The Press.
London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

THE PRESS, JULY 18,1857.

of things, who used to strut about dressed in the richest
silks and satins (which they plundered from the shops and
houses of the wealthy), smoke opium, and make a pro-
fession of regard for the Christian religion, were now
either skulking fugitives, or had atoned with their blood
for their crimes.

Passing up the river, where the lang•tse-kiang
resolves itself into a series of open lakes joined
by narrow necks of water, through these in a
few days he reached the eastern borders of the
great silk district, at the central town of Ping-
wang, where fine navigable canals branch off
in all directions to the important cities of the
district. Mulberry plantations, upon artificial
embankments, raised from the paddy levels,
covered the country iu every direction. The
inhabitants " seemed well to do in the world,
" having plenty of work without oppression,
" and enough to procure the necessaries and
" simple luxuries of life. It was pleasant to
" hear their joyous and contented songs as
" they laboured amongst the mulberry-planta•
" tiuns and rise fields." The mulberry tree, so
largely cultivated here, Mr. Fortune remarks,
is distinct from that grown in the southern
parts of China and in the Indian silk dis-
tricts :

It 4 leaves are much larger, more glossy, and have more
firmness and substance than any other variety which has
come under my native. It may be that this circumstance
has something to do with the superior quality of the silk
produced in tne Hoo•chow country, and is worthy of the
notice of silk growers in other parts of the world.

This variety is not reproduced by seed, but
the plantations are formed of grafted trees.
The different methods of gathering the leaves
are " curious and instructive " :
Leaves are not taken at all from plants in their young
state, as this would be injurious to thei 7 future pro luctive-
n4ss. In other instances a few leaves only are taken from
the bushes, while the remainder are allowed to remain
upon the shoots until the summer growth is completed.
In the latter cue the leaves are invariably left at the ends
of the shoots.
When the bushes have attained their full size, the young
shoots with the leaves are clipped close off by the stumps,
and shoots and leaves carried home together to the farm•
yard to be plucked and prepared for the worms. In the
case of young trees the leaves are generally gathered by
the hand, while the shoots are left to grow on until the
autumn. At this period all the plantations are gone over
carefully; the older bushes are pruned c'ose in to the
stumps, while the shoots of the younger ones are only
shortened back a little to allow them to attain to the de-
sired height.

After the first clipping in the summer months
the mulberry diitrict presents a singular ap-
pearance :
As far as the eye can reach, in all directions, one sees
nothing but bare stumps. It looks as if some pestilential
vapour had passed over the plain and withered up the
whole of these trees. And the view is rendered still more
striking by the beautiful patches of lively green which are
observed at this time in the rice-fields and on the banks of
the canal.

The Chinese appear to be early risers, for
on reaching Nantsin Mr. Fortune, who
entered the city at five a.m., found the town
not 003 awake but up, the roads crowded, the
markets open, and the shops driving an active
trade at that early hour. Crowds of people
followed Mr. Fortune during his wall: through
the city ; but, except that inconvenience, he
had nothing, he tells us, to complain of—
" all were per:ectly civil, and in the best
" humour." At Hoo-chow-foo, the capital of
the silk district, and within a few days' sail by
canal from Nan-tsin, when he entered the city
the same thing occurred ; thousands of people,
very uproarious, but good humoured withal,
followed him There were delighted at the
chance of seeing a " white devil "

Alone as I now was. and surrounded by thousands of
Chinese in one of their inland cities, it. was absolutely ne-
cessary to keep my temper under the moat complete control.
In circumstances of ibis kind. if one laughs and jokes with
the crowd, and takes everything in good part, all will gene-
rally go well, for the Chinese are upon the whole good-
humoured and polite; but if he by any chance loses his
temper. he will most certaio get the worst of it, and most
likely will be hooted and pelted with stones. I had hid
some experience in the management of Chinese crowds, and
therefore continued to be in the sweetest possible frame of
mind in the midst of the thousands who followed me through
the city as if I had been a wild animal or " white devil "
indeed.
As 1 threaded my way slowly along, in addition to the
dense crowds that followed and preceded me, every window
and doorway was crowded with curious•looking faces all
anxious to get a view of the foreigner. It WAS curious to
mark the varied expression in the different countenances.
In some there was alook of contempt, in others wonder
was strongly depicted ; but in the vast majority there was
wonder mingled aith fear, as if I was in reality a being
from another world.

