Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/220

194] between the 30th and 40th degrees of latitude, it might be easily raised in Europe: indeed, from the success with which plantations of this shrub have lately been established by a society of nuns in Franconia, near Würzburg, there is great reason to believe, that it would also prosper in the southern counties of Britain, if proper attention were paid, till it become habituated to our climate. There are, besides, many indigenous vegetables that may be advantageously substituted; such are, , , and similar spicy plants; the flowers of the Sweet ; those of the Burnet, or Pimpernel ; the leaves of and -trees; the young and tender leaves of , and Common ; and, lastly, the blossoms of the Black-thorn, or ; most of which, when carefully gathered, and dried in the shade (especially if they be managed like Indian tea-leaves), can with difficulty be distinguished from the foreign teas, and are at the same time of superior flavour and salubrity.

Teas are divided, In Britain, into three kinds of green, and five of. The former class includes, 1. Imperial, or Bloom Tea, having a large leaf, a faint smell, and being of a light-green colour: 2. Hyson, which has small curled leaves, of a green shade, inclining to blue: and, 3. Singlo Tea, thus termed from the place where it is cultivated.—The Bcheas comprehend: 1. Souchong, which, on infusion, imparts a yellowish-green colour. 2. Camho, a fine tea, emitting a fragrant violet smell, and yielding a pale shade: it receives its name from the province where it is reared. 3. Pekoe Tea, is known by the small white flowers that are mixed with it. 4. Congo, has a larger leaf than the preceding variety, and yields a deeper tint to water: and, 5. Common Bohea, the leaves of which are of an uniform, green colour. There are, besides, other kinds of tea, sold under the names of Gunpowder-Tea, &c. which differ from the preceding, only in the minuteness of their leaves, and being dried with additional care.

Much has been said and written on the medicinal properties of tea: in its natural state, it is doubtless a narcotic, or stupefying plant; on which account, even the Chinese refrain from its use, till it has been divested of this property by the processes above described. If, however, good tea be drunk in moderate quantities, with sufficient milk and sugar, it invigorates the system, and produces a temporary exhilaration; but, when taken too copiously, it is apt to occasion weakness, tremor, palsies, and various other symptoms, similar to those arising from narcotic plants; while it doubtless contributes to aggravate the hysteric and hypochondriacal complaints, which now very generally prevail in both sexes. This drug has, farther, been supposed to possess considerable diuretic and sudorific virtues; which, however, depend more on the quantity of warm water employed as a vehicle, than the quality of the tea itself. Lastly, as infusions of these leaves are the safest refreshment after undergoing great bodily fatigue, or mental exertion, they afford an agreeable beverage to those who are exposed to cold weather; at the same time tending to support and promote that spiration