cially coloured; for this colouring as we have already seen, may have been the work of the Chinese, and not of British fabricators. In the first place the form of the leaves should be particularly noticed; if these want the characteristic twist-if they be broken and agglutinated into little masses of irregular shape there will be reason to suspect the tea is spurious. Having noticed these particulars, the leaves should then be washed for a minute or so in cold distilled water, and quickly re-dried, when, if they appear glossy, it is probable that they consist of exhausted tea-leaves, made up with gum, a view which will be either dispelled or confirmed by chemical analysis, and by which the amount of gum and tannin must be determined. But the spurious green tea may consist of other leaves than those of tea; these being broken to pieces and made up with catechu. In this case the deception may be more readily detected; the fragments or particles of the tea will be still more irregular in size, and a close examination of them will show that they have not the character of leaves at all, but are heavy and solid, resembling some resinous substances broken up; moreover, the catechu in them may be discovered, either by the taste or by soaking the fragments in cold water, when they will fall to pieces, disclosing minute fragments of the leaves used, and which may be identified with the microscope, the water at the same time acquiring a deep reddish brown colour, and possessing the flavour of catechu. The fabrication of spurious black and green tea is usually carried on in the same factory, at the same time; the latter, in consequence of the closeness of the imitation being made in larger quantities than the former. For these worth ess, and in many cases pernicious, and even poisonous articles, we learn from Mr. Phillips, that the prices given by the dealers is from 1s. 8d. to 2s. per lb. for the black, and from 1s. 10d. to 2s. 6d. for the green, the appearance of the article governing the price. The Lancet publishes the results of the analysis, made by Mr. Phillips, of several samples of spurious green tea, seized by the Excise within the last few years. From an examination of these analyses, it appears that the following substances were detected as entering into the adulteration of these teas; namely, carbonate of lime, carbonate of copper, tumeric, Dutch pink, gum, Prussian blue, chromate and bichromate of potash, French chalk, carbonate of magnesia, chromate of lead, arsenite of copper and Venetian red. It then gives a table of the analyses of samples of green teas of British fabrication, which were furnished to it by the Excise They were found to be adulterated with nearly the same substances as those mentioned above, some of the samples being composed of the broken fragments of sycamore, and horse-chesnut leaves, made up into little masses with catechu, and faced with indigo. The Lancet then records the results of the analyses of thirty-two samples of the various kinds of green teas, in the state in which they are imported, these analyses including samples of the many varieties of Twankay, Hyson, Gunpowder, and Imperial. The following are the conclusions arrived at 1st. That the whole of the thirty-two were adulterated. 2nd. That five of the samples called Gunpowder, consisted of Lie tea, that is, of tea-dust and sand, made up with rice-water. 3rd. That one of the samples was composed in part of paddyhusk, and other substances. 4th. That another sample was composed chiefly of Lic tea, made up in part with other leaves than those of tea. 5th. That another sample consisted principally of Lie tea. 6th. That the whole of the samples were artificially glazed or coloured. 7th. That this glazing or colouring consisted of two, and, in some cases, three substances-a blue, a yellow, and a white. The blue colouring matter was present in all the samples; and in twenty-eight it was ascertained to be Prussian blue, and in the other two indigo; the yellow was detected in seventeen samples, and consisted in all instances of tumeric powder; the white was observed in twentynine samples, and was in general found to be China clay, or kaslin. That a second yellow substance is occasionally employed by the Chinese, mixed with tumeric powder, is evident from the analysis of the yellow die given in our last report. 