360 



TEA DISTKICTS OF CHINA. Chap. XXI. 



During my stay here I saw two remarkable plants 

 in full bloom. The one was Amherstia nobilis, and 

 the other Jonesia Asoca. The former was considered 

 rather difficult to manage, but it is now succeeding 

 admirably under the treatment of Mr. Scott, the head 

 gardener. Its long racemes of scarlet flowers were 

 certainly most graceful and pretty. The Jonesia, 

 however, in my opinion is the more beautiful of the 

 two. I had frequently seen it in our stoves at home, 

 but I had no idea of its beauty until I saw it in the 

 Calcutta garden. It was now literally loaded with 

 its fine orange blossoms, which contrasted so well 

 with the dark-green leaves. Were the shrub better 

 known at home, I am sure we should see finer 

 specimens produced at our metropolitan flower- 

 shows. 



The collections under my care being ready, I re- 

 ceived orders from the Indian Government to pro- 

 ceed onwards on the 25th of March in one of the 

 small river steamers as far as Allahabad. The 

 Hooghly was shallow at this time of the year, it 

 being the dry season in India. We were, therefore, 

 obliged to go down the river to its mouth, and across 

 amongst the Sunderbunds. This vast country stretches 

 from the river Hooghly on the western side of the 

 bay of Bengal, to Chittagong on the east, and is 

 upwards of two hundred miles across. It is cut up 

 into hundreds of islands, some having the appearance 

 of being surrounded by arms of the sea, while others 

 are formed by rivers which intersect the land in all 

 directions. These are the many mouths of the 



