Report by Consul-General Hosie on the province of Ssu-̆chúan.

  • Alexander Hosie
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report by Consul-General Hosie on the province of Ssu-̆chúan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    This vermicelli, like that manufactured from rice, is not sold in a dry form, and, so far as I can gather, the only dry rice, macaroni, or vermicelli made in China is an export from Fuhkien Province. I shall speak of bean, pea, and sweet potato vermicell in another place. (?.) Oats (Avena sativa, L.).—Oats are extensively cultivated and consumed in the highlands of iSsuch'uan where, and in the cities bordering on the producing districts, the shellings or groats are cooked and eaten whole, or roast and ground into oatmeal. I saw a few patches under cultivation when crossing the Ch‘6ngtu Plain in May, and the green plants frequently formed an edging round other crops. In the hills to the north of the plain, and as far as Sung-pan T‘ing in this province, oats are a prominent summer crop, which is harvested in September, and comes later according to the altitude. (j.) Job’s Tears or “ Pearl Barley ” (Coix lachryma Jobi, L.).—This grain plant is very widely cultivated in China. The seeds, under the name of “ pearl barley/’ are exported from Manchuria in the north to the West Piver in the south. Owing to their shape and the furrow down one side they resemble barley, but have no connection whatever with that cereal. The principal places of production in SsuclPuan are the district of Kuan Hsien, 40 miles to the west of Clflengtu, and the districts of Nanchuan and Ch‘i-chiang bordering on the Province of Kueichou. The seeds are inclosed in hard globular or tear-shaped lustrous capsules, whence the plant derives the name of Job’s Tears. The seeds are said to possess diuretic and cathartic properties, and are more extensively used in medicines than as food. They are, however, boiled and made into gruel, and are also added in small quantities to flour cakes to attract buyers. In Cli'engtu the retail price is 112 cash a catty; but in the south of the province it is very much lower. (k.) There is another grain plant cultivated in Ssuclfluan, especially in the Prefecture of Hsu-chou Fu and in the district of Pu-shun Hsien, in which lie the chief salt wells of the province. It is locally called “ Mao Pai,” and is also known as ‘* Chan tzii.” It is described as a grass about 3 feet high, with long leaves about three-tenths of a Chinese inch broad. It has a feathery brown grain head when ripe, and the plumes resemble a Prince of Wales’ feather. The grains, which are white, covered with a brown follicle, are used in making cakes. They are slightly ovate, and bear a strong resemblance to the grains of Setaria italica, Kunth. It is probably Panicum Crus- Galli, L., but I am not prepared to say that it is. It is planted after the rice crop has been harvested, and is ripe in the late autumn. The above are the grain-food plants of Ssuchhian; but there are other grain- yielding plants, such as sesamum and rape, which are cultivated especially for their oil. These will be discussed later, for the prominence given to pulse among the winter crops of the province, and the important place which legumes occupy in the diet of the population, entitle them to rank immediately after cereals. II. Pulse. 1, Boy Bean (Glycine hispida, Max.).—The soy bean does not play the same part in Ssuclkuan as it does in Northern China, and especially Manchuria, where it is cultivated almost entirely for its oil and for the refuse cakes, which find a ready market not only in China and adjacent countries, but are winning their way as fertilisers into remoter regions. The great oil-yielding plant of Ssuch‘uan is rape, and although oil is extracted from the soy bean, it is as an article of food, whether cooked whole or in the form of resultant products, that the latter is appreciated in Western China. Three well-marked varities, each with two or more sub-species, are cultivated. (I.) Yellow Soy Bean : (a.) “ Pai Huang Tou/’ or White Yellow Bean.—This, although not the largest, is the lightest in colour of the three sub-species of the yellow bean. A bushel of 40 lbs. costs. T. 0-8*8., or about 2s. Id. The beans, which are ovoid in shape, are not much larger than the common pen, and weigh 150 to the ounce. As a rule they are cooked whole and served as a vegetable condiment.
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