PS708
.08
1771
v.1
A
VOYAGE
T O
CHINA AND THE EAST INDIES,
By PETER OSBECK,
Rector of Hasloef and Woxtorp,
Member of the Academy of Stockholm, and of the
Society of U?jal.
Together with A VOYAGE TO SURATTE,
By OLOF TOREEN,
Chaplain of the Gothic Lion East Indiaman.
and
An Accountof the CHINESE HUSBANDRY,
By Captain CHARLES GUSTAVUS ECKEBERG.
Tranflated from the German,
By JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F.A.S.
To which sre addci,
A Faunula and Flora Sinensis,
IN TWQ VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON,
f dated for BENJAMIN WHITE,
at Horace's Head, in Fleet-ftreet.
M DCC LXXI.
'
THOMAS PENNANT, E%
O F
DOWNING, in FLINTSHIRE,
Dear Sir,-
TH E peculiar obligations your good-
nefs has laid me under, have left
me no room to hefitate one moment in
the choice of a patrOn for this publica-
tion.
This work was undertaken with your*
approbation, enriched by you with many
important additions, and has often been
the fubjedt. of our converfation.
But my obligations to you are not
confined to the affiftance you have afford-
ed me in this prefent work : by your fa-
vour, I, who was an utter lb-anger to
a 2 this
[iv]
this country, have been introduced to
a number of munificent and worthy
friends, whofe acquaintance is both my
honour and my happinefs.
■
The fimilitude of our ftudies was
what firft recommended me to your no-
tice ; but your humanity was engaged to
receive me to a nearer intimacy from
a circumftance, which too frequently
would have been the caufe of neglect :
the diftrefles I. labour under affected your
heart, and excited you to remove them
in a moft tender and benevolent manner.
Having no other way to exprefs the
ftrong impreflions it has made on me, I
beg leave to prefix your name to theie
Voyages ; and thus publicly to acknow-
ledge your great and moft ieafonable fa-
vours. But I will fay no more on this
fubje& ; well knowing, that thanks are
Often lead pleafing where they are moft
due. Permit me, however, to offer up
the moft iincere and earneft wifhes of a
4 . ' - ' grateful
[v]
grateful heart for your happinefs. May
you and your family long enjoy, in full
meafure, all the bleflings of life ; and
may theie be heightened by the continu-
ance of every intellectual and moral
pleafure. And while you are diitin-
guilhed even amongft foreigners, as a
patron and promoter of learning, elpe-
cially of natural hiftory ; may you con-
tinue to have in your own country the
honour and pleafure of being a father
to the afflicled and neceilitous.
I am,
with the truefl regard,
Dear Sir,
Your mofr. obedient
humble fervant,
John Reinhold Forster.
Warrington,
Dec. i, 1770.
THE
THE
EDITOR'S PREFACE,
TO a nation to enlightened as the
Englijh, the following tranflation can
hardly be unacceptable, and therefore I mighc
well have been excufed the common appen-
dage of a preface; but as there are many
particulars relative to the author, which may
contribute to flamp a value on this work, I
mall briefly ftate them without any farther apo-
logy.
The author, Mr. Osbeck, chaplain to an
Eajl India fhip of Sweden (his native country),
was
vni EDITOR'S PREFACE.
'.'was a pupil of the great Linn^us, whofc
name alone is a fufficient encomium. He fol
' lowed punctually and literally the rules pre-
icribed by his excellent tutor in his lnjlruftb
Vercgrinatorh. Nothing efcaped the atten-
tion of Mr. Osbeck. The hi (lory, the anti-
quities, the religion, the manners, the dreis,
tfce character, the policy, the government, the
military and civil eftablifhments of the coun-
try, were equally objects of his attention ; and
rvhat is very remarkable, and will of courle
prejudice this nation in favour of our author,
is, that we find the judgment of Lord Anson
about the Chinefe confirmed and juftified in
his obfervations on the character of that na-
tion.
The merchant will find a minute and ac-
curate account of many commodities brought
from the Eaft, with an exact delineation of
the whole commerce of China, The cecono-
miit and hufbandman will find many ufeful
and agreeable remarks in Mr. Osbeck's and
Mr. Eckeberg's accounts, which might be
cfonfidefed as good hints even in this country,
where
EDITOR'S PREFACE. ix
where agriculture and hufbandry have been
improved both in theory arid in practice, to
the great emolument of the inhabitants ; while
many fa els here related are applicable to the
Englijh colonies and plantations. In Ihort, the
reader will find many remarks in the courfe
of this work, that will affift him in the ftudy
of medicine, hiftory, geography, and almoft
every other branch of learning.
BtJT the natural hiftorian will find the
richefl treafures in this ufeful performance;
and as a tafte for this branch of knowledge
begins very juftly to attract the attention of
this nation, and to fpread fo univerfally that
It even finds the protection of perfons of the
higheft quality, and the patronage of the fairer
fex : I thought my leifure hours could not be
better beftowed, than on a tranflation of a
work of fo general utility.
Hasselquist's journey to Egypt and Pa-
Ujline has very defervedly had the approba-
tion of the nation, in its Englijh drefs ; and
confirmed the high opinion which the public
Vol. U b had
x EDITOR'S PREFACE.
had before conceived of Profeflbr Linnaeus
and his pupils; and it may be hoped, this per-
formance will recommend itfelf equally to the
reader, from the uncommon variety of objecls
defcribed, and the ufefulnefs of the author's
remarks.
A wor d or two I rrmfl fay in regard to the
tranflation, which is made from the German,
and not from the original Swee/i/Jj; but as Mr.
Osbeck not only revifed the German tranfla-
tion, but alfo made fome additions to it which
are not found in the original SweJifo edition,
it is rather an advantage to the work than a
prejudice. It was tranflated into German by
Mr. j. Godlieb Georgi, under the direc-
tion of Dr. Daniel Schreber % who both
underftood the Szuedijh -language perfectly
well, having fludied at Upfal for many years.
The latter was a pupil and friend of Lin-
\ij& us,, and well known for many ufeful pub-
lications in ceconomy, husbandry, and natural
* Dr. Schreber has enriched thib work with fevefal re-
marks, which are masked at the end with D. S.and thuie
cdirur with Ml V.
hiitory,
EDITOR'S PREFACE. xi
hi (lory, and particularly a botanical and ceco-
nomical defcription of graffes b .
As I have met with great encouragement
and generous affiflance in the tranflation of
this work, from many gentlemen of great
worth, whofe names would be an ornament,
was I permitted to mention them ; I take this
opportunity to acknowledge in a public man-
ner the great obligations 1 feel myfelf under ;
and that the remembrance of them will not
be obliterated, but will ever fill my heart with
the warmed fentiments of gratitude.
k The firfr. part of this work, already publifhed, contains
twenty coloured plates, and twenty-feven different graffo,
with a large introduction to the ftudy of this branch of
botany: and very accurate defcriptions of each kind, to-
gether with remarks on the cultivation, ufes, and foil pro-
per for each fpecies.
bs PREFACE
f x i" ]
PREFACE
O F
Mr. O S B E C K.
IN the year 1750 I was chofen by the
Swedijh Eajl India company, to perform
the functions of a chaplain to a fhip going
to the Eajl Indies ; that is, to read prayers in
the morning and evening, to confefs the peo-
ple, to adminifter the Lord's fupper, to cate-
chife, to vifit the fick, to bury the dead, and
to preach on Sundays and Holidays.
So tedious a voyage required fome amufe-
ment : during all intermiffions from our ordi-
Vol. I, c nary
xlv AUTHOR'S PREFACE,
nary bufmefs. Every one chofe fomething
adapted to his talte ; for my part I found no-
thing that could entertain more innocently
both myfelf during the voyage, and my frLnds
after my return, than natural hillory.
The initruction I drew from the lectures
which I had attended in this fcience at Up fa I 9
obliged me to be grateful. I returned with-
out any money ; more of which I could have
employed during my voyage in the gratifica-
tion of my third after knowledge : for I knew
that to fo learned a man, as Linnaeus, I could
no how exprefs my obligations fo well as by
fpecimens of natural hillory.
I kept for my own amufement a journal of
every thing worthy of obfervation during my
voyage; from this I gave him fome defcriptions
of new plants found in Spain, China, and
other places, which were immediately incor-
porated into that capital botanical book then
printing under the title of Species Plantunau,
and with which my names of plants agree c .
c The author's animals are alfo admitted in o the
Naturte, edit. 12; and where Linn, thou I r
to a:tcr the genus, his names are quoted as iyutn;
Ftooi
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. x V
In his letters from time to time he put me in
mind of publishing the account of my voyage;
but I always oppofed it, as believing that fuch
defcriptions could only pleafe naturalifts, or
lovers of natural hiftory ; but all my objec-
tions were furmounted by the advice of other
learned men, and efpecially by the order of a
great perfonage, for whom I mall always re-
tain the greateft deference. The following
fheets however ought to be confidered as writ-
ten at firfl merely for my own amufement.
During thecourfe of our voyage, I obferv-
ed the latitude at all opportunities, and have
fo defcribed feveral fifli and birds, that if they
fhould occur to others they may be known by
them though they had never feen them be-
fore. Some which I have only feen at a dift-
ance, I have (till further examination) only
mentioned under the name which the failors
generally give them in the latitude, where
they either ft ay for a feafon or throughout the
whole year. I have remarked fwallows and
other birds when they approached our (hip,
that by a variety of obfervations of that kind,
c 2 we
xvi AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
we may become better acquainted with the
hiflory of their migrations.
During my ftay in China and other foreign
places, I have been exceedingly attentive to
the exterior afpecT: of the inhabitants, their
drefs, cufloms, religion, manner of fubfiftance,
trade, &c. but efpecially to the condition of
the country, the foil, the quadrupeds, amphi-
bia, fifh, birds, infers ; likewife the trees,
herbs, plants, feeds, &c. of which I have
brought a gopd many with me. Moll new
plants and other natural bodies I have de-
fcribed in Latin d , that foreigners might like-
wife avail themfelves of thefc defcriptions : but
fume few run in my mother tongue, on account
of thofe who underftand no other. I have mi-
nuted the particular fpot in which I found
every plant, fuch as plain, mountain, valley,
whether in fhade, &c. becaufe 'an ignorance of
fuch circumftances frequently fruftrates the la-
bour and expence ufed in the cultivation of fo-
reign plants.
d In the German tranflation thefe defcriptions are not
in Latin, for which reafon I have tranfiated them into
Etglijb.
I HAVE
A-U TH O R ' S- PR-EFAC E. xvii
I have (hewn, that mod foreign nations,
and efpecially the Cbincfe, live for the greatefl
part on -fruit?, roots, and plants, and that they
cultivate fuch plants in their marines, as
will not fucceed in other places : we might alfo
find fufficient provifion among our own fpon-
taneous plants. The Cbhefe initrucl: their
children in a religion both irrational and pa-
gan, yet the principal objecls of their educa-
tion, are morality and ceconomy.
In fome places I have taken notice of things
not uncommon in Swedc?i* } which are how-
ever worthy of remark, becaufe they are found
in fuch diftant climates, where every thing elfe
is different : from hence we might, at leaf!
draw fome ufeful concluficns.
. We are ufed to afk what a thing is good
for? And often rafhly think, that alone ufe-
ful, which ferves for medicine, cloaths, and
food : as if the eye had no claim to its gratifi-
cations, and as if what is agreeable was not
connected with what is ufeful. The drefles
and
xvlii AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
and utenfils of diftant countries are admired
and carefully collected; why fhould not then
the works of the Creator deferve at lead an
equal degree of attention?
The obfervations which I have made in fe-
deral places, efpecially fuch as were much fre-
quented, are fhort and inartificial : and it will
appear from my flile, in how languid a man-
ner the pen performs its office amidft the
fcorching heat of the Chinefe fhores, where, to
avoid the fufpicion of the people, I frequently
wrote with my hand in my pocket, on a pocket
book. Let every reader confider my fituation,
and apply the cafe to himfelf. The hurry of
the prels has excluded forne additions c which
I intended to have made.
I only wifh that my obfervations may pro-
cure half as much approbation from the world,
as they have coll me trouble and attention.
I ventured on more at the ifland of Java,
where the woods are filled with tigers and cro-
codiles ; and hazarded my life in China ; (where
e Thefc additions were inferted by Mr. OJbeck himfelf
in the German tranflation, which is here followed.
7 the
AUTHOR'S PREFACE, xix
the heat of the fun on barren hills, robbers
on the roads, and petulant children in back
ftreets, are continually annoying a foreigner);
and landed on the ifland of Afcenfwn, where the
fun hatches the eggs of the tortoifes, and in a
fhort time ruins the conftitution of the mod
healthy. On the whole, however, I have no'
reafon to be forry for my voyage, from the
kind reception with which the directors of the
Eajl India company have honoured me on my
return: the fame year they gave me leave to
go on a fecond voyage, which fome interven-
ing obilacles obliged me to lay afide.
I have added the letters of the late chap-
lain of the Gothic l^on,Mx. Toreen, to my jour-
nal. This perfon died foon after his return
from Suratte; but deferves always to be re-
n ^hered by his friends, on account of his
lc rnmg and integrity. Other Swedes (defir-
ous of extending knowledge) are ready alfo to
publifli accounts of their travels, would but
th*» affluent give encouragement to thofe who
cm. -avour to be ufefui to the public on their
voyages, by promoting difcoveries in natural
hiftory
xx AUTHOR'S PREFACE*
hiftory or ceconomy. But for this purpofs
expenfive books arc required, and money is
very neceflary for the voyage ; on proper oo
cafions, I have expended not only my falary,
but the voluntary contributions of my protec-
tors, whofe munificence will always make the
ckepefl imprefhon on my mind.
Stockholmty
2(fi\ of Airily 1757,
OS BECK'S
C i 1
PETER OSBECK'S
VOYAGE to CHINA.
G O T H E N B U R G H.
North latitude, 57 42'; 2nd 6° weft longi-
tude from Upfal.
The year 1750.
. November the iHth.
FROM Gothenburgh (where the Swedifh
Eaft India company's mips are fitted our,
and to which place they have always return-
ed, ever fmce the year 1731, when they ob-
tained the firft charter for carrying on this
Vol. I. B ' trade)
2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
trade) I went to Vargoe Hoa/a, in very bad
weather, the place where the Eaft India fhips
ufually anchor, when Riff and Fcol, and the
other creeks in the Gothenburgh rocks, are
filled with ice ; by which means they avoid the
inconvenience of fawing the ice in order to
clear their paffage. The above place, which
derives its name from the Hie of Vargoe, or
the JJle of Wolves , is a Swedifli mile a and a
half from Gothenburgh. I made this journey
by land as far as Hinfholm, and there went on-
board the Prince Charles, which was the firft
three-deck fliip employed by Sweden in the
Eaft-India-trade. It was lately built at Stock-
holm, and its bulk was 390 tons; it was man-
ned with 132 men, almoft ready to fet fail, and
bound for Canton in China.
Wood is much wanted in this country ;
and for this reafon the pilots, and all the other
iflanders, are obliged to buy this commodity
in town, where of late its price is greatly
rifen ; or to burn turf, which is dug in paral-
lelopipeds, as it was formerly in Holland. In
a Eleven Swedifli milea make one degree ; confequently
two miles are 1 2JL ? or (till nearer 1 2._7_ Englifh miles. F.
this
GOTHENBURGH ROCKS. 1750. 3
this province turf was not common fo early as
1670, fo that the citizens of Falkenbergh and
Labobn petitioned for the free importation of
it, but were refufed. In 1672, the town of
Laholm obtained, that the turf dug in that
diftricT: (hould pay no duty. At prefent the turf
is managed in Holland in a different manner
from what it was before : which method the
peafants of Flare learnt only 30 years fmce
from the inhabitants of Salkenbcrgb and Ward"
bergh ; it is thus done. As foon as the farmer
has fown the fummer corn, he goes to the turf-
moor : the firfl comer takes the beft place :
feveral parifhes divide a moor amongfl them-
felves. They at firft take off the green fods,
as far as the roots of heath and grafs reach :
they then pour water upon the turf mould,
and dig it out by little and little, till they
reach a fandy foil. In the middle of the moor
they may dig a fathom deep, but not fo deep
on the fides. The hole is made floping on two
fides, fo that they may drive into it with a
horfe and cart. The mud is then carried out
of the hole upon the field, there fpread with
the fpade to the thicknefs of three or four
inches, and cut crofs-ways, fo that it may be
broken into quadrangular pieces. But thofe
B 2 who
4 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
who defire to have their turf (till harder,
fqueeze the mud, whilft ibft, into round
pieces refembling loaves, and let them dry in
the fields, laying them clofe by one another.
The turf which is grown a little harder is
laid in heaps, yet lb that the wind may pafs
through, and is fheltered from rain. In fum-
mer, the turf is carried home, put under a
roof, and ufed in brewing, baking, boiling,
and for warming rooms. The turf foil is
either reddilli, brown, or black, all which is
equally good according to the account of the
peafants ; but they add, firft, that the turf
mull never be mixed with fand, which in-
creafes its bad fmell ; fecondly, "it mult not be
mixed with clay, which hinders it from burn-
ing ; and thirdly, it mud be clear of all wood
and great roots, becaufe the ground about
them is always very loofe. They commonly
find the bell moors in large fields, becaufe the
roots moulder better there than in woods, and
the water is more eafily carried off. Often
the bed turf foil is found upon moors where
heath grows. This plant is always to be met
with in good turf-moors, where the wind
blows freely, and where other plants are
mouldered
GOTHENBUIIGH ROCKS. 1750. 5
mouldered away b ; as we find in Holland, and
other countries, v.hich are in want of woods,
and where turf has been in ufe for a long
time. Yet I know that the foil in fuch moffes
or moors, where- heath is not yet rooted, is
ufed aifo for turf, efpecially where there is no
choice. It has been obferved, that turf-earth
is a fort of foil produced from mouldered
plants ; and feems to confifl chiefly of a moul-
dered, red mofs, Sphagnum palufire, Linn,
which in Weflrogothia is called hweetare Mofs
(and from this probably the moffes, Maffkr,
take their name ; which elfe are called Myror,
perhaps from Mytor, ants, or pifmires, for
they frequently are met with in this mofs) ;
I myfelf found this mofs in a woody moor,
every where at a fathom's depth, and always
frefh.
b Erica, heath, never grows in turf moors before they
are quite dry ; for it cannot bear wet, End often perifhts
when the place where it grows is under water, as Dr.
L'mnrtus has obferved in his Iter Zcanicum. But the Erica
myricte folio hirfuta, Bauh. pin. 485. grows in marfliy
moiTes and moors; and I have found this variety of heath
(which is uncommon in Germany) in Mecklenburg],
amongft the ledum paluftre, or marfh ciftus, and the vacci-
nium uliginofum, great bilberry buih. But in what manner
the common fmooth heath changes into this rough fort is
unknown to me, and is worthy of farther enquiry. 1). S.
B 3 Decern-
6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
December 6th, 6i° 14' N. L,
The Faroe ifles, which we faw this morn-
ing, looked as gloomy as the weather of this
feafon. You fcarce fee any thing elfe than
high mountains covered with fnow, a cloudy
fky, and a roaring fea. Thefe iflands belong
%o Denmark, which provides them with corn ;
and the iflanders, who are faid to be very in-
duftrious, re-pay it with ftockings, waiftcoats,
gloves, quilts, and train-oil, &c. ; for breed-
ing of fheep and liming are their principal
trades. It is faid, that they catch a great
many whales ; that they eat dry cod-fifh in-
ftead of bread ; and that they put their fheep-
tallow under ground, in order to ufe it after-
wards as butter or oil.
Pecember 9th, 6o° 10' N. L.
We thought to have pafled in the night-
time, Rochelle, a fmall ifland about the fize of
£ fhip.
Decern-
ISLES OF FCEROE, 1750. 7
December 19th, 56* 42' N. L.
Our feamen gave the name of Northcaper
to a fort of whale which is di (covered by its
throwing up the water ; it is Delphinus orca y
or the Grampus. The Danifli mifiionary Bans
Egede fpeaks thus of it, in his treatife called
Gamle Greenland* nye pcrlujlration (or a New
Review of old Greenland) : " The fpecies of
" whales called the Northcaper derives it's
" name from the North Cape, in Norway,
" where they are numerous ; yet they are
" likewife found about Iceland, Greenland,
" and other countries ; for they look for the
'* places where herrings and other fmall fifh
" are in plenty, and often a ton of herrings
" have been found in the ftomach of fuch a
" whale. The Northcaper is very like the
" Balana phyfalus s or fin-fifti, which being a
" very nimble fifh goes into the open fea, as
" if it were afraid of becoming a prey to its
" enemies if it approached the coafts. This
" kind has a more folid fat, and its whalebone
" is not fo long and good as that of the for-
'•' mer, and therefore is feldom purfued." For
a further account, fee Klein. Hilt. Pifcium,
Miff. II. p. 12. Balana Borealis, Northcaper.
B 4 The
O SBE CK'S VOYAGE.
The year 1751.
January 1 ft, 3 6° 35' N. L.
In the forenoon we faw Cape Vincent, a pro-
montory in Spain. The fhores appeared high
and white, and the ever-green trees made the
country look very fine.
January 4th.
The Granate mountain mewed iifelf to the
right at a great diftance, on account of its
prodigious height.
The Rock St. Pedro , which was to the
right, was quite frcm in our memories, on
account of the fhip called Sweden, which the
crown of Sweden had defigtied for a prefent
to the Turkiih Emperor, but was loft here in
November 1738, when Captain WagenfekJ,
v, as conducting her to Conft&ntinople. Of
the artillery which was recovered out of the
water, fix brafs cannon and a mortar ape
Hill to be feen at Cadiz, all inferibed with the
name and arms of that mod glorious -King
Cha
S PANISH S EA. 1751. 9
Charles the Twelfth and are kept there for
the Swediih fervice.
White gulls and herring galls (Lams canus
etfufcus) were here in fuch flights, as if they
would difpute with the fifkermen about their
right of fiihing.
The greater and lefler Tor cos are two rocks
on the flarboard, at the entrance of the port
of Cadiz : we happily paffed by them. When
the water is low, they are very confpicuous;
but when it is high, they are known by the
breakers only.
St. Sebaftiarfs is acaftle upon a little ifland
near Cadiz, which, with two other catties,
ferve to defend this town.
The Gulf .of Cadiz, or the Road, is well
known under the name of the Spanifli-bay,
where the mips of many nations yearly come,
and where we likewile caft anchor after a fix
weeks voyage, and having fuifered a great
florm. After faluting, we were welcomed by
fever al of our countrymen. We faw Cadiz,
and Puerto real, on the bay 1 Puerto de Sancla
Maria-
to OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
hlaria dire&ly oppofite Cadiz, and Rota fur
ther on towards the fea.
The Quarantine-boat (or pra&ic-boat, as
the Swedes call it) was a floop covered with
green, which was rowed by twelve men, and
in it were two or three gentlemen of the col-
lege of health in Cadiz. After the Hoop had
joined our veffel, they afked whence the fhip
came ? what was her name, and that of her
captain \ how many men fhe had ? he. The
anfwers they received were written down upon
paper. We Iikevvife (hewed them our {hip's
journal, and told them that they would find in it
the name and manner of the death of a man that
was killed by a fall. They took the journal with
them on more, in order to fhew it to the col-
lege ; but firft ordered up to let none go out
of the fhip before they had obtained leave :
for this reafon we put a goofe upon our fore-
top-maft, which is a fign of a (hip's keeping
the quarantine.
January the 13th, and the following days.
I saw on-board a Swedifk fhip fomeorfelle,
or oricelle (Lichen roccella), a fpecies of mofs
5 which,
SPAIN. 175*. xi
which grows upon the Canary Iflands, efpeci*
ally on Teneriff; and I was told that it fold
in Leghorn at two dollars copper coin c per
pound, and that it was ufed to dye red with.
The climate here is not very agreeable, for
the heat obliges the inhabitants to keep within
doors on the fineft fummer days, to fleep dur-
ing the day, and to go out at night. Without
doors the heat is very difagreeable ; and from
May to the middle of October they mull fuffer
a great deal from gnats,
Sea plants are very fcarce along the fhores
here, whereas the Swedifh fhore has all forts
of fuci, confervas, &c. in plenty.
Cadiz mioPya is a fuburb without the city
Walls, where all travellers land that come to
town by water. In this part are two columns
of white marble, ere&ed by the governor of
the city during the reign of Philip the Fifth,
as exprelfed in the infcription. Befides this,
there is a watch-houfe for the foldiers, and a
little cuftom-houfe.
c About i id. Englilh.
There
12 OS BECK'S VOYAGE,
There are two gates in tliis approach, one
for thofe that enter, and the other for thofe
that go out. Both of them have draw-bridges,
guarded with fome foldiers ; and about thofe
are a number of lynx-eyed vtfitors (or cuftom-
houfe officers) dreifed in a fort of wide jackets,
called Caja guillas in Spanifh, which are ufed
in this country as riding-coats. Under thefe
coats they are faid to have always a brace of
loaded piftols, for their defence. The ufual
drefs of their countrymen are thefe brown
coats and flapping hats. They can make figns
to one another through the gates if any thing
happens; and they are obliged to look very
ftrictly with regard to all unlawful importation
or exportation, particularly that of money,
which mud pay fomewhat per cent. Thofe
that go out are vifited with a ftrictnefs beyond .
defcription ; as I once wanted to get out of
the gate in great hade, with my pockets full
of flones, it occafioned a fufpicion in one of
the vifitors, who, in an earneft manner, put
his hands into my pockets, and looking at me
with a threatning countenance, fearched every
thing very carefully; but finding nothing but
ilones, he only fmiled at my folly. To im-
port
SPAIN. 1751. 13
port tobacco and fnuff is capital, or at leaft
the perfon who imports it is condemned to the
gallics for life : but they except that which
the Spaniards bring from their American co-
lonies. A fnuff-box therefore, if full of fnuff,
may occafion great trouble to the bearer.
Cadiz, or Cadis, or, as the Englim fome-
times call it, Cafes, is the principal fea-port in
Spain ; it contains a great number of inhabi-
tants, is fituated on the fea-fhore of the pro-
vince of Andalufia, at the extremity : of an
ifland, in 36 deg. 33 min. north latitude and
23 deg. 45 min. weft longitude from Upfai.
The city is furrounded with fine gardens and
fortifications, and is faid to have three hun-
dred brafs cannon d .
d The origin and antiquities of this town are defcribed by
Juan Baptijia Suarez de Salazar, in his Antigv.edades de la
ci-udad de Cadiz, 1610, quarto, 31 7 pages; and afterwards
in the Emporio de el orbe, Cadiz illujlrada, in-jejligacion de
/us antiguas grandezas, dijcurjlda en concurfo de el general
imperio de Efpaua por el R. P. F. Geronimo de la conception,
religicfo dcfcalzo de el order de nuejlra Senora de el Carmine,
y gaditano de crigen, que la dedica a la ?nuy noble y bitty leal
civdad de Cadiz, Amiterd. fol. 1680, 663 pages: the
price of it here at Cadiz is four pefos duros, that is, about
feventecn (hillings and fix pence fterling.
