Chap. VII. 



PACKING CANTON SEEDS. 



131 



chants, in order that the floral beauties of China 

 should not find their way into other countries, and 

 the trade in seeds be injured. 



The Chinese are certainly bad enough, but, like 

 other rogues, they are sometimes painted worse than 

 they really are. " Come, Aching," said I to the old 

 man who generally supplied these seeds, and in 

 whose good graces I stood pretty high, from having 

 made him a present of a rare and curious plant, 

 "I want to see your method of packing seeds for 

 foreigners. Take me to your seed-room and show 

 me the whole process from beginning to end." The 

 old man led me up to the middle of his garden, 

 where he had an ornamental shed or seed-room. It 

 was nicely fitted up with shelves, on which were 

 arranged a great number of small porcelain bottles, 

 such as I had often seen in London with seeds from 

 China. " Sit down," said he, " and I will explain 

 the business to you. I first gather the seeds from 

 the plants. I then put each kind, separately, into 

 one of these small bottles, and then pack the whole 

 into a little box, ready for being shipped to Europe 

 or America." " I understand that part of the 

 business," said I ; " but what is the substance which 

 you put into the bottles along with the seeds?" 

 This was a white ashy-looking matter, which we sup- 

 posed in England might be burnt bones, and some 

 conjectured that it was mixed with the seeds for the 

 purpose of manure. " Burnt lice," said Aching. 

 f Burnt what T I asked, with a smile which I could 

 not conceal. He repeated the assertion with all the 



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