CHINESE AND JAPANESE FRUIT. 
277 
Spinach would include nearly all of early and 
succulent growth, in almost all climates, as we 
find the poisonous or suspicious properties of 
nearly all are dissipated in the process of cook- 
ing. The following are the names of a few 
used in different countries in this way : — -The 
young shoots of the Black Bryony (Tamils 
communis.). Chickweed ( ' Stellar ia media J is 
said to afford a very good green, and can he 
easily grown to a very succulent state. A plant 
of somewhat similar habit (C/ai/tonia perfo- 
liataj, a native of North America, is also said 
to be very good, and does very well in poor 
soils, although the produce is not very great. 
The common Shepherd's Purse (Thlaspi bursa- 
pastoris) is extensively grown for the market 
of Philadelphia, where, by good culture and 
care in selecting seed, the plant has attained a 
size and succulence which it never arrives at 
here. It is said to possess a mild agreeable 
flavour. The Chinese grow the Convolvulus 
rcptans in trenches of water, which plant affords 
them abundance of leaves in the hot months. 
Many more of our wild plants might be men- 
tioned ; even the suspicious Pilewort (Ranun- 
culus Ficaria) is gathered and used extensively 
in Sweden ; as are the tender tops of the milky 
Sowthistle (Sonchus ohraceus) by many. 
CHINESE AND JAPANESE FRUIT. 
As we shall soon be receiving various ac- 
counts of the numerous fruits with which our 
people wish to become acquainted in China, 
the following summary from the Transactions 
of the Horticultural Society in 1821, will be 
interesting. It is taken from a paper by Dr. 
Lindley, on the Tropical Fruits likely to be 
worth cultivating in England, and doubtless 
comprises the greater number of those with 
which China will make us acquainted : — 
" In these latitudes the cultivated fruits, 
with the exception of Sapindacea;, consist 
almost entirely of the same natural orders as 
those of Europe, or at least approximate con- 
siderably to them. The place, of the Myr- 
taceaj, Guttiferse, and Terebintacese of countries 
near the Equator is chiefly occupied by Po- 
macere and Prunaeea? ; the latter, however, 
differ universally in their kinds from what are 
known in this quarter of the world, and not 
[infrequently surpass them in quality, if we 
may credit the best authorities on the subject. 
" Of Pears, there arc several kinds ; but, 
besides those of a common appearance, Marco 
Polo asserts, that there are at all seasons in 
the markets in Kin-sai, Pears of an enormous 
size, weighing ten pounds a piece, which are 
white in the inside, melting, and with a 
fragrant smell. Vambraam, also, speaks of 
Pears of a large size, which were commonly 
sold by the road-side in the north of China. 
He describes them to have measured fifteen 
inches and a-half in circumference the long 
way, and fourteen inches the round way ; their 
colour of a fine golden yellow, their flesh 
melting, and their taste very agreeable. He 
considered it to be the only kind cultivated 
irt the northern provinces. 
" Of Peach-trees there are three principal 
kinds : the Dwarf Peaches, the Peach Bushes, 
and the Tree Peaches ; of each of which there 
is a vast variety of sorts. The two first are 
principally esteemed for their flowers, and as 
objects of ornament. The tree Peaches are 
what the Chinese cultivate for the sake of their 
fruit ; and some of them grow to the height of 
forty or fifty feet ; but these seem to be of 
a particular kind, and their fruit is of middling 
quality. In favourable seasons, the markets 
of Pekin abound in the greatest variety of 
Peaches ; some of which arrive at a prodigious 
size, being much larger than they ever are in 
France. The Chinese gardeners speak of 
fruit weighing two pounds, and Marco Polo 
asserts that he has seen them of that size in 
the district of Cang-chew. The largest, 
however, which the French Missionaries at 
Pekin ever saw, were about three inches and 
a half long, and three inches broad. These 
large varieties are very beautiful, but their 
taste is in general inferior to their appearance. 
Those, however, of Siang-chou (a villa of the 
emperor's) equal the most melting and delicious 
of Europe, more especially one sort, which is 
late and of indifferent appearance, but of an ex- 
quisite flavour. The varieties are classed accord- 
ing to the form, colour, size, and time of ripening 
of their fruit. Some have a green flesh, others 
white, pale yellow, orange, and marbled ; their 
form is flat, round, oval, or produced on one 
side into a beak, which again is either straight 
or curved. The gardeners possess the secret 
of preserving fruit gathered in October until 
January, and with all the beauty, freshness, 
and flavour which it possessed when first taken 
from the tree. Although well acquainted with 
the European method, they prefer budding 
their fine kinds upon stocks raised from the 
seed of the best varieties. 
" Of Grapes the Emperor Kang-hi mentions 
three kinds which he caused to be introduced 
from Hami and the neighbouring districts. 
Of one sort the berries are red, or greenish, 
and long like the teats of a mare ; of another, 
tlic flavour and smell are very agreeable, but 
the. berries not large ; those of the third 
variety, which are the most delicate, the 
sweetest, and the most highly perfumed, are 
not larger than peas. 
" Of the Pomegranate, Rtunphius says two 
sorts are known, one with exceedingly sweet 
fruit, and the other with a vinous taste, and 
small granules with large seeds. 
