374 ORDER CAMELLIACEÆ, OR TEA TRIBE. strong, and easily separable into layers; and from these, mats, baskets, and cords are made in many countries. The small order DIPTEROCARPEE, nearly allied to this, is worthy of notice, on account of its containing the Camphor-tree of Sumatra, from which our chief supplies of camphor (§ 383) will probably hereafter be obtained, taough they are at present derived mostly from a species of Laurel. This product is stored up in the former, in receptacles (§ 98) sometimes a foot and a half long ; but the tree must be deeply cut into, in order to open these. Some other trees of this group (which is entirely confined to tropical climates) afford small quantities of resin; and it is from one of these that the Piney tallow (§ 382) is obtained. 559. The next order to be particularly noticed is one of special interest, from its furnishing a product which, without being in the least nutritious, is considered by the Englishman, in almost all ranks, as one of the most indispensable articles of his diet. This order is that of CAMELLIACEE, the Camellia tribe, well known to the Horticulturist for the beauty of its flowers; and it is from various species included in it that Tea is obtained. The Camellia, now cultivated in most gardens, will afford a good illustration of B A the characters of the order, which approach those of the succeeding one. The calyx is composed of from 5 to 7 sepals, unequal in size, of rather tough consistence, and in some degree overlapping each other. The petals are from 5 to 9, also occasionally imbricated, and sometimes slightly adherent at the base. The number of stamens is indefinite; and they are generally united at the base Fig. 81. Structure of Flower of Tea Plant. A, calyx, with ovarium cut across. B, petal, with bundle of stamens adherent to it. C, vertical section of ovarium, with the three styles. into one or more bunales. The ovarium is formed of from 3 to 6 carpels, more or less united, with separate styles; each cell originally contains several ovules. In the ripe capsule, there are only three cells, each containing but one seed (the other ovules not CAMELLIA TRIBE.-TEA PLANT. 375 having been developed); and this is large, with fleshy cotyledons that contain a large quantity of oil, and destitute of albumen. The Camellia are celebrated for the great beauty of their foliage, and the splendid colours of their blossoms, which vary through every shade and mixture of red and white. The C. Japonica is a lofty tree in its native country; and even in our conservatories it sometimes reaches a considerable size. The leaves of some species of Camellia have been used as Tea; but this is properly derived from the genus Thea. 560. Nothwithstanding the many different kinds of Tea exported from China, there is good reason to believe that they are all the produce of one species; and that the differences of quality are the result of variations in the character of the plant, which are induced by differences of soil, climate, &c. in the extensive tract Fig. 82. Tea Plant. over which it is grown,―and of variations in the age of the trees, the time of gathering the leaves, and in the mode of preparing them. The tea districts of China extend from about the 27th to the 33d degree of north latitude; but the plant may be cultivated in regions more distant from the equator, if the climate be mild and equable. It delights in shallow soils on the sides of hills; and some of the finer kinds are said to grow on such dangerous declivities as to be inaccessible to man, so that their leaves can only be obtained by the artifice of provoking the monkeys that dwell among them, which, when enraged, break off the boughs, and fling them at their tormentors below. The plant. 376 CAMELLIA TRIBE.TEA PLANT. is raised from seed, and the first crop of leaves is gathered in the third year; after the shrubs have attained the age of six or seven years, their produce becomes so inferior that they are removed to make room for a fresh succession. The leaves are gathered from one to four times during the year, according to the age of the tree. Most commonly there are three periods of gathering; the first commences about the middle of April; the second at Midsummer; and the last in August. The leaves that are earliest gathered are of the most delicate colour and most aromatic flavour, with the least portion of either fibre or bitterness; leaves of the second gathering are of a dull green colour and have less valuable qualities than the former; whilst those which are last collected are of a dark green and of inferior value. The quality is further influenced by the age of the wood on which the leaves are borne, and by the degree of exposure to which they have been accustomed; leaves from young wood, and those most exposed, are always the best, as is readily understood on physiological principles. The leaves, when gathered, are partly dried by the air and sun, and partly by artificial heat, and are carefully rolled up by the hand. It is commonly believed that the distinctive character of green tea is imparted to it by being dried upon sheets of copper. For this belief, however, there is no foundation in fact, since copper is not used for the purpose; and the most careful application of chemical tests fails to discover any such impregnation. The Tea-plant has been found growing wild over extensive tracts in Assam, at the north-east of Hindostan; and attempts are now being made to cultivate it there on a large scale, in order to render Britain independent of supplies from China; it must be long, however, ere this can be the case; and it is by no means certain that the Chinese mode of preparing the leaf is exactly followed. 