150 



THE CANADIAN H0ETI0ULTURT8T. 



have seen in our own garden. We 

 value it for its spring flowers, and it 

 must be confessed it blossoms magnifi- 

 cently. Last year we had two trees in 

 fruit — a five and a four-year old. They 

 bore remarkably well, and to our sur- 

 prise the fruit was palatable. It is a 

 small russet brown plum, not unlike 

 some of our common varieties at home ; 

 but one could not say of it that it is 

 equal to our inferior sorts, or that it is 

 a fruit one would care to eat if one had 

 any choice. The pear is abundant all 

 over the Province, and during my last 

 journey down south, I saw some fine 

 large growers of some fifteen to twenty 

 years' standing. Those I have myself 

 grown are from Kuang-Ning, in the 

 west of the Province, where the Chinese 

 seem to take some pains with the culti- 

 vation. I was supposed to have quite 

 a large assortment, but I can only count 

 four varieties, and of these, I say con- 

 fidently, there is not one which would 

 be tolerated in the west. * It might be 

 worth while to enquire whether the 

 variety we commonly speak of as the 

 'Peking' pear (native of Chihli Pro- 

 vince), would not bear removal to 

 America, but I should fancy we only 

 think it luscious in comparison with 

 the turnip taste of the others. I con- 

 fess T have eaten it as a great delicacy 

 in mid-winter, but then it was in the 

 north of China, and after I had for- 

 gotten the taste of home fruit. 



" The peach is also a poor thing in 

 this Province, nor did I ever think much 

 of it in Shantung. Some good judges, 

 however, declare it to have a flavor of 

 its own, and I have heard one friend 

 say, that neither the English nor Ameri- 

 can varieties which he has tasted have 

 the rich, fruity flavor of our native peach 

 (such as we have here in our own gar- 

 den). Of this you are yourself com- 

 petent to judge, as you have frequently 

 tasted them. It is noteworthy, how- 

 ever, that the very palatable peaches 



you ate last year in Mrs. C.'s garden 

 were from wild plants sown only three 

 or four years ago. We had no such 

 good eatable peaches ever from trees 

 we consider to be grafts. 



" As to the grape, I should not fancy 

 we have anything to off'er to the west. 

 I differ from most in their enthusiasm 

 for the grape of this Province. All I 

 know is that I could not refrain from 

 eating grapes in Shantung, even when 

 I suffered a severe penalty, whereas 

 here I am simply beyond temptation. 

 I have eaten grapes in Germany, where 

 they were as common as gooseberries 

 with us, and I am meanwhile awaiting 

 the advent of a grape which will dimly 

 remind me of these. But the Chinese 

 seem to me very backward in the matter 

 of grape culture, and therefore we don't 

 know as yet what the native varieties 

 are capable of. For the quince you 

 must enquire further south. I used to 

 see it used largely in condiments in 

 the south of Shantung Province. 



"We have, of course, no currants. 

 As you know, a year or two hence we 

 shall have some notion of how American 

 fruit trees do in our Manchurian climate. 

 Excuse poverty. 



" Yours sincerely, 



"J. Macintyre. 



" P.S. — Mr. Macintyre refers to some 

 fruit trees whcih he and I got last year 

 from the States. We can say nothing 

 of them yet. J. W." 



This letter was accompanied by one 

 from Dr. Watson himself, dated at 

 Newchwang. 2nd March, 1882, in 

 which he says : 



" I very much fear there are no fruit 

 trees' worth sending to Canada from 

 this portion of China. There are two 

 pears however — a large and a small 

 kind — grown in and near Peking, which 

 to my mind are simply delicious. I 

 differ from Mr. Macintyre in his esti- 



