Chap. XIV. SHE-PA-KY — POUCHING-HIEN. 



251 



which was on the main road between Tsong-gan-hien 

 and Pouching-hien. Here we spent the night. Up 

 to this point our road had in many places been very 

 bad, but now we were told it was an excellent one all 

 the way to Pouching-hien, which was only about a 

 day's journey farther on. She-pa-ky is situated in 

 the midst of a fine valley, which is extremely fertile. 

 Pice is the staple production, but I also observed 

 large quantities of nelumbium cultivated in the low 

 irrigated lands. The rhizoma, or underground stem, 

 of this plant is largely used by the Chinese as an 

 article of food, and at the proper season of the year 

 is exposed for sale in all the markets. It is cut into 

 small pieces and boiled, and, like the young shoots of 

 the bamboo, is served up in one of the small dishes 

 which crowd a Chinese dinner-table. An excellent 

 kind of arrowroot is also made from the same part of 

 this useful plant. Tobacco is also grown extensively 

 in this part of the country, as it is in all parts of the 

 province of Fokien. The hills around this plain were 

 in some parts prettily covered with trees, while in 

 others they seemed uncultivated and barren. 



As we approached Pouching-hien we again entered 

 a tea-country, and the shrub was observed growing 

 on many of the lower hills. Whether it be owing to 

 the poorness of the soil, or to an inferior mode of 

 manipulation, I cannot say : but Pouching teas are 

 not valued so highly in the market as those of Woo- 

 e-shan. There is no doubt that the plant is the same 

 variety in both districts. 



Our roacl, which had wound amongst hills during 