Some native friend.s who joined him took him
into the theatre. Although early in the day,
the performances had commenced :
To my surprise, and I must confess to my amusement
too, for I was in a capital humour, I found myself in a few
minutes usherel into the temple square, where two or three
thousand heads were gaping intently up to a platform
covered with actors, who were in the midst of what appeared
to be a most interesting melodrama, judging from the
effect it had upon the audience. 1 saw at once I had been
duped, and, looking for my guide and conductor, found
that he had disappeared, no doubt fully satisfied with the
part he had played. My part was now to enjoy the joke
and take it in good part, which 1 did not fail to do. I was
now pressed on all hands for my opinion of the merit of
the performance, which I declared was inimitable. Nor
was there any flattery intended in this expression of opinion,
for 1 doubt much if such a performance could have been
got up out of the Celestial Empire.

It was some time before a large portion of the crows
found out that a foreigner was amongst them, so intent
were they upon the performance, and longer still before the
eyes of the actors saw me. By degrees, however, the news
spread, and all eyes were turned from the stage to where I
was standing. At first the actors seemed surprised at the
want of that attention to which they had been accustomed ;
then they discovered the cause, and, if possible, were more
astonished than their audience. In vain the prompter and
leader of the band urged them to go on; their " occupation
was gone " until the greater attraction was removed. I'm-
deuce now suggested that, having thus come unexpectedly
upon the scene and played my part, it would be as well to
withdraw while there was time. 1 now bowed very politely
to the most respectable of the people who were standing
near me, and expressed my delight and thanks for what I
had seen. I then edged quietly out of the crowd, a few of
whom followed me, while the greater part remained to enjoy
the rest of the performance, which I have no doubt was con-
cluded in a most satisfactory manner.

But Mr. Fortune did not confine himself to
the towns and cities. He visited the villagers
in their cottages, purchased seeds and ento-
mological specimens, and he appears, except
on one occasion, when some " roughs " pelted
him, to have been uniformly treated with the
utmost kindness and hospitality.

Landing one day at a Buddhist convent,
about sixty miles above Hoo-chow-foo, he found
the temple of the National Deity converted
into a silkworm house

Mihions of these little animals were feeding in round
sieves, placed one above another in open framework made
for this purpose. So great was the number of the worms
that every sieve—and there must have been many hundreds
of them—was crammed q Bite full. In one large hall I
observed the floor completely covered with worms. I shall
never forget the peculiar sound which tell upon my ear as I
opened the door of this hall. It was early in the morning,
the worms had been just fed, and were at the time eagerly
devouring the fresh leaves of the mulberry. Hundreds o
thonsands of little mouths were munching the leaves, and
in the stillness around this sound was very striking and
peculiar. The place too seemed so strange—a temple—a
place of worship with many huge idols, some from twenty
to thirty feet in height, looking down upon the scene on
the floor.

The greatest care is taken in the management
of the silkworm during feeding-time. A layer
of straw raises their selves from the damp
ground, and the strictest attention is paid in
keeping them in a cleanly and healthy con-
dition :

The Chinese are also very particular as regards the
amount of light which they admit during the period the
animals are feeding. I always observed the rooms were
kept partially darkened. no bright light was allowed to
penetrate. In many instances the owners were most un•
willing to open the doors, for fear, as they said, of distnrb-
ing them; and they invariably cautioned tne against
making any unnecessary noise while I was examining
them.

At this time nearly all the labour in this part of the
country was expended on the production of the silkworm.
In the fields the natives were seen in great numbers busily
engaged in gathering the leaves ; boats on the rivers were
fraught with them ; in the coantiy msrket•towns they were
exposed for sale in great quantities, and everything told
that they were the staple article of production. On the
other hand, every cottage, farmhouse, barn and temple,
was filled with its thousands of worms, which were fed and
tended with the greatest care.

So soon as the worms cease to feed and ex•
hibit certain indications of commencing to
spin they are picked out and placed upon
bundles of straw to form their cocoons :

These bundles of straw, which are each about two feet
in length, are bound firmly in the mid lie ; the two ends
are cut straight and then spread out like a broom, and
into these ends the worms are laid, when they immediately
fis themselves and begin to spin. During, this process I
observed the under side of the framework on which the
bundlesof straw were placed surrounded with cotton cloth
to prevent the cold ilramiht ftom getting to the worms In
some instances small cliarcoso fires were lighted and placed
under the frame inside the cloth, in order to afford further
warmth. In some of the cottages the straw covered with
spinning worms was laid in the sun under the verandahs
in front of the doors.

