The cultivation of tea was attempted in the warmer parts of Brazil in 1850, some tea of very fair quality being produced in the vicinity of Rio Janeiro, and while the plant was found to flourish exceedingly well in the adjoining province of Sao Paolo, the tea when prepared for use was found to be entirely too bitter and astringent for practical purposes. The lack of skilled labor and high cost of manufacture preventing its cultivation for profit, it was inferred that with everything else in its favor, tea as produced in Brazil would never be able to compete with that of China even for home consumption. Some few years since plantations were opened for the cultivation of tea in Mexico, Guatemala, and in some of the West India islands, but to the present no reports favorable or otherwise, have been received regarding its progress in these countries. Still, in the face of all drawbacks, with the example of the many failures and final success achieved in India and Ceylon, much may yet be accomplished in Brazil and other South American countries by intelligent cultivation, modern machinery and perseverance in solving the problem of growing at least their own tea. With regard to the efforts to introduce the tea-plant into the United States, the earliest notice which comes under observation is that contained in the _Southern Agriculturist_, published in 1828, and in which it is stated that “the tea-tree grows perfectly in the open air near Charleston, where it has been raised for the past fifteen years, in the nursery of M. Noisette. But as imported from China it would cost too much to prepare for commercial use.” Another historical effort was that made in 1848, by Dr. James Smith, at Greenville, S. C., but although commenced with great enthusiasm the plantation never was increased to any appreciable extent. Neither was it brought to a condition, as far as can be ascertained, to warrant the formation of any reliable opinion as to the practicability of tea-culture in this country as an industry. Nevertheless, the circumstances of its failure are quoted as a proof that tea cannot be produced for commercial purposes or even for home consumption in this country. While the truth is that as a test for the purposes named, the attempt was of no value whatever, and never was so considered by those conversant with its cultivation or management. But while the plant barely survives the winter north of Washington, it has been found to thrive successfully a little south of that district. It bears fruit abundantly on the Pacific coast, where the soil and climate are especially favorable to the growth of broad-leaved evergreens, both native and exotic, and will flourish much further north there than in the Eastern states.