561. The history of commerce does not furnish any parallel to the circumstances which have attended the introduction of Tea into Great Britain. The leaves are said to have been first employed by the Chinese to cover the taste of their water, which is in many districts brackish and unpalatable; and the infusion being found to be pleasant in its flavour, and productive of an agreeable INTRODUCTION OF TEA INTO ENGLAND. 377 ' excitement, the practice of drinking it gradually extended in those places where the water was good, and at length was introduced into Europe. The leaf was first imported by the Dutch East India Company in the early part of the seventeenth century; but it does not appear to have found its way to England until about the year 1650. The first historical notice of it is in an Act of Parliament of the year 1660, in which it was enumerated as one of the beverages sold in coffee-houses, on which a duty was to be laid. That it was not then a common drink, is evident from an entry in the private Journal of Mr. Pepys, Secretary to the Admiralty, who says, Sept. 25, 1661, “I sent for a cup of tea (a China drink,) of which I had never drunk before." In 1664, the British East India Company sent two pounds of tea as a present to the King. In 1667 they issued their first order to import tea, directed to their agent at Bantam, to the effect that he should send home 100lbs. of the best tea he could get. Since then, the consumption has gone on regularly increasing. In 1734, the quantity imported was about 632,000 lbs; in 1768, it was nearly seven million pounds; in 1800, it was twenty millions; and during the last four years of the East India Company's charter, the average quantity imported was 31 millions. Since the abolition of the monopoly, and the consequent reduction of prices, the consumption has increased still more rapidly; the amount imported having in some years nearly reached 50 million pounds, of which above 44 million pounds were consumed in Great Britain and Ireland,—a quantity much exceeding that consumed in all the rest of Europe and America. To provide a sufficient supply of this article, many thousand tons of the finest mercantile navy in the world are annually employed in trading with a people by whose government all dealings with foreigners are discouraged; and an important source of revenue, averaging from three to four millions sterling, is obtained, through a moderate duty upon its importation, by the state. 562. Although the plants of this order which are known in European gardens are chiefly from China or North America, these form but an inconsiderable part of the whole; 7 or 8 species being all that are contained in the first of these countries, and 4 378 AURANTIACEAE, OR ORANGE TRIBE. in the latter; while between 60 and 70, all beautiful trees and shrubs, are natives of the woods of South America; and about 20 more are known in the East Indies. Order AURANTIACEE, or Orange tribe. 563. The group of plants producing Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Citrons, Shaddocks, Forbidden-Fruit, and the like, is readily distinguished from the rest of the Vegetable Kingdom, by several evident characters, which give to its structure much interest; and it is also one of great value to man, on account of the large quantity of grateful and refreshing fruit with which it supplies him, in the very climates where it is most needed. It is remarkable as being the only tropical fruit which can be introduced into this country, at a cost little exceeding that of our ordinary native fruits; and whilst it thus offers a gratification within reach of the poorer classes, it is so superior to other fruits, that it cannot be despised for its cheapness even by the richest. From the amount of duty paid upon Oranges, it has been calculated that about 272 millions are annually imported; which gives an average of nearly a dozen to each individual of the population. This abundance is due in part to the prolificness of the tree; a single individual, at St. Michael's, having been known to produce 20,000 oranges fit for packing, exclusive of the damaged fruit and waste, which may be calculated at a third more. It is also due to certain qualities in the fruit itself, which allow it to be kept for a considerable time, with less alteration than fruit of any other kind. Of these qualities, one of the most remarkable consists in the thick spongy rind, which resists changes of temperature by its non-conducting power; and in the large amount of minute oil-receptacles by which the surface is occupied, the contents of which almost entirely prevent the evaporation of the watery fluid within, and by their acridity resist the attacks of insects, &c. from without. Hence internal decay is the only accident by which oranges are liable to be destroyed; and this does not happen for a long time, if the rind remains uninjured, so as completely to exclude the air from the interior, |