292 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. XVII. 
On my return from this excursion I devoted most of 
my time to ttie examination of nurseries in the vicinity 
of the city. They contained some interesting plants. 
The celebrated Fingered-Citron, so common in the 
shops throughout China, seems to be cultivated in great 
perfection in this part of the country ; in fact, it appears 
to be its natural locality. The district round Foo-chow- 
foo seems to be the great Camellia garden of China, and 
in no other part of the country did I ever see these plants 
in such perfect health, or so beautifully cultivated. The 
Ixoras and Hydrangeas are also particularly well 
grown and handsome, the latter invariably producing 
flowers of the deepest blue, much deeper than I have 
ever seen them in England. They are grown in a fine 
rich loam, which contains some chemical ingredient 
which is the cause of their deep colour. 
Here, as well as further north, the farmer grows crops 
of wheat and green vegetables during the winter months. 
A great part of the low country, at least all that is 
capable of being flooded, is cultivated with rice during 
the summer and autumn. The first crop is ripe in July, 
and the second is planted between the rows of the 
former, in the same manner as in the northern provinces, 
and ripens in the autumn. Large quantities of tobacco 
are grown in the province. The farmers cultivate this 
plant with very great care, and take every means to 
have the leaves large and fine. For this purpose all the 
flowers are regularly picked ofl", and also all the small 
and useless leaves as soon as they are formed. Sugar 
and ginger are likewise grown to a greater extent in 
