FRUITS, WILD AND CULTIVATED 25 



escarpments, or at their base, where it is protected from the 

 winds. It is very partial to the clayey marls and sandstones 

 of the Red Basin. In western Szechuan the loose-skinned 

 or Mandarin Orange {Citrus nohilis) is most generally grown. 

 In season the fruit can be purchased on the spot at the rate 

 of 500 to 1000 for a shilling. Unfortunately this orange does 

 not keep well, but when removed and dried the rind constitutes 

 a favourite medicine known as " Chien-yiin-p'i." The fibres 

 and pithy substance surrounding the fleshy carpels within 

 the rind also form a medicine which is called " Chii-lo." In 

 the gorges a tight-skinned or Sweet Orange, " Shan K'an-tzu " 

 (C. Aurantium, var.), is more usually met with. The so-called 

 Ichang orange of this type is noted far and wide in China. 

 It has a higher market-value than the " Mandarin " and 

 keeps well. In Chengtu these oranges are kept fresh and good 

 all through the summer, but by what process I failed to 

 discover. 



A Lemon (C. ichangensis) is also grown in the Ichang 

 Gorge, but is not common. The fruit of this species is broadly 

 oval in shape and of excellent flavour. Pomelos, " Yo-tzu " 

 (C. decumana, var.), are met v/ith, but the fruit seldom 

 contains any pulp worthy of the name, consisting usually of 

 little but pith and seeds. The Kumquat (C. japonica) is 

 sparingly cultivated for its fruits, which, preserved with sugar, 

 are an esteemed delicacy. A Citron (C. Medica, var. digitata) 

 is also occasionally grown for its curious-looking fruit which 

 is known as " Fingered Citron," or " Buddha's Hand." 



The Orange and allied fruit trees are propagated by notching 

 the shoots which arise from the base of the tree and fixing earth 

 around the cut. A framework of bamboo or a broken earthen- 

 ware pan is used to keep the soil in place. When many roots 

 have been formed in the heaped-up soil a final severance of the 

 shoot from the parent tree is made, and in due course the new 

 plant is removed to a permanent site. Boring-insects are 

 unfortunately making sad havoc among the Orange-groves 

 in Western China. No attempt at prevention or control is 

 made by the owners, and nothing but the wonderful vitality 

 of the tree saves it from extinction. 



The Peach, " Tao-tzu " {Prumis Persica), is abundantly 



