In 1858 the United States Government ordered and received about 10,000 tea-plants from China in Wardian cases in which the seeds were sown just previous to shipment, many of them germinated during the voyage, the plants averaging 18 inches in height on their arrival in this country. Being immediately placed under propagation they were in a very short time increased to over 30,000, which were widely distributed throughout the Southern States, the propagation and distribution of tea-plants forming a prominent feature in the operations of the Agricultural Department up to the commencement of the civil war in 1861, which put a stop to all experiments in the industry. For several years after its close but little attention was given to the propagation of the plant in this country, still at no time was it entirely abandoned by the Department during this period. It being fully understood, that so far as the growth of the plant was concerned it could undoubtedly be successfully cultivated over a large extent of the country. But many of those interested sharing in the belief that the amount and cost of the manual labor required in its manipulation for market was so great as to preclude the probability of competing with low-waged Asiatics, no special efforts were again made to disseminate plants or to multiply them further than to supply such applicants as desired to make experimental tests. Meanwhile the progress of tea-culture in India was watched with interest. The successful results of modern methods of cultivation and the introduction of various labor-saving machines for preparation which were being made from time to time by the planters of that country, suggesting the probability that the production of tea could eventually be made a profitable industry in many sections of this country, where labor-saving appliances usually follow closely upon the knowledge of their necessity. Basing their hopes on these results, fresh supplies of tea-seed were subsequently imported from Japan, which enabled the Department to again distribute many thousand of plants throughout the country. These renewed efforts being materially enhanced, when about 1867 it was found that an abundance of tea-seeds could be procured in many of the Southern States from the plants which had previously been disseminated from the importation of 1858. Encouraged by the reports of successful culture which were in many cases supplemented by samples of manufactured tea, of undoubted good quality, in a number of instances, more decided and energetic efforts were made toward establishing the industry. More than 100,000 tea-plants were distributed during the past ten years, the Department having under propagation, at the present time, over 20,000 plants which are ready for dissemination in localities where they are most likely to succeed. By this means it is expected to popularize the cultivation of tea as a domestic product in this country,