tea-house work, which goes on steadily, and if there has been much leaf brought in the day before, firing will very frequently last from daybreak until well into the night, or small hours of the morning." At present, however, the greater proportion of tea consumed in England comes from China and Japan, which produce no less than 325,000,000 lbs. annually, against 52,000,000 lbs. by India. [Illustration: A TEA PLANTATION.] India may be the tea-country of the future, but China still supplies nearly all the world. Millions of acres are devoted to its cultivation, and the late Dr. Wells Williams states that the management of this great branch of industry exhibits some of the best features of Chinese country life. It is only over a portion of each farm that the plant is grown, and its cultivation requires but little attention, compared with rice and vegetables. The most delicate kinds are looked after and cured by priests in their secluded temples among the hills; these have often many acolytes, who aid in preparing small lots to be sold at a high price. But the same authority tells us that the work of picking the leaves, in the first instance, is such a delicate operation that it cannot be intrusted to women. Female labour is paid so badly that they cannot afford to exercise the gentleness which characterizes their general movements; and when they come upon the scene of operations they make the best of their short harvest. The second gathering takes place when the foliage is fullest. This season is looked forward to by women and children in the tea-districts as their working time. They run in crowds to the middle-men, who have bargained for the leaves on the plants, or apply to farmers who need help. "They strip the twigs in the most summary manner," remarks Dr. Williams, "and fill their baskets with healthy leaves, as they pick out the sticks and yellow leaves, for they are paid in this manner: fifteen pounds is a good day's work, and fourpence is a day's wages. The time for picking lasts only ten or twelve days. There are curing houses, where families who grow and pick their own leaves bring them for sale at the market rate. The sorting employs many hands, for it is an important point in connection with the purity of the various descriptions, and much care is taken by dealers, in maintaining the quality of their lots, to have them cured carefully as well as sorted properly."