Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

it is necessary to sow seven or eight seeds in every hole. The ground between each row, is always kept free from weeds, and the plants are not allowed to grow higher than for the leaves to be conveniently gathered.

2. The first crop of leaves, is not collected until the third year after sowing; and when he trees are six or seven years old, the produce becomes so inferior, that they are removed to make room for others.

3. The color of the flowers, is white. They resemble the wild rose which grows so common in our hedges; the flowers are succeeded by soft, green berries or pods, each containing from one to three white seeds

4. The leaves are gathered from one to four times during the year, according to the age of the tree; but most generally the three gatherings are in April, June, and September. In the first gathering, the leaves are small, tender, and unfolded, and of the most delicate color, and aromatic flavor, and have little bitterness.

5. The persons employed, do not pull the leaves off by handfuls, but pick them one by one, and are careful not to break them; and though the process seems tedious, they gather from ten to fifteen pounds a day. At the second picking, the leaves are of a dull green color, while those of the third, are more infe rior still

6. The Chinese make use of a singular

method to get the branches, which grow upon great steeps that are difficult of ascent. The monkey, you know, is a very mischievous creature, and cunning withal; so they irritate them, and out of revenge, they tear off their branches, which they then collect, and strip off their leaves.

7. The leaves, after picking, are put into wide, shallow baskets, and placed in the air, wind, or sunshine, for some hours. They are then put on a flat, cast iron pan, over a stove heated with charcoal. About half or three quarters of a pound of leaves, are thus heated at once, stirred about quickly with a kind of brush, and then hastily swept off the pan into baskets.

8. The next process is that of rolling, which is done by men carefully rubbing them between their hands; after this the leaves are again put in larger quantities on the pan, and exposed to heat, but only enough to dry them thoroughly, without scorching. When this is done, the tea is placed on a table, and carefully picked, and every imperfectly dried leaf is removed, in order that the sample may look as well as possible.

9. For some finer sorts, the heated plates are not used, but the leaves, one by one, are carefully rolled into balls with the hands. There has been a great mistake among people, in supposing the color of green tea is given to it by sheets of copper, on which it is

thought to be dried; since this metal is never used in its preparation.

QUESTIONS.-1. How long after sowing is the first crop of tea gathered? 2. At what age is it necessary to remove the trees to make room for others? 3. How many times in a year are the leaves gathered? 4. What singular. method have the Chinese of obtaining the branches in difficult places? 5. How are the leaves prepared after picking? 6. How are some of the finer sorts prepared? 7. In what part of the world is the tea-plant raised?

Will you pronounce distinctly-gatherings, cunning, pounds, hands, sin-gu-lar.

LESSON LXIV.

Spell and Define-1. GEN' ER AL LY, commonly. 2. INTER WEAVE', to weave one into another. 3. PER PEN DIC'U LAB, upright. 4. IM ME DI ATE LY, without delay. 5. AS SEM' BLE, to congregate; to come together. 6. MUT'TER ING, uttering with a low murmuring voice. 7. OP ERA TION, action; agency. 8. TRAIL' ED, drew along on the ground. 9. STA' TION ED, fixed in a certain place. 10. DIS AP PEAR' ED, vanished from sight. 11. COM MU'NI TY, Society. 12. COL' O NY, a company of people, that settle in another country, but remain subject to the laws of their native country.

UNION IS STRENGTH.

1. BEAVERS generally choose a pond, or a piece of ground with a stream running through it; but to form a dam, it is necessary that they should stop the stream, and of course that they should know in what direction it runs.

2. They always, however, choose the most favorable place, and never begin at a wrong part. They thrust stakes five or six feet long into the ground, in different rows, and interweave them with branches of trees, filling them up with clay, stones, and sand.

3. The dams are sometimes a hundred feet. long, ten or twelve feet thick at the base, exactly level from end to end, perpendicular toward the stream, and sloped on the outside, where grass soon grows, and renders the earth united.

4. At the head of one of the rivers of Louisiana, a French traveler found a beaver dam in a very retired place, and ordered one of his men to cut, as silently as possible, a channel about a foot wide through it, and then to retire immediately.

5. "As soon as the water through the channel began to make a noise," says the writer, 66 we heard a beaver come from one of the huts, and plunge in. We saw him get on the bank, and clearly perceived that he examined it. He then with all his force, gave four distinct blows with his tail, when immediately, the whole colony threw themselves into the water, and arrived upon the dam.

6. "As soon as they were assembled, one of them appeared, by muttering, to issue some kind of orders; for they all instantly left the place, and went out on the banks of the pond in different directions. Those nearest to us were between our station and the dam, and therefore, we could observe their operations plainly.

7. "Some of them prepared a substance resembling a kind of mortar; others carried this on their tails, which served as sledges for the purpose. I observed that they put themselves

two and two, and that each of a couple loaded his fellow.

8. "They trailed the mortar, which was pretty stiff, quite to the dam, where others were stationed to take it; these put it into the channel, and beat it down with blows of their tails.

9. "The noise of the water soon ceased, and the breach was completely repaired. One of the beavers then struck two blows with his tail, and instantly they all took to the water without any noise, and disappeared."

10. That will be well done in a family or community, in which every one does his part. The humble may do unitedly, what the highest can not do singly. Skill is valuable, but success is often the reward of order and harmony, as well as of energy and perseverance.

4. What 5. In what

QUESTIONS.-1. What places do beavers choose for building their dams? 2. How do they build them? 3. How long are some, and in what form are they built? is related of one of these dams in Louisiana? way did one beaver call the others together? way did one command the others? 7. How did they repair the breach in the dam? 8. On finishing their task, what signal did one of them give? 9. What may we learn from this example of the beavers ?

LESSON LXV.

6. In what

Spell and Define-1. AD' MI RA BLE, worthy of admiration. 2. SEA' SON A BLY, in due time. 3. IN FAL' LI BLY, without a possibility of failure. 4. CAL' CU LA TING, computing; reckoning. 5. EN COUN' TER, to meet and oppose; to resist. 6. AN.TIC I PA' TION, previous view or impression of what is to happen afterward. 7. REQ' UI SITE, nec

« AnteriorContinuar »