( 45 ) 
iva), but resemble more the Pill corn, (Avena 
nuda,) the glumes being much shorter than 
those of Avena sativa and the grain separat- 
ing very easily from it. The Chinese oats 
was described by Fischer as Avena chinensis. 
I stated above, that at Peking now a days 
the character Shu is applied to a kind 
of Panicum, allied to Panicum miliaceum. 
The corn has glutinous properties and is 
called Huang-mi (Yellow corn.) 
This character Shu has been for a long time 
erroneously used in this connection and this 
erroneous application of it took place before 
the 6th century. The Pen-ts‘ao ( XXIII 4 ) 
quotes a writer of the 6th century, who 
states, that the Shu is cultivated to the North 
of the Yang-tse-kiang. The plant resembles 
the H§£ lu (Reed) the corn is greater than 
millet. The author adds, that this character 
Shu is erroneously applied to another kind 
of corn 
(This character Is likewise pro- 
nounced Shu.) This latter cereal is separate- 
ly described in the Pen-ts‘ao ( XXIII 13 . ) 
The grain called Huang-mi is said to possess 
much glutinous matter. It is used for manu- 
facturing alcoholic drinks. This corn was 
known to the Chinese in the most ancient 
times. It seems to me, that the meaning of 
the character Shu in ancient times was 
not glutinous Millet (as Dr. Legge states, 
c. f. his translation of the Shu-king,) but 
rather Sorgho, as Dr. Williams translates 
(Bridgman’s Clirestom. p. 449). 
Regarding the'Jquestion ventilated above 
about the native country of the Ground-nut , 
Arachis hypogaea, which Decan dolle believes 
to come from America, I would quote a 
statement of Piso '(Hist, natur. Indiae Occi- 
dent. 1658 p. 256): “Fructus subterraneus 
ex oris Africae olim translates, tandem 
Americae nativus quasi factus, Mandohi 
vocatur.” The further description of this 
plant and the drawing; given of it by Piso 
without doubt refer to Arachis hypogaea. 
It will not be without interest, I think, if 
I notice here shortly, as an addition to my 
former statements about Tea, the time, when 
Europeans first became acquainted with this 
renowned plant. It is well-known, that the 
use of the Tea was first introduced into 
Europe by the Dutch East India Company 
in the first half of the 17th century. But 
it wasydescribed much earlier by European 
savants. Bontius (Hist, natur. and med. 
Indiae orient. 1631 p. 87,) gives a very good 
drawing of the Tea shrub : “De Herba seu 
Frutiee quam Chinenses The dicunt, unde 
potum suum ejusdem nominis conficiunt. B. 
states, that no European has seen the Chi- 
nese Tea plant and that he was indebted for 
all information about it to the General Spex, 
who resided several years in Japan and saw 
it there growing. Tea is first made mention 
of in the work of Petrus Mafieus (Histori- 
arum Indicarum select, libri XVI, 1589, in 
the 6th and 12tli Chap.) I have not seen it, 
but it is quoted by Bontius. 
I have stated above, that the character 
Sing, meaning Apricot does not occur in 
the text of the five Cardinal Classics. But 
Biot in translating the Chou-li states (1. c. I 
p. 108) : “Les paniers de l’offrande des ali- 
ments sont remplis avec des Jujubes, des 
Chataignes des Peches,des Abricots secs &c.” 
Biot translates the character Lao by 
I -*j>> 
dried apricots. This is not correct. In the 
ancient Dictionary Shuo-wen it is explained 
by Kan-mei, dried plums. Cf. also 
Kanghi’s Dictionary. 
lehre p. 47) by “ blaulich grau, olivenfarbig,” 
Wassilyeff (Chinese Russian Dictionary) by 
“dark, or black.” All these sinologues are 
right, for the character Thing does not relate 
to a fixed colour. Its meaning depends upon 
the thing to which it relates; referring _ to a 
horse its meaning is grey, referring to silk it 
is black, but if it refers to a leaf it must al- 
ways be translated by dark green. 
Having treated in the foregoing notes of 
the most important cultivated plants of the 
Chinese and of their origin, it will not appear 
superfluous if I dedicate also a few words to 
the Sugar-cane , which is extensively cultivat- 
ed in Southern China, — all the more as the 
statements of our Savants about the Chinese 
Sugar-cane do not always agree. 
Rondot (Commerce d'Exportation de la 
Chine 1848, p. 202) states: “La Chine, si 
nous en croyons les, documens historiques 
des anciens temps, et^en juger par les pein- 
tures des plus anciennes porcelaines (!), sem- 
bie etre la premiere contree qui se soit occu- 
pee de la culture de la canne et de 1’extrac- 
tion du sucre.” — The same is repeated in 
Dr. Williams’ Commercial Guide, p. 189. 
Father Cibot states (Gi’osier 1. c. Ill, 206): 
“ La canne a sucre ne fut introduce a la 
Chine que vers la fin du troisieme siecle 
depuis notre ere.” 
Mr. Stan. Julien notices (Industries de 
I’Emp. Chinois, p. 204): “La canne a sucre 
a ete introduite en Chine a une epoque tres 
reculee mais les Chinois, pendant des longues 
annees, ne surent pa,s extraire le sue crista!- 