The
14 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The walls, and mod of the houfes in this
town, are made of a fort of ftone which they
call Selleria, and which is
Tophus particulis tejlaceb, argilla 6' arena
coadunatus, or a mixture of ihells, clay, and
fand. It is faid that the before mentioned
rocks Porcos confift of this (lone. It is broken
on the fea-ftiore and carried from the mioPya
(when the tide is low) in high carts to the
town ; and thofe pieces which are too heavy
to be put into the cart are faftened with ropes
below it. The ftone is foft in cutting, and
therefore very proper to build with, as it
hardens by time. The inner terras of the
wall, to which a ftaircafe leads on the right
hand fide of the gates, is covered with Dutch
clinkers c , and as broad and even as the finelt
road. From thence you furvey with pleafure
(over the outward part of the wall, which is
about four feet higher and very narrow) the
(hips riding at anchor, going out and coming
in : among the firft, is the filver-fleet. To-
wards the city you behold a flreet where falads,
• Clinkers are a fpecies of Dutch bricks.
roots,
ea?
SPAIN. 1751. u
roots, and all forts of fruits, are expofed for
fale, winter and fummer.
The Spaniards make ropes and cables, for
(hips and other ufes, of a certain grafs which
they call Sparto. This is the Stipa tenaciffima,
Linn, or Spartum herba Plinii, Cluf. Hilt. 2.
p. 220. which is faid to grow in . wet places f .
The ropes they make of it are fo durable,
that they need not be tarred ; but the Spa-
niards dry and fpin it without preparation,
contrary to what we are ufed to do with our
hemp. This might, perhaps, furnifh hints to
us to look out for fome of our own wild
graffes in order to employ them in the fame
manner, and we might make a beginning with
the Elymus arenarius. The Spanifh mats which
are brought to Sweden are made of the fame
Sparta,
Olive trees (Oka Europaa) and white
poplars (Populus alba) are planted on both
fides the ramparts, and are watered by Tub-
terraneous pipes. Thus the city has the ad-
f Linnasa, in his Species Plantarnzn, and Loefling in his
Journey through Spain fay it grows on the Tandy hills of
vantage
i6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
vantage of a garden's being within her walls;
and therefore every one, if he choofes, can at
once enjoy the pleafure of living in town and
country. The road which goes further on
will foon be adorned in the fame manner.
The ramparts were, in all other places, of an
equal breadth, and covered with fand, which
makes it very eafy walking round the town.
On the ramparts, and even in other places,
wooden croffes were erected.
The beggars were every where crying, Una
limoneia for el amor de Dios y por las bcnditas
almas a ejle pobre, or fome fuch other petition
for God's or for the Saints' fakes.
The foldiers upon the ramparts diverted
themfelves with fifhing, when the tide was in.
My defire of contemplating their art a little
nearer was fruftrated ; as I experienced now,
and at other times, that foreigners are not per-
mitted to fland ftill upon the ramparts, to look
about them.
The country fide has Mill higher walls ; and
its ditches, ramparts, and batteries, are more
curious
S P A I N. 1751* 17
curious than I can defcribe, and are daily im-
proving.
The market near the above mentioned fea
gate, as well as a lireet on the right hand of
it along the high walk, are always well pro-
vided with victuals in bags, &c. and every
perfon cries what he has to fell ; thus, one
cries Caftanas calieritas y cocidas, boiled warm
chefnuts ; another has a mug of water upon
his back and a glafs in his hand, and cries
Agua del Puerto, v water from Port St. Mary.
Fish, in particular faked fea-fifh, were fold
in vail quantities in this market ; and I heard
them cry more than thirty different forts.
The houfes, as well private as public, are
built of the above mentioned Hone (Tophus),
and fometimes of limeftone. They are gene-
rally two or three ftories high, and have bal-
conies which have no windows, except in the
houfes of people of quality, and are provided,
inflead of them, with two mutters, which are
opened when you want to let in the day-light,
or to look at the great crowd of people pafTing
by. On thefe balconies they put their ftone
Vol. I. C water-
i3 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
water- jugs, in which the water ufed in jthe
houfe keeps bell.
FLOWER-pots, with rue, rofemarys, &c. are
likewife ranged in the fame place. The
houfes of the people of condition are built
round a fquare : at the fecond ftory on the
infide, a gallery goes quite round, except on-
one fide, where they ufually have a little, gar-
den, out of which the Paffijlora carulca creep-
QV£r the fecond-ftory windows; where, upon
particular Hands, are feen cypreffes (Cupreffus-
fempcr-virens) r Capficum fnttefcens, lemon and
orange trees, &c. which are likewife to bc-
" found below in the little gardens.
The rooms are very high, white wafhed,
and without tapeflry or painting, but gene-
rally ornamented with portraits and gilt fur-
niture.
They keep the fpecies of parrot called
Pfittacus garrulus, canary birds (Fringilla
Canaria)y red-legged partridges (Tetrao rufus),
« We bought fuch pots with flowers, to put upon the
deck, for three pieces of eight each.
Loxia
S P A I N. 1751. 19
Loxia violacea, and cardinal birds (Loxia car-
dinalis), which latter were faid to eat the
above mentioned Capjicum frutefcens.
Stoves and chimnies are as much unknown
in this country as frofi and fnow.
Floors and roofs are made of bricks and
files. Theformer are covered with mats made
of Sparto h . The rafters, laths, and tiles or
Hates of the roof are by no means concealed,
and are rather difadvantageous to the beauty
of the houfe, was this mode not in fome mea-
fure juftified by the ufe refulting from it, and
did it not increafe the height of the rooms.
The roofs are flat, and it is very agree-
able walking upon them. They are molt
commonly adorned with flower- pots on the
fides, which make them look like gardens ;
in the pots are queen's flock -July- flowers
(Cheirantbus incanus) ; but where thefe are
wanting, their places are fupplied by maple-
leaved blite (Chenopodium hybridwri), chick-
weed (Aljine media), common fow-thiille (Son-
chus Qkraccus) ; and befides this Parietaria Lu-
f> Seepage 15,
C 2 fit am a*
20 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Jitanica. Where the water gathers on the roofs,
Bryum murale and navel-wort {Cotyledon um-
bilicus) are found j and on dry walls Lichen -pa*
rietinus.
Towers without fpires are put upon feve-
ral roofs : they have four fides, a height of
ibme yards, and command a fine view of the
town and the {hips.
In the houfes of confuls, the colours are
hoifled upon fuch towers at the arrival, of
ihips.
The doors are high, commonly folding
ones, and in the inner apartments often with-
out locks.
The gates are fhut in the houfes of people
of rank, with a latch on the infide without
any handle ; but on the outfide is a little bell :
when this is pulled, the porter opens the gate
from the balcony by a firing, which pulls up
the latch, and thus opens one half of the
gates, which (huts of itfelf, by means of
weights, as foon as the porter lets go the
firing. But if any one comes in the night-
time,
S f A I N. 1751. 21
time, the porter muft go down to open the
gates, left .fome difagreeable guefts fhould
flip in.
In the lowermoft floor are the (tables.
They ufe little caution againft fire, for the
coachmen go into the (tables with torches ;
yet this accident feldom happens in Cadiz, as
all the houfes are built with (tone.
Oil is ufed in lamps, inftead of candles ;
and likewife in drefling meat oil is employed
inftead of butter.
Their yards are paved, fome with flags of
Tophus, and fome with flags of Talcum.
Some have wells in their yards ; but the
water is not fit to drink, and muft therefore be
ufed for other purpofes in houfe-keeping.
The ftreets are paved with round pebbles,
and have a channel in the middle filled with
fliells of flfti, peels of fruit, or the like ;
which, putrifying by the heat, occafion a
difagreeable fmell in many places.
C 3 The
22 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The inhabitants are tawny, from the heat
of the fun ; mod of them have long but nar-
row heads, great ears and eyes, black eye-
brows and hair. They are lively, and have
an eafy carriage.
A great mixture of other European na-
tions is to be met with here ; and befides
thefe, they have negroes who ferve in the
kitchens.
Their language is very expreffive, for they
accompany their words with motions of the
head, ihoulders, and arms 1 . The officers, as
well as common foldiers, are reckoned very
civil to foreigners : but the feamen are con-
tinually curling and fwearing ; and when they
meet each other in their boats, it is their com-
mon falutation.
The drefs of the men is very commodious,
for if they do not drefs fumptuoufiy, tli< ■/
cover their heads with a linen cap, and above
that:- hey put a flapped hat, round which they
fallen a ribband with a little buckle, and tic
' Thefe geftures rether imply the contrary.
if
i
SPAIN. 1751. 23
ft to the head with another below the chin,
{o that the wind may not blow it off. They
life no cravats. The reft of their drefs is a
waiftcoat, the fleeves of which are open be-
fore, and the cuffs fmall, like thofe worn by
the Pruffian foldiers.
Over thefe they put on a long wide jacket,
which is commonly of a black or brown co-
lour: they wear linen ftockings, and under
them linen focks, and fhoes with low quarters
and heels, though the dirty ftreets feem to
require higher. They carry two handker-
chiefs about them, a coloured one to wipe
off the fweat, and a white one. I fometimes
faw young people walking with muffs, though
it was then as warm here as it is in Sweden in
fummer-time. Gold-laced cloaths are as fcarce
with the quality as with the poor. People of
rank carry flicks (which are faid to be parti-
cular badges of honour) when they are not
drcffed. Some who have furvived heavy dif-
eafes, or have efcaped great misfortunes, wear,
agreeable to their vows, no other than grey
cloaths.
The ladies wear their own hair, either in
ipng and broad trcffes, or fhort with a toupee
C 4. and
j 4 05 BECK'S VOYAGE.
and an aigrette, or tied up at top as the
Swediili country girls do. Hoops are not
ufual here. They wear a fort of hood, which
fits very clofe ; this they put over their heads
when they are in the flreets, but throw it
back when they arc in their houfes : two
flraps, of a hand's breadth, hang down from
it to the feet. If they go to church, a rofary,
or p2f.ern01r.er, and a fan, are neceffary to
their drefs.
The Swedifh Conful, Mr. Jacob Bellman, is
honoured and beloved by every one, on ac-
count of his obliging behaviour. At the gate
of his houfe, oppofite to the entrance, the*
Swedifh arms are put up : in his rooms were
the. portraits cf the late King of Sweden,
Frederic, of the prefent King and Queen,
and of the Hereditary Prince Guilavus.
Churches, chapels, convents, and hofpi-
rals, are all very fine. The church of white
marble, which is not yet finimed, and to the
building of which the town pays a certain fum
yearly, is the fifkSft and Inrgeit of them all.
The fubtcrraneous vaults below this church
are almott as large as the entire irruchire of
the other churches, and fome corpfes have al-
ready
SPAIN, lis 1 - 25
ready been depofited in them ; they are faid
to be quite finished ; but the walls of the
church are not raifed to the height intended ;
and yet candles are continually burning in it
for its patron St. Francis Xavier, who fuffered
martyrdom from the heathens for preaching
the gofpel in Japan, and is faid to have
wrought as many miracles as there are wax
tapers burning round his image ; to which
the inhabitants pull off their hats whenever
they pafs by.
Wax tapers are burning in the churches
day and night. At the entrance is Agua ben*
dita, or holy water, in a difli or veffel, into
which they dip their fingers, and crofs them-
felves when they go in and out. The church
pavement is every where covered with matts;
upon which men and women, of all ranks,
kneel down for want of feats.
The bells are always ringing, but not fo as
with us ; for they make a noife almoft all day,
firft in one fteeple, then in another, then in
all together, for prayers, or mafs, on account
of lightning, or the dead : the latter is always
in the evening, for their mattes for the dead
are kept about that time.
Rosario,
z$ OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Kosario, or a rofary, is neceffary to both
-fexes, to regulate the number of their prayers ;
it confifts of a fine filver or brafs chain, with
glafs or coral beads, or pearls, &c. and a
crois, from which hang two or three medals,
with the images of faints, which are much
valued.
Crossing is performed with the thumb,
before and after church fervice, or prayers,
three times : viz. upon the forehead, mouth,
and bread, fo that. nothing may befall their
e\cs, mouth, or heart ; which is the more ne-
cdfam as the crois, according to their cate-
chifm, is the principal mark of a Chriitian.
They marry very young ; and a boy of
fourteen years may marry a girl of twelve.
Their burials differ from ours in many
things : before the cprpfe a crofs with lan-
thorns is carried ; as foon as it is depofited in
the grave, fome quick-lime is thrown in along
with it. In the evening a mafs is read for the
<kad, and the organ is played, though none
but the living are the better for it. Their bu-
fying'grounds are out of the town ; but they
fuHa-
SPAIN. 1751. 27
fufTcr no proteftant to lie in their church-
yards.
The proceffions might almoft be confidered
as funerals by Grangers : they confift of a
number of people of high and low rank, who
follow a crofs through the town, accompanied
by many lanthorns, and finging the Te Deum
and Litany. Thefe proceffions are fixed to
certain days ; as the 2d of February, the 25th
of March, the 15th of Auguft, the 8th of
September, and the 8th of December ; and
befides thefe, they have others on certain faints
days, and when meat is to be gathered for the
prifoners ; and then they take kettles, difhes,
pots, &c. with them. If they meet with fuch
a proceffion, the people (land flill, take off
their hats, and fall on their knees, though the
ftreets be ever fo dirty. They have the liberty
of making themfelves merry three days before
Lent ; and then they throw carraway comfits
at the people who pafs by, with other things
much more difagreeable.
The fchools have mailers and timers, who
teach children the firfl: principles of reli-
gion, and the form of the mafs, which they
inflruft them to mumble ail together.
They
r8 OS BECK'S VOYAGE,
They feldom teach any other than their
own language ; and it is laid, that, befides the
Jcfuits, there are but few who underftand La-
tin, and thofe make ufe of a particular pro-
nunciation ; thus, for mibi they fay micki. The
Hebrew language and the jews are equally in
difgrace with the Spaniards, and therefore are
both excluded from the colleges.
The Spanifh poetry is greatly eftecmed, par-
ticularly the works of guevedo are praifed be-
yond meafure ; comedies in verfe are frequent-
ly printed and acted, and the reading of them
is the principal amufement of many people.
The ftate of the fciences in Spain is beft re-
prefented by the learned Spanifh Benedictine
friar Gcronimo Fcjoo> in his Cartas Eruditas,
or Learned Letters, 1750, Tom. III. carta
xxxi. p. 384. k
Here are fcveral bookfellers fhops, in
which may be procured Spanifh books on re-
ligion, printed on a wretched paper, bound m
foft pafteboard, with leathern (traps inflead of
k In the original is a long quotation from Fejoo's book,
which the tranflator does not think interefting to an Englifli
reader.
clafps. 5
SPAIN. 1751. 29
elafps ; as alfo fome few French well-bound
books, on natural hiftory, phyfic, hiftory, &c.
Old books are expofed for fale, in the market
and in other places, upon tables.
None but ecclefiaflicks are permited to read
the Bible, and the Inquifition is very {trict in
this article. For this reafon it is only fold in
Latin ; and as the Spaniards feldom trouble
themfelves about any but their own language,
this order h very feldom difobeyed.
Their catechifm, or, as it is called, Doc-
tr'ina Chriftiana, is very fhort. The firfl ques-
tion is, What is the fign of a Chriftian I an-
fwer, Crofling; of which we have given an
account above. In this catechifm, feven facra-
ments are mentioned, baptifm, confirmation,
penance, communion, extreme un&ion, orders,
and matrimony ; and it is obferved, that the
fivefirit are abfolutely necefTary.
Works of mercy are fourteen, among whfch
one is the giving alms to Grangers. It like-
wife mentions feven Peccados Capitales, or capi-
tal fins, and as many virtues ;
1. Pride.
2. Luxury.
3. Avarice.
3 o OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
3. Avarice.
4. Anger.
"■-•*& —
Intemperance.
6. Envy.
7. Lazinefs.
Virtues are,
i. Humility.
2. Chaftity.
3. Charity.
4. Patience.
5. Temperance.
6. Benevolence.
7. Induftry.
In order to learn the Spanifh language,
there is no better Dictionary than that of So-
brino, which was publifhed in the year 1744,
in two volumes in quarto. The Grammar and
Dialogues of Sobrino are alfo of great ufe l .
1 In this place, Mr. Ofbeck inferts, for the ufe of his
countrymen, the Spanifh alphabet, with the pronunciation
of the letters j but as the great commercial connexions of
this country make all European languages more common
among the Englifh, and many grammars and teachers of
the Spanifh langnage are to be procured, it is entirely un-
necefTary to infert an alphabet which the author had made
with a view to be beneficial to his countrymen only. F.
No
SPAIN. 1751. 3 i
No proteftant book is permitted to be
brought into the city before the inquiiitors
have perufed it.
To avoid this inconvenience, I did not ven-
ture to take any books on-fhore, though I often
wanted them, in particular fuch as treated of
natural hiftory.
Their dilhes are fometimes very peculiar,
on account of the many fpecies of fiih, fruit,,
and roots, which are unknown to us.
I have feen no rye bread, and much Iefs
any of inferior quality ; it is chiefly made in
die Spanifh or French manner. The latter,
which is here made of Englifh wheat, is well
known to us. Great drought often occafions
a bad crop, which was the cafe the year be-
fore I arrived.
Their fugar-bread, which is equal in tafle
to the French bifcuit, is called Vifocho in Spa-
nifh, and is dipt into wine at table. They
have likewife a fort of fugar-bread in Spain,
which is like ginger-bread ; it is gilt at top,
and made of water melons, called Calabaja.
Nobody
32 ' O SBECK'S VOYAGE.
Nobody is permitted to eat flefli in Lent, ex*
cept the Tick, who may obtain a difpenfation
for a certain fee. Cow beef is reckoned bed
in this country, becaufe the cows are feldom
milked; but in their flead goats, flieep, and
affes. We bought two oxen for our ihip ; their
flefli was exceedingly dry, occafioned both by
the larvas of the gad-fly which nettle in their
ikins about this time, and by the want of good
pailures ; for our fine Swedifh grafs is much
wanted here, and in its flead the paftures are
covered with thirties, and other prickly plants,
which I (hall mention in another place.
Sovaja is a fort of corn which is fown in
the inclofures of the town, not for the ufe of
men, but only for the Cattle. They fold it to
us in bundles, whilft it was green, and had no
ears, which do not appear till March.
Bees are here in great eftimation, or eHe
the Spanifli proverb could not take pkce :
Abeja y oveja,
Tpiedra que traveja,
Tpendola trans orcja,
T parte en la Igreja,
Defea a fit hljo> la vicja.
The
SPAIN. 1751.
33
The beft wifhes of a mother to her Ton are,
bees, fheep, mill-ftones, a pen behind the
ear, and a place in the church.
Pot-herbs (Plants okraceaj are fown
both within and out of the town ; as purflane,
fpinage, and onions. The gardens are inclo-
fed with walls, on which the Agave Americana
is planted inftead of a hedge ; but where this
is not to be had, the prickly glaffwort (Salfola
Kali Linn.) or a hedge of twigs twitted toge-
ther becomes the fence. Origanum Creticum,
Spanifh Oregano, known by the name of
Spanifh hops, is ufed to make anchovies and
other meats more palatable m ; and for that
reafon, it was bought up very much in the
apothecaries {hops, where there is plenty of
it to be had.
Rosemary, which we reckon among the
ornaments of our green-houfes, is carried for
fale by whole cart-loads.
Sweet or China oranges, and other fruit,
are daily eaten after meals, and likewife at
•"" I was told that this fort of fpice fold well in China.
Vol. I. D other
34 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
other times ; and that they may not occafion.
ficknefs, they ufe bread with them. It is no.
frnall advantage (at lead to a Swede it appears
fo) to be able to take one's amufement all the
winter-long in the gardens, and to pluck there
the mod delicious fruits ; but, to balance
thefe blefiings of a genial climate, there is
not one good draught of water in all the
town, as it mud all be brought from Fort
Mary in boats, or carried by afTes, and is af-
terwards preferved in great ftonejugs. This
water-trade payp its merchants very well, for,
if I remember right, each boat that fetched
water at the abovementioned place gained
about forty Swedifh dollars filver coin (that is
nearly 50 (hillings) : the paffage is eafily made
in 24 hours, in cafe they go with the tide,
and return with it.
Wine of Xeres n is the beft and moft com-
mon fort, which is made in a little town near
Port St. Mary, called Xerez de la Fronteras,
and derives its name from it. As our Eafl In-
dia (hips fail from their own port with but
a fmall ftore of wine, they generally take in
at Cadiz a proper quantity of Sherry for the
14 Our Shenis or Sherry.
whole
SPAIN.. 1751. 35
whole voyage and return ; becaufe this wine is
ftrong, and preferves its goodnefs in all cli-
mates. A quarter of a calk, containing from
ten to eleven gallons, cofls forty Swcdifli dol-
lars filver, or nearly fifty {hillings iterling.
Tinto or Rofa wine is reckoned lefs wholeforae
than the white, and is therefore cheaper,
llaifins are alfo bought here, and fold in China
with great profit.
Spanish brandy is very ftrong, and may
be ufed as fpirit of wine. We gave it every
morning to the men, mixed with two-thirds of
water, and it was ufed in the punch which
we had twice a week at dinner. Befides this,
the captain ufually eheared the failors in a
(form with punch or brandy.
The people drink chocolate here in the
morning, and fometimes in the afternoon in-
ftead of tea. The following is the manner of
making chocolate : the chocolate nuts (Tbeo*
broma cacao Linn,) are dried and rubbed into
a foft pafle on a flat (tone, and fome cinnamon
is added during the rubbing. This pafce is
made into proper forms, fo that the chocolate*-
cakes referable the fiiape of bricks. Such a
P 2 piece
36 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
piece of chocolate weighs one pound. If cho»
colate is to be made for drinking, you take
fuch a piece to ten dimes of water ; it is bro-
ken, and whilfl it is boiling it is flirred with a
ladle, the thicken: end of which comes to the
bottom of the chocolate-pot which it fills.
At each filling of a dim, they ftir it over
again. It is probable that the manner of
preparing it is the reafon why it has a better
taite here than in Sweden, though they do
not mix the vanilla (Epidendrum vanilla
Linn.), a very precious American fruit, with
it. I never faw tea or coifee drank here.
The tradefmen are Frenchmen, English-
men, or Italians, who work pretty well, but
demand exhorbitant prices. Cloth and fluff
ure generally imported by the French, Eng-
lifh, and Italian merchants.
The Exchange was kept in a broad flreet
called Calla nueva, or New-dreet, clofe to
the market. During the time that the mer-
chants arc afTemblccl in it, the opening of the
ftreet towards the market is fhut up by a bar,
&5 is ufual at our cuilom-houfes,
Ts-is
SPAIN. 1751. 37
The Spanifh pine-tree, (Pinus pined) the
olive-tree, and, as it is faid, the cork-tree
(guercus Suber Linn.), are all fold for fuel
by weight.
The Spanifli weights are accurately de-
fcribed in the Memoirs of the Swedifii Aca-
demy of Sciences, 1746, p. 279. and after-
wards both the meafures and weights in the
fame Memoirs, 1755, p. 180.
The quantity of fpecie which circulates
here is rather aitoniihing to a Swede.
It is faid that fome people carry a good
deal of this out of the kingdom ; atfd even
the Spaniards themfelves fend great funis to
the Eaft Indies, and other places. If any one
carries a fum of money out of town, and is
difcovered, he not only lofes his money,
but is fent to prifon, and alfo fullers other pu-
mihments.
The people of this country do not make ufe
of horfes for carriages or any ether purpofe ;
when an inhabitant of Cadiz goes out of town,
D 7 he
-3 O S BE CK'S VOYAGE.
he puts on a wide jacket, cr Caffaquilla, and
wears neither coat nor boots, though both would
be very neceffary. He makes ufe of wooden
flirrups, which have fome likenefs to a fmooth-
ing-iron without a cover ; he puts his feet into
them, and they not only ferve as a fupport to
him, but likewife as a cafe for his {hoes, to
keep off the dirt.
Mules (Equus afinus mulus Linn.), called
Mulo and Mala by the Spaniards, draw their
carriages, but they move very fiowly. Their
coaches have no feat for the coachman, fo he
is forced to ride on one of the mules. She-
mules do not propagate their fpecies, at lead
fuch inftances are very fcarce. They are the
offspring of a mare and an he-afs, or of a
mare and a mule. The common people be-
lieve that the flerility of the fhe-mule is in
confequence of a curie laid upon it by the
Virgin Mary at the birth of our Saviour, be-
caufe it had eaten the hay which the ox had
collected together. Their common food is
cut-flraw with corn.
Tke afs (Equus afinus) is lefs than the leaft
horfe, and is X'^ry common in Spain, both in
towns and in the country. The he-afs is
called
SPAIN. 1751. ?9
called Vurro, and the (he-afs Vurra, which is
read as Burro and Burra. Burrico is the dimi-
nutive of this word, and denotes a little ais,
whence the Swediili name Borka is derived.
They are lean, and afh-coloured, but grow
blackiih after being fhorn. They are fed like
horfes with cut-draw, but they likewife con-
rent themfelves with what they find in the
ftreets or road. When they come to marker,
their difagrceabie braying even drowns the
noife of the crowd. They are ufed to all forts
of work, except drawing a cart, which is ne-
ver done but on the fea-fhore, from whence
they carry ftones to town : fand, draw, flreet-
dirt, in fhort every thing that is to be removed
From one place to another, is loaded upon the
backs of affes in panniers, made of mats,
and open at top. But if they carry water or
milk, they have faddies made of oaken planks,
on which the caiks are laid on bodi I
When you have affes, you want no brid'ey
to them ; for as foon as the afs-driver cries
out Arc or Araci, all thofe which have flrayed
out of the road turn in again. Many hun-
dreds of thefe animals were at rhe country-gate
of Cadiz, whither they brought fand to make
the ground even on the outfide of the ditches,
hot to mention all thofe which are to be met
D 4 with
40 OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
with in every part of the town. Their hoofs
are never fhoed, though afles are ufed like
faddle-horfes at the poft-ftations ; but this kind
of porting is very difagreeable to thofe who
are not ufed to it, from the {lownefs of their
motion.
People of all ages fmoak tobacco, though
it is (as well as fnurT) very dear. It is feldom
fmoak ed in pipes, but either in leaves rolled
together, called Cigarro by the Spaniards, or
the tobacco which comes in packs is wrapt up
in paper, and this ferves inftead of pipes.
The belt Spanifli fnuff comes from Seville,
and they generally put it into fnuff-boxes of
olive-wood, which are very pretty.
It is very agreeable walking before the
gate towards the country, becaufe you are not
peitered there with cuftom-houfe officers, and
only meet with a few civil centinels, who fhew
the way to ftrangers if they happen to
mifs it. The high-road is very magnificent,
and has flone benches on both fides. The
throwing of bombs into the air, and fome
other diverfions of the fame kind, attratt a
good many people hither, who repofe them-
ielves on thefe benches. In other places the
high-road
SPAIN. 1751. 41
high-road is not fo grand. Travelling is much
more inconvenient and expenfive here than in
Sweden, on account of the delays and bad ac-
commodation. Travellers always carry fire-
arms and piitols with them, and feem as if
they were marching to a campaign ; for they
have reafon to be afraid of robbers, which,
though lefs frequent farther in the kingdom,
are often met with in Andalufia ; whence the
Spanifh proverb,
De el Andahtz guar da tu capuz ;
Al Andaluz haze la cruz :
Al Sevillano con una y otra mano :
Al Corduves con manos y -pies.
