i76
THE WEST SHORE.
July, 1861
TliA t'Ul.TL'RL'.
The subject of tea culture iioitc which
ha of Ute received considerable atten
tion in different part of the United
Slate, and will l especially interesting
to Oicgonian when it in once generally
known that the toil and climate of many
pnrti of thii State and especially of
Douglas, Joorphine, Jackson and parta
of Coo and Curry counties, furnihh
every requisite to successful tea culture,
We therefore devote considerable spnee
in thi issue to how
the mmnrr of grow
ing and curing the
leave of thi much
used plant, and kin
cetely how that en
let pi ioing farmeitin
the counties named
at well a in other
portion of (hit Mate
will give the lea
plant a fair trial.
Seed can e ob
lainctl free of charge
fiout the U. S. Ag
ricultural Depart
inent through our
leptetcntativr at
Washington. 1 n
China tea lm Ihtii
ued for over a
liouMiid yen; to
Kngland it h in.
trodured a a l-rv.
eragein 16Y.1. Sime
then nearly all the
nation havvlrconie
addicted to it. For
the year S4 the
IVilic Coast im
Hirtt of tea from
China and Japun
were 1,1 1 Sjo 1U,
alucd al Ijinsyfi,
Mine tht'ii the an
nual iucivae in con
sumption hat leen
imply ImmeiiK,
For the year 1SS0
the import were
iJ79 5H H., vl.
md al $'.Vuij,
and the Mai value
of I ,m intMHl fiom
Jan., tSor, to
cemtar, iSSi, wa
Ufi&$.K The
figure lor to
;-iiM'ly r t tied
cction a the Pacific Coast are certainly one, and flourishes in Japan at far north
a astonishing n they arc true, and offer j as where in'winter the ground is
every inducement to give tea culture a , frozen 6 inches deep for weeks in sue
trial, even if a Mart ha to he made 1 cession. In Java where extensive tea
will, a Jum.ii plmiU only. A ftr as gardens are established, it succeeds
known, tea culture other than for or
namcntal purjxMc, was first attempted
in the United States by Dr. Junius
Smith at Greenville, S. C, the results
were excellent, but unfortunately the
death of the doctor brought experiments
to a clone. The tea plant is, contrary
to a popular error, an extremely hardy
I TT;,,r '"fr11"" ;
0 0 " t
ri7i
WfLDl:TS I'SED IN TFA IT RING.
under entirely "opposite conditions of
temperature. In China it grows as well
in the most southern sections under a
tropical sun where the thermometer re
mains for long periods at too" Fah., as
in higher latitude?, where snow and ice
often cover its tender leaves. From
this it will be seen that the plant adapts
j itself to either heat
or cold. ' -
The tea plant
. bears a. strong re
: semblance to the
'; myrtle; it has a
dense, highly orna-
' mental foliage and
brings forth in the
spring a large num
ber of beautiful
white slightly odor
ous flowers, in ap
:. pearance very much
! like the camellia,
; only not so attrac
; tive; the leaves are
' alternate on short,
.'thick channel I ed
foot stalks, and form
the valuable part of
the plant.
The best location
for a tea garden ia a
fertile hillside with,
a southern expos
ure, such as are to
be especially found
in the Youcalla val
ley. A rich sandy
loam in the vicinity
of some small creek
if the land is not
subject to overflow
will also make a fine
tea garden. Seeds -should
be planted
in a hotbed or cold
frame about Decern
ber, and in early
spring plants will be
ready ' 10 set out.
Before planting, the
. land should be
deeply plowed and
thoroughly put
verized by repeated
harrowing and
checked off into