196 Dr. W. F. Daniell on some Chinese Condiments 



or carpels of a plant belonging to the natural order Xanthoxy- 

 lacese. These fruits are employed as a condiment not only by 

 the inhabitants of the Japan islands, but also by those of China. 

 In consequence of their exportation from the sea-ports of the 

 former, they have received the designation of Japan pepper; 

 but, so far as their predominant use extends, they may 

 with equal propriety merit the corresponding term of Chinese 

 pepper. The name by which it is known throughout the latter 

 country is that of Hwa-Tseaou. With reference to the source 

 of this product, we have hitherto possessed but scanty informa- 

 tion. Mr. D. Hanbury has recently stated that the supply of 

 the Chinese shops was exclusively derived from the Xanthoxylum 

 alatum, Roxb.* This statement, however, does not appear to be 

 correct ; on the contrary, so far as my researches reach, it is the 

 produce of quite a different species, viz. X. piperitum, DC. 

 (Fagaro piperita, Linn.). During the recent war in Northern 

 China, this plant was frequently observed under cultivation along 

 the line of march from the mouth of the Peiho to Hang-chow. 

 Isolated trees might be noticed growing on the native farms or 

 clearances on the banks of the river, from Taku to Tien-tsin. It 

 was also found under culture in several of the gardens in the 

 villages of Sinho, Taku, &c, in the vicinity and in the court- 

 yards of a few of the yamuns in Tien-tsin, and in one or two of 

 those in the town of Peitang. The general habit of this species 

 is that of a bushy tree of moderate growth, about 15-20 feet in 

 height, with compact, flexuose, prickly branches, flowering in 

 June and July, and densely covered, when the fruit ripens in 

 October, with numerous corymbose expansions of deep-red ber- 

 ries. In this latter condition it presents a very ornate aspect, 

 and can readily be distinguished in this respect from the cir- 

 cumjacent shrubs, bearing in the distance a close resemblance 

 to the Cratcegus oxyacantha, or Hawthorn-tree of Europe. In 

 October and November, the people in the suburbs of Tien-tsin 

 were engaged in gathering the ripe capsules for winter use; and 

 with the view, therefore, of ascertaining whether they were iden- 

 tical with the dried article exhibited for sale in the local markets, 

 I was induced to take the fruit-bearing branches to different 

 shopkeepers of the towns, who without hesitation pronounced 

 them to be the same. Upon comparison, no difference could be 

 detected either in quality or flavour. That this species is known 

 in other parts of China may be inferred from the circumstance 

 of several of the Coolie corps from the southern provinces, at- 

 tached to the expeditionary force, collecting the fruit for their 

 daily meals, whenever an opportunity offered. From its wide 

 distribution, it is probable that several varieties of this product 

 * Pharmaceutical Journal, ser. 2. vol. ii. p. 553. 



