Growth. Tea is a sub-tropical plant growing in a zone from 20 to 31 degrees N. or S. latitude, westerly or easterly divisions. The best latitude is 24 to 35 degrees N. or S., but tea will grow in almost any tem- perate latitude. Occasional frosts do not kill the plant when it is under a sub-tropical sun. The chief danger, to be sure, is from frosts, but the plant is hardy. The flavor is injured by frosts, though the life of the plant is not. Tea grows best in a somewhat moist slope of southern aspect. In China much of the tea is grown in 11 degrees latitude on hillsides at an elevation, where are deep, rich soil, good drain- age, and abundant sunlight. Where a slope does not provide shelter, the tea is planted near quick-growing trees. The soil needs little attention and a poor soil will answer the purpose. The seeds are gathered in October and kept in fresh sand till spring. Some seeds germinate in foiu- to six weeks, others in four months, but most not until the 150 DOMESTIC SCIENCE advent of rains. As soon as the plants are 4 inches high, they are transplanted and put in rows 5 feet apart, so that pickers can work easily between them. For three years they are allowed to grow undisturbed, except for necessary prunings, and even then care is taken not to strip them, for the leaves are the main organ of this as of other plants. The tea-plant is now a shrub, but a wild variety supposed by some to represent the original stock attains the size of a large tree. It will grow from 30 to 40 ft. in height and have a stem one foot in diame- ter, but the plants are generally pruned to a height of 3 to 5 ft. If the situation is exposed the plant is kept low, so that it may not be injured by the storms and winds; but in a sheltered position it is allowed to reach a height of 6 ft. or more. The leaves, when full grown, are from 5 to 9 inches long. Women and chil- dren are employed in gathering the leaves. They can often gather from 16 to 20 lbs. of raw leaves in one day. One lb. of dried tea equals 4 lbs. of green leaves. The gathering is done dming the rain when the leaves are full in size. The first crop is gathered after three years of the plants' growth, but this crop is not full and the leaves are hardy. The tree is then cut down and springs up again from the root. This is repeated till the tree dies, after 30 or 40 years. The third season each plant yields about ^ lb. raw leaves or 2 oz. manufactured tea. The average yield is 80 lbs. to 1 acre. Two years more increases the yield tenfold. The leaves are picked three times a year. Those gathered first, in April, are considered the choicest, for they contain a larger proportion of juice in relation to the TEA 151 solid matter, and are more pliable. The value of the tea is in the juices, so the finer and more delicate the texture of the leaf, or the less developed and aged, the better the quality of the tea. A large portion of the first crop is kept in the country for the use of the wealthy, but some of it often finds its way in small quantities on the backs of horses in caravans to Russia, and of late years a Uttle of it is sold in the markets of Great Britain and the United States. At the first gathering, the middle of April, the old fibrous leaves are left on the tree, and the young leaves are removed by hand, and a few of the soft succulent stalks are taken with them. The finest black tea from the tender buds at the end of the twig is kept separate. The second gathering is made the first of July, when the leaves are full-sized, and the third the middle of July. After July the plant needs Uttle attention. There is sometimes a fom-th gathering in August, but usually the plant can stand but three gather- ings.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Growth. Tea is a sub-tropical plant growing in a zone from 20 to 31 degrees N. or S. latitude, westerly or easterly divisions. The best latitude is 24 to 35 degrees N. or S., but tea will grow in almost any temperate latitude. Occasional frosts do not kill the plant when it is under a sub-tropical sun. The chief danger, to be sure, is from frosts, but the plant is hardy. The flavor is injured by frosts, though the life of the plant is not. Tea grows best in a somewhat moist slope of southern aspect. In China much of the tea is grown in 11 degrees latitude on hillsides at an elevation, where are deep, rich soil, good drainage, and abundant sunlight. Where a slope does not provide shelter, the tea is planted near quick-growing trees. The soil needs little attention and a poor soil will answer the purpose. The seeds are gathered in October and kept in fresh sand till spring. Some seeds germinate in four to six weeks, others in four months, but most not until the advent of rains. As soon as the plants are 4 inches high, they are transplanted and put in rows 5 feet apart, so that pickers can work easily between them. For three years they are allowed to grow undisturbed, except for necessary prunings, and even then care is taken not to strip them, for the leaves are the main organ of this as of other plants. The tea-plant is now a shrub, but a wild variety supposed by some to represent the original stock attains the size of a large tree. It will grow from 30 to 40 ft. in height and have a stem one foot in diameter, but the plants are generally pruned to a height of 3 to 5 ft. If the situation is exposed the plant is kept low, so that it may not be injured by the storms and winds; but in a sheltered position it is allowed to reach a height of 6 ft. or more. The leaves, when full grown, are from 5 to 9 inches long. Women and children are employed in gathering the leaves. They can often gather from 16 to 20 lbs. of raw leaves in one day. One lb. of dried tea equals 4 lbs. of green leaves. The gathering is done during the rain when the leaves are full in size. The first crop is gathered after three years of the plants' growth, but this crop is not full and the leaves are hardy. The tree is then cut down and springs up again from the root. This is repeated till the tree dies, after 30 or 40 years. The third season each plant yields about ^ lb. raw leaves or 2 oz. manufactured tea. The average yield is 80 lbs. to 1 acre. Two years more increases the yield tenfold. The leaves are picked three times a year. Those gathered first, in April, are considered the choicest, for they contain a larger proportion of juice in relation to the TEA 151 solid matter, and are more pliable. The value of the tea is in the juices, so the finer and more delicate the texture of the leaf, or the less developed and aged, the better the quality of the tea. A large portion of the first crop is kept in the country for the use of the wealthy, but some of it often finds its way in small quantities on the backs of horses in caravans to Russia, and of late years a Uttle of it is sold in the markets of Great Britain and the United States. At the first gathering, the middle of April, the old fibrous leaves are left on the tree, and the young leaves are removed by hand, and a few of the soft succulent stalks are taken with them. The finest black tea from the tender buds at the end of the twig is kept separate. The second gathering is made the first of July, when the leaves are full-sized, and the third the middle of July. After July the plant needs Uttle attention. There is sometimes a fourth gathering in August, but usually the plant can stand but three gatherings.

Domestic science (Clark, Cornell home economics)