Take care of thy head before an Andalufian,
and fign thyfelf with a crofs ; before a Seviliau
crofs thyfelf with both hands ; and before a
Cordubian with hands and feet.
I found neither animals of prey nor
fnakes ; but I met a perfon having a long
lizard, exceeding a foot in length, of green,
yellow, and other colours, on a firing. It was
very fpiteful, and when it was let down upon
the ground, it opened its mouth at all who
palled by it, especially if a (tick was held near
42 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
it. The man who carried it faid he could fell
h to the apothecaries.
Euphorbia Parallels,-*, kind of /purge, was
to be met with in the fandy grounds near the
fea-fhore, where the waves of the fea often
reached. It was at that time without fructifica-
tion.
Spartium monofpermum, which the Spa-
niards call Retamasy grows like willow bufhes
along the fea-fhore as far as the flying fands
reach. This plant was particularly plentiful
in the peninfula on Which Cadiz ftan'ds,
which is covered with a fine white fand, and
where, befides this, fcarce any other plant
grows, except the Ononis repens, or creeping
reftharrow. The Retdmds fcmetimes grows to
the thicknefs of a man's arm; its bark is a(h-
coloured, the numerous branches are all green ;
its leaves mine like {Ilk ; the frefh leaves are
lanceolated, but the old ones are more obtufej
a little fplit at top, and reflected : the flowers
are innumerable, fmall, white, and have red
Calices. The life of this plant is very great
in flopping the progrefs of the flying fand.
The leaves and young branches cf it are very
delicious
SPAIN. 1 7.5*. 4,3
delicious food for goats, but I have not 6b-
ferved that they touch the bark. It turns the
mod barren place into a fine odoriferous gar-
den by its flowers, which laft a long while.
The twigs are ufed for tying bundles, inflead
of riifhes ; and all kinds of herbs which are
brought to market are fattened together with
them. The whole fhrub ferves to fhelter
hogs and goats againfl: the fcorching heat of
the fun.
Swine are kept in whole herds by a man
who feeds them with acorns, which are com-
monly fold at Cadiz and at other places. The
fwine are very large, thin haired, and black
as jet. It is probable they came originally
from Africa, as I am told that this fort of hogs
is very fcarce higher up in the country. It
would be worth while for an ceconomifr. to get
a breed of thefe fwine ; but they mull alio be
fed as they are here, and have fome exercife
every day, which keeps them from growing
too fat °, and makes them tafle well. The
exportation of a boar of this kind is for-
bidden, but a fow almod ready to farrow
° In England no m3n tries to prevent his hogs from
■■growing too far.
would
44 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
would be ftill better for the propagation of
this kind of hogs. We bought a good many
of thefe fwine for our (hip ; and every Satur-
day we killed one of them, and had broth
called Puspas boiled from part of it.
In the fame ifland were fome little gardens,
and in the midfl of them here and there a
palm-tree (Phanix daclyllfera) which gave them
a fine appearance.
January the 23d, and the following days.
Puerto de San ft a Maria, which our failors
called Port St. Mary, is a little unfortified fea-
port, about three quarters of a Swedifh mile
from Cadiz. I went this day to that place ;
It is fituated in a plain, not far from the mouth
of a river. If you go up this river, the town
is on your left hand, and on the right a fmall
ifland, whofe fituation is low, and which is co-
vered with flirubs, among which the Ncrium
oleander, called Terva mala, or the noxious
plant, by the Spaniards, grew in the fand
near the water.
On
SPAIN. 175
45
On our arrival we were met by the cuftom-
houfe officers, who came to us, with loaded
fire-arms, in a boat. We afterwards went in
fmaller boats into more fhallow water, where
we found a good many fellows who offered to
carry the people on fhore for fome fmall mat-
ter, and they did it very cleverly. For the
fame purpofe afTes and horfes were kept in
readinefs. Though the city is lefs than Ca-
diz, yet its ftreets are finer ; all the private
and public houfes are of flone, the fame as
in Cadiz, but lefs. Some of them were not
yet rebuilt fmce the plundering of this place
by the Englifh. In a monaftery of this town
I faw feveral repofitories full of relicks, but
I fuppofe my readers will pardon my omit-
ting to enumerate them. The houfes were
ornamented with pots, in which were rofe-
mary, carnations, and other odoriferous plants,
in full bloffom; but the Sc?nper-vi-vu?n arboreum
had no flowers as yet. Where thefe orna-
ments were wanting, Flora herfelf had fup-
plied the bare walls with Bryum murale and
Lichen parietinus ; and befides thefe, in fome
places with Cotyledon umbilicus > or navelwort,
whofe leaves grew between every little cleft,
the Mercurialis a?mua, or French mercury s
and Parietaria Lufiianka* The old ruined
2 wails
A 6 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Walls were quite yellow with the Sifymbrium
Irio, and with the Senedo communis or common
groundfel. This town has good frefh wa-
ter, in fuch plenty, that, befides its own inha-
bitants, it fupplies Cadiz and the ihips in
that port. This water is reckoned the beft in
this country, wherefore in Cadiz they cry Agua
del Puerto, I am told that it is brought a
quarter of a Swedifh mile by fubterraneous
canals to this place. There are feveral houfes
in this town from whence the water may be
fetched ; one in particular was built for that
purpofe on the river fide, during the reign of
King Philip V. The ihip-hoats come thither
and fetch frefh water, without lofs of time,
becaufe they open the water- canal for a very
fmall matter. The other houfe is an Engliih
•nn, where all the ilrangers generally lodge.
The leaves of the famphire (Crithmum mar
ritimum), pickled in vinegar p , are eaten here
and in Cadiz with roaftcd meat. This juicy
plant grows on the coafts of England, and
ps on thofe of Spain, but not in this
p The manner of pickling this, and a'l the like fait and
juicy plants, as is ufual in England, is d-:fc'ibed by Mr.
in Kelm t in his Voyage to North America, Vol.
p 5,7. of the Swedilh edition, Dr,Scbrebir.
place :
S P A I N. 1 75 1. 47
place : it is not found in Sweden •, but we
have other juicy plants, fuch as (Salicornia
jLuropaa) marfh famphire, or jointed glaff-
wort.
The country hereabouts was already beau-
tified with many flowers. Dwarf-mallow {Mai-
•va rotandifolia), with large red flowers, grew
both about the houfes and out of town, and
was greedily eaten by hogs and oxen; but
they always palTed by the funfpurge (Euphor-
bia heliofcopia), and would rather eat the Car-
duns Syriacus, the white fpotted leaves of
which, though they ornament the fields, I.
think, afford but a poor food.
The cow-herds go with long flicks, like the
Polifh bear-keepers. All the Spanifti fnores
are mountainous, except in this place. The
foil alfo varies much. On the fea-fhore you
find during low water a blue clay, and near it
a fine white fand, which covers the country
here and there at a little diftance from the fea.
It often looks like large hills of fnow, where
pine woods or other plants hinder it from fly-
ing. Higher up from the fea, you find, a
mould mixed with fand and pebbles, fometimes
pf a red, and fometimes of another colour.
In
4 3 OSBECR'S VOYAGE,
In the vallies is fometimes a il<y blue or other
clay, the fame as in their wheat-fields.
The plants on the fea-fhore were very few ;
Spariium monofpermum and Juncus acntus were
but jufl fprung up from the ground. A little
farther from the water grew Scbosfius mucrona-
tus involucri fo His /capo longiorlbus. Still fur-
ther off began the woods of the Pinus pinea,
which hindered the fand from fpreading any
further. In thefe woods I found the refthar-
row {Ononis); there grew likewife queen's
flock july-flowers (Cheiranthus incanus), broad-
leaved moufe-ear duckweed (Cerajiium vif-
cofum), Lotus cytifoides, and Crepis bar-
lata. The latter was in bloffom ; the
flock-july-flower jufl: began to flower at my
departure ; but the reflharrow had no appear-
ance of flowering at that feafon.
Some infers are found in this fand; in par-
ticular, Scarab mis facer, /avis, thorace inermu
Gardens or plantations take up a great
part of the fields ; and they contain lemon,
cr-jnge, almond, and olive trees, which turn
to .a coofiderable profit to the owners.
■ The
S P A I N. tip: 49
The lemon tree, the Seville and fweet
orange trees, are much akin to one another,
and are generally planted promifcuoufly *.
The fvveet fmell of their flowers would almofr.
revive a perfon when half dead. The fruit
ripens fo flowly, that the whole year is fpent
before it comes to perfection. It is faid by
fome nurfery-men, that they can produce fruits
of which one quarter is Seville, the fecorid
fweet orange, the third quarter fweet, and the
fourth four lemons.
Sovaja was fown in fome places amongfi
i he trees ; fometimes parts of the plantations
Were fown with farads, radifhes, onions, &c.
The Phmiix da&ylifera r is feldom to be
met with here : there were fome near the mo-
naitery, almofl as high as the houfe itfelf, the
dates of which were fallen down, and were of
the colour and fize of white plumbs. The
* la the Linnrcan Syftem they are all included in one
Genus, viz. Citrus.
r This is the Date-palm. There are two fuch in the
Governor's garden at Gibraltar forty-five feet high, and
fuppofed to be fome hundred years old.
Vol. I. ' E leavd
5 o OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
leaves are twitted together by the friers, who
make prefents of them to ornament the houfes
on Palm-funday ; and on that day they are
like wife flrewed about the ftreets.
The vineyards looked very poorly, and arc
like our s burnt land (Swedieland) y for there
are neither leaves nor flowers to be feen. The
vines were planted in rows, and little drains
were made between each row. Medic or fnail
trefoil (Mcdicago polymorphci) and Rumcx fpi-
nofus were now in flower.
The almond-tree (Amygdalus communis), in
Spanifli Almcndro, is an ornament to the vine-
yards with its white and reddifli-coloured blof-
foms.
The olive-tree (Oka Europtzd) .was planted
in large fields, having a red-coloured foil mix-
3 In Sweden, Finland, Livonia, and the greater part of
Ruiiia, where woods are plentiful, the countrymen cut
down large tradls, burn them, and then they Tow the land
for three years and mere together, b u caufe the allies of the
wood manure the land for all that lime; after which they
ciiufe another place, and proceed in the fame manner ; fo
that in twenty or more years they may return to the firft
place, which is then again entirely covered with wood; and
this i s called in the north ^-^cdicland. F.
ed
SPAIN. 1751* 51
«sd with little ftones. The Spaniards call the
tree Olivo, but its fruit, or the olives, Aceytuna.
On them grew the Lichen crijiahts, and be-
low the trees bloomed a fpecies of flock-july*
flowers (Cbeirantbus trilobus), and Valeriana
cornucopia. In one of thefe olive-tree planta*
tations I found Arum arifarw??, the roots of
which go very deep. The olive-trees (hewed
no blofToms as yet, and had but a poor inclo-
fure.
I saw here fome fmall flocks of Spanifli
fheep : they were all white, with fome black
fpots near the eyes, ears, and mouth. See
Dr. Linnceus's Voyage to Weftrogothia,
page 53.
Artichokes (€y?:ara folymus), in Spanifli
Acanziles, or Alcacbofa, or Cardillos, were
planted on little hills, as we do hops ; the red
of the garden fluff, as beans, turneps, Sec. h
managed as in Sweden.
The tender plants are covered with fkreens,
which are erected almoft horizontally at two
yards from the ground : to water the plant?,
water is drawn up out of the well by means
of a great wheel, turned either by men or by
K 2 an
5 z OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
an ih. The circumference of this wheel
touches the water, and there are feveral earth-
en pots fattened to it by double firings, which
fetch up the water.
Garden beans (J T icia fabd) were already
i£ full bloffom in the open air, which we never
can have before Midiummer-day in Sweden.
This is a clear proof of the difference of the
climate.
The earthen walls, with which the gardens
and plantations are furrounded, are often three,
yards high, and are befides covered with
prickly plants : among which
The Agave Americana l is the mo ft com-
mon, moil beautiful, and mod ufeful. This
is called Pita in Spain, but it is by no-means
the Aloe vera y or femperviva, except you will
call every thing fempervivwn which is ever-
green; which would be as ridiculous as to give
the fame denomination to the fir and the juni-
per, becaufe they both continue green all the
winter. The leaves of this plant, which I
was told was about fix years old, were three
feet long. The laft year's fiapi % which were
already mouldering, were about two men's
' Vulg. American Aloe.
35 lengths;
SPAIN. 175 1-. 53
lengths; and the freih ones, which were al-
ready a yard in length, began to {hew their
long anthera. The corolla were for the moft
part eaten away, but Ha&Jtamina and ■piflillum
remained unhurt.
The American aloe is ufeful in many re-
fpects ; for, beildes the uie that is made of it
in quick hedges, the leaves are foaked and ma-
naged like hemp, and may be fpun for purfes
and other things. With the points of the
leaves, which are as ftiarp and as itifF as an
awl, they bore peoples ears, and clear tobacco
pipes ; but they muft not be ufed for tooth-
picks, for the wounds their prickles caufe are
not eafily healed. It is {aid, that if its leaves,
when roafted by the fire, be laid upon wounds,
the pain will ceafe. The Americans ufe the
juice of the root to cure the venereal difeafe.
Some further account is to be met with, in the
book called " The Memoirs of Sophia Eliza-
" beth Brenner," printed at Stockholm, in
folio. In it flie fpeaks of the qualities of this
plant: Upon the firfl American aloe's flowering
in Sweden, it began to bloiTom in September
1708, and continued till the next winter in
Noors Sates gard. t( The Jgavc, fays me, is
** a plant which fupplies all the wants of the
E 3 " Indian,
54 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
* f Indian, according to the befl authorities u ;
£i if he wants ro make a hedge round his fields,,
" he plants the Agave round them, becaufe its
" leaves are (tiff", and armed with innumerable
l( prickles. If he builds any thing, he makes
" his planks of Agave, which he can ufe in-:
* f Head of timber ; and he thatches his cot-
" tage with its leaves. The latter are of ftiil
" greater ufe to him ; as from the fame mate-
" rial he makes his paper, linen, cloaths,
" Aides, thread, difhes, plates, and other
" utenfils. The points of the leaves are as
" good as nails, fpears, or pins. If he choofes,
" he can make wine, honey, fugar, and vine-
" gar, from its juice. If he puts the thick
" leaves of it under-ground for fome time,
i( they tafte better than melons, or lemons
*' with fugar.".
Cactus opuntia, whofe flem is thicker than
a man's arm, is likewife ufed to cover the
walls ; and befides this, feveral other plants,
fuch as hoily {Ilex aquifblium), called Hon in
French.
u Nardus Antorius Recchus de re medica Nov.
jHifp. Lib. VIII. Cap. yii. Roma;, 1651.
Amongst
SPAIN. 1751. 5$
Amongst the thorny plants are feveral
others ornamented with fine flowers ; viz.
Lye i am Euro pawn.
Atriplex portulacoides, fea purflane,
Chenopodium ambrofmdes.
Afparagus officinalis, afparagus.
faleatus .
. ■ — acutifolius.
apby litis.
Galium aparine, cleavers, or goofe-grafs.
Ari/lolochia rotunda.
Fumaria officinalis, fumitory, called Conojito
in Spaiiifli.
Arundo donax, a fpecies of reed called Cana
in Spain, held up its head above all the reft ;
its flowers were already withered. It is ufed
for walking-flicks and for fifhing-ro4s.
On the fteep fides of thefe walls, towards
the road, grew Bryum acaidon erica tenuifolia
folio. Dillen. Mufcor. 388. t. 49. f. 55. y.
Anethum ftenicultfm, or fen el, Phlomis purpu-
rea, Teucrium iva, Tqrgionia hypophylla, and
the Palmetto, or Chamarops humiHs, which Jail
throve beft here, and hung downwards ; but
thefe were not in bloilbm ; nor was the Daphne
gnfdium, a fhrub which is very like to our
E 4 Ledum
5 6 5 BECK'S VOYAGE.
Ledum palujt re y or marfti cifius, and grew near
the road ; where I found in bloflbm likewife
Geranium deuterium, hemlock leaved crane*
■bill.
Chpcola jonthlafpi,
Vinca major, great periwinkle, in one fingle
flace.
Hyacinthus ferotinus \
• - — monftrofus,
Veronica a^nftis, germander fpeedwell.
Nyofotis fcorpioides arvenfis, moufe-ear fcor-
jpion grafs.
Tblafpi burfa pajloris, fliepherd purfe.
Centaur ca. pullata.
-, fpharocephala*
Silene conoideu.
Jlefeda glauca.
Anagallis latffolia.
Arum macula turn, wake Robin, or cuckow
pint.
Matricaria chamomilla, corn feverfew.
liifcutcUa didynia.
In the gardens were the following plants
growing fpomancoufly, in full bloiTom:
fapaycr rhocas> red poppy*
Ziachy: fcrte.
Yield
SPAIN. 1751. 57
Vicla httea, yellow vetch.
One Phyfalis.
Solatium nigrum vidgare, garden or common
nightfliade.
Alfine media, common chickweed.
Borrago officinalis, borage, in Spanifli Boraja.
Ma ha rotundifolia, fiore majors rubefcente.
Sonchus oleraceusy fowthiftle, in Spanifli 6V-
raja.
'3
Urtica urens, annual nettle,"! in Spanifh or-
dioica, common nettle, j tega.
Ricinus communis, in Spanifli, Higuera del
inferno, or infernal fig-tree ; this was fcarce.
Sifymbrium trio, fmooth broad-leaved hedge-
muftard.
Senecio vulgaris, common groundfel, which
likewife grew on the roofs and gutters.
Punica granatum, the pomegranate-tree ; it
was then without bloflbms.
In poor and wafte fields, the Palmetto {Cha-
tnarops humilis), which is called Pa Imito by
the Spaniards, is as common as the -juniper-
(hrub with us : the Palmetto has a narrow,
and as it were compreffed Hem, with thorns
on the edges. The ftem is about a quarter of
a yard long, and ends with a leaf of the fame
length,
5 3 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
length, which at firft is folded together like
a fan, but higher up it opens and expands.
When the Item grows longer, it lies down on
the ground. At that time this little palm-
tree had neither bloflbms nor fruit. Its leaves
are every where ufed for brooms. The roots,
which fpread very much, are fold in the towns,
and eaten raw, after they have been peeled.
Upon the fame fields grew the afore-men-
tioned thiille; and alfo
Illecebrum paronychia.
Crocus Bulbocodlum.
Salvia verbcnaca, wild clary.
'Tragopogon Dalccampii.
Cinoglojfum cbeirijolium.
his Xiphium.
Calendula officinalis, garden marygold.
Stachys arvcnjts.
MarrubiuTii vulgar c (without flowers), white-
hoarhound.
Between and below the Palmetto trees, the
following plants were in bloilom :
Lamium amplexicaule, great henbit.
Geranium motte, dove's-foot craneVbitL
Andro-
SPAIN. 1751. S9
Andropogon Income ?
Linum ufitatijfwium, flax.
Sherardia arvcnfis, little field-madder.
On the road, between the gardens, I faw
in flower.
Anemone palmata.
Afphodelus fjlulcfus.
Afphodelus ramofus, called in Spanhh Ga-
won ; this fine plant, which grows up to the
height of five feet, was to be met with both
within and without the gardens.
Doroniaim bellidia/lrum.
Beta vulgaris, beet.
Echinops Ritro.
Anchufa officinalis.
Silene pendula.
Stellaria arenaria.
Lvc opjis veficaria. *
Hypocharis radicata, long- rooted hawk-
weeq\
Ranunculus bulbofus, bulbpus-rooted crow-
foot.
Lichen phyfodes.
Variicum cms galli.
Euphorbia
6o OS BECK'S VOYAGE,
Euphorbia pcphis.
fakata.
' rua.
• v v>-
different fpecks of
heliofcopia, ( fpurges.
efula, _
myrfinitet.
hqgurus o-vatus.
Rumex acctofa, forrel.
Silcnc floribus later alibus folitariis y ealycibus
lanatis, film ciliatis. The flalk is thin, one
foot long, almoft quite rough, and without
branches : the leaves are lanceolated, and be-
low on the margin covered with a white wool;
their other parts are quite fmooth, out of the
lower leaves fhoot up fome imperfect ' petioli :
but the flowers come fingly from the corners
of the upper leaves alternately, and not two
by two, on very fhort peduncles. The club-
like calyx has fen points, covered with a long
white wool.
January 28th, and the following days.
I went again to the fields which lye before
the city of Puerto de Santa Maria; and found,
bolides the above-mentioned plants, the water-
crowfoot 'Ranunculus a^uai'ilis), whofe whit?
flowers
SPAIN. 1751. fo-
llowers entirely covered the ditches and ponds.
In them I found alfo the Conferva Imllofa. I
came into a little wood of Spanifh firs, where
the Bvfus candelaris cloathed the trees. The
wood was furrounded, like the gardens, with
hedges of Agave, or American aloe. It is no
wonder that theie woods are inclofed,. for the
thin and hard boards they afford for chefls to.
pack lemons in are often dearer than the fruit
irl'clf. In the fir-wood I found a good many
icarce plants, and among the reft the S/Jym-
brium fyhejirc, on which I difcovered a hairy
caterpillar, which afterwards became a fmooth,
pale-green coloured, oblong-pointed, angula-
rcd, Warty, black aurelia, having on the back
a convex elevation. In its third change it be-
came the Papllio hyak Linn, or Pafilio Caroli-
nianus lutcus apicibus nigris. Petiv. Muf. p. 12,
T.VII. %. ic.
Opchis fuftejfens Linn, bulb is fajciculatis t
■iicel arii labia ova to indivifo fvberenato, was very
worthy of obiervation, as appears from the
following defcription : the root confifts of two
or more tuberous fimple bulbs, excepting four
or fix fibres towards the beginning of the
(talk ; the flalk was. about the length of a
fpan, round and red j four leaves are near the
root,
62 OS BECK'S VOYAGE;
root, the lower ones are larger, and oblong-
oval {ovata lanccolatd) ; the upper ones are
lefs fpeckled alternate, and cover the remain-
der of the (talk with the (heath in which they
end at bottom: the fttpula which is below
every flower is lanceolated, and like the letter
leaves of the (talk of a red colour : the flowers
at moil are feven, flefii-coloured, and confift
each of five petals, that is three outward and
two inward, which are almoft equal to one an-
other, lanceolated, and rolled up {convoluta) ;
the lower lip of the neftariumh oval, entire,
and fomewhat crenated ; the two /lamina had
round green anthera*
The Antirrhinum arvenfe, or fnap-dragon,
was very fmall, but difcoverable by its yellow
flowers.
Aliaum. fL<bhirfuiu?n ; the root confifts of
two, three, or more white bulbs, from which
run out little fibres ; their fcales are hard,
brown, imbricated, and very irregular ; the
llalk is round, and uncovered at top ; the
leaves grow commonly enfiform or fword-fhap-
ed towards the root, and carinated below;
they end .in a point, are hairy on the margin,
2 . and
SPAIN. 175 1. 6 3
and longer than the flalk ; the jpatha is torn,
and generally withered : the flowers which
form the umbella are white, and confifl of fix-
oval, oblong, concave, erected petals : the fix
filaments are pointed at the top, as long as the
corolla, and come from the thalamus : the an-
them are oblong, fhort, and upright : the ger-
men is round, blunt, and triangular ; the
Jiylus is as long as the filaments ; thejiigma is
erected: the capfula is globular and triloculare
the feeds are generally oval and angular. It
thrives moll under bullies of the
Passerina hlrfuia\ the fiem of which has
many branches fimilar to thofe of the juniper
fhrub, has no leaves, is round and diiFufe ;
the branches are full of leaves, and bent every
way : the leaves grow alternately, are feffile,
carnofe, fmall, ovato-lanceolated, depreifed in
the middle, with a concave margin, woolly
and white at the top, and dark-green below :
the flowers have no pedimculi ; they are fmall,
of a yellow colour, and come in great num-
bers from the fame buds with the leaves : in-
Read of the calyx, which is wanting, are four
or more leaves under the flowers : the corolla,
confiib of an infundibiiH-favm petal, whofe
inifide
64 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
infide is woolly; the tube is cylindrical; the
limhus is quaclrified and fhorter than the tube ;
the lacinia are oval and reflected; the filaments
are fattened to the tube, and four of them arc
a little lower than the other two; the antheras
are almoft oval, they lie acrofs the filaments,
and are compofed of two valves. This fhrub
grows in the fir- woods like our juniper ihrub,
and in other places out of town : it is called
Torvicho here, but in other places Tomif/o.
On this fhrub lives the Mcloc mojalis Linn.
fegmentorum abdominis marghiibus dorfalibm
rubris.
Saltamatos are a fpecies of locufts, fo
called by the people here, which are fo be met
with in the above-mentioned fir- wood. They
were of fo remarkable a iize, that, when fly-
ing, they looked like little birds, which they
imitated farther in not fettling on the ground,
but always on high trees, and often at fiich a
height that they were fcarce vifible*
Besides the Cocci net la feptem f unci at a^ I
gathered many fcarce infecls, mofl: of which
were deftroyed during my abfence from the
inn, all the apartments being open to every
body.
SPAIN. 1751. 6$
body. Thofe that remained, and which I took
on-board with me, were,
Scarabaus (facer Linn.) lavis, t /jo race in-
ermi, capite antico fexdentato. Habitat in are-
nojis maritimis.
Scarabaus (typhosus Linn.) thoracc tricorni,
intermedia minore. In campis.
Scarabaus (bilobus Linn.) thoracs mutica,
capite cornutOy elytris Jiriatis.
Carabus totus niger, Jirigis feptem in fingulo
elytro muricatis.
Tenebrio (muricatus Linn.) elytris muricatis.
Papilip (rumina Linn.) tetrapus, alts ex coc-
cineoy luieo, argenteo et nigro variegatis, primo-
ribus rotiindis.
Papilio medius gaditanus ex nigro et fulphureo
varius. Catesby.
Onifcus (afilus Linn.) abdomine foiiis duobus
obtecloy cauda femiova/i. Habitat in pifcibus
vxarinis.
February the 8th, and the following days.
As my greateft amufement was in the coun-
try about Port Mary, I went there again to-
day, and had fcarce gone in at my old land-
Vql. I, F lord's,
66 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
lord's, when I found fomething new ; before
the window was a plant which they called St.
Jofeptfs flower, and which is faid to grow
hereabouts in low ground ; the fcapus was
triangular, and the flowers quite white ; it was
Allium triquctrum. I went without any com-,
pany on the road towards Puerto Real, but
was forced to return again on account of the
rainy weather. The following plants I found
in bloiTom :
In low places.
Geranium grid num.
Bellis annua, common daify.
Cn the road.
Anemone palmata.
Antirrhinum bipunciatum, below the pal-
metto.
