S. T. Dunn

“ In the vicinity of Shanghai the flat alluvial plains are devoted to agriculture, the rich soil producing excellent crops of cotton, rice, barley, beans, Sesamum Indica and large supplies of vegetables. At Siccawei, which is the chief peach-growing region, good peaches in considerable variety are produced, the favourite being a flat-fruited variety. Unfortunately, the Chinese do not give careful attention to their cultivation, with the result that almost every other fruit has a maggot in it. ”

“ After completing his investigations for the Royal Horticultural Society, he accepted a commission from the East India Company in 1848 lo obtain seeds, plants, and full information relative to the cultivation of tea in China, with a view to starting the cultivation of tea on the Himalayas. Up to that time the Chinese had guarded the secret of tea production very carefully, and it was commonly supposed that black tea was made from the leaves of Thea bohea, grown on the Foochow and Canton Hills, and that green tea was the product of Thea viridis cultivated in Chekiang. ”

“ Bamboo is utilised by the natives to an almost unlimited extent. With it they can build and furnish their houses completely, and it is not surprising, therefore, that it is a feature of the landscape. Roughly speaking, there are about forty species of bamboo in China, ranging from the small Shantung variety of the north to the great Dendrocalmus of the south. ”

“ The Chinese variety, on the other hand, is stiff, globular, formal—like the Chinese character, conservative and solid. There is little doubt that each race, finding the flower adaptable, developed in it peculiarities to suit their tastes.
Amongst the most popular garden plants introduced by Fortune are the following:—Pæonies, azaleas, camellias, Gardenia fortunii and G. radicans, and roses in many varieties. The Tea rose, and its consequent hybrids, were all derived from Rosa Indica, a Chinese species. ”

“ From the high line of mountains in Szechwan, whose peaks are covered with perpetual snow, to the flat alluvial plains on the Pacific coast, it is possible for her to cultivate practically all known plants. ”

“ As a direct asset her arboriculture in some years would be worth millions of taels—probably it would be of greater value than that of America—whilst, indirectly, the ameliorating effect of trees on the climate would tend to put an end to the floods, droughts, and famines which now occur with such frequency. ”

“ The land is handed on from father to sons, the original area thus becoming in course of time a collection of small plots. Cultivation is mainly by manual labour, though buffaloes are frequently employed in ploughing. ”