Chap. XI. 
NEW PLANTS FOUND. 
195 
high and in excellent repair, having considerable resem- 
blance to those of Ning-po, but in much better order. 
The east wall, along the side of which I went all the 
way, is not more than a mile in length, but the north 
and south are much longer, thus making the city a 
parallelogram. That part of the city near the east gate, 
by which I entered, is anything but splendid ; the streets 
are narrow and dirty, and the population seems of the 
lowest order ; but towards the west the buildings and 
streets are much finer, the shops are large, and every- 
thing denotes this to be the rich and aristocratic part of 
the town. The city gates seem to be well guarded 
with Chinese soldiers, and all the streets and lanes inside 
are intersected at intervals with gates, which are closed 
at nine or ten o'clock at night. The Governor-General 
of the province resides here, and keeps those under his 
control in excellent order. 
The number of nursery gardens in this city had been 
exaggerated by my Chinese friends at Shanghae, but 
nevertheless there were several of considerable extent, 
out of which I was able to procure some new and valu- 
able plants. Among these I may notice in passing a 
white Glycine, a fine new double yellow rose, and a 
Gardenia with large white blossoms, like a Camellia. 
These plants are now in England, and will soon be met 
with in every garden in the country. The Soo-chow 
nurseries abounded in dwarf trees, many of which were i 
very curious and old, two properties to which the/ 
Chinese attach far greater importance than we do ini 
England. 
The ladies here are considered by the Chinese to be 
k2 