Ci/lus Fumana.
'Tuber aria.
falic if alius .
On dry hills every-wherc-
Satureja capitata (flneflore).
Lavendulajlpechas.
OrtiU
SPAIN. 1751. 67
Ornithogalum umbel/atum, ftar of Beth-
lehem.
Qrn'ithopus comprejfus.
Antirrhinum orontium, leafl fnap-dragon.
Teucr mm f rut leans.
Leueojum autumnale.
Coronilla juncea.
Hippocrepis comofa, tufted horfe-fhoe-vetch.
Anihyllis tetraphylla.
Ruta graveo/ens, rue.
QJius hirtus, 1 two fpecies of Ciftus, of
fahifolius, J which the latter is called
Pto in Spanifh, and is a fmall flirub which made
but a poor appearance at that time : for the
branches were of the fame colour as the ground
they lay on, and fo were the leaves ; but in
March it furpaffed all its neighbours, by its
large odoriferous white flowers.
It began to rain harder and harder, which
made me haften back ; but I turned into an-
other road, which led to the town of St. Lu-
cas. I here found about the gardens the Spar-
tiumfpinofum, with its fine golden yellow flowers.
At lad I was obliged to turn off to the left of
the road, and came on a common, which, ex-
cepting fome little hillocks, was all under wa-
ter : upon it I found a plant till then quite un-
F 2 known.
6$ O S B E C K'S VOYAGE.
known, namely the Verbafcum OJbeckii Linn,
of which I made the following defcription :
the plant fpreads on all fides ; the ftalk lies
on the ground, is undivided, triangular, and
nervofe ; the leaves are oval, and cut into ir-
regular fegments; the upper leaves are lefs,
almoit feffile, the lower ones have petioli :
the peduncles are woolly, mofl of them bifid,
and come from the bottom cf the leaves ; the
calyx is deeply quinquefid, woolly, with lan-
ceolated fegments ; the corolla is rotated, the
rube fliort ; the limbus quinquefid ; the five
filaments are very fliort, and reft on & fquama,
covering the germen ; the anihcra are oblong,
erected, and longer than the filaments ; the
jrertnen is almoft round ; the Jlylus is longer
than the filaments ; the Jhgma is entire and
pointed : the fruit was not yet vifible : the
whole plant had a fmell of mulk, and might
probably find a place in the apothecary's {hop.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, I
arrived at my inn quite wet ; but an hour
after I accompanied fome of my countrymen
who went out of town to buy lemons. I foon
obferved a particular tree in a garden, which
had nothing but a few crooked pods, with
neither leaves nor flowers, and confequently
nothing
SPAIN. 1751. 6 9
nothing by which it could be known. The
Spanifh name of it is Aromas; and our indubi-
ous Mr. Loefling, who travelled into America,
at the expence of his Spanifh Majefty, in or-
der to make obfervations on natural hiftory,
for fomc years together, wrote to me, in his
letter from Madrid, that it was the Mimofa
Farnefiana, a fpecies of fenfitive plant. One
of the company faid, he had feen this fruit
eaten in the Eah 1 in times of fcarcity.
We walked from hence into a lemon plan-
tation, where the Tanacetum balfamita> vulgo
Co/imary, which is here called Terva de Santa
Maria, and the wall-flower, or Cheiranthus
cheiri, were planted, and the latter in pots.
Among the wild plants, the Anchufa officinalis^
or officinal buglofs, and the Spergula penian-
dra, or fpurrey, were in plenty.
•
Not far from the town, we palled a well
furrounded by a very high wall, round which
there was a trough, for the cattle to drink.
The well was covered with a fort of rufh
(Juncus acutus) called Pa ran in Spanifh. Ac
night we returned to our inn, where we paid
, F : apiaflre
70 OS BECK'S VOYAGE,
a piaftre w a day for -an open room and an
ordinary. To this if yon add fome other un-
avoidable expences,, the income of three thou-
fand copper dollars * for the whole voyage to
China will not admit of many more amufe-
ments on fhore.
February the ioth.
This morning I left the town with an inten-
tion to go on board our ftiip ; but a hidden
cad-wind made us pafs her, and brought us
to Cadiz, where, to our great furprize, we
landed at nine o'clock the next morning. The
way by land is much longer ; but you pafs
through two little infignificant towns, Puerto
Real and Chiclana.
I was glad to come from the boiflerous
fea into an agreeable gaftlen ; the fummer-
houfes of which were covered with our com-
mon ivy (Hedera helix), called Tedra in Spa-
nifh.
w Rather more than four (hillings fterling.
x A Copper dollar is about five pence, or five pence half-
penny fierling.
Apis
SPAIN. 1751. 71
Apis violacea fought its nourifliment on the
bean-flowers in the forenoon, but in the after-
noon it refted on the vine-tendrils, or on the dry
bufhes, which were laid over the covered walks
to keep off the heat of the fun. Thefe fum-
mer-houfes were covered with the blue paflion-
fiower (Pajfiflora ccerutea) which had neither
flowers nor fruit at that time. Befides thefe
beans, there were Indian creffes (Tropaolum?)
vulgo Na/lurtium, wild rofes, Pdcinus com-
munis , and borrage (Borrago officinalis) ; which
are likewife common in our gardens.
Spanish locufts, called Grillo in Spain, are
by the people of falhion kept in cages called
Grilkria ; whereas our locufts are not in the
leaft efteemed, and fing their fong without
being taken notice of*
February the 15 th and 16th.
I again went to the Puerto de Sanaa Ma-
ria, where I re-vifited the above-mentioned in-
clofed fir-wood, in which I found the fine Or-
chis, already withered ; but as I could find no
other plants befides thofe I have already men-
F 4 tioned,
72 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
tioned, I went into the open wood, which be-
gins at the fhifting fands, and goes a good
way into the country. It was not furrounded
by a hedge, and I faw nobody in it except
an honeft wood-man. In a low place I
found a mod beautiful flower, which would be
an ornament even to a green-houfe : this was
Ophrys infeclifera adrachnites {labia trifido) :
the root is a bunch of oblong bulbs, whereof
thofe in the middle are longer than thofe on
the outiide : the flalk is of the length of a
fpan, green, and uncovered above the middle j
the leaves are green, thofe near the root are
ovato-lanceolated, and four or more in num-
ber ; the braftea are green, and are as long
as the flowers ; the flowers are about three in
number ; the three outward petals are oblong,
and the two inner ones fmall, like teeth ; the
under-lip is foftly lanated at top, dark-red,
with very fine fpots, and cut into three parts ;
the middlemofl lacima is the kaft, which
makes the whole Up look quadrangular-heart-
(haped; the antber'a are yellow, egg-lhaped,
and oblong.
At laft I returned to the {hip ; and the next
Sunday, feventeen of the crew received the
Lord's-fupper before the fermon.
March
SPAIN. 1751. 73
March the 1 ft and 2d.
Rain and other circumftances had prevented
me from going aihore : I therefore went with
the SpaniGi water-boats to Port St. Mary, and
from thence immediately proceeded on the
road to Port Real, to which town I had got
towards the evening; but I returned, as I
longed to be at my former inn again . I found
the following plants in bloffom :
On a dry hill.
Anagallls monelli.
Mercurialis tomentofa ; of this I found no
more than two plants, one male, the other fe-
male ; as they were but a few yards from one
another, the fructification might eafily be ef-
fected by means of the wind.
The Conyza faxatilis did not as yet fhew its
flowers.
The meadows which had no inclofure were
ornamented with
Adonis annua, phcafant's-eye, which is one
of our fined garden- flowers.
Lupinus
74 OS BECK'S VOYAGE
Lupinus albus,
varius, c c i •
, . r J>bpecies of lupins.
- hii-Jutus, l r
luteus, .
Cerinthe major.
On the roads.
Echhtm Cretlcum.
Cijlus tuber aria , calycibus hifpidis, wiguibus pe~
talorum et calycibus punclatis.
GynogloJJum cheiri folium, corolla infexd cccrit-
led.
Anchufa anguflifolia.
In low places.
Chenopodium fruticofum (now Salfola fruit'
cofci), fhrub-flone crop, or glafs-wort.
Cynara humilis.
Anthcmis valentina.
Arenaria rubra, purple fpurrey.
Chnfanthemum corona riuni .
fegctum, corn marygokL
Near a ditch.
Veronica anagallis aquatica, water-fpeedweH,
or brook-lime.
Near
STAIN. 1751. 75
Near the river.
Saliccrma fruticofa, fait- wort.
On hills.
Scorblurus fakata, caterpillars, (the plant f©
called.)
Hyoferis rad'iata.
■ — hedypnots*
rhagadioloides,
Rubus fruticofuS) common blackberry.
In a clay ground, on high grafs fields,
Scrophularia fambucifoiia ; and near it,
Antmi Hifpanicum,
In the olive plantations, and other dry places*
Cheiranthus trilobus.
In holes, and the like places.
Car ex cajpitofa .
Between the high-grafs on a. barren moun-
tain grew nothing but the
Ophrys infeB'tfera my odes i labio quadrifido, fly-
-orchis, the root confifts of two almofl round
bulbs j
?6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
bulbs; the ftalk is double-edged (anccps),
flat and twilled; four leaves are at the
root; they are ovato-lanceolated ; the fifth
is lanceolated, and ends below in a fheath ;
the braclea of every flower is as long as the
pericardium; the three outward petals are
oblong, with reflected margins, and the two
inner ones equally broad; the upper lip is
bigger than ufual in the other fpecies, the
lower or under-lip is quadrilaciniated, very
much reflected on the margin, foftly lanated
towards the point, and of a chefnut-brown
colour, acrofs which runs a Alining ftripe ; the
two middlemoft la emits are the longed ; the
filaments are thread-fhaped ; the ant hertz are
oval, and yellow.
In the evening I had the honour of fpeak-
ing to two Spanifh priefls, one of whom offer-
ed to accompany me to the town of St. Lucar,
but I was hindered from going by the night
and other circumftances. The next day I went
on-board, and this was the lafl time that I law
this agreeable place.
March
SPAIN. 1751. 77
March the <5th.
On my arrival at Cadiz, I faw the Hedyfarum
coronarium, or French honey- fuck le, in plenty.
The Spaniards call it Soya y and the French
Saint foin y ; it was brought to town in great
bundles, as food for the cattle : the Ti/Iaa
procwnbens, or the fmall annual houfe-leek, oa
every wall.
March the 16th.
1 went up the Gulph of Cadiz, in the boat
belonging to Captain Eckeberg, to a place where
frefh water could be got as eafily as at Puerto de
Sancla Maria, although the way to the fhip
called The Peace was fomewhat longer, which
{hip the above-mentioned Captain brought hi-
ther to fell on the Swedifh Eafl-India Com-
pany's account, as fhe was now reckoned too
fmall for that trade. We palled the Spanifh
filver-fleet and the little cattle Po?ital, where
y What we call St. Foin in England is the Hedyfarum
Onobrychis ; the Hedyfarum Coronarlum is planted for orna-
ment in our gardens.
2 the
7 8 OS BE CK'S VOYAGE.
the Swedes may bury their dead for a certain
fum : when we went out of our boat near the
watering-place, I was delighted to find fome
natural productions which I had never feen
before. Here were great dry heaths on all
fides, which I fhould have been very glad to
have gone through ; but the remainder of the
day only allowed of a partial examination.
We went towards the town of IJla, and found
the following fcarce plants :
Spartium fplnofum.
Gcnijia Anglica, needle-furze, or petty whin,
called Efpino'm Spain.
Pijlacia lentifciis.
Smilax afpcra.
Ulex Euro pans, furze.
Orobanchc major, broom-rape.
ramofa, branched D°, which had
the following characters : the ftalk is about a
fpan long, entire, fmooth, and fucculent ; the
braclecQ are lanceolated, there is one of them
under every flower ; the calyx is quadrifid ; its
four laclnics are linear and hairy at the margin ;
the corolla is monopetalous and gaping (rin-
gcns) ; the tube is almoft cylindrical, and as
long as the calyx ; xhefaux is open (debi/cens);
the upper-lip is bifid, and emarginated before j
5 lhc
SPAIN. 1751, 79
the lower-lip is trifid, with equal laclnicz ; two
nedaria are in the under-lip, and foraetimes
on the fides ; the filaments are four, which
are commonly pretty long, and almofl all
equal in fize ; the anther* are white, didy-
mous, erecled, joined into a femi-cylinder,
and end below the Jtigma in a fhort bridle
(Jet a) ; the germen is oblong ; the fly Ins is
pointed ; the Jligma is elevated, great, bifid,
and pointed downwards ; the capfula is oblong,
unilocular, and bivalve j the feeds are fmall
and numerous.
Ophrys bracleis cymbiformihus, the root , . .
. . . . ; the flalk is of the length of a fpan
( Jcapus fpithamaus) ; the leaves are three or
more in number, their fhape is ovato-lanceo-
lated, they ftand alternately} the brattea are
carinated, and like the leaves on the flalk not
variegated; the innermoft petals are fmall,
oval, connivent, and not quite green : the up-
per-lip is the leaft, and coloured at the bottom ;
the lower-lip is fucculent, oval, blunt, or
emarginated with inflected fides, and coloured,
except one part which is green, in the two op-
pofite points j the filaments are thread-fhaped,
one of them is fixed to the lower-lip, and the
Others to the outward petal ; the anthera arc
globular,
S© OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
globular, and yellow ; the germen is furrowed .
I only found a fmgle plant, which was perhaps
unnatural.
Scrapias lingua, baftard hellebore : the root
confiftsof two hanging oval, black, bulbs; the
ftalk, and the flowers, are twilled to the left j
the former is covered with about feven linear
lanceolated leaves, which are red fpotted, like
the flalk itfelf ; the bra flea are of equal fize
with the petals, and like them lanceolated,
pointed (acuminata), pale-red on the upper-
Fide, but not dark-red at the bottom as the pe-
tals ; the two innermoft petals are broader at
the bottom, waved (undulata), narrow towards
the point, {harp-pointed, and with entire mar-
gins : the lips are long and red ; the upper has
narrow reflected points ; the lower is dark-red,
large, and lanceolated, has incilions on both
fides towards the bottom, and its furface co-
vered with fome dark hair ; the filaments are
very fhort and yellow ; the anthcra are green :
it grows on the plains among the above-men-
tioned Afphodelus, page 59.
Serapidis lingua -varietas minor, is to be met
frith along with the former.
Here
S P A I N. 1751. $ r
Here I found likewife the Cijtusfahifolius,
and in the garden was the Mycfotis apula. I ob-
ferved the following things in this plant : the
calyx has a thick wool upon its fegments ; the
corolla is quinquefid; the tube is long and
linear ; the llmbus is quinquefid, with oval la-
cinia\ the filaments are fattened at the bottom
of the corolla, and are hardly viiible on ac-
count of their fbortnefs ; the anthera are very
fmall and oblong j the (talk is of a fpan's
length ; the leaves grow alternately en the
(talk, are equally broad, have a prominent
line below, and are rough.
At laft we reached the town of IJla, which
is a little unfortified place, lefs than any I have
hitherto mentioned. It is about a quarter of
a Swedilh mile off the fea-ihore, in a plain
country ; it has on one fide a barren field, and
on the other a river : the houfes are not very
large, but flrong ; the (beets are broad and fine.
The (Spar Hum junceuhi) Spanilh broom (hewed
its admirable flowers ever a garden-wall which
was higher than a man's head ; this plant is dif-
coverable at a great diftance by its fine fmell.
We lodged with an Englishman who lived in this
town ; he accompanied us over a bridge, be-*
Vol, I. G tween
ti OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
tween the town and peninfula of Cadiz, to
ihew us a fail-cloth manufactory which is car-
tied on by gypfies and other prifoners, both
men, women, and children. Thefe people
are locked up m their prifons on holidays,
from whence they infefl: palfengers through
the rails, in the fame manner as in Cadiz. In
the yard of this building were the foldiers,
who had mounted guard there. We were ob-
liged to return without effecting any thing,
and I only faw the Arcnaria rubra, and fome
common plants around the EngHfhman's houfe,
which was the lafl on this fide.
After dinner I was obliged to return to ray
congregation, on account of the next Sunday.
I returned through a meadow, where I faw the
following plants in bloffom :
Crataegus oxyacantha, hawthorn.
Ricinus communis.
Convolvulus altbceoides.
AJlragalus btzticus.
Heraclium fphondylium, cow-parfnep.
Maha mauritiana.
Hypotharis ?naculata, fpotted hawkweed*
PLvitago coroiiopus, buckmorn plantain.
In
SPAIN. 1751. 83
In holes I found :
Ranunculus muricatus.
Crepis fcetida, {linking hawk weed*
In the fields :
Fritillaria meleagris, fritilary.
Poterium fanguiforba, burnet.
Antboxantbum odoratuni, vernal -grafs,
Teucrium fruticans.
Rcfcda glauca.
lutea ? {tetragyna procumbent).
Briza media, quaking-grafs.
Centaurea fpbarocepbala.
Afparagus officinalis, afparagus, which is cut
here in the fields, and fold when young for the
fame purpofe as in our country.
Near the fhore the following plants were in
bloffom :
Hyofcyamus albus.
Corrigiola lit t oralis.
Statice armeria, thrift.
At night the water {hone in feveral places,
which was owing to fome pieces of rotten ray
or other fifti,
G 2 March
OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
March the 18th.
To-day I got the Meloc varicgata from a gen-
tleman who had been near IJla. He faid, that
when he faw this infect, the Spaniards about
him advifed him not to take it into his hand,
on account of its bite being poiibnous. They
feigned to take great precaution in catching
this pretended noxious animal ; probably in
hopes of receiving a reward from ftrangers.
Euphorbia /errata t I likewife received
from the fame place : its wnbclla imiverfalis
was trifid, triphyllous,. with a cordate, lanceo~
lated, reflected leaf.
And alfo the Scilla Peruviana'.
March the 20th.
On weighing the anchor, fome crabs were
pulled up j they were Cancer brachyurus, hir-
JutiJfimuSy fubovatus ; and likewife
Chiton lave, which Petiver calls Ofca-
hrion : the Jhell is carinated, and confifts of
eight trar.fvcrfal pieces, which are furrowed
tranfverfly j
SPAIN. 1751. 85
tranfverfly ; the margin of the fhell Is foft,
the reft is hard. The animal is flat, foft,
and covers the inner part of the (hell ; which,
• when touched, it contracts, fo that one point
touches the other.
Cancer brae by urns, ovatus, fpinofus > pjlicc
lavis.
In the room of our furgeon, whom we left
fick in Spain, we took an Englifliman called
Thomas Druit with us. A Spanifh pafienger
alfo, Jofcpb Garcias Domingo Rivero, a mer-
chant's fon from St. Andcr, about twenty years
of age, came on-board in order to go to
Manilla.
Animals of all forts, «wz. oxen, hogs,
chicken, pigeons, he. were in fo great plenty
in our {hip, that we flill had fome of them
left on our return from China.
After a flay of ten weeks in Spain, we fill-
ed at fix o'clock at night from Cadiz, with a
5*ood wind, though the eaftern trade-wind is
fcldom found below the thirtieth degree of
latitude.
G 3 The
$6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The weather was very changeable during
our flay in Spain : fometimes it was dry almoft
a whole week, fometimes foggy, often for
three or four days together rainy, then we had
thunder, and it was almoft always ftormy.
March the 23d, 33 15' N. L.
We little expected to meet with our Hoopoe
(Upupa epops Linn.) fo far from Sweden. This
bird approached our ftiip to-day, and went
along with us a good way. I have before feen
it in Spain ; and in order to ihewwhat altera-
tion the feafon or the climate might caufe, I
drew up the following description : the beak is
sngulated, comprefled, arcuated, long, fharp :
both the jaws (mandibula) are. equally long,
and triangular : the nojlrils are oblong : the
headh adorned with a crefl of yellowifn brown
feathers with black tops, of the length of the
beak ; though the middlemolt feathers (of
which there are twenty-four) are fomewhat
the longed : the neck, the bread, the belly,
and the foremoft part of the back, are of a
yellowifti brown : the vent feathers are lf&itg,
and the back black, with white ftripes ; but the
coverts
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 87
coverts of the tail are quite white. The fix-
teen quill feathers are black, with broad white
crofs ftripes; the nine foremofl of which have
one, the tenth two, and the reft three or four
white lines a-crofs, excepting the three leiler
coverts of the wing. The eight feathers of
the tail are black, and have at top and below
a white {tripe : the thighs, and the beak as
far as the noftrils, are covered with little yel-
low-brownifh feathers : xhefeet and toes are
dark grey ; of the three fore- toes the middle-
mofl is the longeft, the reft are of the fame
length with the back-toe. This bird was of
the fize of a pigeon. I was told that the
Spaniards called it Coccis on account of the
note which is peculiar to this bird.
March the 26th.
At half an hour after fix in the morning,
we faw the Ifle of Tcneriffe, (in N. N. W.)
which belongs to the Spaniards, with the other
Canary ifles, Canaria, Palma, Gomora, harice-
rota, Ferro, Port Sanclo, Forta Ventura, and
Madeira. Tcncriffe feems very barren towards
the fea fide, on account of the high mountains
without trees j but it is faidtobe very agree-
G 4 able
fl8 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
able further up the country, and to produce
a quantity of wheat, temons, oranges, . but
particularly grapes. The city of Sancfa Cruz
lies on the fea-ftiore ; we patted pretty near:to
it, and counted in its harbour about fourteen
{hips at anchor, one of which hoiitcd the
Swediih, one the Englifn, and one*tlie Trench
flag, after we had hoifled ours. This towii
is well known ; we fetch many fweet wines
from thence, fuch as Canary, fack, and ma!-
va'fy, or malrnfey ; and carry them the (laves
with which they make their pipes. In the taft
war, Spain had the treafure of the fiiver fleet
:n this harbour : from whence alfo our Eaft
India merchants fetched the money neceflary
for the Chinefe trade. The city is furrounded
by walls, ramparts, and other fortifications.
The bifliop of the Great Canary is faid to
have ehofen this place for his fummer refi-
dence. The Pico %enerjjfe 9 which is iituatd
jt twenty-eight degrees, and twelve minutes,
northern latitude, and thirty-four degrees,
and fifteen minutes weftern longitude from Up*
f.:' } was, at twelve o'clock, two or three
leagues off to the N. W. this mountain is
reckoned among trie higheii in the world. It
lay on the o r htr iide of the i-fle, bur was ne-
,-ertheIefs rery confpicuous aboVe the othtr
mountains.
CANARY JSLANPS. J751. 89
mountains, and feemed in fhape like a hay-
Hack. It is affirmed that its fummit continues
burning, and for that reafon nobody dares
afcend fo high. Teneriffe being on our right,
Canary was consequently on the left, but out
of fight. The paffage here is reckoned more
h(c than on the other fide of Tencriff'e 2 .
The 28th of March, 22 12' North Lat.
Past eight o'clock in the evening the wind
abated, and fuch a continual lightning enfued,
that it feemed as if the whole fhip was on fire.
Afterwards it likewife thundered a little, and
about nine o'clock fell a; -violent hail-florm ;'
the largeft of the flones were of the fize of
beans. The figure of the liail-ftone's' was t&t
alike, yet they all had two or three white
rings in the middle, like fiflies-eyes. This was
a remarkable Maunday-thurfday, efpecially
fo near the tropic of Cancer, which we pafled
the midnight next following. -"
z For a full'account of Pico Texcrffi' feefciihop Sprat's
Hi (lory of the Royal Society. '
The
9 o OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The 30th of March, 19 34 N. L.
Besantyes is a word as familiar to our
people who go to the Eaft Indies, as it has
been ftrange and unknown hitherto to natu :
ralifts. A multitude of Befantyes falted by
our fhip at this time, with their bow-like, ex-
panded fkins ; but fometimes they turned over
and dipped their fails into the water. I was
not able to get one of thefe little animals, al-
though I wifhed it very much. At a great
diftance they look like green fifth-bladders,
with little fails, from whence they derive their
name.
The flying-fifties (Exoeatus volitans), which
generally live about the tropics, and efpecially
in the Weftern ocean, now began to appear
near the fhip. They have many enemies both
in water and air: in the former they are pur;
fued by the Scomber Tbymws, or tunny, by
the Scomber Pelamis, or bonnct-fifh, and by
other fifties ; in the latter, the Phaeton cethe-
reus, or tropic-bird, the Pelccamis Pifcator,
or booby, and the Pelicanus Jquilus, or man
of war, are their enemies. All thefe look
upon
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 9 i
upon the flying-fifties as created for their life.
Providence has given them longer peroral fins
than any other fifh, with which they fly as
light and as fwift as a bird ; but are forced to
dip into the water, at the diflance of a com-
mon gun's (hot. They fometimes fail upon the
(hip's deck when flying ; they are then quite
unable to help themfelves off again, and die
quickly. On the evening we faw a fwallow
in our fhip ; but it was fo wet, that it feemed
as if it was but jufl out of the water.
The 31ft of March, 17 40' N. L.
The fwallow which we faw yefterday, was
fo tired to-day, that we could catch it with
our hands. It was the Hintndo rujlica, or
houfe-fwallow. It is fomewhat extraordi-
nary, that it {hould be met with at fo great a
diflance from Sweden, and in fo different a
climate. I do not pretend to affert, that it
came yefterday from the bottom of the fea, as
it was taken fo near the Canary iflands b .
b Our author, with the nonhern naturalifts, takes it for
granted, that fwallovvs retreat under-vvater when they dif-
appear in autumn ; there is good evidence that many of
fhem migrate from Europe to Africa; and it has been fre-
The
c y2 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The i ft of April, 15 20' N.L.
We now faw a fea-turtle fleeping on the
furface of the water, but it was wakened by
the palling of the {hip : we likewife faw a
kind of birds which our fhip's-crew called
boobies c »
The 3d of April, io° 22' N. L.
Our paflenger told me, that the Sepia loligt
Linn, a fpecies of cuttle-fifh, or ink-fifli, was
eaten by the Spaniards, and that they called
it Cangrejo. They have their enemies in com-
mon with the flying-fifh. As foon as the
Sepia wants to fly, it expands its arms (jenta-
culd) like a brum, and alfo its rhomboidal
tail-fin. It has peculiar characteriflicks :
The black bill looks like that of a vultur ;
the jaws are pointed, fhort, and bent ; the
quently afleited, that a few have, at times, been found in
a torpid ftate, hid in old buildings : but how a bird fo much
• lighter than water, can contrive to keep irfelf half a ye?»
at the bottom of the fea, feems inexplicable.
c Our tailors call the Vdccamu fula Linn, a boobv.
bill
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. n
bill is furrounded by a circular month which
has ragged incifions (os laceruni) ; round the
mouth ten arms are fixed, whereof eight are
trigonal, pellucid, thread-fhaped, ending in
a point, at the outward end warty and dentat-
ed ; the two others are round, thread-fhaped,
longer, fmooth at the bottom, but warty at
top. The Jhell is foft, cylindrical, thicker
before, fmooth, and red fpotted : the eyes are
large and black : the head and tentacula are
tranfparent, marked with little black dots :
the back is of a golden colour, inclining to
brownifh ; and tranfparent towards the tail,
with black dots : the belly is pale red : the
tall is {harp pointed, and covered with a foft
rhomboidal fin. The animal is faid to contain
an ink-like juice in a bladder ; it is eaten by
the Chinefe.
