46 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



times this genus played an important part in the arborescent 

 flora of north-temperate regions. Fossil remains, almost 

 identical with the present existing species, have been found, 

 not only in this country and North America, but also in 

 Greenland. 



Though to-day Chinese gardens, nurseries, and temple 

 grounds do not contain anything new in the way of ornamental 

 or economic plants, it was otherwise up to the middle of the 

 last century. Our early knowledge of the Chinese flora was 

 based on plants procured from gardens, notably from those 

 around Canton. The plants were brought to Europe by trading 

 vessels, especially those of the East India Company, at the 

 end of the eighteenth and early in the nineteenth centuries. 

 Different patrons of horticultural and botanical institutions 

 in England lent financial assistance, and collectors were dis- 

 patched to investigate and send home all that they could 

 possibly find. 



By these means our gardens first secured the early varieties 

 of Roses, Camellias, Azaleas, greenhouse Primroses, Gardenias, 

 Moutan Paeonies, Chrysanthemums, Chinese Asters, and such- 

 like familiar plants. The Chrysanthemum, for instance, has 

 been cultivated in China and Japan from time immemorial, 

 and its parent forms [Chrysanthemum sinense and C. indicum) 

 are common wild flowers around Ichang and elsewhere in 

 China. In Europe C. sinense was first cultivated in Dutch 

 gardens as early as 1689, no less than six kinds being then 

 known. But these were subsequently lost, and when the 

 plant was again introduced in 1789, through the agency of 

 Sir Joseph Banks, the plant was unknown to Dutch gardeners. 

 The famous gardener, Philip Miller, cultivated C. indicum. in 

 the Chelsea Physic Gardens in 1764, it having been discovered 

 in 1751, near Macao, south China, by Osbeck. This species 

 has, however, had much less to do in the evolution of our 

 present-day Chrysanthemum than C. sinense. 



The parent of our Tea Roses is Rosa indica, the Chinese 

 Monthly Rose, long cultivated in China and still to be found 

 wild in the central and western parts of the Empire. It was 

 introduced into England through the efforts of Sir Joseph 

 Banks in 1789. The parent of our greenhouse Primroses 



