My experience is that the tea-plant does best in land somewhat
low, but not such as water will lie upon or is overflowed. I sow
the seed in the fall, as soon as they ripen and drop from the
bushes, in drills eighteen inches apart. They come up readily in
the spring, and by winter are from three to six inches high.
Under the shade of some large tree is usually the place selected
for sowing the seed, for if the plants are exposed to the hot
sun while young, they invariably die the first summer. When six
months old they are ready for transplanting; have generally a
good supply of roots, and can be set out at any time from the
first of November to the last of March. In putting them out, I
have generally prepared holes to receive them, to give a good
start, so that fine, healthy bushes will be obtained. In April,
1867, I think it was, Mr. Howard, from Baltimore, who had been
engaged on a plantation for several years in the East, visited
my father’s plantation in this country, and expressed himself as
surprised at the splendid growth of the tea. Being there at the
time of gathering the young leaves, he plucked from one bush
alone, prepared the tea himself, and took it on to Baltimore,
where he had it tested and weighed. He wrote back that it had
been pronounced stronger and of superior flavor to the imported,
and that by calculation he was satisfied that four hundred and
fifty pounds of cured tea could be made here at the South to one
acre of ground.
Mr. J. W. Pearce, Fayetteville, N. C., writes:—
My plants are now about five feet high, very thick and bushy
near the ground; have no protection from any kind of weather,
while the mercury has been as low as 10° below zero. They do not
seem to suffer from drought, as evergreens, and bear a beautiful
white flower, with little scent until nearly ready to fall. The
seed are like the hazel-nut; have a hard shell and bitter
kernel, and take a long time to germinate. Hence it is better to
plant them on the north side of a fence or house, where they
will remain moist. They come up readily when left under the
bushes where they have been dropped. The plants then can be set
out successfully if care be taken to avoid breaking the long tap
root peculiar to them. Half a dozen plants furnish my family, of
five or six persons, with more tea than we can use. We prepare
it by heating the leaves in an oven until wilted, then squeeze
them by hand until a juice is expressed from them, then dry them
again in the oven. The tea is then quite fragrant and ready for
use, improving with age.
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