this state of soil.

The kindness of M. de Brandao, director of the Botanic Garden,
induced him to invite me, shortly after I had seen the above
described tea ground, that I might inspect all the operations for
the preparation of tea. I found that the picking of the leaves had
been commenced very early in the morning, and two kilogrammes were
pulled that were still wet with dew. These were deposited in a
well-polished iron vase, the shape being that of a very broad flat
pan, and set on a brick furnace, where a brisk wooden fire kept the
temperature nearly up to that of boiling water. A negro, after
carefully washing his hands, kept continually stirring the leaves in
all directions, till their external dampness was quite evaporated,
and the leaves acquired the softness of linen rag, and a small pinch
of them, when rolled in the hollow of the hand, became a little ball
that would not unroll. In this state the mass of tea was divided
into two portions, and a negro took each and set them on a hurdle,
formed of strips of bamboo, laid at right angles, where they shook
and kneaded the leaves in all directions for a quarter of an hour,
an operation which requires habit to be properly performed, and on
which much of the beauty of the product depends. It is impossible to
describe this process; the motion of the hands is rapid and very
irregular, and the degree of pressure requisite varies according to
circumstances; generally speaking, the young negro women are
considered more clever at this part of the work than older persons.
As this process of rolling and twisting the leaves goes on, their
green juice is drained off through the hurdle, and it is essential
that the tea be perfectly divested of the moisture, which is acrid,
and even corrosive, the bruising and kneading being especially
designed to break the parenchyma of the leaf, and permit the escape
of the sap.

When the leaves have been thus twisted and rolled, they are replaced
in the great iron pan, and the temperature raised till the hand can
no longer bear the heat at the bottom. For upwards of an hour the
negroes are then constantly employed in separating, shaking, and
throwing the foliage up and down, in order to facilitate the
dessication, and much neatness and quickness of hand were requisite,
that the manipulators might ne