136 CHRYSANTHEMUMS. [Cuar. VIII. 
the Moutans arrived, and proved most valuable 
kinds, which, in England, would have brought a 
very high sum. Amongst them there were lilacs 
and purples ; some nearly black ; and one which the 
Chinese called “the yellow,” which, however, was only 
white with a slight tinge of yellow near the centre of 
the petals. Altogether the collection was a valuable 
one, and I was highly satisfied with my bargain. 
Great was my surprise when I afterwards found 
that these plants were brought a distance not more 
than six miles from the walls of Shanghae, and that 
the celebrated town of Soo-chow was, in fact, sup- 
plied with ‘‘ Moutans” from the very same place. 
It was the winter season when I paid my first 
visit to Shanghae, and of course few plants were then 
in bloom except the Chrysanthemum, the varieties 
of which are as numerous here as in the south of 
China; and as the Chinese gardeners understand 
their cultivation well, they were, at this particular 
season, objects of great interest. My collections 
were chiefly deciduous plants, which it was impossible 
to determine or describe at the time, being chosen 
partly on account of the families they belonged to, 
and partly from the characters given them by the 
Chinese. Every one acquainted with practical 
Botany can form a very fair idea of the value of 
plants even in this condition, and I was not dis- 
appointed in the expectations I had formed regard- 
ing this collection, many of the specimens after- 
wards proving plants of great beauty and value. 
Whilst at Shanghae, J, with some other Euro- 
