Chap. XIV. 
SUMMER CROPS. 
235 
afterwards by evaporation ; but this part of the process 
did not come under my observation. 
The summer productions of the hilly country are, of 
course, different from those of the plains. From the 
province of Fokien northward, to the great valley of the 
Yang-tse-kiang, the hills are amongst the most fertile in 
China. They are frequently terraced in the manner I 
have described, and their staple productions, if we except 
the rice which is grown on the lower terraces, are sweet • 
potatoes and earth-nuts {Arachis hypogcea). In the 
southern provinces, when the winters are mild, the roots 
of the sweet potato frequently remain in the ground all 
the winter. In the north the cold is too severe, and 
consequently the natives are obliged to dig up and 
protect the roots. In April those roots which have been 
saved for *'seed" are planted thickly in beds near 
the houses or in the corners of the fields. They begin to 
push out their young shoots immediately, and these are 
ready to be taken off by the beginning of May. In the 
mean time the ground on the hill-sides has been prepared, 
and horizontal ridges or drills formed about two feet 
apart. About the 10th or 12th of May these cuttings 
are taken off and planted, and seem to grow as readily 
as couch-grass. It is astonishing how well they succeed, 
considering the little care expended upon them ; but we 
must keep in mind that this is the commencement of 
the rainy season at the change of the monsoon, that 
the sky is generally cloudy, that scarcely a day passes 
without frequent showers, and that consequently the air 
is saturated with moisture. The earth-nuts are grown 
most extensively in the southern provinces, more par- 
