320 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. Chap. XIX. 



day or two the buds burst, and the little tree is one 

 mass of bloom. In this state all che three varieties 

 are very beautiful, but I think the carnation-striped 

 one is the handsomest of them all. 



In the centre of the South Garden there is the 

 family tomb — a large mound of earth covered with 

 many pretty flowers. Here the old man's forefathers 

 for many generations lie buried, and here he will 

 sleep among the flowers he loved in his lifetime. 

 This garden contains a good assortment of shrubs and 

 trees which have been longer known than those I 

 have enumerated. There are some beds of Reeves' 

 Spiraea (S. Reevesiana), a beautiful shrub ; the Chi- 

 nese juniper, Hibiscus syriacus, Wistaria sinensis, 

 Lagerstroemias, plums, and the favourite la-mae (Chi- 

 monanthus), with which Chinese ladies decorate their 

 hair. 



I had now made the circuit of the garden, and 

 came to the little wooden bridge by which I entered, 

 and to the gardener's house. Having rested there, I 

 walked on to the Moutan Gardens. They are 

 situated about five or six miles west of Shanghae, 

 and in the midst of an extensive cotton country. On 

 the road I met a number of coolies, each carrying 

 two baskets filled with moutans (tree-pseonies) in full 

 flower, which were being taken to the. markets for 

 sale. When I reached the gardens I found many of 

 the plants in full bloom, and certainly extremely 

 handsome. The purple and lilac-coloured kinds were 

 particularly striking. One, a very dwarf kind, and 

 apparently a distinct species, had finely cut leaves, 



