MALEAL., SP. Teh, Chab, . .
There is scarcely any country in the world in which a dietetic drink or beverage resembling tea is not prepared and in general use from some exotic or indigenous shrub.
The Mexico and Guatemala people infuse the leaves of the Psoralea glandulosa, Alstonia them formis leaves are used at Matis, and the inhabit ants of New Granada utilize the leaves of Sym plocos alstonia, Humboldt, and likewise those of Gaultheria procumbens and Ledum latifolium. In Paraguay, under the name of Mate, the llex Para guayensis is employed, as also its varieties, I. gongonha and I. theezans. In the Kurile Isles, the Pedicularis lanata. In British India, the stalks of the lemon grass, Andropogon citratus, are largely made use of. Also the tea of heaven of the Japanese is the leaf of the Hydrangea Thunbergii, Siebold. Astoria theiforinis is used at Santa Fe as tea. The leaves of Ceanothus Americanus, an astringent herb, have been a sub stitute, under the name of New Jersey tea.
The Kola is the Sterculia acuminata ; the KWh or Catha, the Abyssinian tea plant, is the Catha edulis. Tasmanian tea is made from species of Melaleuca and Leptospermum, also from Correl alba, Accena sanguisorba, Glaphyra nitida, and the bark of Atherosperma moschata.
The Faham tea of _Mauritius is from Angrxcum fragrans, a fragrant orchid.
The two chief plants laid under contribution for tea are, however, the Chinese tea plant, and a species of holly peculiar to South America, pro ducing the paraguay tea.
The names by which the tea of the Thea Chin ensis is known-to the Chinese, viz. Ming, Ku-tu or Ku-cha, Kia, Tu, aho show that several shrubs have furnished that country at various times with the tea-leaf in use at different periods or places. The term Ming belongs to the time of the T'ang dynasty, is still used in literary composition, and is often put on tea boxes. Ku-tu or Ku-cha are names for the chicory leaf, but also the present tea-leaf. The word Kia probably referred to tbe chicory, but also to the Sageretia theezans, a rhamnaccous shrub, the leaves of which at the present time furnish tea to the Chinese poor, to whom the proper tea-leaf is unattainable, owing to the high price to which the great exportation has raised it. Camellia leaves are perhaps mixed
with it, but probably to no great extent. The refuse of packing houses is sold to the poor at a low rate. The name Tu is likewise still employed. During the reign of a prince of the Han dynasty, the use of the word tu' for the character cha ' was interdicted, but the prohibition svas evaded by omitting part of the Chinese character.
Thea Chinensis of Linnmus, the Camellia thea, Linklater, the C. theifera, Griffith, is, however, the plant which is to be noticed here.
Trade.—The immense traffic in the produce of this simple shrub affords one of the most remark able illustrations of the enterprise and energy of modern commerce. Mr. Morrison, writing in 1843, says that the total exportation of tea from China was probably near 427,500 pikuls, or 57,000,000 lbs. ; viz. to England, 40,000,000 lbs. ; to the United States, 14,000,000 lbs. ; and to all other countries, 3,000,000 lbs. ; which, at 25 taels per pikul, amounts to a value of 10,687,500 taels, or 14,500,000 dollars. The increased facilities of communication, and with it the reduction of cost, also the larger use of tea in lieu of alcoholic fluids, have so augmented the demand, that Great Britain alone, in 1882, itnported about 211,080,362 lbs. Three-fourths of that quantity came from China, and about that quantity was retained for British home consumption, every person in the United Kingdom using, oh an average, about 5 lbs. annually. Tea and coffee form the chief liquid food of whole nations, and must exercise a great influence upon the health of their people.
British India is now (1883) taking a large share in the conunerce of this product. It imported in 1882-83, 2,751,085 lbs., value Rs. 19,30,515; and exported 57,766,235 lbs., value Rs. 3,69,95,085.