32 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE ORCHARDS OF CHINA. 



and having a trunk a couple of feet in diameter. The productivity 

 of these wild crabs is something marvelous. The little apples, about 

 the size of small green peas, are eagerly collected by the Russians 

 and the Chinese and are either eaten fresh, dried, or made into 

 preserves. 



From what the writer has seen of the hardships this wild crab 

 apple is able to stand in its native haunts, it would seem that there 

 are few places in the northern portions of the United States where it 

 would not succeed. Even if it is not suitable as a fruit tree it is a 

 fine ornamental plant, both when in bloom and when loaded with 

 its thousands of little scarlet fruits. (S. P. I. Nos. 20137, 20237, 

 20238, 20339 to 20341, 21065, 21878, and 21922.) 



QUINCES. 



The quince (Oydonia sp.) most often seen for sale on fruit stands 

 in China is the true Chinese quince, Cydonia sinensis, or in the native 

 vernacular, "Mu kua." The trees are by no means common through- 

 out northern China. One has to travel to central Shantung before 

 finding them growing even sparingly in gardens, and it is only farther 

 south that they are cultivated on a large scale for shipment. The 

 fruit grows to an exceedingly large size, being sometimes even a foot 

 long and weighing 10 pounds apiece. It is never eaten by the people 

 of northern China, but is used by them exclusively for perfuming 

 their rooms. The well-to-do classes have in the winter time a large 

 bowl filled with the fruit and placed upon a table in a cool room, so 

 that it perfumes the whole atmosphere with a delightful spicy 

 aroma. Foreign residents, however, have found that these quinces 

 make excellent sweetmeats, and they preserve them in various ways. 

 The writer has tasted jellies and jams made from them that were 

 unexcelled for fine, aromatic flavor. (S. P. I. No. 17954, under 

 Cydonia japonica.) 



There is also a variety of the Japan quince (Cydonia japonica, 

 S. P. I. No. 22581) cultivated sparingly in the mountains near Peking. 

 The fruit is small, of a greenish color, covered with a brown bloom, 

 and very fragrant. It is called "Pei mu kua," and is also used for 

 perfuming rooms, but mostly by the poorer classes, it being very much 

 cheaper than the Chinese quince. 



Another variety of the Japan quince is called "Mu li." Its fruit is 

 larger than that of the preceding one, has a very spicy odor, and is 

 used for the same purpose as the first two. (S. P. I. Nos. 18601 and 

 22629.) 



In the Shantung Province there were also observed in a few temple 

 yards cydonias that grow to be tall trees, from 30 to 40 feet in height, 

 with a very smooth bark that comes off in strips. The leaves 



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