cultivating in England. By Mr. John Lindley. 123 



Of Grapes the Emperor Kang-hi mentions three kinds 

 which he caused to be introduced from Hami and the neigh- 

 bouring districts. Of one sort the berries are red, or greenish, 

 and long like the teats of a mare ; of another, the flavour and 

 smell are very agreeable, but the berries not large ; those of 

 the third variety, which are the most delicate, the sweetest, 

 and the most highly perfumed, are not larger than peas.* 



Of the Pomegranate, Rumphius says two sorts are known, 

 one with exceedingly sweet fruit and the other with a vinous 

 taste, and small granules with large seeds. + 



The Jujube tree (Ziziphus Jujuba) is universally cultivated 

 for the sake of its fruit, which is brought to a very high degree 

 of excellence both in appearance and flavour. There is no fruit- 

 tree, perhaps, which requires less care than this, and none 

 certainly on which the Chinese have bestowed so much pains 

 in the improvement of it ; it always bears abundantly, and is 

 sufficiently esteemed to form a part of the dessert at the best 

 tables. Among more than sixty kinds which they enume- 

 rate there are early, late, long, round, large, small, white, 

 yellow, red, violet, pink, murrey-coloured, perfumed, honey- 

 scented, sweet and acid sorts, and finally, some with kernels 

 and some without them .% The tree is common enough in 

 this country, and probably would bear fruit in a common 

 green-house, with a very moderate degree of artificial heat. 



The Kaki (Diospyros Kaki), is another fruit which has 

 never been perfected in England, although the tree has been 

 here for many years, and although there is no doubt that it 

 would well repay the trouble of cultivation. The fruit is the 



* Memoires sur les Chinois, Vol. iv. page 472. f Rumphius, Vol. u. page 95. 

 X Memoires sur les Chinois, Vol. iii. page 482. 