The bonnet, from the Spaniih Bonito (fine;.,
is a fpecies of fifh which is always very plen-
tiful within the tropics, and lives upon fiying-
fifhes and ink-fillies. The bonnet is a fpecies
of mackarel, but much larger than our fort.
It is eaten, although its flefh is very dry. It
is caught in the following manner : you take
a fifh made of lead or tin, put on a large full-
ing- hook and fallen the tops of two feathers
t»
94 OSBECK'S VOTAGE.
to it, oppofite to each other, that it may look
itill more like a flying-fifh ; you add another
top of a feather or two for the tail-fin j at the
end of this artificial nying-fiih you faflen a
firing: you then move it up and down over
the water on either fide of the ihip, till the
bonnet bites. The bonnet is likewife ftricken
by harpoons, which is another way of taking
it. The name of this fifh is to be met with
in many accounts of voyages ; however, I mall
give the following defcription for thofe who
have no opportunity of viewing the fifh itfelf:
Scomber pulcher d , pinna dorfalis anterior is
ojjiculis quindecim, pinna lis fubtus inter Caudam
& Anum feptcm.
In Swedifh Bonnet ; in Spanifh Bonito.
The dorfal-fi.n has fourteen or fifteen radii,
the pecloral fins each twenty- eight, the ven-
tral fins each feven, and the anal fin fourteen :
the tail is large, bifurcated, and has twenty-
fix rays : the head is comprefTed : the body is
rather elevated than flat on the fides : the belly
is not fo round as the back : the mouth is large,
or rather very wide : the lower jaw is the
longed : the forehead runs into a point : the
eyes are of a middling fize, they are placed in
* Scomber Pelamit Linn. Syft. Nat. p. 492.
the
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 95
the fides of the head, are roundifh, oblique,
and fhine like filver. The opercula branchi-
aruin, or coverings of the gills, are two
round plates. The membrana branchiojlega
has fix radii, and is covered ; the upper radii
are very long, the lower very fliort. The
teeth are all in one row in the jaw ; they are
pointed and numerous. The tongue is wedge-
Jhaped, with the Ikin a little convex on the fides.
The linea lateralis is bent, near the head it ap-
proaches the back, and is thicker thereabouts.
The feales are very fmall, and lie quite fingly.
The colour of the belly as far as the linea
lateralis is filver-coloured ; on each fide run
four blackifh lines lengthways. The back is
blueifh and very little elevated. The appen-
dages on the fides of the tail are very thin :
the firft dorfal fin from the head to the fecond
has fifteen hard radii or rays diftant from each
other, ten of the hinder rays ufually fold into a
furrow of the back after the death of the fifh.
The fecond dorfal fins confift of ten or four-
teen foft rays covered on the fides with little
griftly feales, hardly to be diftinguifhed.
The peroral fins are of an elliptical lanceola-
ted figure, and have twenty-eight rays, di-
vided at top, of which the lowed: are the
fhorteft. The ventral fins are long, with fe-
ven
96 OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
ven ramofe rays, which are almofl grown to-
gether at the bottom ; the inner ones are the
ihorteft. The anal fin is fomewhat nearer to
the tail than the dorfal fins, and is about
the fame fize and form, confiding of fourteen
rays which are diflinguifhed with difficulty.
The ventral and anal fins are furrounded like
the following little fofter fins, with a griflly
fkin. Below the two dorfal fins are eight,
and below the anal fin to the tail feven other
little fins with different rays. The tail is fur-
cated, very much extended, and confifls of
twenty-fix rays. The pectoral and the ventral
fins are directly oppofite to the beginning of
the dorfal fin, and their length is equal to
that of the firfl: ray of the firfl dorfal fin.
The fwimming bladder (licks to the backbone
and is long. The heart is tetraedrous. The
telly is an oblong oval. As this fifli is dying,
it trembles and quivers much. Its length is
icarce two feet. I have been enabled to exa-
mine many of them, and always found that the
firfl dorial fin is the fureft fpecific diflin&ion.
The 4th of April, B° 19' N. L.
Last night about one o'clock we
palTed in the 9th. dcg. 20 min. N. L. and
3°
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 97
3 15' Weft longitude from 'lensriffc. The
Sun being weft in Aries 25 25' 42". For this
reafon no observations were made to-day. A
dolphin was wounded by an harpoon, but
broke it and got off.
The 5th of April, N. L. 6° 28'.
The heat was very great to-day as well as
yefterday. Our water, which began to ftink
before we were quite clear from Cadiz 9 now
grew fweet again. This change may be ex-
plained from natural caufes ; for on ftraining
rhe water through a coarfe cloth many gnats
and onifci were found in it in a perfect ftate.
April the 6th, N. L. 4 40'.
We now loft the north-eaft - trade-wind,
which helps the fhips forwards all the year
thus far from the thirtieth degree of N. L.
becaufe it continually blows from north-eaft,
or at leaft' with little variation. In the morn-
ing it began to rain ; afterwards it grew calm,
as is always ufual about the Line.
Vol. I. H The
9 3 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The tunny is a fi(h very like the above-
mentioned bonnet, but may be eafily diftin-
guifhed from it by the longer pectoral fins, and
the white belly. The difference is more
plainly feen in the following defcription :
Scomber albicans e pinna prions dorfi ojjiculis
quatuordeeim, pinnidis fubtus inter caudam et
a nam oclo P. D. prior officulis quatuordcchn :
posterior duodecinu P. pecloralis triginta duo,
P. ventralis few P. ani tredecim. Cauda tri-
ginta ojjiculis*
The Jirjl dorfal fin has hard rays, and the
hindmofl of them fold into a furrow of the
back : xhtfecond dorfal fin is flexible, triangu-
lar, as in the bonnet ; its eight firft. rays are
longed ; they are fingle, and of the length
of the firft fin ; the remaining rays were gra-
dually fhorter and divided into many branches;
it is connected with the eight flexible fmall
fins, whofe rays are divided : the pecloral fins
are about fix inches long, and treble the
length of thofe of the bonnet; they have
thirry-two rays : the ventral fins have fix rays :
e Scomber Thymus, Linn. Syll. Nat. 493.
the
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 99
the anal fin confifts of thirteen rays, the hind-
moll being the fhorteft ; it is flabelliform and
eonne&ed with the eight little fins : the colour
of the fecond dorfal fin, of the anal fin, and
of the eight little ones, is yellow at top and
at bottom : the tail, which has thirty rays, is
longer than that of the bonnet, but not fo
much expanded. The length of the fifli is'
not quite two feet : the body is compreffed, has-
flat fides, is white below to the llneq lateralis
and above it, with little fcales : the head is lefs
fliarperied : the mouth is wide; the lower jaw
longer than the upper : the forehead fome-
what pointed : the teeth and tongue are fimilar
to thofe of the bonnet, however the former
are more diftant from each other : the opercula
branchiarum confift, of two large round plates i
the eyes are large, round, and filver coloured.
It trembles as it dies. The yeffel that is the
Conduit to the gall is formed like a worm, and'
is blueiih. The belly is oblong.
The tunny is caught in the fame places,-
and nuch in the fame manner, as the
bonnet ; they are equal in fize, and are both
eaten,
Ha A LARGE
ioo OSBECK'S VOYAGL
A large fort of fifh, called the Springer irt
Swedifh, fliewed its back fins above the water
near the fliip.
April the 7th, 3 47' N. L.
We caught the dogfjh to-day, which is
reckoned the moft voracious animal of prey.
Authors have already described feveral kinds
of them, though not very clearly. The rea-
fon thereof is probably that lome forts are no-
where to be found but in great fcas, where
they can be but feldom examined by inquifitive
people ; whence all forts are called by the
fame name, becaufe they all look alike at a
di fiance. Very feldom does an opportunity
oifer of comparing feveral forts together, that
fpecifk marks might be ascertained, which
otherwife is difficult, as their fins do not con-
stitute the only difference. The dog-fifh mod
commonly met with about the line is
The Squalus conduct us, Squalus Canicula,
(Linn. Syft. Nat. p. 399. n. 8.) or the greater
dog-fifh.
Its
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 102
Its length is five feet : the body is of a blueifh
grey above, and white below : the head is
flat, with a fhort, half-round forehead : the
lower jaw has four rows of ferrated teeth :
the mouth is lunular, large, about an inch
from the point of the head : the tongue is
thick, round before, and dentated : the eyes
were covered on both fides with a /kin after its
death, excepting one crofs ftripe, which was to
be feen in the middle. The ventral fins are
near the anus, they are broad, fhort, blunt,
and in fome meafure connected : the anal fin
is fhort, and in the midway between the anus
and the tail. At the tail there is a triangular
cavity. The perioral, ventral, and anal fins
are white, with black points ; the others are
of the fame colour with the body, but they
have white points. It is viviparous, and is
caught on very large hooks, which have a joint
not far from the hooks, fattened to ftrong
ropes : on this hook you put a large piece of
bacon, or half a chick, or fomething which
the fifh fwallows greedily. It is very tenacious
of life ; and will move about, though its head
or tail be cut off; from the wound the blood
gufhes as out of a fpout; nay even if the
bpwels be taken out of its belly, it lives more
H 2 than
ro2 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
than an hour, as we faw when we caught it,
In its belly were bonnets, fepiae, and whole
chicken with feathers, which we had thrown
over-board when dead. When a dog-nfli is
caught, it flounces about the deck ; and peo-
ple mull take great care, for with its teeth it
is faid to bite .off a leg with great eaie, at lead
it would not be fafe to try the experiment.
When the feamen want to get into a boat
where thefe fifh frequent, they mud take care
not to put their feet into the water, for I once
faw a dog-fifh attempting to fwallow a large
wooden quadrant, but it was not able to do
it, as it was too broad, and therefore only left
the marks of its teeth on it. It is ow T ing to
its great greedinefs that the feamen are able to
catch it : they cut off its fins, and then throw
it again into the fea ; beiides many other cruel
tricks, which I ihall pafs over. If a failor
dies in a place where dog-fifhes haunt, and ig
thrown overboard, he is fure to be buried in
the bellies of fome of them. Large dog-fifhes
are never eaten, and fmall ones but feldom,
and in cafes of necelhty only. They are cut
into fiices, which are fqueezed in water till no
rrain-oil remains in them : after being thus
yarned, it is boiled or roafred, and eaten with
butter : the part towards the tail is the ben: ;
the
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751. 103
the fore-part is feldom eaten. The fkin and
fins are made ufe of in polifliing, and are
called Jbagrcen £ ; they are found in plenty in
the Chinefe apothecaries mops, and in other
places. In the head, above the eyes, in two
cavities, is a thick white matter, which, the
ikin being taken off, is taken out, dried, re-
duced to powder, and ufed as an Emmena*
gogue.
This dog-fifh had two companions :
Echeneis Remora, Linn.
The membrana branchioflega has nine par-
allel bent rays, which are black, as well as
the opercula branchiarum. The length of the
fifh is about one fpan : the dorfal fin has twenty-
two rays; the pedora I fins twenty-fix each:
■the ventral fin, which is joined together by a
ikin, has five rays : the anal fin is oppofite to
the dorfal, and has twenty-one rays : the tail
is fickle-ihaped, and has about fixteen rays.
The whole body is covered with a black ikin ;
but young ones have a greyifh-white ikin,
fliaded with black. The head is flat : the
f True fhagreen is part of the fkin of a wild afs, and is
brought from Turkj,
H 4 teeth
io 4 OS BECK'S VOYATiL
teeth are in two rows in the gums, and on the
tongue : the upper jgw is the fhortefi: : the
eyes are (mall ; their iris is white. From the
foremqft point of the head, to the point of
the pectoral and yentral fins, runs a JZin, or
elevated flat Jhield, which is oblong, hangs on
the back, is as broad if not broader than the
fifh itfelf, but its fmooth margin is never f ali-
ened. This fifth fallens itfelf on the belly or
bread of the dog-fifh with this ikin, which
coniiiTs of eighteen rough, douMe-crefr-like,
tranfverfal lines, cut in-two length-ways by a
middle line. The fifh which Artedi defcribed
was much larger than I ever found any. It
often flicks fo fad to the dog-fith, that it is
pulled upon deck along with it.
April the 3th, 2° 49' N. L.
Pilots are a fort of fmall fifh which are
finrilar in ihape to thole mackarels which have
a tranfverfal line acrofs the body. Sailors
give them the name of pilots, becaufe they
ciofely follow the dog-fifh, fwimming in great
ihoals round it on all fides. It is thought that
they point out fome prey to the dog-fifh ; and
indeed that fifth is very unwieldy. They are
ROC
Pel. f j os
./„/>
/2
>ff'a. / . Hoj.PT//critTA j£%yda£d.
2. Gastjuiostet/s ^uJ/zr/w.
4- rr c/?</?w /ut//rrr>s-e<i'/r/'(/r</:
CANARY ISLANDS. 1751- 105
not only not touched, but alio preferred by it
againft all their enemies. Pfalm cvi. ver, ii.
" Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
" Who can fJjezu forth all his praife ?" This
fcarce and remarkable fiih I had an opportunity
of defcribing : it is Scomber ccoruko-albus cin-
gulis tranfuerfis nigrisfex, dorfo monoptcrygio.
See the Memoirs of the Swedifh Academy of
Sciences, for the year 1755, vol. xvi. p. 71.
of the Swedifh edition. Or
Gqfteroftcus Duclor, Linn. Syft. Nat. a fpe-
cies of fcickle-back. Pilote pifc'is, by Ray
Pifc. 156. Vid. tab. 12.
The membrajia branchioflega has fix rays :
the cpercidum branchiarum confiits of two en-
tire griftles : the elevations on the (ides of the
tail are fharp and foft : the dorfal fin begins
on the middle of the back and ends near the
tail: it has thirty rays, whereof the three
firft are hard, fhort, and fcarcely perceptible ;
the next following are longer ; but the reft
keep decreafing, and are divided: the pecloral
fins are fmall, and have nineteen rays: the
anal fin has fixteen rays : the tail is furcated,
and has twenty-fix rays, with black tops : the
head is narrow : the forehead is blunt : the
jaws are about equal in length, yet the lower
feems
io6 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
feems longer when the fifh opens its mouth :
the mouth is oblong and fmall : the teeth are
very fmall, and very numerous in the jaws ; in
the palate are none : the eyes are fmall and
round : the fupilla is black ; the iris is fliining
like gold and filver : the back is blue, the belly
is a filver colour : the head, the belly, and
even the tail, are ornamented with feven blue-
ifli black lines : the fcales are extremely fmall,
and flick very faft.
The ioth of April, i° 50' N. L.
The Southern-crofs, called the Croziers by
the Englijh failors, is a conftellation confuting
of four flars, of which two are of the fecond,
and two of the third magnitude. It is fituated
at the hindmofl part of the conftellation call-
ed Centaur, which appears on the fouth fide
of the line, as foon as the polar ftar difap-
pears. This crofs we now began to difcover.
The nth of April, 8' N. L.
In the afternoon we paffed the Line. On
this occafion the old cuftom was obferved;
namely,
ABOUT THE LINE. 1751. 107
.namely, all the men were called upon the
deck, and fome pails full of water were thrown
upon thofe who had not croffed the Line be-
fore, and thofe who have very often partake
of the bathing. It appears from Holms's
Defcription of New Sweden, that this cere-
mony was ufual in 1642, on his voyage to
America. The firft caufe that gave rife to it
is unknown. It is true, in the neighbourhood
of the Line, it is ufual to warn the mips every
morning and evening witrrfea-water, that the
intolerable heat may be lefs noxious ; which,
particularly if the failors drink brandy, is
fufflcient to make them mad. But we cannot
from hence derive the ceremony of drenching
them in water, as it is a practice more likely
to occafion difeafes than to prevent them.
Afterwards all thofe who had been here
for the firft time collected a fum of money
among themfelves, to ferve as a treat at a Go-
thenburg!} tavern, in cafe they mould return;
and it amounted to three hundred and fixty-
four copper dollars, and fifteen ocres. An-
other collection was made for the orphan-houfe
at Gothenburgh ; every one contributed to it,
and it amounted to eight hundred and thirteen
copper dollars, and twenty-four ocres.
1 The
raS OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The 14th of April, 5 16' Southern Latitude.
The wind called the fiidh-eajl trade-wind
was of great ufe to us at this time. This
wind has this name becaufe it blows from the
fouth-eaft, or nearly, all the year long. It
forwards the ihips on the fide of America very
much, till Ui.cy get a weft wind at about twen-
ty-two degrees of fouthern latitude, which
carries them on Mill farther.
April the 26th.
About half an hour after nine we parted
the tropic of Capricorn. We faw flying-fillies
(Exoccctus volitans).
May the 2d, 31 19' S.L.
Malmucks was the name given to a fort
of brown gulls, with fhort wings and white
bellies, which flew about the fhip ; and we
faw them afterwards in other places, but were
never able to catch one of them.
The
ABOUT THE LINE. 1751- 1091
The fouth-eaft wind, which generally turns
weft about the tropic, did not turn before laft
night.
May the 5 th, 33 16' S. L.
SEVERAL/orts of birds flew about our fhip,
and in particular the Albatros> or Diomedea
exulam : their fize is that of a goofe ; they are
white every where, excepting the quills and
tail, which are black at the end, but white at
bottom. We found them alfo in other places,
viz. in thirty-fix degrees, and likewife in
thirty-five degrees and eighteen minutes of
ibuthern latitude.
Cape Pigeons are a fpeciesof birds fo called
by mariners ; they only refemble pigeons in
fize: their country is the Cape of Good Hope.
A great many of thefe birds flew to and fro,
and kept us company as far as the fouthern
tropic. This bird is the
Procellaria Capenfis Linn, or the mid-
dling fpotted Petrel of Edwards's Birds, 90.
t. 90. part 2. The following is its defcription :
The
no OSBECK'S VOYA G £,
The fize is that of a common dove : it has
very fine black and white down on its body :
the bill is black, narrow, conical, and fhort :
the upper jaw is pointed, bent, and gibbous
in the middle near the noftrils. About the
nojlrils are elevated lines running lengthways,
but not parallel : the lower jaw is ftreight,
flat, fomewhat elevated on the # point, not
very fliarp-pointed, compreffed, and has par-
allel incifions towards the point ; below cover-
ed with a fkin of a dirty black colour: the
Jkin within the bill is whitifh : the teeth are
foliated, and (land crofs-ways: the tongue \z
whitifh, fmooth, lacerated near the bafis,
broad, truncated at its extremity, and fits the
bill exaclly : the epiglottis is furcated : the
body below is quite white. The head and all
about the eyes is covered : the upper part of
the neck is black, as is likewife the fore part
of the back ; becaufe the feathers are grey,
with black tips : the hindmofl part of the
back is black, fpottcd with white, and the
feathers are white with black extremities : the
under part of the neck is commonly white,
but fometimes a little blackifh, when the fea-
thers have black tips. This is perhaps a differ-
ence of fex. The wings are long; below"
white,
ABOUT THE LINE. 1751. in
white, with white fides ; on the upper fide
black with two large white fpots : the quills
are white with black points; the three Jirjl are
the longed ; twelve or more lejfer ones are
joined by them, and next to thefe again ten
longer fecondary ones : the outfide of the quills
is black ; as the next decreafe in fize, fo their
black margin decreafes, and the reft of the
ihort ones have only black tips : the greater
coverts of the wings are white with black
tips, and the lejfer ones are quite black : the
lower coverts are quite white, except thofe at
the extremity, which are black. The four-
teen outward feathers of the tail are fliort,
and white with black tips ; the others are of
the fame number, and are covered at the top
and below: the thighs are covered to the
knees, partly with the vent feathers, and part-
ly with their own down : the toes are palmat-
ed, and, like the legs, of a dirty black co-
lour: the web of the toes is very (lightly
notched : the outward toe is the longeft, and
has five articulations ; the middlemen: has four
articulations, of tnrhkh thofe two which are
nearefl the bafe of the toe are white on one
fide : the outward toe of the three fore toes
has but two joints, and is whitiih on the inner
fide ; the fourth or back toe is the ihortef:, for
it
ri2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
it has but one joint or nail ; the lafl articula-
tions of the toes are hooked (hamq/i.)
This bird makes a noife like a parrot, and
throws up train oil when touched. It is
caught without any trouble, with fome tarred
ilring, or a piece of lard on the fifhing-rod.
They are feldom eaten, and only in great ne-
eeffity. We once boiled and tailed fome of
them, but they were extremely oily.
The two congeries of flats, of which the
one which is near the Fohis eclipticce is called
Nubecula major , and the other Nubecula minor,
are well known to our Eafl India navigators f .
They obferve how the one, which appears at
night lower on the horizon, gradually mounts
up higher than the other ; and from this they
can tell the hour of the night on the fouth
iide of the Line, as our common people can
by the turning of the Great Bean
May the 6th, 34 S. L.
We were obliged to drefs in our winter
cloaths, for the cold was no lefs intenfe than
f Our failor§ call them the Magellanic clouds.
in
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1751. 113
in Sweden in winter time. This change occa-
sioned many difeafes, and no lefs than twenty-
two men were laid up at once, moft of them
having an ague ; fome had the head-ach, and
others different complaints.
The ftorm-finch, (Procellaria aquinoclidlis)
has got this name from feamen for fhewing the
bad omen which its appearance forebodes. A
couple of thefe little birds accompanied us,
and always flew quite clofe to the furface of
the water, if the fea was ever fo rough. We
faw them likewife the followiog days.
May the ic'th, 36° 22' S. L.
The trumpeterj Zetermark, a comely and
decent young man, died about noon of an
ague, and was buried in the fea, about four
o'clock in the afternoon,
May the 18th, 3 6° 8' S. U
Although the abovernentioned ftorm=
finches were but very fmall, yet they were
bold enough to feaft along with the large fea§
birds, when we threw the guts of pigs over-
Vql. U i board*
n 4 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
board. They were generally firfl and lad an
fuch an occafion.
May the 21ft, 35* 15' S. L.
We caught a fort of dog-fifli to-day, which
I have often heard of : it was by far larger
than any of this kind we had feen till then :
its colour was grey, like fteel, and white
below.
This Sqiialus catulus, Linn, or lefs dog-fhli,
had the following characters :
The body without the tail is eight feet long :
the colour of the back is grey, like lead, and
that of the belly white, without fpots : the
mouth is thin, oblong, and near it are two
fmall noftrils : below the head it has feveral
fmall apertures: the teeth (land alternately,
and their edges are {lightly indented : the up-
per jaw is the longed: the teeth in the firfl
row are (height, like thofe of the above de-
fcribed dog-fifli (Squalus ca?iicu!a), but they
are more lharp pointed, and larger below :
the teeth of the fecond and third rows are
bent : the eyes are black, (hining, and quite
covered with a white fkin, as foon as the fifh is
dead:
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1751; ftj
dead: both dorfal fins are fhort, and of the
colour of pewter : the length of the pefloral
fins exceeds a foot : they have parallel margins,
but a joint on the infertion ; they are white
below, and above of the fame colour with the
back : the ventral fins are- joined near the
anus ; they are white, fhort, and cylindrical at
their infertion : the anal fin is of the fame co-
lour with the dorfal fin, and is very fhort :
the tail is two feet long, and lead coloured*
This whole animal fhines, and is covered with
a fine fkin. The heart and the eyes were in
motion a long while after it feemed to be dead.
One of its bowels was like a long firing of
pearls, the joints of which were of the fize
of acorns, and contained thick blood. On
one of the peftoral fins many chryfalides ?nn-
cronat(Z y thorace imbricato y were fixed. But
the pilot-fifties which accompanied the Squalus
canicula did not attend on this fpecies.
May the 2 2d, 35 14' S. L.
It is in this latitude, that a feaman rauft be
more cautious than any where elfe, for the
leaft cloud often changes the fined weather into
I 2 fuck
n6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
fuch a florm, that the bare malls are fufficient
without any fails.
The continent of Africa began now to ap-
pear to us, between N. N. E. and E. N. E.
About five o'clock in the afternoon we buried
one of our men, who died of an ague. We
now thought that Cafe Falfo y as being the
neareft land, was eight or nine miles off, N.
by E. We found that (by heaving the lead)
we had ground at ninety fathoms depth j and
here we fifhed for cod, but in vain.
May the 23d, 35 46' S. L.
About one o'clock in the afternoon, we
again found ground at ninety fathoms depth.
The erTe&s of the deceafed were fold by
auction.
May the 25th, 36° 56' S. L.
One of our men, who had been fick for
fome weeks together, died of an ague, and
was buried the next day before the fermon.
May
AFRICA. 1751. 117
May the 27th, 37°i9'S.L.
Six dolphins h followed our (hip, and gene-
rally were on the furface of the water. I
never faw a finer fifh than this for the variety
of its colours. The dolphin is the fame in a
large fize, as the gold-fifh is in a fmall.
May the 29th, 37 33' S. L.
This morning, about two o'clock, I faw an
eclipfe of the moon, which began on the
fouth-eait fide, and continued till three quar-
ters paft three o'clock, when only the north-
weft border was eclipfed. The moon after-
* The reader muft here take care not to confound this
dolphin (which is the Corypbana bippuris, Linn, and the
Dorado of the Poriugue/e) with the dolphin of the ancients,
{Delphinus delpbis, Linn.) which is a cetaceous fifh. If by
gold-fifi, Mr. OJheck means, as we do, to exprefs the Cypri-
nus auratus, Linn, one cannot but wonder that fo good a
naturalift fhould ufe fo little precifion in his account as to
fay, ".The dolphin is the fame in a large fize, as &c."
merely from the refemblance of colour ; for the Dorado and
" gold-fifh are fo little alike as to be not only of different
genera, but alfo of different or dine s : for the former is a
thoracic fifh, the latter an abdominal.
J 3 wards
uS OSBE CK'S VOYAGE,
wards continued to increafe on both eaft and
weft fide, fo that me was full about five
o'clock. Yet before the end of the eclipfe,
& fog, as the certain fore-runner of an immi-
nent florm, began to increafe more and more;
and the ftorm accordingly happened when the
fty was quite covered.
At a great diflance from the {hip we faw
fome animals which were faid to be fca- lions ;
but I could not diftinguiih whether they were
fifti or bellua marina. According to the figure
of the fea-lion in Anfon's Voyage, it feems to
be a fpecies of feal. Thofe which that admi-
ral caught and ufed as provifion near the ifle
of Juan Fernandez were twelve or twenty feet
long, and eight or ten thick.
June the 7th, 37 30' S. L.
About eight o'clock at night we heard, at
feveral times, a deep and harfli noife. We
fuppofed this was the voice of fome large fim,
and perhaps of that which we faw the next
day. Some faid that they faw its way, and
that it fhone a little in the dark. This light
might probably arife from the violent motion
which
Between Africa and America. 1751. 119
which its fwift paflage gives to the water ; for
in the night fomethrag (hone about our fliip :
yet this might alfo be occafioned by many
forts of little worms, dead fifties, and other
putrified bodies.
June the 1 2th, 3 6° 54' S. L.
