SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



occur as far north as Peking, and so may be 

 mentioned here. 



In the wild state the Persimmon is rather rare, 

 occurring in Chihli round Ch'ang-h-Hsien on the 

 Peking-Moukden Railway, not far from the sea 

 coast, and also in the mountains west of Pao-ting 

 Fu. This plant, known as Diospyros lotus, pro- 

 duces a small yellow fruit, which nevertheless has 

 a good flavour. This wild form is used as a stock, 

 upon which the cultivated varieties are grafted. 



Another wild form, which occurs in Shansi 

 and Shensi, produces a very small black fruit with 

 large stones or pips. This is called by the Chinese 

 " He tsao," meaning " black jujube." 



Of the cultivated varieties the largest and most 

 prized is known as the " Ta mo pan " Persimmon. 

 This is a fine golden-orange coloured fruit, practi- 

 cally seedless, and of a sweet flavour. It is non- 

 astringent, a much to be desired quality in Per- 

 simmons. There are numerous other smaller vari- 

 eties, of which one occurs in the mountains along 

 the border line between Shansi and Chihli. A 

 very sweet red Persimmon grows in Honan and 

 South Shensi. 



The Chinese dry the fruit of the Persimmon, 

 which is then very pleasant and wholesome to eat. 

 The best dried fruit comes from Pei-t'ung-kuan, 

 just north of the Wei Valley in Shensi. 



Throughout the mountainous regions of all 

 the northern provinces the Wild Peach (Amygdalus 



229 



