

VARIOUS EDIBLE SEEDS. 55 



WATER CHESTNUTS. 



[Chinese name, "Feng ling."] 



Peculiar water chestnuts (Trapa bicornis), resembling a buffalo 

 head, are extensively grown in all the canals and placid streams of 

 the Chehkiang Province. The Chinese plant them in early spring 

 and protect the plants by means of fences of bamboo stalks staked in 

 the water. The nuts are eaten boiled and taste somewhat like a 

 Jerusalem artichoke. 



The labor involved in collecting the seeds and protecting the 

 plants makes this crop one that is not likely to succeed in any country 

 except where labor is exceedingly cheap and plentiful. 



VARIOUS EDIBLE SEEDS. 

 PEANUTS. 



Peanuts (Arachis Jiijpogaea) are cultivated extensively all over 

 China. They are grown for oil extraction and for food. 



The nuts are planted in the spring in sandy soil and are harvested 

 in the fall; but they are considered so valuable that the soil in which 

 they grow is sifted so as to get even the smallest nuts. A field of 10 

 or 20 acres that has been thus sifted, with the heaps of soil lying on 

 it in regular lines, looks as if manure had been carted on in compact 

 heaps. 



There are but few varieties of peanuts in China. The ordinary 

 large kind is the same as seen elsewhere and is called by the Chinese 

 the " foreign peanut." Its introduction seems to be quite recent. 

 It is used almost exclusively as a delicacy, roasted as in western 

 countries. 



There is a small variety, however, with a peculiar shrunken skin, 

 that is used in an entirely different way. These nuts are steamed 

 with salt water and kept in weak brine until used. They are every- 

 where eaten cold as appetizers, and although small are really very 

 palatable and nutritious. Sometimes the kernels are taken out, 

 salted, and served at dinners, but on account of their small size they 

 are being replaced by the larger variety. (S. P. I. No. 22022.) 



WATERMELON SEEDS. 



Watermelon seeds are in great favor with the Chinese as delicacies, 

 and no one can go to the theater or to a tea house without being 

 offered some. They are always served roasted. 



204 



