222 me: foetune's visit to china, 



and although a little reduced, in order to get it into the plant- 

 case at Manilla, is still by far the largest specimen in Europe. 



I found few other plants of value, except perhaps two species 

 of Aerides, which I have never yet seen in flower ; these, how- 

 ever, with some other Manilla plants, are now in the Garden at 

 Chiswick. Upon reference to the Garden Lists on my return, I 

 find that out of four cases of Manilla orchideous plants no fewer 

 thdiU forty-Jive specimens of the Phalcenopsis have been given away 

 to the Fellows of the Horticultural Society. 



My allotted time having expired, I sailed for my old station in 

 the north of China, and arrived there on the 14th of March. My 

 principal object now was to make another collection of all my 

 finest plants, which I intended to bring home under my own care. 

 I had written to the Secretary of the Society, requesting to be 

 favoured with full returns of the state in which my various ship- 

 ments had arrived in England, and these lists were now coming 

 to hand by every mail. When I found from these lists that 

 any of the species were perfectly safe, I discarded them from 

 my collections, and only kept the kinds which were either newly 

 discovered, or those which we had been so unfortunate as to 

 lose during the voyage, or which, if not lost, were in doubtful 

 condition. 



Foo-chow-foo, a large city on the river Min, was visited 

 this summer for the first time, as well as some of the black 

 tea districts in that part of the province of Fokein. The 

 plants in this district, with a few exceptions, were the same 

 as I had already found either in the south or in the northern 

 part of the empire. This was naturally to be expected, as 

 this part of the country lies about half way between the pro- 

 vince of Quantung in the south, and that of Keangsoo in the 

 north of China. When my examination of the country was 

 completed, there was no English vessel in the Min, and I 

 was therefore obliged to take a passage in a Chinese junk, 

 which was bound for the city of Ningpo. On our voyage up 

 the coast we were attacked by fleets of pirates on two difterent 

 days, and had I not been well armed we must have fallen 

 into their hands, where in all probability my career would have 

 been soon terminated. I had a severe attack of fever at the 

 same time, and altogether was in a most deplorable condition 

 when I reached Chusan, where my countrymen were stationed. 

 Having the greater part of my collections in the country near 

 Shanghae, I was most anxious to know in what state they were ; 

 and finding an English vessel about to sail for the Yang-tse- 

 Kiang, I immediately crawled on board in the best way I could, 

 and, with a fair wind, we soon reached our destination. It 

 would be unjust and ungrateful not to mention here the kindness 



