142 NOTES ON THE AGRICULTURE, 



Plate II. 



Fig. 1. The taro {Colocasia antiquorum Schott.) 

 ,, 2. The Chinese arrow-grass (Sagittaria Chinensis). 



Plate III. 



Fig. 1. The water chestnut or the ground chestnut. 

 ,, 2. The water Ipomoea or the water Convolvulus. 



XXXIV. — On Some Varieties of Peanuts Grown 



in China. 



Peanuts or ground-nuts (Arachis hypogea L.) (jf 2E &, 

 . ±. S) , are not indigenous to China, but were introduced from 

 America in the eighteenth century. They have been culti- 

 vated for many years in South China and only during the 

 last century has their cultivation been spread over the whole 

 - country. 



In the North we find the cultivation of peanuts in 

 Manchuria, near Mukden, Kirin, Chanchung; even at Harbin 

 the small varieties of peanuts can grow. 



The peanuts are now grown in large quantities in the 

 valley of the Yellow River, Shantung, Chili, and the Honan 

 provinces and in South China. As in other parts of the 

 world, the ground-nuts are cultivated in China in different 

 varieties and forms. Indubitably the influence of the parti- 

 cular climatical and soil conditions have produced special 

 forms. In the South, as in the North of China, we find more 

 than ten varieties of peanuts, but the Chinese divide them 

 generally into two principal kinds, the small peanuts 

 '(/J* S£ & £), and the large peanuts (W & *fc), also called the 

 foreign peanuts. 



The descriptions and the pictures given herewith show 

 the difference between 7 varieties of peanuts as found in 

 China by the author of these notes : 



1. — The small peanuts (/b & ft *.)■ See PI. I, Fig. 1. 



A variety with the inflated pods 2.3-2.7 cm. in length, and 



• 0.8-1 cm. in breadth with two nuts inside. The nuts are 



small, round or oblong, smooth 0.8-1.4 cm. in length, very 



sweet and tasty. 



The native small peanuts were introduced to China 

 much earlier than the large kinds. Such nuts are regarded 

 by the Chinese as an article of diet and are eaten roasted 

 or raw. They are to be found in large quantities on the 

 markets. 



2. — The large or foreign peanuts (W fe ft ). See figure 

 in the text. A variety with 1, 2 or 3 nuts and with inflated, 

 strong shells. The pods with two nuts usually are 3.8 cm. 

 in length and 1.5 cm. in breadth, seldom as long as 4.5 cm. ; 



