Avg. 15—While proceeding along Hungjao Road today we noticed a pair of iron gates open, and looking inside we saw a. driveway' which had been planted very carefully and most effectively. There were Japanese junipers planted at intervals along both sides of the Griveway and between these we saw maples, ueuba, osmanthus, podocarpus, and an occational pine, The colour effect at present is very good and we can easily visualize the beauty of the drive in Spring and Autumn when' the maples are at their best. It must! have been a costly planting scheme but the results are there and it is better to spend a Ultle more for something really worth whit We trespassed further and eventually found owner of the property. We were shown an orchard of peach trees and were told that thousands of peaches had been gathered this year, the large quantity of empty paper bags stil lying on the ground providing ample evid-fence that the weather thiy year has been suitable for peaches. There are three varieties grown in the garden. One, an carly variety, bore] large luscious fruit: perhaps this variety originally came from the Ichang area although we were told that the trees we saw came from hear Kiangwan. There used to be a large oF-chard in that area: it is perhaps still there. 'The second carly variety was the "peach" of the lot: it was the Mat species most of us like so much. This native fruit is Prunus platyearpa and it is our opinion that the flavour of this' each is superior to all other grown here. This opinion is not shared by people in other coun~ tries; but there, they have many fine flavoured varieties we do not grow here. The late variety grown in the garden at Hungjao is still bearing fruit, this is not a good eating variety however. We also saw some nice figs and a number oranges. The Tatler were growing in pots, and the plants were bearing plenty of green fruit. We were informed that the fruit ripens Tote Autumn but that it was not edible. It would appear that fruit-growing near Shanghai has also its disadvantages for despite every Drecaution it was found difficult to keep mat= anders out of the garden at fruiting time and much fruit vanished.—w..k.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.