[ 183 ] 



XXXIX. Account of a Method of ripening Seeds in a wet 

 Season ; with some Notices of the Cultivation of certain 

 Vegetables and Plants in China. In a Letter to the Secre- 

 tary. By John Livingstone, Esq. Corresponding Mem- 

 ber of the Horticultural Society. 



Read July 7, 1818. 



Sir, 



By the hands of my friend, Mr. Reeves, on his return to 

 China, from England, I had the honour to receive a Copy of 

 the Charter and Bye-Laws of the Horticultural Society of Lon- 

 don, together with the information contained in your letter 

 to him, that the Society had been pleased to appoint me one 

 of its Corresponding Members. 



In return lor this distinguished mark of attention, I shall 

 take much pleasure in contributing my best endeavours to 

 forward the views of the Society. About twenty five years 

 pretty close attention to the Gardens of China, having en- 

 abled me to become familiar with its Hortivtulture, I intended 

 to lay before the Society a general outline of the subject : 

 some unforeseen circumstances have come in the way of the 

 accomplishment of my plan this season, but I hope the few 

 hints which follow, if they contain little either new or im- 

 portant, may, nevertheless, serve to shew my willingness to be 

 useful. 



From April to October, rain is so frequent in China, and 

 the air is generally so moist, that it is nearly impossible to 



