CHINESE AGRICULTURE. 11 



camphor is like that of making maple-sugar from the maple- 

 tree. The vegetable wax, which we get from the tallow-tree 

 {StltUngia sebifera), is a tree grown over all the eastern part 

 of China and some parts of the provinces bordering on Thibet 

 and Biirmah. An English traveller, describing it, sa3^s ; '^It 

 is a beautiful tree, resembling the aspen in its shape and foli- 

 age ; it would form a valuable addition to the list of shade- 

 trees in this countr3\ The seeds grow in clusters like ivy- 

 berries, and are collected in November ; when ripe the capsule 

 divides, and, falling off, discovers two or three kernels covered 

 with pure white tallow. When the tallow is to be prepared, 

 these are picked from the stalks and put into an open wooden 

 cylinder with a perforated bottom, in which they are Avell 

 steamed over boiling-water. In ten or fifteen miimtes the tal- 

 low covering the seeds becomes soft, and they are then thrown 

 into a stone mortar and gently beaten with mallets to detach it. 

 The whole is then sifted on a hot sieve, by which the tallow 

 is separated from the kernels, though containing the brown 

 skin which envelops the latter, and presenting a dirty appear- 

 ance. The tallow in this state is inclosed in a straw cylinder, 

 or laid upon layers of straw, held togethci.* by iron hoops, and 

 subjected to pressure in a rude press, from which it runs clear 

 in a semi-fluid state, and soon hardens into cakes. The can- 

 dles made from it become soft in hot weather, and are some- 

 times coated by dipping them in wax." 



The baml)oo plant is cultivated almost everywhere ; it is 

 remarkable for its shade and beauty. There are about sixty 

 varieties, different in size, according to its genus ; ranging 

 from that of a switch to a big pole, measuring from four to 

 five inches in diameter. It is reared from shoots and suckers, 

 and, after the root once clings to the ground, it thrives and 

 spreads without further care or labor. Of these sixty varieties, 

 each thrives best in a certain localit}'. And throughout the 

 whole empire of China the bamboo groves not only embellish 

 the gardens of the poor, but the vast parks of the princes and 

 wealth}^ The use to which this stately grass is put is truly 

 wonderful. The tender shoots are cultivated for food like the 

 asparagus ; the roots are carved into fantastic images of men, 

 birds, i\n\ mankeys. The tapering culms are us3d for all 

 purposes that poles can be applied to, — in carrying, support. 



