238 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



16789 to 16796— Continued. 



indoors. All thru the winter these blades are keenly relished by horses 

 and donkeys. Then the seeds are gathered, combed out, and marketed. 

 Several varieties of alcohol and wines are made from these seeds, and the 

 deadly native drink 'sam-shu' — at least one variety of it — is made from 

 'kaoliang' seed. The seed makes excellent feed for stock of all kinds. The 

 long stalks are thrown on the thrashing floor, rolled flat by heavy stone 

 rollers, carefully cleaned of all particles of pith, and woven into a great variety 

 of mats and matting, suitable for use on floors, for window shades, or for the 

 roofs of native houses and sheds. These stalks are also extensively used for 

 fuel by the farming class. It is a most valuable crop and may be found thru- 

 out all the northern provinces. Not grown much as far south as Hang-chow. 

 "The yellow bean (16789) is the 'bean-cake' bean so extensively grown in 

 the Manchurian provinces and is a most valuable crop. May be grown south- 

 ward, but flourishes best in colder latitudes." {Cloud.) 



97 



