DOMESTIC FLORA OF CHINA, NO. 3. -MEETING OF N. Y. FARMERS’ CLUB AT GREENPORT. 269 
THE DOMESTIC FLORA OF CHINA.—No. 3. 
On the sides of the Canton River, both below and 
above the city, large quantities of the water 
lily, or lotus, are grown, which are enclosed by 
embankments in the same manner as the rice- 
fields. This plant is cultivated both as an orna¬ 
ment, and for the root, which is brought in large 
quantities to the markets, and of which the Chinese 
are remarkably fond. In the summer and autumn 
months, when in flower, the lotus fields have a gay 
and striking appearance, but at other seasons the 
decayed leaves and flowers, and the stagnant and 
dirty water, are not at all ornamental to the houses 
which they surround. 
In the course of the spring, the Gardens of Fa- 
tee are gay with the tree peony, azaleas, camellias, 
roses, and various other plants. The azaleas are 
splendid, and reminded me of the exhibitions in the 
ardens of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick, 
ut the Fa-tee exhibitions were on a much larger 
scale. Every garden was one mass of bloom, and 
the different colors of red, white, and purple blend¬ 
ed together, had a most beautiful and imposing 
effect. The principal kinds grown were Azalea 
indica , indica alba, phamicea, lateritia, variegata, 
and the yellow Azalea sinensis. I may mention in 
passing, that I found the latter plant wild on the 
Ning-po hills, so that there is no doubt of its being 
a genuine Chinese species. The air at this season 
around Fa-tee is perfumed with the sweet flowers 
of Olea fragrans, and the Magnolia fuscata, both of 
which are grown extensively in these gardens. 
Dwarf trees, as may be supposed, occupy a princi¬ 
pal station ; they are trained into the most gro¬ 
tesque and curious forms. The plants which stand 
next to dwarf trees in importance with the Chinese 
are certainly chrysanthemums, which they manage 
extremely well, perhaps better than they do any 
other plant. So high do these plants stand in the 
favor of the Chinese gardener, that he will cultivate 
them extensively, even against the wishes of his 
employer; and, in many instances, ratherleave his 
situation than give up the growth of his favorite 
flower. I w T as told that the late Mr. Beale used to 
say that he grew chrysanthemums in his garden for 
no other purpose than to please his gardener, not 
having any taste for this particular flower himself. 
Tree peonies are not natives of the south of 
China, but are brought down in large quantities 
every year, about the month of January, from the 
northern provinces. They flower soon after they 
arrive, and are rapidly bought up by the Chinese 
to ornament their houses, after which they are 
thrown away, as they do not thrive well so far 
south as Canton or Macao, and will not flower a 
second season. They are sold according to the 
number of flower-buds they may have upon them, 
many of them fetching rather high prices. 
I purchased a collection of Tree-Pceonias during 
my first visit to Shanghae in the winter of 1843, 
which were said to be very splendid things, and 
entirely different in color from any plants of the 
kind which were known in England. I had of 
course, at that time, no opportunity of seeing their 
flowers, and was now, therefore, particularly anx¬ 
ious to get some which were in bloom, and had in¬ 
tended to send my old friend back again to Soo- 
chow for another collection, stipulating, however, 
that the plants should this time have blooms upon 
them. One morning, as I was going out into the 
country, a short distance from Shanghae, I was sur¬ 
prised at meeting a garden laborer with a load of 
Moutans all in full flower, which he was taking to¬ 
wards the city for sale. The flowers were very 
large and fine, and the colors were dark-pur pies, 
lilacs, and deep-reds, kinds of which the very exist¬ 
ence had been always doubted in England, and 
which are never seen even at Canton. Two Eng¬ 
lish gentlemen who were excellent Chinese scho¬ 
lars, being with me at the time, we soon found out 
the name of the Moutan district; and from the 
state of the roots in the man’s basket, I was quite 
certain that the plants had not been more than an 
hour or two out of the ground, and that conse¬ 
quently the place where they were grown could 
not be more than six or eight miles from Shanghae, 
a surmise which I afterwards found to be perfectly 
correct. 
MEETING OF THE NEW YORK FARMERS’ 
CLUB AT GREENPORT. 
An adjourned meeting of this Club was held in 
the Presbyterian Church, at Greenport, on the even¬ 
ing of the 4th of August, having convened there 
with a large number of guests, on the invitation of 
the Long Island Railroad Company, for the object 
of instituting inquiries as to the cause of the pre¬ 
sent condition of the uncultivated lands in the vi¬ 
cinity of said road, and to determine as far as 
practicable, whether they are susceptible of being 
turned to profitable account for agricultural pur¬ 
poses. 
Philip Schuyler, Esq., President of the Board of 
Agriculture, being called to the chair, briefly stated 
the object of the meeting, and requested some 
remarks from the Secretary of the Club. 
Mr. Meigs rose and said, that he had always 
taken a great interest in Long Island, which had its 
origin in his acquaintance with Dr. Mitchell, who 
had truly its welfare at heart. He spoke of the 
character of the island and its favorable loca¬ 
tion for the purposes of farming and gardening, and 
read numerous extracts from the Geological Survey 
of the State, showing that its formation is such as 
to remove every doubt as to the susceptibility of 
the lands in question being carried to a high state of 
cultivation. He advocated deep plowing, the appli¬ 
cation of special manures, a judicious system of ro¬ 
tation of crops, and condemned the ruinous practice 
of robbing the soil of all its products, without re¬ 
storing in return even a straw. 
Dr. Peck, of Jamaica, offered an opinion, that the 
only possible reason why such immense tracts re¬ 
main uncultivated was an hereditary prejudice which 
had long existed against them, but which had been 
controverted, by every reasonable experiment. Good 
crops of potatoes, buckwheat, and rye, he said, 
have been raised on these lands, by the ordinary 
modes of cultivation, and in some instances vegeta¬ 
bles have been raised, which took the premium at 
the agricultural shows. He expressed a belief that 
the soil was naturally good, and can be rendered 
fruitful at aver}? - small expense. He then referred 
to an early history in his possession, in which no 
mention is made of any portion of Long Island 
being barren. In that work, Hempstead Plains, 
