The Chinese Sacred Lily
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are in the case of the normal form of Narcissus. It is thus apparent that an incalculable amount of painstaking and skilful labour is bestowed upon these
creations.
Only two varieties of the Chinese Sacred Lily appear on the market, one with single flowers and the other with double ones. Forcing experts claim to be able to distinguish, with a fair degree of assurance, the dormant bulbs of the two forms, asserting that the more globular ones produce double flowers. The double flowered specimens bring a higher price when in bloom, but early Chinese writers on ornamental plants seem to have regarded the single variety more highly.
FUKIEN
PROVINCE
CHANGCHOW
炸海
YELLOW MT
ΑΜΟΥ
Figure 3. Sketch map of a portion of southern Fukien showing the approximate kxcation of
the exclusive area (hatched) where bulbs of the Chinese Sacred Lily are produced.
It appears that, for some undiscovered reason, the culture of Narcissus bulbs in China is confined to a tiny area to the east of Yellow Moun- tain (h) Wong Shaan, in the vicinity of Changchow () in southern Fukien. It is said that not more than ten small hamlets have a share in this industry and that it is not profitable to grow the bulbs in any adjacent region. Strange as this seems, one is at a loss as how to explain otherwise the fact that in so many generations the lucrative culture of this plant has
not been taken up elsewhere. Many persons of my acquaintance have tried growing the bulbs in soil at Canton, but generally without success. However, Mr. Tong Yau Haang who, with his brother, the Honourable Tong Shiu Yi, has experimented with many ornamental plants both Chinese and exotic, has been able to establish this plant in the open ground in his charmingly natural botanic garlen at T'ong Ka Bay near Macao.
Mr. Tong says that it flowers beautifully every year for him.
During the course of a bamboo hunting trip in southern Fukien in the summer of 1930 the writer passed through Changchow and had the good fortune to be able to spend some time at the home of Mr. Ch'an Muk (RA)* one of the leading growers of bulbs of the Chinese Sacred Lily. I was
December 1932.
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