Mr. J. J. Lucas, Society Hill, S. C., states:—
The tea-plant has been grown successfully in this State, Georgia and Louisiana; General Gillespie’s particularly thriving well. On the Middletown place, Ashley river, near Charleston, tea-plants are now growing for ornamental use only, and are 10 feet high. A gentleman in Georgia obtained 441 pounds of tea from one acre of land, which, at 50 cents a pound, would bring $220.50; while our average yield of cotton is only about $15 per acre.
Dr. Turner Wilson, Windsor, N. C., writes:—
I have been raising tea since 1858, but without much cultivation. My yard and garden are sandy soil, and the plants or bushes, without any cultivation, are of slow growth. I plant the seed about the 1st of April, but they come up under the bushes very thick from the fallen seed. Sometimes I throw a little dirt on the seed which I do not pick up. I have several hundred plants under the bushes, from 4 to 12 inches high, and about fifty in my front yard. I send you a package of Green tea-leaves, blossoms, and a few seed in capsules. I have no person that understands curing the leaves, but will send a package of the dried leaves, as I term them. I frequently drink a sample infusion of the leaves dried in the shade, and though not so good as the Chinese preparation, yet I know that I am drinking the pure tea, without any coloring matter.
James H. Rion, Esq., Winsboro, S. C., says:—
I have no experience in the making of tea, but can certify to the adaptability of the soil and climate of my section to the growth of the plant itself. In the fall of 1859, I received from the Patent Office, Washington, a very tiny tea-plant, which I placed in my flower-garden as a curiosity. It has grown well, has always been free from any disease, has had full out-door exposure, and attained its present height (5 feet 8 inches) in the year 1865. It is continually producing healthy seedlings. This shows that the plant finds itself entirely at home where it is growing. There cannot be the least doubt but that the tea-plant will flourish in South Carolina.
Mr. W. M. Ives, Jr., Lake City, Fla., suggests:—
Tea cultivation might be made profitable here, but our people do not pay enough attention to such objects as promise returns in future years. The method of drying the leaves is a very simple process. Many families already possess a number of tea-plants, but they grow them simply for their beauty and novelty. It has been proven that tea can be grown in Georgia as well as in Florida.
Dr. A. W. Thornton, Portland, Ore., declares:—
That the tea-plant is admirably suited to Northern California and Southern Oregon I have no question; more especially as the light on the coast is so abundantly charged with actinic rays, as shown by the richness of the foliage and gorgeous tints of the fruits and autumnal foliage, which supports the view that any plant, the active principle of which is located in the leaves, would prima facie yield a richer product where actinic rays are abundant (which are known to have an important influence upon chlorophyl and leaf development) than in less favored climes. Some years ago, Mr. Samuel Brannan started the cultivation of tea at Calistoga, in Napa county, California, but through some mismanagement at the outset the crop did not succeed. But to this day solitary plants can be seen in that locality, exhibiting vigorous growth, proving the suitability of both soil and climate. Since that time a gentleman has started a plantation of tea at Modesto, in the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Stanislaus county, California, in which the plants have done so well that from the last accounts he was so far encouraged as to extend his plantation.