of this wonderful legend, to extract a moral, namely, that an earnest individual, who had acquired the useful habit of keeping his eyes open, discovered one of Nature’s secrets, which had entirely escaped the observation of all others. Towards the close of the sixteenth century, a learned physician of Padua--one Giovanni Bolero--published a work “On the Causes of the Magnificence and Greatness of Cities.” Therein, while treating of the Orient, he observes: “The Chinese have an herb out of which they press a delicate juice that serves them for drink instead of wine; it also preserves their health and frees them from all those evils which the use of wine produces among ourselves.” Albeit the allusion is somewhat cloudy, still no doubt exists but that the celebrated Paduan refers to Tea. This is supposed to be the earliest mention of the plant by any European writer. It is curious that among the many wonderful things which Marco Polo--the great traveller of his day--saw in China, he omits to mention the Tea plant either as shrub or beverage. This omission is the more unaccountable inasmuch as both himself and his father (whose voyages he records) must have visited districts wherein Tea was in common use. The early Portuguese navigators are equally silent on this matter, nor is mention made thereof in the logs of our own freebooting Sea Kings. These, however, troubled themselves less about botany than the broad pieces to be found in the holds of the Spanish King’s galleons. Had Sir Walter Raleigh, who travelled West instead of East, accompanied his friend Drake on his famous voyage round the world, he might have added to his discoveries of the potato and tobacco plants of America, that of Tea in China. The honour of introducing the refreshing and invigorating leaf to Europe was, clearly, not reserved for English travellers. This honour is properly claimed by the Portuguese, although they had been trading for many years with the Chinese before they made the discovery, just about the close of the sixteenth century. [Illustration: A TEA GARDEN.--The Tea plant flourishes best in the provinces of To-kien, Kiang-su, Hoonam and Hoopels. The first crop is gathered in the early spring.]