CHAPTER VIII.

Tea as a Source of Revenue 134

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

Sorting Tea in China _Frontispiece_

A Tea Plantation 25

Watering a Tea Plantation 41

Gathering Tea-Leaves 57

Pressing Tea-Leaves 73

Pressing Bags of Tea 89

Drying Tea-Leaves 108

Sifting Tea 125

Tea-Tasting in China 137

PREFACE.

The question of the influence of tea, as well as that of alcohol and tobacco, has occupied the attention of the author for some time. Apart from its physiological aspect, the subject of tea-drinking is extremely interesting; and in the following pages an attempt has been made to describe its introduction into England, to review the evidence of its friends and foes, and to discuss its influence on mind and health. An account is also given of the origin of tea-meetings, and of the methods of making tea in various countries. Although the book does not claim to be a complete history of tea, yet a very wide range of authors has been consulted to furnish the numerous details which illustrate the usages, the benefits, and the evils (real or imaginary) which surround the habit of tea-drinking.