358 PING-HOO. [Cuar. XIX. 
nounced that he was ready to proceed to Shanghae. 
When I rose to take my leave, I found that all the 
servants and retainers had been ordered out for the 
purpose of keeping off the crowd and seeing me 
safely into the boat. The two mandarins accom- 
panied me, and we marched off to the canal in 
grand style. The crowd which had assembled was 
immense, but they were all perfectly quiet and 
civil. When we reached the landing-place, I thanked 
my two friends for their kindness, and bade them 
adieu: then stepping into the boat she was pushed 
out into the stream, and we soon left the crowd 
and the Tartar city far behind us. 
The country through which we passed was per- 
fectly level, highly cultivated, and more richly 
wooded than any of the lowlands which I had 
visited before. It was getting dark when we 
reached a town of considerable size, named Ping- 
hoo, which is distant only a few miles from Chapoo, 
and I determined to remain there for the night. 
When the morning dawned I roused the Chinamen, 
and we proceeded on our journey. We now passed 
through an extensive silk district, where the mul- 
berry-tree was the principal object of cultivation. 
The natives at this time (May 18th) were busily 
employed in gathering the leaves and feeding the 
silkworms with them. 
The mulberry-trees are all grafted, and produce 
very fine thick leaves. I obtained a plant, which is 
now alive in England, in order to determine the 
particular variety, and whether it is different from 
