Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/313

Rh peach—the perfect, delectable fruit that is usually pictured—is unobtainable. Indeed, foreigners may literally be said to be starving whilst in the midst of plenty, so far as this fruit is concerned.

In this region no square inch of land is left uncultivated, consequently, wild flowers are rarely seen, the only exceptions being Anemone Japonica, Lycoris squamigera, L. radiata, L. aura, Lonicera gyno-chlamydea, and Rosa multiflora. On the so-called hills, situated at a distance of about 20 miles from Shanghai, are found Ficus repens, Tracheleopermum, Jasminoides, Harts-tongue, Royal. Sword, Pteris cretica, and a variety of other ferns, and two forms of asparagus.

Other plants which are natives of this region, but can scarcely be said to occur in a state of nature, are Salix babylonica, Ilex corunta, Viburnum macrocephalum, Lignstrum lucidum, L. sinensis, Ailanthus glandulosa, Sterculia Platanifolia, Pterocarya stenopera, and Quercus serratta.

The hills in the vicinity of Ningpo and Hangchow are clad with azaleas, Rhodoendron sinensis, and R. Indicum, like the hills of Scotland with heather, and when in flower a magnificent effect is produced by the varied coloured blooms which appear in great profusion. The natives treat the azaleas as scrub, and in winter remove every branch for use as fuel. Amongst the azaleas are lilies of sorts—chiefly Lilium Brownii, which is found in many varieties from yellow to white. Ferns and lycops, particularly the stag-horn moss, abound. Amongst the more prominent trees are Castanopsis Tibetiana, a large evergreen chestnut, the leaves of which frequently measure from twelve to fourteen inches in length, and four inches in width. This tree is a handsome object, attaining considerable dimensions, and appears to be confined to the vicinity of Hangchow, where it was first discovered by the Right Rev. Bishop Moule. Gleditschia sinensis and Gymnocladus sinensis, the large pods of which produce a saponaceous matter and are employed by the natives instead of soap, are abundant. Various species of rhus, from one or more of which the famed Ningpo varnish is obtained, are more or less cultivated.

Castanea sativa (sweet chestnuts), and some good varieties of "Loquats" (Eryobotyra Japonica), both white and yellow fruited forms, are grown in large quantities; whilst on the island of Pootoo, Chinese strawberries, the fruit of the Myrica sapida, are cultivated for the Shanghai market, where they are purchased by both natives and foreigners. Stillingia sebifera (the tallow tree) is grown in considerable quantities all over the Chekiang Province, and from its fruit a saponaceous matter is expressed which, when purified, forms a high-class tallow that might be found well worth the attention of soap-makers. This tree is cultivated much in the same manner as peaches, that is to say, the larger fruiting varieties which yield the greatest amount of tallow are grafted on to the seedling stock.

The flora of the Yangtsze Valley really may be said to begin in the vicinity of Kiukiang, particularly on the Kuling Hills, where may be found such plants as tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera), Lilium speciosum var Formosana, Zanthoxylum piperitum (the seeds of which are used as a condiment), Xanthoceras sorbifolia, Wistaria, Viburnum tomentosum, Vitus inconstans (better known as Amelopsis Veitchii), Anemone Japonica, Akebia quintata, Akebia lobata, and a host of other popular flowering shrubs.

For our knowledge of the rich flora of the vicinity of Ichang, we are in the first place indebted to Dr. Henry—formerly of the Imperial Maritime Customs service, and now Professor of Arboriculture at Oxford University (vide the "Index Floræ Sinensis")—whose collection reached the large number of 15,700 specimens, each represented by numerous duplicates, amounting in all to 150,000 sheets; and, later, to H. E. Wilson, collector to James Veitch &amp; Sons, who sent to London seeds of 1,800 species, 30,000 bulbs of new and rare species of liliums, and living roots of various herbs, shrubs, &amp;c. His herbarium collection comprised 20,000 dried specimens, many of which were collected in the higher reaches of the Yangtsze and in Szechwan.

Ichang is the home of Primula sinensis, now one of the most popular winter flowering greenhouse plants at home. It is found growing on the face of the rocks, whilst another popular primula P. obconica is found in the moist valleys. Other notable plants abounding in this neighbourhood are Davidia involuerata, probably one of the finest flowering trees extant, Astelbie Davidii, Buddleia variabilis, and B. Asiatica. Daphne genkwa clothes the hills here like azaleas do those of Chekiang, and when it is in bloom the effect is said to be very beautiful. In the province of Szechwan the opium poppy is one of the chief agricultural crops. Tobacco, also, is grown, but not to a great extent. The hills on the TbibetanTibetan [sic] frontier are particularly noted for their great assortment of rhododendrons as well as for various rare and beautiful alpines, such as Mecenopsis integrifolia and M. punicia, and a number of rare primulas.

In Southern China the climate approximates to that of the tropics, consequently palms in variety, tree ferns, and other plants of a tropical nature are found in profusion. The fruits grown in this region which find their way into the Shanghai market are Citrus aurantium, C. decumana, C. nobilis, and C. medica (producing oranges, lemons and pumeloes), Nephelium litchii and N. longana (the "litchies"), bananas, guavas, mangoes, wangpee and Chinese olives (Canarinum album). Typical forms of this vegetation are the banyans and other forms of Ficus, Ixoras, Murrya exotica, Hituscus, Rosa sinensis, Garcinia multiflorum, Hoya carnosa, Magnolia, Chamapaca, and Canaga adorata. Orchids are found in considerable variety, especially in Yunnan and Hainan, whence large consignments have been sent home to the English market. This is also the original home of the beautiful little primula, P. Forbesii. From Foochow large quantities of the bulbs of the sacred lily, or joss flowers (Narcissus lazetta var Chinensis), are exported to Europe, America, and also to other parts of China. On the hills near Foochow tea is grown in considerable quantities. Foochow poles, derived from Cunninghamia sinensis, are very largely exported from here to Central China, where they are in great demand for building purposes.

Since Formosa has been handed over to the Japanese, the cultivation of camphor has received more attention in the southern provinces, and, when further developed, this industry will tend to give a more ample supply of this commodity, which at present is obtained almost entirely from Formosa.

Chief among the botanists who have contributed to our knowledge of the Chinese flora may be mentioned Dr. Hance, whose herbarium, containing 22,000 species, is now in the British Museum; Dr. Henry Maries, H. E. Wilson, Dr. Faber, R. Fortune, and Père Delavayi and several other Jesuit fathers. With the publication of well-known works and descriptions of plants the names of F. B. Forbes, W. B. Hemsley, C. J. Maximowicz, Franchet and Brets are best known, and the names of James Veitch &amp; Son, of Chelsea, and Andrieux Vilmorin, of Paris, are prominently associated with the introduction of large numbers of Chinese plants to the gardens of Europe.

The chief fibres produced in China are Crotolaria (Sunn hemp), Bohemeria uivea, hemp (Cannabis sativa), Crocorhus, and Abutilion aveninaceae.