In conservatories and greenhouses tea is often grown as ornamental plants and as ob jects of interest. The plants are managed like their close relatives, the camellias, but are less popular because more limited in their uses, es pecially because their flowers are axillary and hence less useful for cutting than those of the camellias.
Production.— The world's annual produc tion of finished tea amounts to something over 800.000,000 pcunds. The World War so affected production and shipment of the crop that it is necessary to take the figures of production for 1912, as being the latest complete record under normal conditions, to form an accurate idea of the tea-growing industry. In that year the areas devoted to tea were as follows: China, 5,120, 000 acres (approximately) ; India, 575,000 acres, of which 354,276 acres were in Assam; Ceylon, about 395,000 acres; Java, nearly 100,000 acres; Japan, about 100,000 acres; South Africa (Natal and Nyassaland) about 4,600 acres. The crops sold in the world's markets from these producing countries amounted to a grand total of 731,000,000 pounds, contributed thus: India, 295,000,000 pounds; Ceylon, 193,000,000 pounds; China, 112,000,000 pounds; Java, 63,000,000 pounds ; Japan, 43,000,000 pounds; Formosa, 25, 000.000 pounds.
Consunaption.—The chief purchasing coun tries of the 1912 crop were: United Kingdom, 2951000,000 pounds; Russia, 147,000,000 pounds; United States, 83,1300,000 pounds; Canada, 34, 000,000 pounds; Australia, 29,000,000 pounds; Holland, 12,000,000 pounds; Germany, 9,000,000 pounds; New Zealand, 7,000,000 pounds; South Africa, 7,000,000 pounds. In per capita con sumption the British Empire as a whole was in remarkable degree the largest consumer, the average being 62 pounds, about 10 times the per capita consumption of all the rest of the world put together (excluding the United States). For the individual countries the per capita consumption figures were: New Zea land, 7.4 pounds; Australia, 6.8 pounds; United Kingdom, 6.4 pounds; Canada, 4.3 pounds; Hol land, 2.1 pounds; South Africa, 1.2 pounds; United States, 0.9 pound; Russia, 0.9 pound; Germany, 0.1 pound; France, 0.07 pound.
Infusion.—As found in the market tea yields from 31 to 49 per cent of its substance to an infusion with boiling water, the Indian teas giving slightly more than the Ceylon teas, and the China teas slightly less. In this water ex tract the tannin constituent ranges from 14.33
per cent in India teas and 12.29 per cent in Ceylon teas to 9.50 per cent in China teas. (With thorough fermentation the proportion of tanning would fall below 5 per cent). Caf feine varies from 2.78 to 3.84 per cent in India teas, and ranges up to 4.14 per cent in Ceylon tea and 4.91 per cent in tea dust In malcing the infusion for beverage purposes the finest flavored tea is produced by pouring fresh and actively boiling water upon the dry leaves and allowing it to stand not longer than one and one-half minutes, when the infusion should be immediately poured off the grounds. This brief infusion is sufficiently long to absorb prac tically all of the delicate essential oil which gives the tea its particular flavor. It is also long enough to dissolve out sufficient of the tannic acid to make the taste sprightly, without being astringent. The infusion will also con tain about four-fifths of the contained caffeine. The strong, biting quality preferred by some tea drinkers is gained by a five-minute infusion, which dissolves a large proportion of tannin, but at the expense of the volatile oil of the tea which is dissipated by the continued heat. In moderate quantities tea as a beverage is not considered harmful, the average dose of caf feine being mildly stimulating, and the tannin, owing to its transformation to gallic acid in the intestinal tract, being innocuous. There is also a valuable proportion of albuminoid extractives in the infusion, and the water im bibed is a necessity to the continued health of the system.
The imports of tea into the United States for the fiscal year ended 30 June 1918 reached the record figure of 151,314,932 pounds, despite the great difficulties of a scarce and expensive ocean tonnage. The value of the importation was $30,889,030. Of the whole, 52,996,474 pounds came from japan; 44,540,467 pounds from India and Ceylon, and 21,082,866 pounds from China.
Bald, C., 'Indian Tea: Its Culture and Manufacture) (Calcutta 1917) ; Browne, E. A., 'Tea) (London 1912) ; Gray, A., 'The Little Tea (New York 1903); Jumelle, H., 'Les Cultures Coloniales) (Paris 1913) • Planters' Association, 'Tea in Ceylon) (Kandy, Ceylon, 1912) ; Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, 'Table of the Principal Kinds of Teas) (Vol. X, pp. 196-197, New York 1906) ' • United States Plant Industry Bureau Bulletin 234, 'The Culture and Manufacture of Tea in the United States) (Washington 1912).