210 MR. FOETUNE'S VISIT TO CHINA, 



contains very little level ground capable of cultivation. In its 

 general features and sterility it is exactly the same as I have 

 already noticed with regard to the other portions of this part of 

 the Chinese empire. 



There are few trees of any size to be met with on the island 

 except those kinds, such as Mangos^ Lee-chees, Longans, Wam- 

 pees, Guavas, and other well known things, which are planted 

 and reared in some of the most fertile spots for the sake of their 

 fruit. Pinus sinensis is met with everywhere on the hill sides, 

 but it never attains any size, partly owing to the sterility of the 

 soil, and partly to the practice which the Chinese have of lop- 

 ping off its under branches yearly for firewood. Several species 

 of Lagerstrcemia are met with, both wild and in gardens, and 

 are so ornamental when in bloom, that they always reminded 

 me of our own beautiful hawthorn. The Screw pine {Panda- 

 nus odoratissimtfs), and two or three well-known species of 

 Palm, are met with on the low land near the sea. As we ascend, 

 the hill sides and ravines become rich in Melastomas, Lycopo- 

 diums, Ferns, Phaius grandifolius, and several other familiar 

 Orchideous plants. It is a curious fact, however, that all the 

 fine flowering plants which we admire so much in England are 

 found high up on the hills. The Azaleas, Enkianthus, and 

 Clematises, for example, generally choose situations from 1500 

 to 1800 feet above the level of the sea. 



After three weeks of hard labour and exposure under a July 

 sun, both on the islands and main land in this part of China, I 

 was forced to come to the conclusion at last, that the south had 

 been too much ransacked by former botanists to yield now 

 much that was really new and at the same time ornamental. 

 Two or three good plants, however, to a certain extent repaid 

 me for my labour, and these reached England alive a few months 

 after this time. Their names are Chirita sinensis, Arundina 

 sinensis, SpatJioglottis Fortuni, and a curious dwarf Lycopo- 

 dium, which is like a tree fern in miniature. 



The heat at this time was very great, the thermometer fre- 

 quently standing at 92° F. in the shade, and 140° when exposed 

 to the sun, but even this was nothing when compared with those 

 sensations which every foreigner in Hong Kong feels from the 

 dry and heated air, probably caused by the absence or scarcity 

 of trees and shrubs. 



Having completed my researches for the season at Hong 

 Kong, I left the island on the 30th of August, and proceeded to 

 Canton and Macao. At Canton the principal objects of attrac- 

 tion in a botanical way are the gardens of the Hong merchants, 

 and the celebrated collections at a place called Fa-tee. The 

 latter are simply nursery gardens, where plants are grown and 



