Page 141 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

TREES, FRUITS, FLOWERS, AND PLANTS. 109

this as a charm to or ward off
place (Fuhchau) dissipate
pernicious influences."
—
Citron. Davis, vol. i. p. 286, Feast of New Year : " Every
dwelling is swept and garnished, and the shrine of the house-
hold gods decorated with huge porcelain dishes or vases, con-
the the them ' the
taining fragrant gourd, large citron, called by
hand of Budh,' or Fo, and the flowers of the narcissus."
"
Vol. ii. 345 : A kind of citrus is made to run
p. peculiar
into rind, the whole at the head in
entirely terminating long
narrow processes like fingers, whence it has obtained the
'
appellation of Fo-shoiv, the hand of Fo.' The odour of the
"
mass of rind is very powerful and tine (see No. 362).
Orange. — Davis, vol. ii. p. 344 : " There are three distinct
— the first, the of
species orange Europe ; the second is of a pale
yellow colour ; the third has a deep crimson rind when ripe,
quite detached from the fruit, the lobes of which are almost
loose. This has obtained at Canton the name of Mandarin
orange."
" "
Middle Kingdom," vol. ii. p. 45 : The most delicious is
the Clm-slia-ldh, or Mandarin The skin is of a cinnabar
orange.
red colour, and adheres to the pulp by a few loose fibres."
246 " There is a custom or law
Doolittle, p. : singular
relating to this place (Fuhchau), which must be annually
observed, or the mandarin whose duty it is to attend to the
matter would be or
severely reprimanded, perhaps deprived
of rank and office. An annual tribute of three kinds
of fruit, for the production of which this place has
become celebrated, must be sent on to Peking so as to arrive
there at a certain time. These as tribute, are the
presents,
the olive, and a certain kind of
loose-jacket orange, very
but inedible ' Buddha's hand.'
fragrant fruit, called usually
The oranges are required to be in Peking on the morning of
New Year's Day at the latest, so as to be used at the worship
and sacrifice in honour of heaven by the emperor. As soon as
are in a state fit to be a is
oranges dispatched, quantity picked
with care and packed in wooden buckets, and started off for
Peking, carried by coolies under the charge of two officers, one
civil and one military. If they should arrive there with only a
of would be
large plateful good ones, the grand object duly
accomplished. If none should arrive in season for use at