In a few days the worms have spun themselves
out and disappear in their cocoons, and then
the process of reeling commences.
After an extended tour, and with a valuable
and fresh collection of curiosities, it is a
hard fate to be robbed of everything. including
your note book. Mr. Fortune, just as he got
within sight of Shanglme on his return home,
was, o►. the last night of anchoring in the
river, plundered of everything. But though
thieves are dexterous in China, they are more
civil and considerate than their European
brethren, and invariably return everything
they have no immediate occasion for. Mr.
Fortune, in the course of an hour or two,
received almost (from the hands of the
thieves) everything stolen except the dollars
After fully acquainting himself with the extent
of his loss, and posting his boatmen on the
look-out on shore, he lay down to soothe him.
self with the philosophic reasoning that there
was no help for it, when suddenly footsteps
were heard ou the opposite bank :

Although we did not expect anything to turn up from
that quarter we were all attention, and when we could see
two figures halt abreast of our boat our excitement was at a
very high pitch. " Loads, louda," cried one of them,
addressing the head boatman. My men immediately
started up fro n their concealment on the opposite side and
demanded what our visitors wanted. " Louth," acid the
same voice, with the greatest coolness, and as if he was
transacting, a very ordinary piece of business, " come over
here and receive the ' white devil's' trunks and clothes."

The " white devil's " trunks and clothes, ac-
count-books, journals, everything iu fact,
except a box of dollars, was carefully returned,
though all bore marks of having been ex-
amined A complaint to the Mandarin of the
town was made is the morning, and as the
Chinese police are unrivalled, in a few hours
the( thieves themselves %%ere caught, and a
portior of the money returned. Mt. Fortune
is sufficiently ungra:,eful to add that he be-
lieves the Mandarins to have pocketed the
balance !

The concluding chapter of Mr. Fortune's
volume is devoted to the consideration of our
present dispute with Canton. He arrives at
the following conclusions :

lst. It is useless to attempt to negotiate with a men like
Commissioner Yeh : we must have communication with
the Court of Pekin. 2nd. The island of Chu/mu is the
most suitable point from which we can conduct our nego-
tiations, both on account of its position, and as it is the
most healthy part of China for our troops. 3rd. If the
lives and property of foreign merchants and others are to be
safe in Canton, the ➢landarins and mob must be taught to
treat us with more respect. 4th. The other four ports
ought to he respected providing they do not mix themselves
up in onr quarrel with the Cantonese. sth. China ought
to be opened, and all those foolish restrictions imposed by
the last treaty on our trade should be swept away. 6th.
In conducting our operations the nature of the climate
ought to be carefully considered with a view to preserve
the lives of our soldiers and sailors.

We confess that we do not exactly see how
Chusan, far to the north, should he so eligible
for operations against Canton, down in the
south ; and Hong Kong can never now be ex-
changed for either Chusan or Formosa. Be-
sides, it is not territory but trade that we want
with China, and that trade should be in accord-
ance with the treaties concluded with the
Chinese Government

China is not " to be opened " like an oyster.
We object to the term altogether, and as to all
foolish restrictions being swept away, if the
Chinese do not require our trade it is no
reason, because we want their tea and silk and
they don't want our cottons, that they are to
be made to take as much of the one as we are
glad to get of the other. This is by no =mils
a recognised principle of trade. I f we trade
with China we must carry on that trade more
according to her customs than to our own,
though at the same time we do not deny that
there are many existing evils in our limite►:
inte►course of which it would be highly de-
sirable Lord ELGIN should obtain the modifi-
cation or abolition.

With respect to the climate, it may be
briefly explained that the hottest months of
the year are July and August; about Hong
hong and Canton the heat comes earlier and
lists longer ; and the most unhealthy month
is September, " when the northerly winds come
"down. causing a sudden depression of tem-
perature. Natives as. well as foreigners
"ksuffer much from fever and dysentery. The
" excessive summer heat seems to weaken the
" constitution, and thus renders it more easily