The plantations are laid out in the early spring, and being well watered by the copious rains which fall during this season, the young plants establish themselves, requiring very little care thereafter. Until they have attained a height of about 18 inches, the weeds are pulled regularly, not raked, and the leading shoots pinched to induce them to become numerous and bushy. When the season is dry they are saturated with rice-water and the roots covered, and if severely cold they are protected by a wrapping of straw, rising up in a cluster when the rains come and become firmly established, after which they require very little more attention except occasional weeding, until they are three years old. In some districts the branches are periodically pruned, the constant abstraction of the foliage having a tendency to reduce the height and expand laterally making them resemble a collection of plants rather than single shrubs, the size of the leaves in such cases being smaller than when the plants are suffered to grow at will, but covering the branches so thickly as to prevent the hand being thrust through. An eastern exposure is avoided when near the sea, and care is also taken not to overshadow them by huge trees or noxious plants, certain notions prevailing concerning the injurious influence of such trees when growing too near the tea plants. When the soil is good and the season favorable the leaves can be picked when the plants are two years old, but if poor and dry, three years are usually required for them to mature. On the larger plantations three years are generally allowed before beginning to gather the first crop or picking. A tea plantation at this age when seen at a distance resembles a shrubbery of evergreens, the view being very picturesque, the gardens representing a series of terraces descending to the plain, and the rich dark-green leaves affording a pleasing contrast to the strange and oft-times barren scenery with which they are so frequently surrounded. There is a close analogy between the tea plantations of China and the vineyards of France, the quality of the tea varying according to the situation of the sites, the nature of the soil and their exposure to climatic changes. Thus, there are in China plantations of tea enjoying reputations equal to those of the best vineyards of Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux.