MY object in coming thus far north was to obtain seeds and plants of the tea shrub for the Hon. East India Company's plantations in the north-west provinces of India. It was a matter of great importance to procure them from those districts in China where the best teas were produced, and I now set about accomplishing this object. There were various tea districts near Ning-po where very fair green teas were prepared for Chinese use, but these teas were not very well suited to the foreign market.