Thane

(than.) [A. S. thegn.] A title of honor among the Anglo-Saxons. Its original meaning was servant, and it was applied to the followers of kings and chieftains; but it was afterwards given to all landed proprietors above the degree of alderman, and under that of earl. There were superior and subordinate T. The'a. [Chin. tcha. ] (Bot.) The Tea-plant, a gen. of shrubs, O. Ternströmiacea, the dried leaves of which are called tea. There is but one species of the tea-plant, Thea virid is (Fig. 635),-Thea bo hea and Thea a a mens is being now considered to be mere varieties. The tea plant is native of China, Japan, and Tonquin, flourishing most in valleys, the sloping sides of mountains, and the banks of rivers exposed to the southern rays of the sun. The names given in commerce to the different sorts of tea are unknown to the Chinese, the imperial excepted, and are supposed to have been applied by the merchants of Canton. The black teas are, Bohea, Congou, Campoi, Souchong, Caper, and Pekoe; the green teas are, Twankay, Hyson skin, young Hyson, Hyson, Imperial, and Gunpowder. The quality of tea depends very much on the season in which the leaves are picked, the mode pared, in which and it the is pre-district in which it grows. Green tea is said to owe its color to an extract of indigo,to Pru ian blue, and gypsum; and the flowering kinds their rich tint to the leaves of the Olea fragrans and other plants. The most remarkable substances in teas are tannin, an e ential oil to which it owes its Fig. 635.-TEA-PLANT. aroma, and an alkaloid named th eine. 100 parts of dried tea contain, on an average, about 6 parts nitrogen; the largest amount, by far, that has been detected in any vegetable. Tea, taken in moderation, is beneficial to the body; but in most constitutions, if taken in exce , it produces considerable excitement and wakefulne . Tea and coffee owe their energy to two substances, Theine and Caffeine, which differ in name, but are identical in nature. The tea-plant is the growth of a particular region, situated between the 30th and 33d degrees of north latitude. The trees are planted four or five feet asunder; they have a very stunted appearance; and are not allowed to grow higher than is convenient for men, women, and children to pick the leaves. When this is done, the leaves are put into wide shallow baskets, and placed on shelves in the air, wind, or mild sunshine, from morning till noon. They are then placed on a flat cast-iron pan over a charcoal stove, ten or twelve ounces being thrown on at a time, and kept stirred quickly with a hand-broom. After this, they are brushed off again into the baskets, in which they are equally and carefully rubbed between men's hands to roll them; and then are again dried over a slower fire. The tea is next laid upon a table to be drawn or picked over. The smallest leaves are called by the Chinese Pha-ho; the second, Pow-chong; the third, Su-chong; and the fourth, or largest, Tay-chong. In 1871, tea to the amount of 61,263,440 lbs. was imported into the U. States, of the value of$15,053,931. By act of Congre , May 1, 1872, tea has been placed on the free list, and no further import duties are to be collected upon it. [s. 890]