8th. That in no one of the samples was a single leaf possessed of a green colour, not produced by artificial means, detected from which strong fact, notwithstanding a certain amount of evidence to the contrary, we are almost led 66 to conclude that there is really no such thing as a genuine green tea" of the colour ordinarily supposed to be characteristic of that kind of tea. The leaves, when deprived of their artificial coating, have invariably presented different shades of yellow, olive, brown, and even black. In the numerous examinations which we have made of samples of tea as imported into this country," writes the Lancet "the only evidence derived from personal observation, which we have been able to obtain of the existence of tea-leaves of a natural green colour, is the occasional occurrence of several samples of Oolong, a black tea, of leaves which, after infusion, presented a bright and coppery bluishgreen colour." Lastly; the Lancet gives the results of the examination of twenty samples of the different kinds of green tea, as purchased of grocers and tea-dealers resident in the metropolis. The results of these analyses were nearly similar to those obtained from the examination of the samples of green tea as imported. The whole were found to be adulterated, that is, were artificially glazed or painted with different colouring matters, more or less prejudicial to health. In addition, the Gunpowders, in most cases, were further adulterated by admix tion of our own, have induced us to institute further investigations on a subject of so much importance." The Lancet then goes on to give the results of the analysis of four different samples of tea of low quality, in which were detected fragments of three or four kinds of leaves, other than those of tea. In order that the observer may be able to discriminate with certainty between the tea-leaf and the leaves of other plants, we give two engravings made from the microscope; the one representing the upper, and the other the lower surface of the tea-leaf. ture with various proportions of green Fig. 5.-Upper surface of the Tea-leaf, showing Lie tea, some of them consisting even entirely of this almost worthless substance. But the adulterations of tea by the Chinese, are not limited to the painting of the surface of the leaves, and to the manufacture of Lie-tea, for there is no question but that the Chinese do even adulterate some inferior descriptions of green Gunpowder tea, with the leaves of plants other than those of tea; on this point we cite further observations as taken from the Lancet "It will be recollected, that in a former report, we quoted a statement by Dr. Dickson, that the Chinese annually gathered and dried millions of pounds of leaves, not those of tea, to be used in the adulteration of that article. It will also be remembered that in the analysis given in our last report of a sample of Gunpowder (Woping tea), we stated that we had discovered portions of leaves presenting a very different structure from those of tea; the statement made by Dr. Dickson, as well as the above observa its structure. its of water, 10 lbs. of tallow, 1, 1b. of soda, pound of fine white soap into a gallon of them well, put them into a pint of soft corked. b Pour a little of this liquid into ter, and wash in it those parts of a white e that have been stained with ink, mildew or red wine. When the stains have by moes been removed, wash the article in sual manner.--Recommended by M. CORNBathed W beadstof aid no agoub cellent Furniture Polish-Gum arabic, oz., Ive this in four tablespoonfuls of vinegar, me pint of cold drawn linseed oil, and 1 oz. rpentine-shake well together. If the fure is French-polished, it must be taken off. sing the above at first, it is best to lay it on night, and wipe it off with linen cloths in Morning; it will require to be repeated many sere the desired effect is produced, but it used in bleaching the paper will probably impair We knew an instance of a very elegant and два which new white flannel is always tinged. Thurstan, Ger. faithful. Timothy, Gr. a fearer of God. Toby or Tobias, Heb. the goodness of the Lord. Valentine, Lat. powerful. Urban, Lat. courteous. Walter, Ger. a wood master. Walwin, Ger. a conqueror. Zachary, Heb. remembering the Lord. Cicely, a corruption of Cecilia. Clara, Lat. clear or bright. Constance, Lat. constant. Damaris, Gr. a little wife. Deborah. Heb. a bee. Diana, Gr. Jupiter's daughter. Dorcas, Gr. a wild roe. Dorothy, Gr. the gift of God. Drusilla, Gr. dewy eyes. Duisabella, Lat. sweet and fair. Fadith, Sax. happiness. Eleanor, Sax, all fruitful. Eliza, Elizabeth, Heb. the oath of God. Emily, corrupted from Amelia. Emma, Ger. a nurse. Esther, Hesther, Heb. secret. Eunice, Gr. fair victory. Eudoia, Gr. prospering in the way. Frances, Ger. free. Gertrude, Ger. all truth. Jane, soflened from Joan; or, Julia, Juliana, feminine of Julius. Lucretia, Lat. a chaste Roman lady. Magdalene, Maudlin, Syr. magnificent. Mary, Heb. bitter. Maud, Matilda, Gr. a lady of honour. Mercy, Eng. compassion. Orabilis, Lat. to be entreated. Philadelphia, Gr. brotherly love. Philippa, Gr. feminine of Philip. Phoebe, Gr. the light of life. Phyllis, Gr. a green bough. Priscilla, Lat. somewhat old. Prudence, Lut. discretion. Psyche, Gr. the soul. Rachel, Heb. a lamb. Rebecca, Heb. fat or plump. Rhode, Gr. a rose. Rosamund, Sax. rose of peace. Rosa, Lat. a rose. Rosecleer, Eng. a fair rose. Rosabella, Ital. a fair rose. Ruth, Heb. trembling. Sabina, Lat. sprung from the Sabines. Salome, Heb. perfect. Sapphira, Gr. like a sapphire stone. Sarah, Heb. a princess. Sibylla, Gr. the counsel of God. Sophia, Gr. wisdom. Sophronia, Gr. of a sound mind. Susan, Susanna, Heb. a lily. Tabitha, Syr. a roe. Temperance, Lat. moderation. Theodosia, Gr. given by God. Tryphosa, Gr. delicious. Vida, Erse, feminine of Davià. |