216 



HORTICULTURAL MISSION TO CHINA. 



siilenpos. The pardons, liowovor, j>rctly as they 

 were, contained U-w )>lanls of vahic, or dillcreiit 

 from what I had already met with at Ht)nf;- Ivonfr 

 and ('anton. Some roses wliich I sent to the Hor- 

 ticultural Society from that place, are saiil to be 

 very distinct anil line, but I liave never hail an op- 

 portunity of soeinp tliem in bloom. 



•' Having travelled all over the country adjacent 

 to Amoy, and completed my researches, I sailed 

 again towards the Tormosa Channel, on my way 

 to our moat northern stations of Chusan, Nin{fpo 

 and Shanghac. The monsoon, however, had now 

 clianffed from southwest to northeast, and we ex- 

 perienced very stormy weather, and strong nor- 

 therly currents, whicli, of course, were directly 

 against us. The vessel was at last obliged to put 

 into the Hay of Chinchew from stress of weather, 

 and having sprung her bowsprit in the gale, it 

 was impossible for her to i)roceed. In a day or 

 two her cargo was got out and put into another 

 vessel, in which I also embarked, anil we again 

 proceeded on our voyage. This attempt was even 

 more disastrous than the last, for after being out 

 for several days, and nearly through the Formosa 

 channel, we met one of those dreadful gales so 

 well known to the navigators of these seas; our 

 newest and strongest sails were split to pieces, the 

 bulwarks washed away, and in spite of every ex- 

 ertion, we were driven back far below the bay 

 from which we started about a week before. Two 

 plant cases, which I had with me at the time, were 

 dashed to pieces, and their contents, of course, 

 completely destroyed. The horticulturists and 

 gardeners of this country, who are so critical 

 when they find a few deaths in plant cases after 

 a voyage of fifteen thousand miles, know little of 

 the ilangers of the ocean. 



" During our stay to refit in the bays of Chimoo 

 and Chinchew, I availed myself of the 0])portu- 

 nity of exploring tlie adjacent country. It was on 

 these hills that I found the pretty Abelia rupestris. 

 Campanula grandiflora, and Statice fortuni, which 

 are now in the garden of the Society at Chiswick. 

 The natives in this part of the country arc a law- 

 less and indepenrJent race, who care nothing for 

 the government.and who set the laws of the empire 

 at defiance. I and my servant were sometimes 

 placed in most critical situations amongst tliem, 

 where a great deal of tact and determination were 

 necessary to get us safely out of their hands. 



" Our little schooner being refitted, we again 

 hove up our anchor, and stood out to sea. This 

 time the winds favored us, and in ten days, we 

 were safely moored in the beautiful Bay of Chusan. 

 As we approached the islands of the Chusan Ar- 

 chipelago, I was much gratified with the great 

 change in the aspect of the country. There was 

 a freshness and luxuriance about the ■vegetation 

 entirely ditferent from what I liad seen before. 

 Fewer rocks were seen protruding through the 

 ground, and many of the hills were cultivated 

 nearly to their "unimits, w-hich at once proved the 

 superior nature of the soil. The first glance at 

 the vegetation convinced me that it was very dif- 

 ferent from what I had seen in the south; and that 

 the north of China must be the chief scene of my 

 future labors in the country. 



I "I now delivered my letters of introduction io 

 J IMajor-tieneral Sir James Schoedile, the oflrieer in 

 I command, who very Kindly procured me ()uarlerH 

 in a Chinese house inside the ciiy i)f Tingliae, to 

 which I removed from the ship, and immediately 

 commenced operations. I was now fortunate 

 enough in getting acijuainted with Dr. Maxwell of 

 the ]\ladras army, who was stationed there at the 

 tinje. This gentleman, who was an ardent lover 

 of botanical pursuits, had been most indefatigable 

 in his researches, and was consecjuently able to 

 give me a great deal of valuable information. 



" I was now continually travelling amongst the 

 hills, not only of Chusan, and the adjacent islands, 

 but frequently on the main land, where I went 

 Without being molested in any way. The dispo- 

 sitions of the peoi)le seemed to have changed with 

 the aspect of their country. Their features were 

 more Euroi)ean; they seemed perfectly harmless, 

 appearing to bear us no ill will, and freipicntly 

 were even kind, which is saying a great deal for 

 the Chinese, unless they have some selfish motive 

 for such conduct. 



" After getting together a considerable number 

 of i)lants and seeds, an opporlunitj' ofTered of vi- 

 siting Shanghae. That port had not been yet for- 

 mally opened, and the chances of getting there 

 were few, and not to be neglected. I was there- 

 fore glad of the opportunity, and sailed for the 

 Yang-tse-Kiang on the 13th of November. As we 

 approached Shanghae, we seemed to have got into 

 a new country. The mountainous scenery had en- 

 tirely disappeared, and even from the top of our 

 highest mast, there was not a hill seen to bound 

 the distant horizon — all in view was one flat level 

 plain. This is what is called the valley of the 

 Yang-tse-Kiang, and is the great northern Nankin 

 cotton district. The land is a rich deep loam, and 

 is without doubt the finest in China, if not in the 

 world. 



" In a country like this, which is every where 

 flat and cultivated, it was not expected that I could 

 find very many wild plants. Two, however, were 

 met with, which have since attracted a considera- 

 ble share of notice in England. I allude to Cryp- 

 tomeria japonica anil Anemone jajionica. I'he 

 latter was found when in full flower, amongst the 

 graves of the Chinese, which are round the ram- 

 parts of the city. It blooms in November, when 

 other flowers have gone by, and is a simple and 

 beautiful ornament to the last resting places of the 

 dead. If the number of wild flowers in this dis- 

 trict was few, they were well made up by those 

 which I afterwarils found in gardens and nurseries. 

 From the number of flower shops in the city, 

 which at this season were filled with Chrysanthe- 

 mums, I was quite certain that there must be 

 somewhere in the vicinity nurseries for their cul- 

 tivation, but the great difliculty was to find them 

 out. The Chinese here, who knew little or no- 

 thing of us, except as their conquerors, were 

 frighteneil and jealous, and would give no infor- 

 mation on the subject. They always suspected I 

 had some other object in view than simply collect- 

 ing the plants of their country. At that time I 

 could not speak a w-ord of the language; and my 

 servant, who was brought up from the province of 