The fea raged exceffively, and was driven
by the wind, as the fnow is on the land. The
colour of the waves, and their height indeed,
refembled hills of fnow. At three o'clock in
the afternoon a great body of water burh 1 into
the cabbins through the windows, and fpoiled
all the fugar, cloths, books, &c. which it met
with. This accident put us into great confufion.
Such was the reception we met with at the
rocks of St. Paid and Amjlerdam, from whence,
the next night, a florm attended with hail fo
effectually helped us away, that the reefed
mizzen and fore- fails only, were fufficient,
whereas at other times we were obliged to add
twenty more fails.
June the 14th, 35 16' S. L.
We faw fome fea-grafs fwimming by the
{hip ; it was perhaps zfucus, for our navigators
I 4 call
i:o OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Call this whole genus fea-grafs; which is one
of the fureft figns that rocks, iflands, or
lands, are near.
June the 15th, 34 1' S. L.
Anas nigra Linn, or a Scoter, almoft of
the fize of a goofe, was feen to-day, and after-
wards in thirty degrees of fouthern latitude.
They look brown at a diftance ; the head and
feet black ; and the bill white : the wings are
greyifh at top, but blacker below.
June the 21ft, 30 49' S. L.
We afTembled as ufual to attend our morn-
ing fervice ; but a fudden dorm made us leave
off, when we had fcarce begun.
June the 2 2d, 29 34' S. L.
A Grampus, or great fifh of fome fathoms
length, which fwam about the {hip backwards
•and forwards, once fwiftly paffed before her,
though the fliip failed very faft ; but at lafl
was forced to give the precedence to us
where
From$T. Paul to Java, 175L 121
whereupon it (and perhaps fome others in its
company) fpouted the water up to fuch a
height, that it was both heard and feen at a
great diltance.
July the 3d, 2 3 S. L.
The fea being fmooth, our failors were
employed in cleanfmg the ihip.
Some of the Lepas anatifera Linn, had
fattened themfelves during our voyage to the
ihip, and particularly to the rudder, but were
now all deftroyed. As foon as the water paff-
es over them, they flretch out their tentacula
like hooks to get their food by, which is ei-
ther the conferva rivularis which grows about
them, or fome other things which the water
carries to them. The reafon which made the
ancients call this lepas Concha anatifera, ap-
pears from Grew's Mufeum, p. 148. where
he fays, that fome aflert it as a certainty, that
in the Orcades were fome worms, which grew
in hollow trees, and got, in time, a head,
feet, wings and feathers, as perfectly as a fea-
bird; and that they became as large as geefe 1 .
» Dr. Grezv did not believe this abfurd tale of the Berwi-
ck ; but old Gerrarde afierts, that he has feen with his own
eyes the feveral ftages. of this metamorphofis.
122 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The animalcules inhabiting it had the follow-
ing ihape :
They are of the 'Triton kind, and have
ten pair of comb-like arms, which are bent
towards each other like fkrews, are black or
grey, connected together at bottom, and are
an inch long ; each pair is inferted below,
and entire. Befides thefe ten pair of arms,
there is a {ingle arm in the middle, like a
worm, which is hairy at the top, and is per-
haps the initrument they make ufe of to bring
that kind of food to their mouth which they
catch by their tentacula. Befides, there are
a pair of arms on each fide, which are like the
abovementioned ten, but (land a little more off,
are ihorter, and as clear as water. The mouth
confifts of feven valves, which are ferrated on
the infide : on the fides of the mouth are fome
fcales, that are like the former; they all
ftick to an oblong bladder : the ihell flicks to
the fhip by means of a wrinkled leather-like
tube, made of a fpongy fubftance, which is
tough and blueifh, and has ten or more
wrinkles : its ihell is of the Upas kind, bi-
valve k , oval, compreffed, water coloured,
k Linnxus in the laft (twelfth) edition of his Syjlema
Natura, afcribes to the Upas anatifera five, fmooth, com-
preffed valves. F.
ar4
From St. Paul to Java. 1751. 123
and with yellow futures; each valve is divided
in two by a crofs future, of which that is the
leaft which forms the fumrait : the fide which
opens has yellow linear edges : but the back
defcribes almoil a circle: the ridge of the
back is brown, and has on both fides black
and yellow futures : the bottom is faffron co-
loured.
Adelphozion I call a fpecies of worms
which were joined together in the water by
hundreds, and we at firft took them to be
fnakes ; but when we caught them by a hook
they parted : each of them was an inch long ;
fcarce as broad as a finger ; had compreffed
fides, and at firft fight looked like a little fifli
without fins : the whole body was foft, pellu-
cid, but a little more folid at the ends : there
were no bones in them, and only a fine finew
or fide line ; and a red brown edge quite in
the middle fomewhat diftant from the fnout.
As I wanted time and opportunity to confider
them more attentively, I preferved fome in
fpirits, and others in fea water ; but they loft
their former figure in both. I afterwards faw
a drawing of many worms connected together,
at Mr. Affiftant Braad's, who met with them
in his voyage to Suratte, in the fhip called
The
72 4 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The Gothic Lion, which perhaps only differed
from thefe in age ; but they had, for the
mod part, a rhomboidal figure.
July the 6th, 19 5' S. L.
We were come fo far, that we expected to
fee New Holland foon ; but were difappointed,
and fell into a very good trade-wind.
July the 9th, 1 4 15' S. L.
Two tropic birds (Phaeton athereus), fo
called by feamen becaufe they live within the
tropics, were obferved foaring in the air at a
confiderable height, as larks do. They feem-
ed to be large and white, with a long narrow
tail, confiding of a few feathers, with-fmooth,
black edges, and a red bill. The defcription
of this bird may be met with further on.
July the nth, 9 37' S. L.
One of the greateit inconveniencies that
attend a voyage to the Eaft Indies is, that
worms fpoil both meat and drink. In our
Hup-
ASIA. 1751. 125
ihip-bread fome worms had lived ever fince the
beginning of May, and they now were of the
following figure : the larva was white, fome-
what hairy, and had a briftly tail : the fore pare
was flat ; the hind part cylindrical : the three
pair of feet were yellowiih, and fixed near
the head : the body has twelve articulations,
the head included. The whole head, with
the next articulation, and the tail, are dark
brown: the jaws are prominent : the antenna
fhort and fetaceous, I have alfo found
fmooth ones, lefs than the former, of a light
brown colour, and middling ones likewife
fmooth. The head and tail of the latter was
brown : but the former was not pun&ated ;
and the articulation neareft to the head was
not brown as in the former. Perhaps thefa
are only varieties arifing from different ages.
July the 1 2th, 7 53' S, L.
We now got fight of A/ia, and firfl of all
of the ifle of Canibas, the eaftern point of
which was about twelve o'clock N. E. by N.
the weftern N. and the middle N. N. E. and
it was reckoned two or three leagues ffom
us. The eaftern part of Java was to us E.
N.E.
i 2 6 OSBECK'S VOYACxE.
N. E. and the weftern N. N. W. We after-
wards failed along the coaft of Java,
Some thoufands of porpeffes (JDelphinus
phocana) were playing about our fhip, and
made a great noife in leaping. They feemed
a yard and half long, and of a ferrugineous
colour : the tail is horizontal, and the dorfal
fin lacerated behind.
The air was very cold here at firft, though
the climate is one of the hotted. This per-
haps may be occafioned by a draught of air
between the mountains.
The country is covered, both vallies and
hills, with green trees, the reflexion of which
gives a green caft to the fea, even at a diftance
from land. The fun fhone very hot, fo that a
vapour rofe from the land like the fmoak
which is feen in our country when woods are
burnt down ; yet the air along the coaft was
very cold.
July the 1 3th.
Bubbi, from the EngUJh word booby, is a
fort of bird fo called by thofe of our nation
who
ABOUT JAVA. 1751. 121
who fail to the Eafl Indies, becaufe, though
they frequently fettle on {hips, yet they
never fly away if any one attempts to catch
them ; but only cry out, bite, and fpout out
the train-oil, or fimes, which they have fwal-
lowed. Such a bird we caught to-day with
our hands, which enabled me to know it better
than merely by name. It was the male of the
Pel ec anus Pifcator Linn. Its bill is
pointed, elevated, narrow, blueifh on the out-
fide, has a ferrated margin, and is two palms
long : the throat and all about its eyes are
without feathers, and covered, as the bill,
with a blueifli fkin : the upper jaw is elevated,
and has on both fides a furrow running towards
the points which is bent, and has a promi-
nence : near the head the bill has an elevated
part : the lower jaw is narrow and ftreight j
the tongue, which is fattened to it, is arrow-
fhaped : the cere is light blue : the nojlrils
are wanting, unlefs the notch at the bafe of
the bill can be taken for them : the pupils of
the eyes are black : their hides are white,
and furrounded with black : the bead, the
neck, back, the upper fide of the wing, and
the inner margin thereof, together with the
tailj are quite black : the breajl, the belly,
and
i 2 8 O SBECK'S VOYAGE.
and the uropygium are white, waved with
blackifh grey : the down and the lower coverts
of the wings, in particular the ten longed and
innermoft, are white : all the fixty-four quill
feathers are very black, with whitifh grey be-
low : the firfl quill feather is the longefl ; the
next to it decreafe gradually : there are ten
quill feathers on the firfl joint; on the fecond
thirty ; and on the third or innermoft four-
teen ; and more fecondary feathers. The
upper coverts are tipped with grey : the lower
are dirty white, with little black edges : the
tail has fourteen feathers : the thighs are co-
vered with grey feathers : the legs naked and
whitifh, like the four toes : the Jirji toe has
five, the fecond four, the third three, and the
fourth two joints : no back-toe is to be met
with : the heart is oval ; the liver is long.
The bird is the fize of a raven.
The female is fomewhatlefs : the bill is more
ferrated, and reddifh towards the head : the
neck and the upper coverts of the wing are
white : the three firfl quill feathers are quite
black, as in the male : the next following ones
are grey, fpotted ; and the laft white, mixed
with black : the back, the coverts of the wings ,
and the thirteen feathers of the tail are white,
fpotted
NEAR JAVA. 1 75 t. i* 9
fpottedwith a reddiili yellow: the middlemen:
feather in the tail is the longeft : the toes and
legs are red : the reft the fame with the male :
Whether this is the female of the firfl: de-
fcribed bird, I leave to others to examine. It
may be compared with the Anfer BaJJ'anus of
Albin, vol. i. p. 86. I found a black k Hip-
pobofca upon it.
Both thefe birds were exceedingly lean,
and not eatable on account of their oily tafle.
In flying they fpread their tails like a fan, and
bend their long necks towards the iide they fly
to. They fettle upon fhips, and fometimes
Hay on them (if not feared away) whilfl they
fail many miles. They are much plagued with
lice, and for that reafon are not agreeable to
keep. Thefe lice run very fwiftly, and foon
creep upon the men. They are fmall and white,
and black on the middle : fome are brown j
and fome have four long feet.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, W'mcopers
point was N. by W. and the middle of the ifie
N. N. E. to us. Flying-fijhes were to be met
with here.
k Hippobofc ^abound on the Hirunde apus, or fvvift.
Vol. I. K On
130 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
On a little iile, which we patted by in the
dark, we ubferved flrong breakers.
July the 14th.
To-day we had clear weather and but little
wind. In the afternoon, at four o'clock, we
found ground at ninety fathoms depth.
The Cape of Java, which we paffed at'
nine o'clock before noon, was at firft N. N. W.
to us, and at ten it was N. by W. This high
fteep promontory is called Java bead by the
Englijh failors and ours, or the Fico of the
Prince JJlanJ. It is on the right if you are
failing into New Bay, which is the firft port in
that road. This mountain is of a brown red
colour. Near Java head is a neck of land
every where covered with trees, and therefore is
entirely like that fide of Java which we pall-
ed by. Higher up the country the ground
was riling, and the palm-trees were taller than
I ever faw any where elfe. In a few places we
obferved, between thefe thickets, fome fpots
of ground the furface of which appeared quite
yeil'ow from the blooming flowers : this gave
a charm-
NEAR JAVA. 1751. 131
a charming appearance to the country, but
increafed my chagrin as I was not to go on
fhore; and I was forced to langtiiih like a
hungry perfon who views his food only at a
diftance. Thefe woods are faid to be fo full
of tigers and other beafts of prey, that no-
body ventures to live on the eaftern fhore of
the ifland. At night it was extremely agree-
able upon the decks, for we were refreshed
by the fweet fmell which exhaled from the
trees and other vegetables. We were vifited
by many little white birds, like our gulls,
which fluttered about us and whittled ; and
afterwards another larger fort of birds came to
us, but foon after left us.
Nieu Eyland, or the New Jjland,- whence
the new bay, or the new road, derives its
name, is the place where the SwediJIj Eajl
India company's fhip "The Gothic Lion (which
had loft the trade-wind) was obliged to ft ay,
and whence all our fhips on their return fetch
frelh water ; and even on their voyage from
Europe, if in want of it, or if detained by
calms or by contrary winds. At eleven o'clock
we had a coral bottom, twenty fathoms depth.
K a The
1*2 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The fecond port in Java is Welcome bay,
the third Pepper- buy and the fourth Angeri,
which are all on the right coming from Europe, '
On the left or fputh fide is Prince JJland,
which is faid to be very populous, and belongs
to the king of Bantam. From this iiland the
fhips of other nations take water for their re-
turn, as the. Szvcdijh fhips formerly did : but"
rhey have lincc found New-bay more conve-
nient for that purpofe.
Sum m at r a, which we faw at a great dif-
tance behind Prince If/and, is much larger than
Java, and is computed to be two hundred
Sivedijh miles long '. The country was on
rhis fide like Princes JJland, and for the moll
part covered with thick woods, between which
were fome open places.
On the more of Java we faw fome fmalV
reddifh rocks, and fea-turtlcs on the water.
In the evening the Iky was covered with fome
clouds fhining like gold, upon which rain and
thunder enfucd. The inhabitants along the
ihore lighted feveral fires to frighten wild
1 That is, about one thoufand two hundred and fifty Eng-
lij% miles. F.
beads
N E AH JAVA. 1751- 133
bcafts from their huts. About eleven o'clock
all was iilent, and we anchored in the fourth
harbour, viz. Anger i.
July the 15th.
The thunder clouds lay low on the moun-
tains, fo that the high rocks were prominent
above them. Thunder and lightning, toge-
ther with rain, enfued.
We weighed anchor at eight o'clock in the
morning, having had Angeri point N. N. E.
and the ifland called gu,cr im Wege (that is
Acrofs the way) between N. and N. by E.
The ifle of Kraka ton was to the left of us.
About nine o'clock we cad anchor ; we had
fifteen fathoms depth, and a clayey ground,
on which lay little fliells. We had the fourth
bay from 'Java, between S. and S. by E. The
before mentioned ifland N. E. and Angeri
Point N. E. by E.
Some moths came aboard our fliip and were
caught, viz. Sphinx atropos Linn, or the Jaf-
mine Sphinx : its zipper wings are black, with
K 3 whitius
134 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
whitifh fpots ; but at the extremity of an
orange colour : the under fide of the upper,
and both fides of the lower wings, have black
lines: the antenna are blackilh, prifmatic, and
have a brown fpot on the point : the eyes
are large and black : the back of the thorax
is marked with a blackiih brown figure like a
ikull : the body is black below, with orange
rings : it is marked at top with rings of black
changing into blue: the feet are fhaded black
and brown ; and their fpines, which fling like
nettles, have the fame colour : this Sphinx has
a ftrong fpiral tongue. When caught, it made
a noife fomething like a bird.
At half an hour after four in the afternoon
we failed, and about fix o'clock we dropped the
anchor at ten fathoms depth, in a blue fancly,
clayey ground.
The ifland called Acrofs the way wa? now N.
N. W. and Angeri S. by E. We faw two
fires on the coall of Java.
July the 1 6th.
For the greateft part, calm and fine weather.
About
NEAR JAVA. 1751. 135
About eleven o'clock we weighed anchor,
but foon after dropt it again, at a moderate
diilance from Angeri. Here at laft I got leave
to go on fliore with the boat, which fetched
fome refrefhments for our men, fuch as cocoa-
nuts, &c. but only on condition of returning
immediately as loon as the commanding officer
fliould defire me. We had provided ourfelves
with fire arms in cafe of a bad reception.
As foon as we reached the land (which we
did with great difficulty, on account of the
coral bottom, and becaufe the tide ran very
much to the fliore), fome natives of the coun-
try met us : thefe at firft feemed undetermined
whether to look upon us as enemies or as
friends ; for they were then at war with the
Dutch. Each of them had a dagger on his
fide, which looked like a kitchen knife hung
in a belt, and its point was made poifonous by
the Toxicaria of Paimpbius. One of them
carried a couple of javelins on his back, and a
cane in his hand. They were almoft naked,
being covered with nothing but a brown cotton
cloth, fpotted with blue, tied round the body
with a handkerchief; between which their
dagger is put. With thefe poifoned daggers
K 4 they
136 OSBE C K 4 S VOYAGE.
they cut the cocoa-nuts, and other things ; but
they likevvife defend thcmfelves againft their
lies with them. Hound their black hair
they wear a check handkerchief tied, yet fo
:the crown of their head remains uncover-
) they came on-board they fome-
;. hemfelves in a loofe fhirt, which
was commonly blue or check. Some of them
wore on their fingers brafs rings with feals of
ftones like blue faphires. Thefe Indians
were of a middle fize, but generally ihort ;
their hair and eye-brows black, their teeth of
a blackifli red, their eyes and nofes little, their
mouth large, and mod of them had no beards.
They were civil, grave, fimple, and willing
to oblige ; but cried like children if any thing
%vas taken from them! They want no chairs,
becaufe they fit upon their heels like monkeys.
Their falute is Taba Uiam\ or Good da)- to you,
Sir. At lail they offered us their cocoa-nuts,
plantains, chicken, beer, buffaloes, tortoifes,
and bed-mats ; which latter were either double,
that is, fuch as have larger mefbes on one
fide ; or Jingle, which are always brought here
and ufed as fhects, on account of their cool-
nefs. In payment they received Spanip iilvcr
money, or wares, fuch as old fhirts, hand-
kerchiefs.
AT JAVA. 1751. 137
kerchief;-., mirrors, glafs, knives, pins and
aeedles, flints, &c.
The fea-fhore here coufifts of a grey fand,
in which are feveral corals, fuch as madre-
pores, millepores, &c. as alfo fliells, viz.
Cypraa alba and Cypraa punclata, two fpccics
of Cozvrics, were found here. The countrv
was fcarce a yard higher than the furface of
the water. A number of fmall crabs ran very
nimbly on the land.
A little hut, confiding of four pole?,
open en the fides, but covered with cocoa
leaves at the top, and ufed for fires at night,
was found on the fhore. The people live fo
contented here amongfl apes and parrots, that
the ftatelieft palaces in Europe do not contain
fo happy inhabitants.
All the trees are different from thofe which
are found with us, and ftand fo clofe together
on the fea-fhore, that it is almoft impofiible
for a ftranger to penetrate into the country.
The inhabitants of Java had a little path
through the wood, but they forbad me going
through it. They accompanied us to-day
alcn?
i$S OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
along the fhore towards the iidc of yJngeri, on
a brook which was about the diflance of a
gun-fhot from our boat, where we filled a tun
full of water, which was not very good. On
the fide of the brook flood a tree of about
ten or twelve feet high, which had both flowers
and fruits, and which the Indians called Vien-
taro: it is Cerbera Manghas j the germen is
oval like the fiigtna, which is bifid: the suf-
ivard Jbcll of the fruit contained a milky juice,
which raifed a fufpicion of its qualities; and
befides, the people of the country more than
once told ns that it was poifonous. It may
be compared with the Arbor laclaria y Malaice
Bintaro Rump.iii. p. 234. and Jafminum In-
dicum, Merlan Surin. p. & t. 8. ^uauthlepatli
f. Arbor ignea. Hern. Hid. Mex. cap. xxxiii.
The other plants which I gathered here,
were
Acanthus Uicifolius : the pcrianthium is
double : the cutermojl is lefs ; and both of
them have two oppofite leaves foinewhat larger
than the reft : the four /lamina are fhorter
than the corolla, and two of them longer than
the other two : the filaments are broad, point-
ed., and ftriated in the middle : the anthsrje,
AT JAVA. 1751- 139
are oblong, erect, hairy, and fhorter than the
filaments : the germen is almoft oval, and fitu-
ated below the corolla : the fly Ins is filiform,
and is of the fame length with the filaments:
the Jitpna is undivided : the pericarpium is a
bilocular oval capfula, turned upfide down;
in each partition were two flat, oval feeds :
xhtfmcll is like that of an Agaric,
Catefl)<2a f Javanica : the perianthhmi is
fliort and infundibulous-form : the tube of the
corolla is very long, and nearly cylindrical : the
llmbus is fliort and quinquefid : the four fila-
ments are filiform, remarkably long, and in-
ferted in the tube of the corolla : the anthcrcc
are fmall : the germen is round and fmall : the
Jlvlus is filiform, and longer than the Jlamina :
the flowers are blue and axillar; each pedun-
cle bears three flowers at the utmoft : the
peduncles of each flower in particular are
fliort : the plant is a frutex : the branches
hang downwards, and are quadrangular : the
leaves are ovato-lanceolated, oppofite, fmooth,
pointed, petiolated, inclining to one fide and
deciduous. It grows on the fea-fhore,
Convolvulus pes caprtzL'mn. lay on the fhore.
With its long tendrils and fine flowers.
Ifchamum
14®
OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Ifcbamum muticum procumbent Linn, was the
molt common grafs along the fea-fhore.
Vitex trifolia : the perianihium is monopeta-
lous, quinquedentated, cylindrical, and very
fhort : the corolla is monopetalous and ringent :
the middlemofl: lacinia of the upper line is
longer and broader than the four others,
which are equal : the four filaments t two of
which were longer than the others, are infert-
cd in the bafe of the limbus : the Jlylus is
longer than xSeftamlna : the antbera are bifid ;
and fo is the Jtigma, which is reflected : the
berry is obovated : the branches are quadran-
gular, lanated, like the leaves and petioli :
two, three, or four leaves fit together; but
on the branches they are fmgle : the foliola arc
lanceolated and ferrated. The tree, ox Jhrub,
has branches hanging down, and a fmcll of
wormwood. It grows on the fea-fhore.
Afclcpias gigantca : the ncclarium looks like
a lion's mouth.
Mcmceylon cspitellatum : itsfiyli are filiform,
as long as the ncclarium : the Jligmaia are la-
mellated and joined together : the leaves are
elliptical, and lanated below.
Tcrbcfina
AT JAVA. 1751. 141
Vcrbefina lavenia : the leaves have two little
glands at their bafe, and one or two about the
middle.
Sida cordifolia.
Urena finuata : the leaves are ovated, cor-
dated, ferrated ; and the lower ones have ge-
nerally an angulated edge : the flowers are
red and at the extremities. The plant is a
little tree.
Micbelia champaca : it has no calyx : its co-
rolla is double: it has fourteen laneeolated
petals, of which the outward fix are greater :
the filaments are numerous, fhort, inferted at
the bafe, and furrounding the pijlillum : the
anthera are longer than the filaments : the
flylus,-&c. like that of the Nymphcca : the
flowers are yellow, and have a very fine fmell.
The Javanefc offered them to us as an agree-
able prefent.
The Tetradapa of t/je Javanefe ; Erythrina
eorallodendron? the perianthium is monophyl-
lous, fpathaceous, fhort, and oval : the vexil-
lurli of the corolla is great, including four oval,
ihort petals : the filaments are ten in number.,
nine of which are grown together half-way in
one 5
142 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
one ; they are all Tubulated : the anther* are
creeled and oblong : the germen is long, and
lanated : the fly his is Tubulated : the fligma is
deflected and barbated : the flowers are verti-
cillated, red and deciduous. The fruit which
lay under this tree (if it may be called fo)
was a narrow rhomboidal pod (Jcgumoi) : it
contained two kidney-fliapedym/j. The tree
was as high as a man's, head, and very ra-
mofe : it had no leaves at that time, but fine
fcatlet flowers. It may be compared with the
Gedala litorea ; Malaice Gclala laut et Gelala
itam ; Badcnflbus Dadab. Rumph. 'Tom. iii. p.
231. /. 77. This author fays, the tree is in
bloffom at the latter end of July, and the
leaves fall off about that time. In the middle
of Auguft the flowers drop. In September
comes the fruit and the frelh leaves. The
blood-coloured parrots called Luris like thefe
flowers exceedingly ; about the time that the
trees are in bloffom, they flock about them, and
fuck the juice out of the Neilaria ; and at that
time they are caught in fprmges fixed to the
boughs of the trees. The above-mentioned
author fhews the ufe of the leaves and bark
in phyfic; on the latter of which grew Byffus
candelaris, and on the root Onoclca fenftbilis
Linn:
AT JAVA. 1751- M3
Lmn. vel Filix indica polypodia facie. Mentz.
pugill. tab. penultima.
Crinum Afiaticum Linn. Tulipa Javana*
Rumph. t. v. page 240. t. 105.
The fpatha has two leaves: the flowers
form a knob at the top of the ftalk, and have
an agreeable fmell : the corolla is monopeta-
lous : the tube is cylindrical, and very long :
the limbus is fexfid, with long, linear, reflect-
ed lacinia : thtjlamina and theflylus are very
long, and alfo reflected : the filaments are in-
ferted in the mouth of the tube : the Jiylus is
longer than the filaments, but does not reach
fo high, becaufe it flands much lower : the
leaves are fword-like and broad. It grows in
the fandy fea-fhore. It was brought to Sweden
perfectly alive.
Coccus nuclfera (Palma Indica major, Rumph,
t. i. p. 1.) called Calapa in the Ja-van language,
is a very high, but not very thick palm-tree,
with a rough bark, and a item which is un^
divided up to the crown. On the bark grows
a white flour-like mofs. The cocoa-nuts,
which hung at the top, looked like cabbages,
and were fomewhat triangular : the exterior
(hell of the nut is yellow when it begins to
ripen,
i 4 4 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
ripen, and grows brown : it confiils of an
outer cafe, like hemp, and is ufed as iucli,
and therefore is commonly peeled off before
the nut is fold ; excepting a narrow flripe,
which is left to fliew how ripe the nut is ; and
accordingly is cither green, or yellow, or
brown. Yet thefe nuts may be had quite
perfect if they are ordered, and in that ftate
they contain the greatefl plenty of frefh water.
The fibrous (hell is ufed for matches and
ropes, but the latter foon rot in frelh water.
The next ihell below this is white before it is
ripe, but it afterwards becomes brown and
very hard : near the (talk it is fomewhat angu-
lated. The Java people make ufe of it to
put their brown fugar and other things in.
