Chap. V. 
SHOPS. 
67 
cutting it, and exposing it for sale, carved into all those 
curious and fantastic forms for which this people are so 
well known. The process of cotton-printing in its most 
simple and original form may be seen in most of the 
streets here, as well as in other towns in China. Rope- 
making is carried on extensively in the suburbs near the 
river, and some strong cables and ropes for junks are 
made from the bracts of the palm, formerly noticed, and 
from the bark of the urticaceous plant, commonly called , 
hemp by the English, in the north of China. There are, ' 
of course, the usual quantity of curiosity shops, contain- 
ing bamboo ornaments carved into all possible forms ; 
specimens of ancient porcelain, which are said to " pre- , 
serve flowers and fruit from decay for an unusual time 1 
lacquered ware, and other ornaments brought by the 
junks from Japan ; many beautifully carved rhinoceros- 
horns, bronzes, and other articles to which the Chinese 
attach great importance, purchasing them at exorbitant 
rates, apparently far beyond their value. But what struck 
me as being most unique was a peculiar kind of furni- 
ture, made and sold in a street generally called " Fur- 
niture Street by foreigners who visit Ning-po. There 
were beds, chairs, tables, washing-stands, cabinets, and 
presses, all peculiarly Chinese in their form, and beauti- 
fully inlaid with different kinds of wood and ivory, repre- 
senting the people and customs of the country, and 
presenting, in fact, a series of pictures of China and the 
Chinese. Every one who saw these things admired them, 
and, what was rather strange, they seem peculiar to 
Ning-po, and were not met with at any other of the five 
ports, not even in Shanghae. A.s all this beautiful work 
