24 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE ORCHARDS OF CHINA. 



cherries fail. The Rocky Mountain regions and the regions farther 

 south should be excellent for these bush cherries. 



In propagating these plants the Chinese use three methods; i. e., 

 layering, division, and budding upon the wild peach (Amygdalus 

 davidiana). The first two methods are but sparingly employed on 

 account of the great difficulties experienced in northern China in 

 transplanting small-rooted plants, either in autumn or in spring,. for 

 both seasons are very dry; the last rains fall in September and the 

 first rains often do not come until late in June. They find, therefore, 

 that the best way to multiply these bush cherries is to bud or graft 

 them upon the wild peach, which seems to be a very congenial stock 

 and upon which they make an even faster growth than when left on 

 their own roots. 



These Chinese bush cherries prefer a decomposed rocky soil, but do 

 well in almost all other soils when properly cared for. In the garden 

 of Mr. and Mrs. Lykkegaard, of the Danish Mission in Fongwhang- 

 eheng, Manchuria, they thrive even under the shade of tall elms, and 

 when seen on June 30, 1906, bore masses of fruit. The preserves 

 which Mrs. Lykkegaard gave the writer to sample were excellent. 

 It is thought that this cherry has a future before it in America. 

 (S. P. I. Nos. 16918, 17732,' 17733, 20075, 20240, 20287, 20288, 

 and 21924.) 



There is also another cherry sparingly grown in northern China, 

 a small tree or large shrub which has leaves and fruits more like our 

 ordinary cherries, but which grows very dense and seems to be far less 

 hardy than the bush cherries. It is probably the Prunus pauciflora 

 of Bunge. It is sparingly cultivated in the neighborhood of Peking, 

 but in the protected mountain valleys of the coast region of the 

 Shantung Province several orchards of it were seen. It is not at all 

 a common fruit tree. (S. P. I. No. 22361.) 



There is also a wild dwarf cherry or plum (perhaps Prunus Tiumilis) 

 growing in northern China, Manchuria, Korea, and eastern Siberia. 

 The shrubs grow from 1 to 3 feet high, occur on stony and sandy soils, 

 and bear multitudes of scarlet fruits which are generally inedible on 

 account of their sour and acrid properties. Some plants, however, 

 produce slightly sweet fruit that can be eaten raw. The writer 

 never cooked it but thinks that it would make good preserves. 

 This dwarf cherry can very well be used as an ornament in gardens 

 and rockeries. Its greatest value, however, lies in the fact that it can 

 be utilized in breeding experiments. It may also become a fruiting 

 shrub in those regions where fruit growing is now an impossibility. 

 (S. P. I. Nos. 20076, 20085 to 20088 and 20342.) 



L'04 



