=By Smelling.=—By blowing or breathing hard upon a sample of tea and then quickly catching the odor emitted from it a fair estimate of its general character and value may be arrived at. To judge by this method, however, an acquaintance with the distinctive flavors and peculiarities of the various sorts and grades will be first necessary. This knowledge is best acquired by adopting as a type or “standard” a sample of the tea to be matched and educating this sense to its flavor and aroma. It is not for a moment claimed that this test will be at all times accurate or reliable, and only a general estimate can be formed, especially if suffering from a cold, in which case its true character or value cannot be even approximated. Again, many teas that may be “new and nosey” in the hand will be “thin and flat” in the cup, the “flashy” or evanescent flavor passing off rapidly on infusion. =By Masticating.=—A close and almost accurate estimate of the character and value of a tea can be formed by chewing a few of the leaves. With this method a good tea may be recognized by the ready manner in which the leaves almost dissolve in the mouth on slight mastication, becoming quickly reduced to a “pasty” consistency if young, tender and succulent, the “sap” or juice yielded will be abundant, pungent and pleasing to the taste. If of the Green or Japan variety the residue will be of a bright, natural-green color on removal, rich olive-green if Oolong, of a rich reddish-brown tint if Congou and dark-red if India or Ceylon. But if composed of old, inferior, spent or spurious leaves they will be found difficult to masticate, being dry, “chippy,” sapless and tough in texture, yielding little or no juice according to its age and inferiority. Whatever little is expressed being “wild,” “weedy,” “woody,” “herby,” “mousey,” “grassy” or “metallic” and bitterly astringent to the taste, the residue being dark in color, coarse or granulated on removal. This test should not be resorted to only on extreme occasions, as a too frequent chewing of tea-leaves, owing to the tannin in their composition, severely affects the nervous system and ultimately the digestive organs.