306 RIPENING OF THE WINTER CROPS. [Crae. XVI. 
southern provinces, more particularly in Fokien; 
while the sweet potatoes are better a little farther 
north, where they form the chief hill crop. 
The winter crops in the neighbourhood of Macao 
and Canton consist of large quantities of our Kuro- 
pean vegetables, such as potatoes, peas, onions, 
and cabbages, which are grown for the supply of 
the Europeans who reside at Hong-kong or Canton: 
our potatoes are generally planted here in October, 
which is considered the best time to insure a good 
crop; but as they always sell well in the markets, the 
growers manage to keep up a succession during the 
greater part of the year. Several varieties of the 
_ cabbage tribe, which seem indigenous to China, are 
grown extensively in the fields at this season both in 
the south and north. These never produce a solid 
heart like our cabbages, and are of no value when 
imported to England; but the celebrated “‘ Pak-tsae,” 
or white cabbage of Shantung and Peking, is a very 
different plant; it is never grown in the south of 
China, but is produced in the summer months in 
the north. Large quantities of this delicious 
vegetable are brought south every autumn, in the 
junks which sail at the commencement of the 
north-east monsoon in October, 
In the northern provinces the principal winter 
productions are wheat, barley, peas, beans, the 
cabbage oil plant, and various other vegetables of 
lesser note. These crops are grown on the hills 
as well as on the low lands, and on the ground 
which produces sweet potatoes in summer. In the 