People going to the Eaft Indies make drinking
veflels and punch ladles of it : and befides
this fome very pretty little baikets. Oppofite
to the bafe, or to the part where the ftalk is
fattened, are three little holes, but only one
of them is eafily opened. The innermoft ihell,
which fits clofe to the hard {hell, is white,
and not much harder than a turnep before it
is boiled : it may be eaten raw, and it has a
taftc of fweet almonds ; and for that reafon
feamen mix it with cinnamon, and make a fort
of almond milk with it. It may alfo be ufed
as
AT JAVA. 1751- HI
ks a fallad, when prepared with vinegar, fait*
and oil. The nut is filled with a pale, fweet
water, which turns four if it is not drunk foon
after the nut is opened. Every nut contains
about a pint, or fomewhat more, of this wa-
ter. We ufed it for fome weeks, whilit it was
frefli, inftead of tea.. It is faid that this juice,
if it is ufed as water to wafh one's felf, gives a
fine complexion. When the nut grows old,
the water congeals into a fpungy white kernel,
from which, after the fhell is opened, fome
leaves fpring up, which keep very long with-
out putting the nut into the ground or water-
ing it. A hundred nuts colt a pefo duro, or
Spanijh dollar. The trees flood along the
fhore in low places, and were very plentiful.
Authors fay very circumftantially, that this
tree affords cloaths, meat and drink, houfes,
or huts, utenfils or houfehold implements, and
other inilruments, to the natives. To the lafl
mentioned purpofe the item is of ufe ; out of
the branches they make the arched entrances
to their huts, to which they fallen flowers on
their wedding-days : the leaves are made ufe
of for thatching, fails, balkets, brooms, and
may be wrought upon with bamboo nails :
the kernel and water of the nut afford them
their meat and beverage : the outward fhell
Vol. I. i» affords
146 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
affords cloathing, painting-brumes, &c. If an
incifion is made into any bough, a clear juice
runs from the wound in the night time, which
makes fyrup and vinegar if properly prepared.
Without this juice of cocoa no arrack can be
made : and the Chinefe, for this reafon, are
obliged to buy this liquor here. The Indian*
breakfaft on the kernel of the cocoa-nut, fa-
goe-bread and dried fifh : but thofe of higher
rank add fome boiled rice. The {hell is ufed
like Areca, for chewing, but firft they mix it
with Betel and chalk: it is likewife put into
water, and afterwards they make a milk of it,
which they call Santar, in which they boil
herbs, cabbage, rice and fifties: this milk
turns four in one night. If it is mixed with
a certain quantity of water and boiled in a
pot, it lofes its white colour ; and when all the
water is gone off, a pure oil remains, which it
is faid is as clear and fweet as oil of olives ;
it is ufed as butter, and is a very nutritive
food. Both men and women anoint them-
felves with cocoa oil, both againft certain dif-
eafes, and becaufe it is famionable to have
black hair. The ladies of Java and Balaya
mix part of the root of turmerick (Curcuma
Xinn.) with it, which gives a luftre to their
complexions. The Fortuguefe doctors pre-
scribe
AT JAVA. 1751. M7
fcribe cocoa oil with fyrup of violets againft
coughs and afthmas, and order gouty people to
rub the parts affected with it, &c. The roots
are ufed againft dyfenteries and fevers. The
ftrangury and the gonorrhoea virulent a are
healed by means of the flowers taken out of
the fpatha and eaten with Lontaris or a red-
difh fugar. If frefh cocoa-nuts are roafted
and grow cold again, or when they are ex-
pofed to dew, they are faid to put a flop to
agues and the like difeafes : it might be of
ufe to try this receipt in the Eajl India voyages.
In Malabar the kernels of the ripe nurs are
dried by the fun, and exported into other
countries by the name of Copra ; and oil is
preffed out of it, with which all forts of wea-
pons are rubbed to prevent their rufting.
The inhabitants of this part of Java had
no wild birds to fell at prefent ; however, for
two knives, I got an Ifpida viridis fupraferru-
ginea : (Merops viridis Linn.) One might fee
by its afpeel: it was not formed for a fongfter,
but only to clear the earth of grubs and other
infects. It made fome noife now and then as
long as it lived ; but it furvived but a few
days. After its deceafe I took down the fol-
lowing particulars : the bill is black, fharp,
L 2 arched.
148 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
arched, and has a narrow ridge at the top :
the eyes are black : the irides are red : the
jaws are triangular : the tongue is every where
equally broad, narrow, and lacerated towards
the tip : the nojlrils are round and naked :
the head and neck are brownifh : the breajl,
belly, and tail are white, and fomewhat green-
ifli : the wings are green on the upper fide ;
the upper margin, the extremities, and the
under fide are ferrugineous : the back, the
throat, and the tail are blue : it has twenty-
one quill feathers : of the twelve feathers in
the tail the two middlemofl are the largeft :
the legs and feet are aih-coloured and naked :
it has three fore-toes and one back-toe. This
fpecimen is preferved in the Mufeum Vpfalienfe.
Several infefls, particularly butterflies,
Jlew about us on all fides j but it was their
good fortune that we flayed no longer on more.
I only caught an Apis rufa, thorace antice linea
alba, abdomine fufco ; and fome black ants.
The latter were frequent in the trees.
TuEfiying-boats or prcas of the Java people
were pulled on fhore and carried into the woods,
left the great heat of the fun mould fpoii
them : they are (harp aad very narrow, with
an
AT JAVA. 1.751. M9
an out-rigger of bamboo, going in the water
on one*fide, which makes it morefecure m .
Java tortoifes (Tejiudo Javanica) were fold
here two for a piaftre. They were both females.
They are dreft for eating in the fame man-
ner as the tortoifes in the Afcenfion Ifland, as
will be found in the fequel ; but the latter
are much larger, and of a quite different kind,
as will appear from this defcription : the upper
jaw is ftriated inwardly ; the lower is dentated :
the upper Jbield is of a reddifh brown, and
ftriated: the five middlemoft. fcutella are pen-
tagonal : next to them are, on each fide, four
oblong pentagons, crofs-ways ; and on the
margin are twenty-five lelfer oblong quadrila-
teral ones: the Jbield on the belly is yellowifh-
white, and reticulated : on each fide are eight
ribs: the paws and feet are entire, but fome-
what notched orr the inner fide.
After we had paid a vifit to the inhabi-
tants of Java for about a quarter of an hour,
and bought a hundred cocoa-nuts for one pefi
duro, the above tortoifes, and other things,
we returned on-board, where we arrived about
•"See Lord Anfon's Voyage, book iii. chap. 5.
L 3 twelve
250 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
twelve o'clock, and found other Java men
there, expofing cocoa-nuts, and the following
things to fale :
Tobacco, which they chewed with Areca.
The tobacco was cut from broad, thin, green
leaves, into narrow flripes. It is faid that it
is very good for fmoaking, and might be the
Ktcotiana peniculata.
Brown powder fugar in half cocoa-nut-fhells,
put together and tied with leaves.
Bottles of Gourds, (or of the Cucurbita la-
genaria Linn.) filled with water, as it is made
up for their own ufe, and for fale.
Shells, particularly Cowries,
Cucurbita pepo.
Citrus decumana Linn, the {haddock, Is a
great, roundifh fruit, like fweet or China
oranges, and eaten inftead of fuch ; yet it is
much larger than a China orange, and rather
fourer, and is therefore better to quench thirft .
The peel is fpungy, of the thicknefs of a
finger, bitter as a Seville orange, to which this
£ne. fruu is very near akin.
There
AT JAVA. 1751* 15*
There was another round fruit like fmall
China oranges, with a green warty peel, which
was called Fompelmufs by the Java people : 1
have feen but few of them. They were rec-
koned more valuable than the Citrus decumana,
and had a fweeter and more agreeable tafte.
himon tuberofus Martinicus ; Malaice Lemon*
blartin, Rumph. ii. p. 10 1, t. 26?
MvsAparadiftacaL'mn. Plaintain tree, or
Pifang, has yellow, foft fruit, which looks
like fingers, being feated on the ftalks in fuch
a manner as to refemble two hands. If you
will keep the fruit for fome weeks together,
you mutt buy it green, and then it gradually
ripens, and is pretty good to eat as foon as the
rind is turned yellow, which eafily peels off.
It is faid that this is the forbidden fruit, which
threw our firft parents into mifery.
Java monkies, Simla Aygula Linn, caudata
fubbarbata eminentia pilofa verticis longitudina-
lis. The feamen call them Tjacko, and this is
perhaps the true name which the people of
Java give to this animal. It is no bigger
than a little cat, of a light grey, or greyilh
colour, and this is Ukewife the colour of the
L 4 tufc
152 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
tuft at the top of the head : below the belly
it is whitifh : the fnout, from which an elevat-
ed fmew runs down to the lip, is narrow:
the eyes are brown ; the pupil is black : the
eyebrows are large : the beard is fo fmall, that
it fcarce deferves that name : the nails are
narrow and long, but the nail of the thumb
is fliort. They flatter both men and thofe of
their own fpecies, and embrace one another.
If they perceive an ape of a different kindj
they greet him with a thoufand grimaces.
They play with dogs if they have no nearer
friends about them ; at firft they are uneafy at
'being feparated from their own fpecics. When
a number of them fleep, they put their heads
together. They make a continual noife dur-
ing the night time ; and in . day time, if they
are tied to one place, they continually move
backwards and forwards. If any body looks
crofs at them, they are angry, and begin a
fmacking. They refemble all others of that
genus in dirty nefs, lafcivioufnefs, drollery, in
{hewing a liking to all glittering things, and
an appetite for greens and fruits. They crack
nuts and eat the kernel with great alacrity.
It is faid that the monkies in China gather
rhubarb, and pound rice. Females are but
feldom fold. Thefe animals in general are
AT JAVA. 1751. 153
not eafily brought home from fuch diftant
parts. Their conflant nocturnal mewing is
intolerable. Sometimes they are attacked by
the fcurvy, which makes them fo ftiff that at
laft they can fcarce move out of one place,
and this very often kills them. If you let
them go about freely, they play a thoufand
tricks, jump over every thing, fteal the peo-
ples meat away, hunt after chicken, break
the necks of birds ; and even carry their
mifchief further, which has been attefled by
many men of veracity : fome years ago there
was a great monkey in a (hip, and the boys
being ordered to get upon the yard to take in
the fail, the monkey mounted after them, .and
one of them not doing his bufmefs to its lik-
ing, it bit off his ear. Thefe and other in-
conveniences are the reafons why we bring no
more of thefe diverting animals with us.
July the, 17th.
Fine and calm weather.
A Javanese man, who conducted a Dutch
yacht from Batavia to the weftern coaft, with
^ Dutch flag, came on board us, after we had
fired
5
154 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
fired a cannon, and prefented' us with two large
water-melons marked with Chinefe characters.
About three in the afternoon we failed from
hence, with very little wind, and anchored
again at five o'clock on a ftony ground at
twenty fathoms depth j the next night we had
fome lightning.
July the 1 8th.
The weather was fine, but wind and current
qpere againft us.
The 'java men came to us, and had cocoa-
nuts, large oranges, {Citrus decumana), great
coifee-beans, chicken of different colours, pale-
grey ducks, powder-fugar, tobacco, feveral
mats to lie upon in the heat inftead of Iheets ;
fome birds in cages, particularly little parrots
of excellent green, blue, and red colours,
cfpecially the following :
Tfittacus galgulus, viridis, uropygio et guld
rubrdy vertice cceruko Linn. Tfittacus viridis,
remigibus reftricibufque fupra viridibus, fubtus
caruleis, uropygio peftoreque cQCcineo, vertice
totrulcQ. Edw. t. 6*
Its
NEAR JAVA. 1751* 155
Irsfize is that of a little fparrow ; the bill
is of the fame lhape with thofe of other fpecies
of the fame genus; the round nojirils are
high up on the bill, and are furrounded by
an elevated fkin ; the eyes are furrounded by a
bluifli fkin, with elevated points near the mar-
gin ; the heady the back, the belly, the tipper'
fides of the wings, and the coverts of the tail
below, are green •, but the under-fide of each
feather is purple at the bottom ; the crown of
the head is adorned with a blue fpot ; the
uropygium and the throat are red ; on the neck
is a brownifh fpot ; the lower part of the back
has a yellow fpot, and towards the uropygium
it grows red ; the nineteen quill-feathers are
blue on the outward edges, the reft is green;
the eleven tail-feathers are green on the upper
and blue on the under fide, and they are al-
moft concealed under the coverts ; the people
of Java call thefe birds Parkicki, and our
people call them Paroquets : thefe little birds
are beautiful on account of their high colours,
and this is the only thing that recommends them
to all nations; if it is put into a cage, it
whittles very feldom, and commonly grows
quite fullen ; it hangs itfelf with its feet fo,
that the back is turned towards the earth, and
feldom changes this fituationj it is fed with
boiled
i S 6 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
boiled rice, in which manner, in the year
1 75 i, one was brought alive to Gothenburgh
in the fhip the Gothic Lion, and I brought a
fluffed one.
' Psittacus Javanicas (Pfittacus Akxandri
Linn.) This Parrot is twice as big as the pre-
ceding one, and is here univerfally expofed to
fale. The cere is black ; the wings have feven
quill-feathers in the lafl joint ; eleven fecon-
dary feathers are in the next ; and in the loweft,
which is very fliort, are a few fmall ones ; the
■midlemoft of the eleven tail- feathers is the
longed ; the upper-jaw is the longed and pale
red ; the lower is pale yellow ; the nojlrils
fland very high up in the bill, and are round;
the membrane of the head goes round about
fomewhat lower; the head is every where
covered with very fliort feathers of a pale blue,
and pale yellow ; . the temples are black on
both fides ; all the other parts of the bird are
grafs coloured, except the throat and breqfi
which are pale red ; the wings are light grey
below, but five of the coverts are yellow ; the
down clofe to the body is grey ; the tail is
yellowifli, the thighs are long and covered ; th ; e
legs are fliort, and like the feet, of a greeni{h
grey ; the latter have two fore-toes and two
back-toa
N EAR JAVA. 1751- *&
back-toes of which the innermoft are the
fhorteft.
Corvus Javanenfis (Gracula religiofaUvm.)
The Java people call them May-noa ; they
may be compared with the Lefkoa of tfce
Chinefe; it looks like a great blackbird with
white membranes near the ears ; the bill, the
legs, and the feet are pale yellow ; each of the
outermoft quill-feathers has awhitefpot; the
whole bird is black befides ; each ear has two
white membranes ; the eyes are black ; its little
oblong nojlrih are in the middle of the bill ;
the jaws of the bill are of an equal fize ; the
irides are moftly covered and blue ; the legs
and feet are whitifh and fcaly ; the latter have
three fore-toes and one back-toe ; of the fixteen
quill-feathers the feven outward ones have each
a black fpot in the middle ; the ten tail-fea-
thers are (hort ; the head is naked : this bird
eats greadily, cries loud, fmacks with its bill,
and it is faid, it may be taught to fpeak : we
bought one here, but it died at Canton,
Motacilla familiaris (Emberiza famili*
am Linn. Syft. Nat. 311.) capite fcf rofiro
nigra, uropygio luteo ; the head is black and has
a little
i 5 8 OSBECK'S VOYAGt
a little tuft ; the bill is Tubulated, (freight,
narrow, black ; the neck, the breaft, and the
head are afti-coloured ; the coverts of the tail
are yellow. It was one of the prettied birds I
ever faw ; for, when a perfon whittled to it, it
fang very fweetly ; and if any one offered his
hand when the cage was opened, it would
jump upon it ; if it faw a di(h of water, it
went and bathed itfelf, which it did almoft
every day ; at night it was reftlefs till we hung
fomething over its cage ; we fed it with rice
till it was devoured by rats at Canton,
Java Turtle doves (Columba turtur.) The
head is reddifiVgrey ; the bill is blackifh and
narrow ; the upper-jaw is the longed, and ends
in a (harp point like a nail, but a little bent ;
the lower-jaw is (height ; the nojlrih are long,
equally broad, oblique, raifed up at the edges ;
the hides are red ; the throat, the breaji, and
the belly are of areddifh grey ; on the neck are
white and ferrugineous fpots ; the quill-fea-
thers and the tail are undulated with a red and
ferrugineous colour; the legs and feet are red;
it has three fore-toes and one back-toe,
J av a Sparrows, FringWacapite&guIa nigra,
femporibus albis (Loxia oryzivora Linn.) The
Cock-paddy
NEAR JAVA. 1751. 169
Cock-paddy or Rice-bird. Edw. t. 41. The Mis
fometimes more, and fometimes lefs red ; the
lower-jaw is a little longer than the upper one ;
the tongue is fharp and lacerated / the head
and cheeks are black, but grey in young birds ;
the temples are white ; the neck, the back, and
feven of the quill-feathers are blue, and
blackifh grey on the upper fide ; the quill-fea-
thers are whitiih below ; the belly is reddifh ;
the twelve feathers of the tail are black ; the
vent -feathers are white ; the legs and feet are
of a pale colour ; the back-toe is as long as the
middlemoft fore-toe.
We now got a fight of the Vatiallinga :
they are fmall Dutch merchant fliips, which
cruize hereabouts, betwen the iflands, to pre-
vent fmuggling on the coafts.
Every time we heaved the lead We got
pieces of corals.
Being obliged by the contrary current to
anchor at Topenjhutb, overagainft which is
Brabandjhutb, the Dutch Commodore's ftiip,
the Middelburgh, commanded by Commodore
Suavenbourg, with four other men of war,
cruizing about the coafts oijava, palled by us.
They
160 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
They brought advice, that the Queen of Ban*
tarn was killed, that the King was taken pri-
fonef, and that five thoufand Dragoons and
one thoufand five hundred HufTars were at that
time ready to kill all the inhabitants of Bantam
without diftin&ion, who would not acknow-
ledge the King whom they had appointed,
and who fhould refufe to look upon the
Dutch as their protectors. The prince of
Madura fupported the Dutch in this affair
with all his power.
The ifland of Great Java is fituated under
the fixth degree of fouth latitude, between
Summatra, Banca, Borneo, Madura, Baly or
Little Java, and the country of Eendraught
(Union). It appears from hence that it muff be
very hot, and the heat would be intolerable if
the thick woods did not retain the moiflure
after the rains are over, and if all kinds of
animals were not refrefhed by the fhade.
Batavia is the celebrated capital of the
Dutch in this ifle, who built it in the year
1610, in the place where the old town of
Jacatra formerly flood ; but as it lay on the
other fide of the ifle we did not get fight of it.
I am told there are fine houfes in it, and that
it
NEAR JAVA. 1751. i5i
it is inhabited by merchants of all nations, and
even by Chinefe, who contribute much to the
riches of this place. The Dutch Council of
India has its feat there ; and from thence
directs their Eaji-India trade.
The Dutch intend to poifefs themfelves of
Bantam, a town and kingdom which has
formerly been governed by a Mahomedan
King, and carries on a great trade in pepper.
It is faid that the language is either that of
the natives or the Malaic. Leidecker has
wrote the firft Malalc and Dutch dictionary in
Batavia, which Cardinal Barberini got pub-
1 idled in Latin at Rome, 163 1, in quarto, by
David Hixio. Hadrianus Relandus, in his
Diffcrtationes mifceilanea f hzs\[kewik publifhed
a fylloge of the dictionary of Leidecker. Not
to mention fome other works which the Dutch
have publifhed in the Malaic language, fuch
as the New Tejiwnent, &c. n
The Malaic language is faid to be more
univerfal in India, than Latin in Europe.
Bats ? of the fize of ravens, flew every
evening from Summatra to Java, to fpend the
n Mr. Boivrey publifhed a Malayo and Engliih Dictio-
nary, in Quarto, at Lond, 1701.
Vol. L M • ni-ht
i6i OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
night there, and returned in the morning to
Summatra. This is undoubtedly a lingular
circumflance, deferving a clofer examination.
In flight and fize they were like our ravens ;
a man of veracity affured me, that he had
feen them in a garden at Batavia\ do thefe
animals find fome food at Java which they
cannot meet with in Summatra f or are they
molefted during the nights in Summatra with
enemies which are not to be found in Java ?
what elfe can be the reafon why they fo often
change their habitations ?
July the 19th.
We palTed by the point of Bantam in the
morning, in fair weather and with favourable
wind ; and in the afternoon about two of the
clock, two ifles which are fo like one another
that they are called the Two Brothers. The
ground was a blue clay mixed with white
fand ; it was at ten or thirteen fathoms depth.
July the 2 1 ft.
The water looked yellow, and was now in
bloflbm , as our people told me.
In the northern countries of Europe, it is faiaVthat/^
water is in blotfom, when it is tinned with a green or
WE
NEAR JAVA. 1751, i6 3
We faw Lucipara before us. It was a very
fliady ifle, like all the ifles hereabouts which
have thick forefts : it is thought that this ifle
had its own inhabitants. Our ihip required
at -leaft eighteen feet depth of water before^
and nineteen and a half behind ; for which
realbn we always fent cur boat and floop
before us, as foon as we had but five fathoms
depth : in fome places we. had fcarce four
fathoms depth : thus we failed here according
to the depth, and by the direction of our lead,
and not according to the courfe, which was the
caufe that we did not approach Summatra
nearer than at five fathoms depth ; nor did
we venture to keep further off than at fever*
fathoms depths
The ifle of Su?n?natra p whlch was continually
on our left, and to which we failed fo near,
was low in this place, and covered with trees,
which flood very clofe, whofe ftems were
without branches, and all of a height; and
for that reafon, the forefl looked like a cut
yellow hue, by a kind of Byjfus or Hair-weed, with which
it is then filled : and from thence even the lea is faid to be
in bio/Tom, when its furface is tinged with a preternatural
colour. F.
M 2 hedge,
1 64 QSBECK'S VOYAGE.
hedge, or as a clump of reeds in the water ;
but further on a row of higher and darker
trees made their appearance. Perhaps the
former trees were thofe called Spanifh reeds :
the landing is faid to be very inconvenient, on
account of the deep clay, which extends a good
way into the wood : however, there are Swedes
who have fometimes been on more for plea-
fure, and to cut wood. Juan dc la Serna fays,
in his Diccionario Gcographico, that the above
mentioned ifland is three hundred leagues long,
and feventy broad; that it produced rice,
feveral forts of fpice and fruit ; that it is fub-
j eft to a great deal of rain ; and that the heat
is much greater than in Java : that the petty
Kings have a King fuperior to them all at
Mhen\ and that the inhabitants are black,
ugly, proud, tyrannical, treacherous, and faith-
lefs Uahomcdans, who defpife all (hangers.
The ifle of Banc a lay on our right. The
mountain called Monopin, which is upon it,
may be feen at a great diftance.
We call anchor in the evening.
July
NEAR JAVA. 1751* 'i<*5
July the 2 2d.
We failed with a fair wind, however, not
above half a mile from Banca. The ifle of
Nanka, or Polo Nanka, where frefh water is to
be got, was obferved on our right. We ap-
proached very near to the North fide of Sum-
matra, which looked as before mentioned ; we
anchored towards the third promontory or
cape.
Insects came to us from the land.
The 23d July.
Having feen in the morning a Junke (for
that is the name of a Chinefe yacht), we hap-
pily paffed a little rock hidden under water,
which has frightned many Eajl-India failors,
and which they call the Frederick Henry. This
place is dangerous, becaufe the low . water
prevents the {hips from approaching the more ;
but if they go too far off, the above rock may
make an end of the whole voyage, as happened
to a Dutch {hip, and is ilill quite frefh in our
memories.
M J I HAVE
1 66 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
I have often been told that fquirrels fome-
times fail acrofs the fea ; but to-day I experi-
enced, that birds likewife are poffeffed of that
art ; for a Booby (Pelecanus Pifcator) failed by
us on a root.
Monopin upon Banca we left out of fight
in the afternoon, together with Summatra.
The 24th July.
We now faw thofe called the Seven JJlands
on the right ; but they were at a greater
diflance than the illes Polo-Taya on the left :
the ifle of Lingen, which is one of the former
and lie? exactly under the line, was overagainfl
us at 6 o'clock in the evening.
The 25th July, i° Northern Latitude.
The wind was fair, and we faw land.
The 26th July, 2 39' N. L.
We thought that PoIo-Tmgey y where the
Su: ed ft Eajl-lndlaman the Ritter Houfe, was
2 loft,
NEAR JAVA. 175 1. 167
loft, was on our left, among the ifles; bnt
we afterwards found, when we had patted by
fome of them, that it was amongft the ifles of
Anambo. The firft was a little high white
rock ; and the others w T ere covered with foil
and fome fmall plants. We therefore turned
and took another courfe. We faw birds of
feveral forts at a diftance ; we were accompa-
nied by fome dog-fifh.es, and likewife a fpecies
of eels, with yellow tranfverfal lines, if they
were not fnakes ; they kept behind the (hip,
in that part of the water which the keel of
the fhip had cut through ; and 1 ftiould fup-
pofe that they and feveral other little fi flies
followed us from the Streights of Sunda. We
Jikewife faw them the next day.
The 27th of July, 4 20' N. L,
The weather was fair, and we failed exactly
before the wind.
Two fwallows came in the evening, and fol-
lowed the fhip.
M 4 The
i6S OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
The 25th July, 7 16' N. L.
The Globulus is a little white fhell like a
waiflcoat -button. It is an univalve, very ele-
vated at the top, flat below,- and has depreffed
rays on both fides. The worm which lived in
it lay in a circle towards the fpire, was very
narrow, and was in length a ringer's breadth :
had two fetaceons horns, and a filiform tail.
The 30th July, 8° 59' N. L,
Polo Candor, together with fome other ifles
in the neighbourhood, appeared to the left.
This ifle is inhabited, and belongs to the king
of Cambogia : it is fifteen leagues off Cambogia t
and its latitude 8° 40'. In the year 1746 the
fhip Calmar was obliged to winter near Polo
Candor. The chaplain, M. Ta?'fi/irccm, who
made the fir fh trial what a Szvedzjh naturaliir.
might expect from fuch voyages, died here,
on the 4th of December, and his funeral was
honoured by the firing of two guns. The
abovementioned fhip was forced to flay near
this ifland from the nth of October 1746, to
ihc 15th of April 1747, on account of con-
trary
NEAR JAVA. 1751. i6 9
trary winds ; for in the Chinefe fea two con-
tinual winds blow every year ; fo that fix
months are taken up by each of them : from
April to September you may fail to China
with a fouth weft wind ; but the other months
•from China with a north eaft wind. It is very
unfortunate to be here when thefe winds
change, for then are ufually exceeding great
florins (called Tayfun p by the Chinefe) which
continue to rage twenty-fix hours with fuch
fury, that the people on-board the mips can-
not get out of their places, but mud ftand as
if they were lafhed to the mart : and this our
P Although Mr. De Guignes in his Memoire dans lequel
en prowve que les Chinois font une colonic Egypt ienne, Paris,
17^9, 8 v0 . has endeavoured to prove the Cbinrfe to be the
offspring of an Egyptian colony : I muft however confefs,
that his arguments were by no means fatisfadtcry to me ;
though I very willingly allow that there is a great probabi-
lity in his opinion. For a further investigation of this mat-
ter by the curious, and fuch as go to China, I will only re-
mark, that the Typhcn of the Egyptians was a phyfical divi-
nity, the fymbol of a fiery malignant eafterly wind, for
which reafon this divinity was called Tbeou pboou, the bad
wind, which bears a very great refemblance to this Chinefe
name T ay fun. Befides this, the pronoun of the firit per-
son Nr in the Egyptian language is in the Thebaic or purell
dialed, and which is pronounced nye, yet preferved in the
Qhinefs language, both being equivalent to J. F.
