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place, and from samples raised it is almost beyond a doubt that tea-raising in California will yet prove a

success.

Owing to the fact that the land upon which Mr. Schnell's plantation was located was more valuable for gold-mining than for agriculture, and the repeated invasion of the miner, he was, in 1872, compelled to abandon it; thus ending the first practical effort in tea-growing in the State.

But one variety or kind of tea is known, and is the one designated by Dr. von Siebold as the simensis Linn. All of the varieties described by botanists under the names bohea, viridis, laden, stricta, &c., are only variations of the simensis Linn., produced by different modes of cultivation and geographical distribution. Dr. von Siebold places the simensis under the monadelphia polyandria Linn., and to the natural family of the cameleiarum decam. The tea shrub in Japan is an evergreen, from four to six feet high, with a straight stem, and numerous irregular branches. Growing wild, the shrub will reach a height of fifteen or twenty feet. The stem is of a bright gray color, the branches chestnut, and the wood hard, and having a peculiar odor. On the young branches are the short, soft, green, small leaves, which are arranged in intervals, and are of an elliptical shape, with teeth on the borders, resembling closely the leaves of the wild rose. The color is a bright green, of different shades, deepening as the season advances. Between the leaves sprout the blossoms, which are at first of a rose color, but in the course of their development assume lighter shades, and finally, when full blown, are of the color of the ordinary tea-rose. They have no odor, and are very tender, but are put to no use.

The story that these flowers are preserved for mixing teas that are only drunk by the emperor and the nobility is a fabrication. When these flowers fade away, they leave a small fruit, which is divided into two or three partitions, generally three, which contain the seeds. Owing to the great quantity of oil contained in these seeds, they are difficult of preservation, and easily decay. The tea shrub is very easy of cultivation, and will grow nearly everywhere with plenty of air and sun, but cannot live in shady places. The new plants are raised from seeds, which are planted in rows in furrows from four to six inches deep, in a manner similar to that in which beans are usually planted; but, out of this number of seeds, probably but a few in each hill will sprout, owing to the decay produced by the excessive quantity of oil they contain. The proper time for tea-planting is in November or December, when it sprouts through the ground in about thirty days. By the ensuing May, the plant reaches a height of about fourteen inches, when the perfect and tender leaves are stripped off, and are placed under immediate manipulation They are first put in a large copper pan and roasted, then put in baskets and shaken and swung in the wind until they are dried of the moisture that has been exuded by the heat, then roasted again, then rolled in the palms of the hand to separate the leaves and prevent their crumbling into powder, then dried again in the baskets by shaking and swinging, and then put in jars, when they are ready for market. The black teas are roasted three times, the green teas but once or twice. Every year the trees or shrubs are trimmed down to a height of about three feet; after having reached that height, and when prop

erly taken care of, they will produce good crops for upward of thirty years. It is absolutely necessary that the plants should have the morning sun, and be on the south side of a hill, or the leaves will become yellow, and the tea be of an inferior quality.

The soil and climate of California, for the growth and curing of tea, are pronounced unequalled in any part of the world. The foot-hills and western slope of the Sierras up to the deep snow line are estimated as well adapted to tea-raising. A great portion of the teas now used in the United States come direct by steamship from China and Japan to San Francisco, whence it is transported overland by rail to the Atlantic cities.

California cannot be expected to compete with China and Japan in raising tea, if it were only the difference in the cost of labor between them; but at some future period California will doubtless reckon among her varied and remunerative productions that of tea.

BEET SUGAR.-California possesses many advantages over France, Germany, and other beet-growing countries. The vast alkaline regions of the State, as well as the rich bottom-lands of the valleys, produce beets of enormous size and superior quality, without artificial manure. Owing to the mild climate, beets can remain in the field until they are wanted for use, or, if pulled, can be piled in the open air or under some frail shed without danger of rot or frost. Then, too, owing to the long, dry summer, and bright sun, the California sugarbeet possesses more strength than do the beets of any other portion of the globe. About forty tons of sugarbeet can be grown upon an acre of land in California,

which can be bought for one-eighth the price of land ir. Europe, which will not produce one-half the yield.

Europe now derives most of her sugar from the beet, which for more than forty years has kept constantly increasing as a basis of permanent supply. More than one thousand beet-sugar mills are now in operation in Europe.

Two companies have recently erected beet-sugar mills in California; and a mill in successful operation at Alvarado, Alameda county, has placed a superior article of sugar in the market. The State should not only make all the sugar used on the coast, but soon become a large exporter of that staple of commerce.

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COTTON AND RICE.-Some attempts at raising cotton have been made in California, with good success. some sections of the southern portion of the State cotton will grow well, and the soil and climate seem to be well adapted to its production.

Much of the tule and other low and overflowed lands of the State are suited to rice-growing, but so far no practicable attempt has been made in this direction, except upon a very small scale upon some of the islands in the Sacramento river.

SILK. The mulberry tree, upon the leaves of which the silk-worm feeds, grows in every county in California; there are half a million trees in the State. Sacramento, El Dorado, Yolo, Los Angeles, and Sutter are the chief silk-producing counties. The balmy, even climate of California, free from oppressive frosts, sudden changes, thunder storms, and protracted damps and colds, is peculiarly adapted to the growth of silk and

the breeding of the silk-worm. The Japanese worms thrive best in California, and the staple produced is longer and finer than the best varieties of France or Italy. An excellent quality of dress silk has been manufactured in the State; but a general ignorance in reference to the raising and feeding of the worms, and also of the cultivation of the mulberry tree, has greatly retarded an important branch of industry, for which California is eminently fitted.

A small factory, for the manufacture of silk, has been recently erected at San José, and one manufacturing thread only at San Francisco.. The prospects of California, at some future day, becoming an extensive silk manufacturing district are very encouraging.

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