Chap. XIII. CROPS AND FLOWERS. 207 
tilde, while behind the second stood the third, who 
made short work with her devotions, and laughed 
and talked to me while the others were engaged 
with their prayers. At the conclusion of the 
ceremony, which lasted only about two minutes, 
the three ladies pulled short tobacco-pipes out of 
their pockets, filled them with tobacco from their 
pouches, and begged me to give them a light from 
my cigar. I willingly complied with the request, 
and, after having a comfortable little smoke toge- 
ther, we parted the best of friends. 
It was now the end of May, and a considerable 
change had taken place in the appearance of the 
country. In the fields the barley is yellow, and 
will be ready for the sickle of the husbandman in 
a few days ; the rape-seed is ripe already, and its 
harvest has commenced. The natives are busily 
employed in sowing and planting the summer 
crops between the rows of the standing corn. 
These consist of soy and other beans, egg-plants, 
sweet potatoes, cotton, melons and cucumbers, 
turnips, hill-rice, and oily grain ( Sesamum 
orientale ) . 
The spring flowers have now all disappeared. 
The gorgeous peach and plum trees, whose falling 
petals “ strewed our path with flowers,” are now 
covered only with leaves ; azaleas, camellias, 
violets, and primroses, and even the glorious 
glycine itself, have all passed by, and will not be 
seen again until the opening of another year. But 
although the spring beauties have gone by, 
