96 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. VI. 
make cheap purchases. These purchases must all be 
made before new year's day, as then the shops are 
closed, and little or no business is transacted for a week; 
after which trade begins again as before. At this festive 
season flowers are as much sought after here for the 
purposes of decoration as they are at home at Christmas 
time. On visiting some of the flower-shops in Shanghae, 
in the middle of January, I was surprised to find a gTeat 
many flowers which had been forced into bloom and 
were now exposed for sale. I was not previously aware 
that the practice of forcing flowers was common in China. 
Many plants of Magnolia piuyurea were in full flower ; 
as were also many kinds of double-blossomed peaches, 
the pretty little Prunus sinensis alba, and a variety 
of camellias. But what struck me as most remarkable 
was the facility mth which the Moutan pgeony had 
been brought into full bloom. Several varieties of this 
plant were in full flower ; and at this season of the year, 
when everything out of doors was cold and dreary, they 
had a most lively effect. Their blooms were tied up, to 
keep them from expanding too rapidly. All these things 
had been brought from the celebrated city of Soo-chow- 
foo, the great emporium of Chinese fashion and luxury, 
p At this season of the year the " Kum-quat'' {Citrus 
^p/\/^^^ J japonica), which is extensively grown in pots, is literally 
covered with its small, oval, orange-coloured fruit. This as 
r^J^ well as various other species of the orange is mixed with 
the forced flowers, and together they produce an excellent 
effect. I think if the " Kum-quat" was better known at 
home it would be highly prized for decorative purposes 
during the winter months. It is much more hardy than 
