little put into boxes and first pressed down with the hands and then with the feet, (clean stockings having been previously put on.)

There is a small room inside of the Tea house, 7 cubits square and 5 high, having bamboos laid across on the top to support a net work of bamboo, and the sides of the room smeared with mud to exclude the air. When there is wet weather, and the leaves cannot be dried in the sun, they are laid out on the top of this room on the net work, on an iron pan, the same as is used to heat the leaves; some fire is put into it, either of grass or bamboo, so that the flame may ascend high, the pan is put on a square wooden frame (fig. 12) that has wooden rollers on its legs, and pushed round-and round this little room by one man, while another feeds the fire, the leaves on the top being occasionally turned; when they are a little withered, the fire is taken away, and the leaves brought down and manufactured into Tea, in the same manner as if it had been dried in the sun. But this is not a good plan, and never had recourse to, if it can possibly be avoided.

Does the China Tea plant grow mostly on the mountains of China or in the vallies? "About seven parts grow on the mountains and three in the vallies." Does the Tea plant grow amongst the snow? "Yes." Does not the snow kill or hurt the plants? "It hurts them very little, it may kill some of the old trees, but often new shoots come up from the old plants." To what