8 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. 



Chap. I. 



difficulty, from cutting off the under branches, and 

 the tree now shows itself in its natural beauty. It 

 does not seem to grow large, but in a young state, 

 with its fine green foliage reaching to the ground, it is 

 not unhandsome. 



As the main walk approaches the terrace on which 

 the house stands it turns to the right, between two 

 rows of beautiful yellow bamboos. This species of 

 bamboo is a very striking one, and well worthy of 

 some attention in England ; the stems are straight, of 

 a fine yellow colour, and beautifully striped with 

 green, as if done by the hand of a first-rate artist. I 

 sent a plant of it to the Horticultural Society in 1844. 



At the bottom of the terrace on which the house 

 stands there is a long narrow bamboo avenue, which 

 is called the " Orchid Walk." This always affords a 

 cool retreat, even at mid-day, as the rays of the sun 

 can only partially reach it, and then they are cooled 

 by the dense foliage. Here are cultivated many of 

 the Chinese orchids and other plants which require 

 shade. Amongst them I observed Phaius grandifo- 

 Uus, Cymbidium sinense and aloifolium, Aerides odo- 

 ratum, Vanda multiflora and teretifolia, Renanthera 

 coccinea, Fernandezia ensifolia, Arundina sinensis, 

 Habenaria Susannce, a species of Cypripedium, and 

 Spathoglottis Fortuni. There are also some other 

 plants, such as Chirita sinensis, the " man-neen- 

 chung " (a dwarf species of Lycopodium, highly 

 prized by the Chinese), and various other things 

 which, taken all together, render this shaded " Orchid 

 Walk " a spot of much interest. 



