40 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE ORCHARDS OF CHINA. 



DRAGON 's-CLAW JUJUBE. 



With so many varieties of jujubes in cultivation it is not surprising 

 that one kind has been produced that has an ornamental value. 

 This is the quaint "dragon's-claw" jujube (Zizyplius saliva tortuosa) 

 or, in Chinese, the "Lung tsao tsao shu." This variety has peculiar 

 gnarled and twisted branches and is very rare. The rich Chinese 

 prize them highly as horticultural curiosities. The trees are propa- 

 gated by being grafted on the wild jubube. (S. P. I. No. 22914.) 



THE WILD JUJUBE. 



Finally we come to the original wild jujube (Zizyplius sativa spinosa) 

 from which the cultivated varieties have been derived. This species 

 grows wild on most of the walls of the northern China cities, and is 

 also to be found in the most out of the way, stony, and sterile loca- 

 tions. It has ugly hooked spines, which easily tear one's clothes 

 and break off in one's flesh. The fruit is small and round, of a 

 brown-red color, and has a pleasant sour taste. It is collected by 

 old women and children, and an inferior paste and preserve are made 

 from it. The very spiny branches are used as fencing material and 

 keep intruders away by their forbidding appearance. In general, 

 this wild jujube grows only as a bush; but when left alone in favor- 

 able locations it reaches the size of a tree from 20 to 30 feet high, with 

 a trunk more than a foot in diameter. It becomes less spiny when 

 large; but it is still far from easy to climb one of these trees without 

 the loss of some blood. (S. P. I. Nos. 17892 and 21995.) 



GRAPES. 



[Chinese name, "Pootao."] 



CULTIVATED VARIETIES. 



The grape is as much esteemed by the Chinese as by western 

 nations. Vitis vinifera is not a native of China, but was introduced 

 there from central Asia by the Emperor Wu ti, who in the first cen- 

 tury before our era sent ten envoys to various countries west of 

 China, who brought back grapes and alfalfa. a 



How many varieties of grapes were originally introduced it would 

 be hard to ascertain, but there must have been several, for at present 

 a good many varieties are being grown in northern China. 



There is a very fine white variety cultivated near Changli, having 

 round berries and possessing a good flavor. It ripens in the latter 

 part of September (S. P. I. No. 17155). Another white kind occurs 

 near Hsuenhuafu. This variety is the highest priced of all the Chinese 



a Sampson, Theo. Grapes in China. Notes and Queries on China and Japan, 

 April, 1869, p. 50. 

 204 



