On my return from this excursion, I devoted most of my time to the examination of nurseries in the vicinity of the city. They contained some interesting plants. The celebrated Fingered-Citron, so common in the shops throughout China, seems to be cultivated in great perfection in this part of the country; in fact, it appears to be its natural locality. The district round Foo-chow-foo seems to be the great Camellia garden of China, and in no other part of the country did I ever see these plants in such perfect health, or so beautifully cultivated. The Ixoras and Hydrangeas are also particularly well grown and handsome, the latter invariably producing flowers of the deepest blue, much deeper than I have ever seen them in England. They are grown in a fine rich loam, which contains some chemical ingredient, and which is the cause of their deep colour.
Here, as well as further north, the farmer grows crops of wheat and green vegetables during the winter months. A great part of the low country, at least all that is capable of being flooded, is cultivated with rice during the summer and autumn. The first crop is ripe in July, and the second is planted between the rows of the former, in the same manner as in the northern provinces, and ripens in the autumn. Large quantities of tobacco are grown in the province. The farmers cultivate this plant with very great care, and take every means to have the leaves large and fine. For this purpose all the flowers are regularly picked off, and also all the small and useless leaves as soon as they are formed. Sugar and ginger are likewise grown to a greater extent in this part of China than in any other with which I am acquainted; and crops of sweet potatoes and earth-nuts abound on the sides of the hills.
Amongst fruits, the plums are good, but inferior to what we have in England; the peaches are curiously formed, but worthless. What may be more properly called Chinese fruits, such as leechees, longans, and wangpees, are, however, excellent, the climate suiting them admirably. When I was here (in July), the leechee trees were covered with their fine red fruit, and were very beautiful, the fruit contrasted so well with the deep clear green foliage. Large quantities of oranges, citrons, and pumeloes are also found in the district of the Min; but none of them were ripe at this season. I saw, for the first time, the tree commonly called the Chinese olive (Canarium), from the resemblance its fruit bears to the olive of Europe; also the Chinese date (Zizyphus), which produces a fruit not unlike the date imported into England.
In the fields in the vicinity of Foo-chow-foo, large quantities of the sweet-scented Jasminum Sambac are cultivated. It is used to decorate the hair of the ladies, and to garnish the tables of the wealthy. I believe that all the gardens, both in the north and south, are supplied with this favourite flower from the province of Fokien. Various other shrubs, such as Murraya exotica, Aglaia odorata, and Chloranthus inconspicuus, are grown for their blossoms, which are used for mixing with the tea.
The temperature of Foo-chow-foo appears to be intermediate between that of Hong-kong in the south, and Shanghae in the north. In June, and in the beginning of July, the thermometer ranged from 85° to 95° Fahr., and about the middle of the latter month it rose to 100°, which I believe it seldom exceeds. The following table was kept by the late Mr. G. Tradescant Lay:—
| 1844. | Max. | Min. |
August September October November December 1845. January | ° 96 90 86 78 75 72 | ° 82 82 71 65 44 44 |
The weather is generally unsettled and wet about the time the summer monsoon changes, that is, from April to June, and the district is visited by heavy thunder-storms in July and part of August. Towards the end of August, in September, and in the beginning of October, it is generally very dry. The monsoon now changes again to the north-east, and the weather becomes variable and continues so during the winter months.
During my stay here I received a great deal of kindness from Mr. Walker, of H. M. Consulate. The natives continued to the last troublesome and annoying; and I was very glad when my labours in the district were ended.