DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



339 



happy and contented. I really believe that there 

 is no country in the world, where the agricultural 

 population are better off than they are in the north 

 of China. Labir with them is a pleasure, for its 

 fruits are eaten by themselves, and the rod of the 

 oppressor is unfelt and unknown. 



I was one day travelling amongst the hills in the 

 interior of the island of Amoy, in places where I 

 suppose no Englishman had ever been before. The 

 day was tine, and the whole of the agricultural la- 

 borers were at work in the tields. When they first 

 saw me, they seemed much excited, and from their 

 gestures and language, I was almost inclined to 

 think them hostile. From every hill and valley, 

 they cried, " Wyloe-san- pan-fokie ," that is, " Be 

 off to your boat, friend ;" but on former occasions 

 I had always found that the best plan was to put 

 a bold face on the matter, and walk in amongst 

 them, and then try to get them into good humor. 

 In this instance the plan succeeded admirably ; we 

 were in a few minutes excellent friends, the boys 

 were running in all directions gathering plants for 

 my specimen box, and the old men were offering 

 me their bamboo pipes to smoke. As I got a little 

 nearer to the village, however, their suspicions 

 seemed to return, and they evidently would have 

 been better pleased had I either remained where I 

 was, or gone back again ; this procedure did not 

 suit my plans, and though they tried very hard to 

 induce me to " wyloe" to my " san-pan," it was of 

 no use. They then pointed to the heavens, which 

 were very black at the time, and told me it would 

 soon be a thunderstorm — but even this did not suc- 



ceed. As a last resource, when they found I was 

 not to be turned out of my way, some of the little 

 ones were sent on before to apprise the villagers of 

 my ajjproach, and when I reached the village every 

 living tiling, down even to the dogs and pigs, were 

 out to have a peep at the " Fokie." I soon put 

 them all, the do<rs excepted, (which have the true 

 national antipathy to foreigners.) in the best possi- 

 ble humor, and at last they seemed in no hurry to 

 get rid of me. One of the most respectable amongst 

 them, seemingly the head man of the village, brought 

 me some cakes and tea, which he politely oHered 

 me. I thanked him, and began to eat. The hun- 

 dreds who now surrounded me were perfectly de- 

 lighted ; " He eats and drinks like ourselves," 

 said one. " Look," said two or three behind me, 

 who had been examining the back part of my head, 

 " look here, the stranger lias no tail !" and then 

 the whole crowd, women and children included, 

 had to come round me to see if it was really a fact 

 that I had no tail. One of them, rather a dandy 

 in his way, with a noble tail of his own plaited with 

 silk, now came forward, and taking off a kind of 

 cloth which the natives wear here as a turban, and 

 allowing his tail to fall gracefully over his shoul- 

 ders, said to me in the most triumphant manner, 

 "Look at that ! " I acknowledged that it was 

 very fine, and promised if he would allow me to 

 cut it off, I would wear it for his sake. He seem- 

 ed very much disgusted at the idea of such a loss, 

 and the others had a good laugh at him. Fortune- s 

 Three Years in China. 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



Whitewash versits Pear Blight — Dear Sir : 

 In the Horticulturist for December, I observe a note 

 from Mr. A. H. Ernst, of Cincinnati, who says 

 that he has made up his mind that sun has more ef- 

 fect in causing the pear tree blight than either frost 

 or insects, and joins with you in recommending as 

 a preventive of such effect, the application of lime 

 wash to the trunks and large limbs of trees, in or- 

 der to reflect the sun's rays from them. As the 

 lime wash was first recommended by you in the 

 autumn of last year, and as it was probably applied 

 by many persons in accordance with such recom- 

 mendation, 1 wish to inquire, have you received 

 information from which you infer that its applica- 

 tion has prevented the blight in situations where it 

 prevailed before the use of the lime, and where, in 

 all probability, it would have appeared but for such 

 application ? 



I have lost during the last summer, fifteen trees, 

 (and some of the large branches from about as 

 many more,) from the blight — not the scolylus, or 

 insect blight, which attacks the extremities of the 

 branch, from which many of my small trees have 

 been injured, but from the disease which first makes 

 its appearance on the trunk or large limbs of the 

 tree. They all blossomed, and were in perfect 

 health, apparently, previous to June. Some were 

 thrifty and had made much new wood last year; 



others, on the contrary, had made but little wood ; 

 to all of them the lime was applied as recommend- 

 ed by you. Previous to this season, I never lost n. 

 tree from this disease, and never had but one tree 

 at all affected by it. From this, I do not wish you 

 to infer that I mean to give it as my opinion that 

 the lime was the cause of the disease ; but it is 

 certainly very evident, from the above facts, that it 

 did not prevent it. If the sun causes the blight, 

 and if the lime has the effect you expect from it, why 

 were my trees alfccted after its application ? Yours 

 very truly. Herman WendeU. Albany, Dec. 10, 

 1847. 



[Remarks. — Wc have, as Dr. Wendell sup- 

 poses, received accounts from several of our read- 

 ers, who made a trial of the whitewash on their 

 pear trees last autumn. But the experiments were 

 not considered by them or us as satisfactory, be- 

 cause simple lime-wash only being used in all cases 

 reported to us. (exce|)tone, where a little salt was 

 added to the lime.) the lime was washed off from 

 all the smaller limbs by rain storms before the win- 

 ter was half gone. Hence, it was impossible, in 

 such cases, to expect any beneficial results from 

 it ; and we recommended this autumn the addition 

 of a little sizi'ig to prevent its being washed off the 

 smaller limbs. 

 J Dr. Wendill does not inform us whether the 



