IRISH GARDENING 



13 



enormous floral wealth. To-day it is recognised 

 that China has the richest tenii)erate flora in the 

 whole world. Our gardens are indebted to China 

 for the originators ol om- Tea and K ambler Roses, 

 Chrysanthemums, Camellias, Indian Azaleas, 

 Greenhouse Primulas. Tree Paeonias and Clematis, 

 and also many fruits. 



Mr. Wilson's travels in Western China began 

 in 1S99 : the flrst and second journeys were under- 

 taken for Messrs. Veitch. the third and fourth for 

 the Arnold Arboretum, U.S.A. Mr. Wilson tells 

 us he was singularly fortunate in his wanderings. 

 Although in the interior duiing the Boxer out- 

 break and the Russo-.Jai)anese war. he never met 

 with any incivility 

 meriting the name, and 

 the Chinese peasants 

 whom he trained as col- 

 lectors were very faith- 

 ful, and their final part- 

 ing was with genuine 

 regret. As the route 

 taken was along the 

 Yangtsze River, said to 

 be over M,000 miles in 

 length, there is nuich 

 written about the won- 

 derful scenery along its 

 basin, its tributaries, 

 falls and the famous 

 Yangtsze gorges. 



The illustrations of 

 snow-capi)ed moun- 

 tains, 21,000 feet high, 

 bring home to one their 

 grandeur, while Mr. 

 Wilson believes that 

 some of the Yun-ling 

 mountains, which di- 

 vide W^estern Cliina 

 from Tibet, exceed in 

 height those of the Him- 

 alavas. 



The "Red Basin" of 

 .Szechuan is said to be 

 one of the richest and 

 f.airest regions in the 

 Chinese Empire, self 

 rontaiiicd. with the ex- 

 ception of cotton, which 

 is imported ; of vast agri- 

 cultural wealth, teem- 

 ing with towns and 

 abounding with salt, 

 coal and iron : the jjre- 



dominant rocks are red clayey sandstone. The 

 formation of Hu])eh is carboniferous limestone, 

 sparsely ))opulated and too wild and savage for 

 agricidtural development, therefore of particular 

 interest to the botanist. 



Patience, tact and abundance of time are 

 essentials in Chinese travel when away from the 

 beaten track, for the oriental methods ol)taining 

 there are the native sedan chair <ir one's own 

 legs. This is forcibly l)rought honir in Wilson's 

 journey across the Ilupeh-Szccluuin front icr in 

 his own wojds : — "For twenty-two consecutive 

 days my followers and I had struggled thi-ough 

 the wild, lonely fastnesses of N. W. llupeh, 

 sul'fering nuich from bad roads, worse accom- 

 nuxlation and scarcity of food supplies. For the 

 liist time on record the joiirney had been accom- 

 plished by a foreigner."' 



The potato comes in for notice as follows : — 

 " The decaying stumps and stark tree trunks 

 speak eloquently of the magnificent forests which 

 must have fornierly existed here until destroyed 

 by axe and fire. To the botanist and lover of 

 nature this vandalism is painful, but presumably 

 it was necessary for economic reasons. The 

 univitti)i(j cause of it all has been the Irish potato.'' 

 Professor Sargent, in a valuable introduction, 

 compares the forest flora of eastern continental 

 Asia with that of eastern North America, and 

 rightlv savs that Mr. Wilson has shown us more 

 than anv ()ther traveller the floral richness of China. 

 Near Tacb.ienlu Wilson found a freestone peach, 

 with long narrow leaves, 

 I'ather small fruits, 

 downy on the outsides, 

 jibout which he writes : 

 — ■• At the time I i)aid 

 no fiuther attention to 

 this i^each. but in 1910 

 1 secured ripe fruit and 

 found — to my astonish- 

 nrent — that the stones 

 were perfectly smooth, 

 free and relatively very 

 small — characters de- 

 noting a distinct species 

 of peach. It jtroved to 

 l)e new. and has since 

 been named Prunus 

 niira. I regard this as 

 the most remarkable of 

 the discoveries I have 

 been ])rivilegedto make. 

 This new peach is now 

 in ciiltivation, and by 

 eross-breeding with the 

 old varieties of the gar- 

 den peach (P. persica) 

 may result in the pro- 

 duction of entirely new 

 and improved races of 

 this favourite fruit." 



A wild species of ciu'- 

 rant (Ribes loiigerace- 

 niosum) is stated to 

 bear large black fruit 

 of good flavour on ra- 

 cemes 1 k feet long ! 

 So it is i^ossible that 

 these Chinese fruits 

 mav intercross with 

 T. Behax. our fruit with good 



results. 



Appointment. 



Mii. 'I\ liKiiAN. who wrote the Dublin .Market 



Reports last year for our i)ai»er, has been recent ly 

 appointed Horticultural Instructor to the County 

 Committee of Agiicxilture for West Cork. After 

 some years' experience in gardening. Mr. iiehiin 

 went to the Horticultural School of the All)ert 

 Agricultural Ci liege to be technically trained, 

 lie also had an excellent and successful course 

 under Mr. Atlams at Clonakilty, and he is n(»w 

 back again at the scene of his past study, lo 

 promote Horticulture, Clonakilty being one of his 

 districts. We sincerely wish the fidlest measure 

 of success to Mr. Behan in liis new duties, and 

 hope we may still retain his services as a con- 

 tributoi'. 



