Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/100

* TCHUVASHES. 76 chief occupations being agriculture and cattle- breeding. The Tchuvashes are nominally Chris- tians, but more primitive Shamanistic beliefs and practices arc still prevalent among them. Con- sult Schott, De Lingua Tschuwaschorum (Berlin, 1841). TEA (from Fuhkien Chin, te, Chin, ts'a, ch'a, tea), Camellia Thea, or Thea Sinensis. A shrub, the dried leaves of which are one of the most important articles of commerce, and yield one of the most esteemed and exten- sively used of all non-alcoholic beverages. The tea shrub, which is a native of sub- tropical Asia, but is grown in tropical climates also, is 20 to 30 feet high, but under cultivation only three to si.x feet high, with numerous branches and lanceolate leaves, two to six inches long. The flowers are axillary, rather large, white, and fragrant. Numerous varieties have been produced in China, where tea is grown chief- ly on the southern slopes of hills in the regions between latitudes 24° to 35° N., and longitudes 115° to 122° E. A new plantation is made by sowing two or three seeds at proper distances. TEA. TEA (Tbea SineDsis). The first crop is obtained in the third year, when the shrub is still small. When about seven years old, it yields only a scanty crop of hard leaves, and is cut down, to induce new shoots to sprout from the root. This is frequently repeated till the plant dies at^about thirty years of age. History and Commerce. Tea appears to have been used for ages in China, where it is believed by the natives to be indigenous. At the end of the sixteenth century it is mentioned by Maffei, a Portuguese writer. In his Historiw Indica. as a product both of China and Japan. On .Tune 27, 1615. a Mr. Wickham wrote the first English record of it. His letter is among the documents of the East India Company. From this time it became gradually known to the wealthy citizens of London, who received presents of small quan- tities from China via India, or by small, exorbi- tantly dear lots in the markets — sometimes as much as £10 a pound. In 1657 a rather large consignment was received by Thomas Garraway, a London merchant, who established a house for selling the prepared beverage. The tea-farms of China are usually small, and require careful cultivation and much attention; for the plant will thrive only in well-manured or very rich soil. Although an evergreen, the leaves are useful only at certain seasons. Some of the new leaves, which appear in April, are uuxde into young hysun of such tine quality that it has rare- ly been used for distant export because it is said to lose llavor bj' the sea-voyage. JIuch is, how- ever, sent overland to Russia, where it comuiands an e.xorbitant price. The ordinarj' picking begins in May; and later in the season, a third picking of an inferior, more bitter woody grade is ob- tained and sold mainly to poor people. The odor and flavor of dried tea are developed by the oxida- tion which the leaves undergo in the process of drying. Moreover, difl'erent qualities and colors are prepared from the same leaves, which may also be roasted and scorched to produce the dif- ferent varieties distinguished b_y odor and taste. For green teas the leaves are roasted in pans for about five minutes almost immediately after they are gathered. After being rolled with the hands upon a table they are returned to the pans, and kept in motion by the hands for about an hour. They are then dull green, but become brighter afterwards. For black teas, they are spread and tossed in the air till they become flaccid ; they are then roasted for a few minutes, rolled, exposed to the air for a few hours while soft and moist, and lastly dried slowly over charcoal fires, till they become almost black. Hence their dark color and distinguishing flavor seem due to the long exposure to the atmosphere in the process of drying, and the oxidation of certain inherent ferments acting rapidly upon the juices of the leaf, and especially upon the astringent principle during this exposure. For the purpose of giving special odors to difl'erent varieties of tea, nu- merous odoriferous plants are employed in dif- ferents parts of China, the blossoms of the sweet- scented olive {Osmantlnis fragrans) being fre- quently used. In China spurious teas have been prepared and exported under the name of 'lie teas,' but they have not been popular. The Chi- nese color ('face') the export green teas with Prussian blue, turmeric, etc., to please the eye. Facing is not regarded as adulteration, which is unlawful in the United States. In 1836, after some difficulty in obtaining plants, the culture of tea was attempted on a large scale in India. Plantations had been formed at an earlier period in Assam and had made great progress. In Ceylon the culture of tea has extended. Large quantities are also pro- duced in Java, the industry being carried on by wealthy companies. The growth of this plant has been attempted in South Carolina, with con- siderable success, and experiments are being made in several other Southern States. Among the numerous varieties of tea used in the United States are the following: Green. Chinese. — (1) Gunpowder sorts — Shanghai. Ping- suey Moyune, Imperial Moyune, and Canton: (2) Hyson sorts — Shanghai, Shanghai young, Moyune, Moymie young. Canton young, and Twankay or Imperial Hyson. Japanese — Gunpowder and yomig Hyson. Java — Gunpowder. P.l.ck. Chi- nese. — (1) Conjou sorts — Canton Foo-chow-foo, Hung-muey, Oopack Kaison, and Onnam : (2) Pekoe sorts — plain orange Foo-chow, scented orange. Canton scented orange and flowery Pekoe, Oolong, and Souchong. Assam — Conjou orange Pekoe, and Souchong. Java — Conjou and. rarely. Imperial. The use of teas as a beverage is general in