one or more wild species is a difficult question to auswer, 
and it will not be attempted here. Schi-tze is the Chinese 
and Kaki the Japanese name of the tree and the fruit of 
D. Kaki, and the earliest descriptions and records of it are 
to be found in the writings of the Jesuit missionaries. 
The first is Alv. Semedo, whose work entitled “ Relatione 
della grande Monarchia della Cina’’ appeared in 1643. 
We have not seen this book, but Bretschneider quotes the 
author as stating that the best varieties of the Su-tzu (the 
_ name of the fruit in the Amoy dialect) were grown in the 
colder parts of China, namely, in Honan, Shensi, Shansi, 
and Shantung. The oldest book at Kew in which we find 
a figure and description is Boym’s “Flora Sinensis ” 
(1656), where it appears under the name Su-pim—* arbor 
et fructus su-pim apud sinas tantum nascitur,” etc. On 
this Bretschneider remarks: ‘‘ The Chinese name given by 
Boym properly denotes the dried fruit, for the second 
character means cake.”’ 
Passing over all other records up to 1813, we find that 
D. Kaki was introduced into cultivation in this country 
by Sir Joseph Banks in 1789, under the popular name of 
Japanese Date Plum. D. Lotus, L., and D. virginiana, 
L., were previously in cultivation, as the European Date 
Plum and the American Date Plum respectively. Per- 
simmon is the name commonly employed in America, but 
Date Plum is also given as a synonym in some American 
books, and the Japanese use Persimmon in their English 
publications. A sheet containing coloured figures of forty- 
five varieties of “‘ Japanese Persimmons”’ was issued some 
years ago by the Agricultural Bureau of Tokio. 
Although introduced more than a century since, the 
Kaki has never become in the least popular in the United 
Kingdom, and it is doubtful whether it has been con- 
tinuously in cultivation. There are several records, how- 
ever, of different varieties bearing fruit, among them 
D. costata, in Sir William Hutt’s garden in the Isle of Wight, 
in 1875 ; but it isnot stated whether it was under glass or 
in the open air. From the observations of travellers it 
would seem that some varieties are hardier than others, 
and it is possible that the hardier ones have not been in- 
troduced. But from the experience of French cultivators 
the Kaki succumbs to severe winters in the latitude of 
