House and Garden 
ware. 11 is near the city race-course, and occu¬ 
pies a small area ot ground which is surround¬ 
ed by high walls pierced so as to give, from 
without, views ot the garden framed as pic¬ 
tures. It is doubtful if anywhere in the world 
a more perfect knowledge of and skill at horti¬ 
culture is displayed than here. The thrifty and 
well proportioned growths, the decorative in¬ 
termingling of varied foliage, the fine rich back¬ 
ground of trees patriarchal in age, if not in size; 
these produce an unexcelled grace and finish 
which may well be studied by Western eyes. 
The Chinese are born with two instincts of 
gardeners,said John Henry Gray, who was for 
sixty years Archdeacon of Hong Kong: the 
instinct not to waste land and not to waste 
anything which may enrich it. They there¬ 
fore collect everything imaginable cast out 
by the butcher, the poulterer, the tanner, the 
glue-maker and even the hair-dresser. These 
fertilizers are sought chiefly by the market- 
gardeners, but the fact goes to show the econ¬ 
omy of the horticultural art in the country 
and the knowledge at the command of the 
landscape gardener as well. In and about 
Canton the persevering warmth of Southern 
China aids the gardener in the raising of 
many esculents scarcely known to Europeans. 
Yams and broccoli are produced in large quan¬ 
tities. Orchards of carambola border the Pearl 
River between Canton and Whampoa, and in 
the autumn, when the fruit ripens, the clangor 
of gongs may there be heard, beaten by boys 
hired to thus ward off voracious birds. 
Water gardening is also an art in which 
the Chinese excel. They skilfully cultivate 
the bottoms of waters, the beds of shallow 
lakes and ponds ; little brooks are made to 
produce fruits such as the mai-tai or water- 
chestnut and many exquisite flowers which 
encircle in watery beds a number of the gar¬ 
den houses near Canton. Water lily and 
lotus ponds beautify the villages of the South, 
and the Chinese sacred lily, flow r ering in July 
and August, is used to decorate the dwell¬ 
ings, and by shop-keepers to wrap their 
wares in its leaves. The Lee-ming-koon 
Garden is without water, but the use of 
water for picturesque effect can be seen in 
the Public Gardens at Whampoa. 
And all this beauty of carefully tended 
plants is within a wonderful architectural 
setting which combines beauty with utility 
and richness with simplicity and economy. 
Delightful structural effects are obtained by a 
facile and native use of brick and tiles. As a 
result of the warm climate of China, where 
clay products can be used outdoors all through 
the year, her tile makers have produced many 
decorative shapes and colors nowhere more 
suitable for use than in the garden. These 
the garden and house-builders use as perfo¬ 
rated panels in walls of brick, immediately 
striking an effective note in the harmony of 
outdoor decoration. In a sense the archi¬ 
tecture of the gardens symbolizes the free¬ 
dom of natural forms. Entrances are often 
octagonal, round, semicircular or leaf-shaped. 
They are seldom placed opposite each other, 
for the reason that evil spirits are supposed 
to be so invited to make their way through 
the garden courts and into the inner recesses 
of the buildings. Less redoubted occupants 
than these may circulate among the par¬ 
terres by walks, paved with flagstone, or 
they may sit upon slabs cut of granite or 
of that bright yellow stone peculiar to China. 
Upon all sides are pots and jars of enter¬ 
taining shapes and colors and containing 
dwarf trees and shrubs which seem to make 
reparation for their small size by their great 
number. This richness of the garden is re¬ 
flected in part on the walls of surrounding 
buildings, where, under verandahed bowers 
affording shelter during China’s almost unen¬ 
durable summer, the owner of the garden and 
his guests feast the senses in a fragrant seclu¬ 
sion, further flavored by the sipping of tea or 
stirred by the entertainment of singers and 
dancers. 