Eaft
i 7 o OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Eqfi India failors are able to affert from their
own experience.
The 31ft of July, io° 30' N. L.
Polo Zapata (which is called a lajl by the
Swedes from its figure) appeared, being a
little, naked, white, high rock, in the open
fea.
Near this rock are a great number of
birds ; and by catching one of them, upon our
return from China, we found that it was Ster-
na Jlolida grifea, capite albo. The boobies
Were plentiful here. I likewife caught a Pha-
lana feticornis fpin Unguis , alis planis, fuperio-
ribus coeridefcejitibus, maculis luteis : the
body, wings, and feet were white : the head
green : the tongue ferrugineous.
The Mill beetles {Blatta orientalis Linn.l)
annually come in mips from the Eaji In-
dies. I was told that when the fhip Gothen-
burgh, returning from China, foundered on a
rock not far from the fortrefs Elfsborg, and
the wet tea was carried to be dried in the
ovens in the town, thefe infects came thither
s The Cock Roach
along
CHINESE SEA. 1751- l 7 l
along with it; and have fince continued there,
and in other places. Thefe infers, which
conceal themfelves in the day time, come out
in the night, when they eat fhoes and other
cloaths, which are greafy : it is faid that bugs
are their mod delicious morfels j fo if any one
chufes to exchange one peft for another, he
might perhaps authenticate this notion. We
found a female of this mfeft in a plantain tree
(Mufaparadifiaca) which came from Java.
The 3d of Auguft.
The fun was perpendicular to us to-day,
and the latitude could not be obferved for that
reafon; but as to our calculation, it was 14
6' N. L.
I caught a Libelhda fufca, cape et late-
ribus viridibus. The abdomen had eight ar-
ticulations : the wings were all equal, and
brown near the body ; the outward edge had
below a black right angled fpot, but on the
under fide it was not quite black.
The
172 CSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The 5th of Auguft, i6° 48' N. L.
This day and the preceding night we had
moftly calm and clear weather ; afterwards the
wind was changeable; towards evening it light-
ened j about twelve o'clock at night it rained
very hard, with much lightning, during which
the whole fky was covered with clouds. On
the foretop fomething like a little ftar was
perceived. The Counfellor of Chancery, Mr.
KUngenJliema^-Ay^'m the learned fpeech which
he delivered in 1755, on the neweft electrical
experiments, when he refigned the office of
Prefident of the Royal Academy of Sciences,
that fuch flames are electric, being emitted
from an electrical cloud, which ferves as a
conductor. Among the ancient naturalifts
thefe flames were mentioned under the names
of Helena, Cajlor and Pollux,
The 8th of Auguft, 22 4' N. L.
Pied R a Blanca, or the White rock, came
within our fight, towards noon. The wind
j abating,
CHINESE SEA. 1751* 173
abating, the heat became intolerable. To-
wards the evening we anchored.
Balistes Monoceros is a fpecies of fifh
which looks like a flounder at a diftance, and
has almoft the fame tafle, but is not fo fat.
The fifti was half a foot long, and its body
covered with a dark-grey rough fkin. We
caught feveral with a hook, and this afforded
me an opportunity of defcribing them.
On each fide is zfpiracle, and next to it,
within the /kin, two tranfverfal bones : the firft
dor/a! fin near the eyes, conlifts of a reverfed
brittle bone, which is armed with little hooks ;
it is the length of a finger's breadth, and a
little longer than the other fins : the fecond
dorfal fin has forty-feven rays : the peBoral
fins are the leaft ; each has thirteen rays : the
ventral fins are wanting; in their {lead is a
long bone under the ikin : the anal fin is oppo-
site to the fecond dorfal fin, and has 5 1 rays :
the tail has 1 2 ramofe rays : the mouth is ob-
long and narrow : the lower jaw is fomewhat
longer than the upper ; on each fide of it
ftand three pointed, broad teeth, connected
together below, of which the middleraoft is
fplit ; the lips are moveable,
The
174 OS BECK'S VOYAGE,
The 9th of Augufh
The fhip hardly moved from the place
Where it was the day before. We faw befides
Piedra Blanca the ifle of Lantoa, and fome
other ifles on the Chinefe coaft, on our right.
The iothof Auguft.
In the forenoon the Iky was clear, but the
wind againft us.
BALisTEsycr/^/w.Catefby, vol.ii.27. Afiih
equal in fize and appearance to the Balijies
mcnoceros, but marked over the whole body as
it were with blue letters of an Eaftern lan-
guage, was caught here, and put into Spanijb
brandy ; but the fine colours vanifhed as foon
as it was dead. In the afternoon we had a
tolerable good wind, but at night again flood
out to fea ; becaufe a cloudy fky and lighten-
ing are faid to be the forerunners of a ftorm*
We had cloudy weather, contrary winds, and
fkowers of rain, the following days.
The
CHINESE SEA. 1751. 175
The 1 3th of Auguft.
To-day it was refolved to look out for land,
where we could, but all our endeavours were
in vain.
The 14th of Auguft.
Rain, ftorms, and contrary winds, always
drove us off from land : a fwallow, which had
been feen fome days before, dill accompanied
the fhip.
The 15th of Auguft.
Dark and inconftant weather : the flying
fiih, which we faw on the nth, now accom-
panied us.
The 1 6th of Auguft.
1 Cloudy and rain. We fleered W. by S.
along the fliore, though we did not fee it :
about noon we anchored and faw Pledra
Blanca to the North Eaft ; not from the deck,
but
i 7 6 O SB ECK'S VOYAGE.
but from the foretop. Porpcjfcs tumbled in
great numbers about the fhip.
The 17th of Auguft.
In the morning we faw fome land pretty
near, and anchored afterwards, but were foon
driven from more with ftrong wind and rain.
Contrary winds and calms hindered our gain-
ing the Chinefe coafts till the 2 2d of this
month : in the mean time we got the follow-
ing fpecimens of Natural Hiftory.
The 20th of Auguft.
Balistes nigro-piinclatus and a lump of
narrow, fmooth, round, water-coloured worms,
Which hung together without any order, and
feemed to be a torn Medufa y at lead no mark
of life appeared in it.
The 2 1 ft of Augufl.
The heat to-day and yefterday, was in-
tolerable : the large dragon flies (Libellula)
which
CHINESE SEA. 175-1. 17?
which had followed our fhip For fome days,
were well pleafed with this weather.
A great dead fnake floated on the water,
and occafioned a poifonous flench, which com-
monly is afcribed to the flowering of the
Water.
Balistes Chinenfis is diftinguifhed from the
aforementioned forts, by the following charac-
ter ; the bone which makes the firfl dorfal fin,
is fomewhat thicker, and behind it is a ikin :
the fecond dorfal fin has thirty-four rays ; the
■pettoral fins thirteen rays; the ventral fi?i
confifls of a bone with eight bent rays ; on that
bone is a membranaceous fin, which gives a
greater breadth to the fifh; the eyes are very
prominent, and have a red iris ; on each fide
before the eye is a fmall hole; the anal fin
has thirty rays ; the tail has twelve rays : this
fifh is lefs than the others of that kind.
The 2 2d of Auguft.
In the morning We weighed anchor and
fleered to the Chinefe coafl, having been
obliged to linger near it fourteen days, and
Vol. I. N having
178 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
having made a collection for the poor of 3^4
dollars in copper r . The pilot whom we got
on board, and who brought us in, was to
receive twenty pefos duros (four pounds feven
fnillings and fixpence), or 200 dollars in cop-
per. We had Lantoa on our right and the
Southern ifles of Limes on the left : the fea
formed high billows rolling in from the ifles,
which were quite green with plants, but had
no woods. The mod ufual entry of European
fliips into China is by the Ladrones, which
derive their name from the pirates who former-
ly lived upon them.
Macao is a Portuguese town on an ifle,
which was now on our left, but (o far off that
we could not fee it : our Spanifi pafTenger left
us here, and failed for Macao, from whence he
defigned to go to the IJle of Manilla, where he
intended to fettle.
The ifle of hinting was on our left. We
were obliged to anchor here, having no wind,
and the tide againft us : the nihermen failed by
. r A dollar in copper is about five-pence or five-pence
halfpenny fterling ; thus 334 dollars are about feven pounds
tarring. F,
fattening
ENTERING INTO CHINA. 1751. r 7 ?
fattening their net to the mall. I here caught
the Papilio (Liniingenjls) tefrapus fubtus pal'ide
luteus mbulofus, fupra nigricans luteo impregna-
ius. The body is whitifh on the under, but
blackifh on the upper fide : the antenna are
fetaceous, blackifh : the wings are all dentated;
the primary ones of a pale yellow on the under
fide, with a few black fpots ; the fecondary
wings blackifh on the upper fide, and yellow
below; towards the bafe they have a blue
Gemma, or Ocellus, but towards the outward
edge they are of a dirty yellow.
The "23d of Auguft.
Whilst we tacked here, we met with zl
Comprador ; or Chinefe who provides the fhips
With the'necefiaries of life, fuch asflem, greens,
and bread. He came from Macao, and had
Plaint ai'ns or the larger fort of Pifang] Gujavef,
Lanteyes, and water-melons : his name was
Attay, and his fervants were No-hay and At-yan,
The latter came every day with a large Sam-
pane, and kept near the (hip (or Bancjkal). I
was told that this and other Compradors flayed
all night in the Wam-pu cuftom-houfe : in the
faclory at Canton there is likewife a Comprador,
N 2 who
I0o OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
who in the fame manner gets ready every thing
required for our fubfiftence, and who is obliged
to accompany every perfon going on board, to
the next cuftom-houfe, in order to fearch what
he takes with him. If any body dies, the Com-
prador is to order the funeral : he that was to
be the Comprador of our faclory, was called
Lufy.
The 24th of AugufL
JBocca Tyger, in the Ch'inefe language Vho-
hao, the mouth of the Tyger or Fhomunn ; the
Tyger, at its opening, is a narrow river, where
We anchored about noon for want of wind. On
the right hand fide of the entrance, was a low
caftle, furrounded by trees; on both fides of it
a path afcended the mountain to a fmall houfe ;
before which flood a white hut, which is fup-
pofed to be a place dedicated to an idol : fome-
what further on the left were two caflles on
two different hills, furrounded likewife by
trees ; the moft outward of them was fur-
rounded by warmer, and had a little hut clofe
to it : the inner one is higher, fo that it may
command the other 8 .
• See Lord Anfon's Voyage round the World, book iii.
chap. 9,
Mandarin
CHINA. 1751- lS *
Mandarin, or Commander > is a denomi-
nation which our people borrow from the
Portugueze, and which they give to all public
officers in this country, even to lower officers
of the cufloms : if a Chinefe was to pronounce
this word, he would fay Mandeli, for they can-
not pronounce the letter r; whence it plainly
appears that the word Mandarin does not be-
long to their language : fome of thefe gentle-
men now came on board, to fee what fort of
people we were ; two Mandarins accompanied
us up the river, to Wam-pu, where we met two
others, each of which joined the fhip in his
boat with his men, each having his appointed
flation. He who was on the right fide of the
fliip, and was the neareft to it, belonged to the
cufloms, and flayed with us whilfl we were in
China ; but the other on the left was a mili-
tary man, and was exchanged every month :
their bufinefs is, to keep off the thieving Chinefe
from the fhip, and to provide thofe, who mutt,
on account of bufinefs, go to Canton or other
places, with Tiapp, or paffports, which mufl
be (hewn at the cuflom-houfe. Their people
can almofl get a fufficient fubfiflence by wafli*
ing of linen : it is remarkable, that no Chinefe
can be a Mandarin in the place where he is
torn,
i8 2 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The fifhermen brought feveral forts of nfh,
as eels, at lead a fort of them, called Paling
in the Chinefe language, foals, rays, and Chinefe
crabs.
Cancer Chinenjis. Thefe are as big again
as the Swedifi crabs ; the body is almoft
tranfparent, as long as a hand is broad : the
rojirum has eight incifions above, and four
below ; the eyes are exceffively prominent, as
if they flood on ftalks ; on the fides are two
little leaves ; the fides are lacerated and notch-
ed ; the body y befides the tail and head, has
.fix articulations ; the tail has four oval leaves,
except the middle one-, which is ftiarp pointed.,
concave, and cylindrical ; the five pair of bind
feet are red, and covered with hair towards the
inward margin ; the live pair of fore feet are
cheliferous ; inflead of the two foremqfi are two
pair of bifid feathered ones.
At night we advanced with wind and tide,
and anchored near the Lion's Tczver, which is
the firft of three remarkable towers in the way
to Canton*
■ The
CHINA. 1751.- i8j
The 25 th of Augufl.
The weather was clear: a rich Cbinefe
threw a tortoife out of his boat, for the ufe of
fuch poor people as would give themfelves the
trouble to go and fetch it.
After a voyage of five months and four
days from Cadiz, we at laft arrived at Huam-
pu, or, as it is commonly called, Wam-pa. This
is the place where all European mips in the
river of Canton or Ta-ho ride at anchor, and
where they flay as long as they trade in this
country. We reckoned this anchoring place
about four Swedijh miles from the mouth of
the river, or Bocca-tyger. To Canton we had
a mile and a half, and the town of Wam-pu,
which is to the left when you arrive,- was
about half a mile off from hence. On both
fides of the river we faw large low rice-fields.
Here were already fixteeri European mips,
and one came in after us ; fo that, beildes the
Cbinefe boats, which anchor near the town,
or in another place, this year there were 18
Ihips,
N 4 The
1 84 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The European Ihips were the following :
Two Swedijb ones.
Prince Charles.
The Gothic Lion, which came a little before
us, from Suratte.
One Danifi.
The Queen of Denmark.
Two French :
The Duke of Chartres.
The Duke of Mont er an.
Four Dutch:
The Commodore's fhip, The Conjlancy.
Friburgh.
Amflcveen.
Geldermoufen.
Nine Englijh .«
The EJfex.
Centurion,
St. George.
Cdfar.
True Briton*,
Triton.
Hardwick.
Elizabeth.
Succefs Gaily, a country fhip ?
A*
CHINA. 1751. 185
At night we heard a fort of mufic, partly
made by infers, and partly by the noife of
the Gungung in the Summaries and Bancfials.
Arriving at Wam-pu, you have a large
field with rice on your right, for no other corn
is ufual in this country : part of this field
near the river is feparated from the reft by
a ditch, leading to a bancfhal, or warehoufe
for Englijh, Swedijb, and DaniJJo fhips ; thefe
(hips annually raife this place higher with their
ballad : but this time our people made a fine
flone quay where large boats could land. The
French have their warehoufe on the French
ifland, which lies on the left, fomewhat near-
er to Canton. The Dutch are forbid to come
here with feveral fhips at once, or to land any
baggage, having once attempted to bring
cannon on fhore in water-tubs ; but, as they
broke to pieces, their fcheme was difcovered.
I am told that the Dutch have fince got a banc-
fhal, in 1761.
Bang sal (in French bancafal, in Englijh
bancfhal) is the place, or warehoufe, where we
flow all our unneceffary wood and tackle,
pitch and tar ; and keep our chicken, hogs-,
i86 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
he. during our flay in China. The fhip which
comes firft has the bed place. Each fhip is
obliged to give a fum for the place it takes
up, befides paying the comprador for erecting
(immediately after the arrival of a fhip) a
warehoufe in form of a barn, made of bamboo
and mats, in which there are two chambers for
the mate or bancfhal captain, who continually
watches with fome failors at both ends of the
building. As long as they do not fufpect any
thieves, they fhout out from one bancfhal to
another, all well, and often beat the gungung,
to mew their vigilance. A liberty was former-
ly given to the centinels of firing upon the
Chinefe, who ventured to get into thofe banc-
fhals at night ; but this is not now permitted.
When an eminent flranger pays vifits, or
when the colours of a {hip are hoifted, the
flags are difplayed in the bancjhaL Towards
the departure of a fhip, the neceffary oxen,
hogs, &c. are killed in this warehoufe.
Gungung is the Chinefe name of an inflru-
inent "which has the greatefl refemblance to a
brafs bafon. In all bancjhah and factories, a
fignal on this inflrument is given every half
hour, m the fame manner as is done on- board
by
CHIN A. 175*. 187
■by a bell. They give one knock at half an
hour paft twelve, two at one o'clock, and fo
on till four o'clock, when they give eight
thumps, to fignify that eight half hours are
paft : at half an hour after four, they begin
again in the lame manner ; fo that at four,
eight, and twelve o'clock, eight thumps arc
always given on this inftruraent.
T h e Chinefe drum on this inftru-
ment at their feftivals, and fet fire to
little boats of gilt paper, and throw them
into the fea, as a part of their morning
and evening amufement on fuch occafions.
On board the mips is a quarter-matter^ or ca-
det,, who (lands near the compafs, and. cries
out, when the half-hour glafs is run down, to
him who is near the bell, how many pulls he
muft give.
The Danijh IJland (which bears that name
becaule that nation commonly bury their dead
in that place) is oppofite to the BancJhaU
The French ifland is the next above the
Vanijh : this is the burying-place of the Eng-
tijh, Swedes, French, and Dutch. However,
in both iilands there are likewife fome Chinefe
graves*
188 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
graves. There are every where gardens, pro-
ducing fuch fruits as in our country would be
cultivated in hot-houfes as rarities. But high
places are never cultivated, becaufe the fun
entirely burns up whatsoever grows upon
them.
The 26th of Augufh
It began to rain, and rained for four days
together. In the morning we faluted, and the
Danijh {hip returned the falute.
The Eq/l India company had recommended
it to us, that nothing fhould be taken from
hence to Sweden by the crew, except a few
pounds of fugar, tea, and fome gallons of
arrack, as provifions for the voyage. This
order I read the next day after the thankfgiv-
ing for our happy arrival •, and it was after-
wards twice repeated before our departure,
Cyprinus Cantonenfis was thought to be the
common carp, but it was nearer allied to the
Griflagine : Faun. Sue. 367. It is above a
foot long : the dorfal Jin has 1 o rays, and
Hands in the middle of the back : the pccloml
Jim
CHINA. 1751* i$9
fins have 2 1 rays : the ventral fins have nine
rays, and are equally diftant from the peroral
fins and from the anus : the anal fin has 1 1
rays: the tail is bifurcated, and confifts of 26
rays. This fifh has no beard (cirrhus) : the
iris is yellowifti : the nojlrils are at the top, in
the flat part of the head, and are but little :
the mcmbrana branchiojlega is foft and promi-
nent : xhzfcales are rhomboidal, and are fla-
belliform.
The 30th of Augufh
Fine dry weather.
The French, who faluted our fhip, Were
honoured with fome guns fired at their arrival
and departure.
The 1 ft of September.
The lead which we unloaded to-day, and
the day before, was weighed by a Cbinefe,
who proclaimed the weight of it aloud, and
three
ipo OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
three other Chinefe .wrote it down, in the pre*
fence of feveral Mandarins r .
The 2d of September.
Sam pan is a Chinefe boat without a keel,
looking almoft like a trough ; they are made
of different dimenfions, but are moflly co-
tered.
There are,
Passenger Sampanes, to carry people
backward and forward between the town and
the mips. Thefe you may hire every day;
and you may either take larger ones Tow-eytin,
or lefs ones Stmtm. They are quicker than
you would expecl, provided you take advantage
of the ebb or flood.
These boars are as long as floops, but
broader, almoft. like a . baking trough ; and
have at the end one or more decks of Bamboo
1 Here our authors inferted an hiftory of China, ex-
tracted from books in the hands of moil: Englijh readers.;
*Ve have therefore omitted it, as unintereiting.
flicks i
CHINA. t?$r. ipi
Aicks : the cover, or roof, is made of Bamboo
flicks, arched over in the fnape of a grater 5
and may be raifed or lowered at pleafure : the
fides are made of boards, -with little holes,
with fhutters inftead of windows : the boards
are fattened on both fides to ports, which haves
notches like fteps on the infides, that the roof
may be let down, and reft on them : on both'
ends of the deck are commonly two little
doors, at lead there is one at the hiiv
end. A fine white fmooth carpet fpread up
as far as the boards makes the floor, which in
the* middle ccnfifls of loofe boards; but this
carpet is only made ufe of to fleep on. As
thefe boats greatly differ from ours in ihape^
they are iikewife rowed in a different manner ;
for two rowers, polling themfelves at the back
end of the fampane, work it forwards very
readily, by the motion of two oars; and can
almoft turn the veffel juft as they pleafe :* the
oars, which are covered with a little hollow"
quadrangular iron, are laid on iron fwivels,
which are fattened in the fides of the fampane :
2t the iron .the oars are pieced, which makes
them look a little bent : in common, a rower
fits before with a fliort oar ; but this he is
forced to lay afide when he comes near the
city, on account of the great throng of fam- '
5 ° ? a nes j
i 9 2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
panes ; and this inconvenience has confirmed
the Cbinefe in their old way of rowing. In-
flead of pitch, they make ufeof a cement like
our putty, which we call Chinam, but the
Chinefc call it Kiang. Some authors fay that
this cement is made of lime and a rezin exfud-
ing from the tree Totig Tea, and Bamboo
eckam.
The fampane in which I Went this time had,
befides a couple of chairs, the following furni-
ture : two oblong tables, or boards, on which
fome Cbinefe characters were drawn ; a lan-
thorn for the night time; and a pot to boil
rice in.
They have alfo a little cover for their houf-
liold god, decorated with gilt paper and other
ornaments : before him flood a pot, filled with
allies, into which the tapers were put before
the idol. The candles were nothing elfe than
Bamboo chips, to the upper end of which
faw-dufl of fandal-woodwas ftuck on with gum.
Thefe tapers are every where lighted before
the idols in the pagodas, and before the
doors in the ftreets ; and, in fo large a city, oc-
cafion a fmoke very pernicious to the eyes.
Before this idol flood fome Samfo, or Cbinefe
brandy,
CHIN A. 1751- *93
bfandy, water, &c. We ought to try whe-
ther the Cbinefe would not like* to ufe juniper-
wood inftead of fandal-wood ; which latter
comes from Sitratte; and has almoil the fame
fmell with juniper.
Fishermens fampanes are the leafl of all,
narrow like fome of our fairing boats, and
have a very little deck, of draw or bamboo ;
or are even without that poor convenience.
Bad as thefe boats are, yet parents and their
naked children are feen to get their livelihood
in them both fummer arid winter, by fifhing,
and by picking up what has been thrown over-
board by others. For this purpofe they tie
fcveral hooks to a cord, and throw them out
in different places, almoft in the fame manner
as fifhermen in our country lay their eel hooks.
They have better or worfe fortune as it hap-
pens. There is nothing (o filthy but what
thefe people will ufe as food : and the hogs
which die and are thrown over-board, and, by
beginning to putrify, float in a few days, are
often the occafion of fuch quarrels as end in
battles. The reafon why the Europeans fink
the hogs which die on board their fhips is,
that the inhabitants of this place may not feed
upon them : for it is faid that the Chintfe,
Vol. L * O when
i?4 O S B E C K J S VOYAGE.
when they go on-board any flilps, will give
pepper to the hogs, which they think is poifon
to them, that they may get them again if they
ihould die. It is certain that numbers of hogs
die in the poflellion of the Europeans, whilfl
they Hay in China.
Duck fampanes are boats in which they
feed four or five hundred ducks. They have
on both fides a bridge which may be let down.
In the day time the ducks feed in the river,
upon herbs and fifh ; at night their matter calls
them into his boat ; they immediately obey
him, and come on-board as foon as he lets
down his bridge.
Sampanes of burden are the largeft boats,
by means of which all porcelain, filk, and
other commodities, are conveyed from Canton
to the European (hips. But I do not mean that
thefe boats ferve for the above mentioned pur-
pofe only ; for they are ufed befides as houfes
for whole families ; which are born, marry,
and die in them. They commonly have, be-
fides hogs, fome chicken, and dogs ; and fome
flower pots, containing Guinea pepper, or
fome other plants, in thefe boats. All the
above
CHINA. 175L 195
above mentioned fampanes are not embelliflied
by painting.
Mandarin fampanes, are greater or lefs
red-painted boats, ornamented with dragons,
and fuch like figures, cr with little flags.
The Chinefe alfo ufe Galleys, Sao-Sjo-an^
with eighteen or twenty oars, and as many
men. They lie near the city of Canton, and
fome of them near the European {hips, proba-
bly for the fecurity of the country.
Junks, called Toan-fian by the Chinefe^ or,
as Du Halde calls them, Tbouen, in the Portu-
gueze language So?na or S'o?nmes, are the great-
er veffels, about 200 feet long, and 20 broad.
With thefe mips the Chinefe fail along the
coafts of Batavia^ Manilla, Ainam, Cochin-
china, Cambopa, Chinchiu. From the laft
mentioned place comes the white fugar candy,
which at prefent cods fix tale, three mace pec-
kuls. Such a veifel holds 1000 chefts of tea:
it is high and round on each fide : the rudder
is very Sender, and can be taken out with very
little difficulty, and hung at the other end of
the £hip : it has no upper fails ; but only one
gseat fail,, the fore-fail, the fprit-fail, and the
O 2 mizzen-
i 9 6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
mizzen-fail, all which are made of mats, tied
together quite acrofs with bamboo-flicks. They
ftrike their fails with difficulty, as they can
only effect it by fending a failor up the yard
to tread the fails down. In thefe veffels there
is a continual noife, becaufe the perfon in com-
mand does notinfiflon filence ; they are paint-
ed either black or white, and have always an
eye painted on each fide. Their compafs is
divided into 24 points. The timber of which
thefe Ihips are built, is called Saaomock : the
anchors are made of hard wood, which is
called Tat-fieiu, or Tie-mou ; but they are com-
monly plated with iron at the extremities, and
are more handy than our anchors of iron, and
of more fervice to little veffels.
I should have overlooked the Dimg-Sam-
■panes, if their fmcll had not been fo difagree-
able as we palled by ; arifing from the human
excrements contained in thefe veffels.
In Canton, near the port, fome great tuns
filled with it are put under ground, which after
flaying there fome time, are emptied into thefe
vellels and carried to the plantations, where
they have walled pits into which they put this
dung, mix it with water, flir it well, and after-
wards
C A I N A. 1751. 197
wards, ufe it every where in the country for
manure.
The rice fields, which are green on both fides
of the river, as far as your eye can reach, the
fine woods, which confifl of many forts of
trees, the hills, and the vallies, make the view
beautiful, particularly on the left fide ; but the
wet condition of the rice fields, and a miftruft
of the inhabitants, did not allow me to examine
things more nearly.
There are three cuftom houfes, where all
thofe who go in the Chinefe boats between the
town and the (hips are forced to ftay. Our
people generally call them Tiapp-Houfes".
These Tiapp-Hoitfes are built in part on a
hard (tony ground, and partly over the river,
fupported by polls. They have a bridge fo
contrived, that the boats may come to them at
all times, as well during the ebb as the flood.
And, that no one may plead ignorance, they
pafte their regulations on the walls; and
belides that, clofe to the houfe, ftands a flag,
marked with large Chinefe characters. The
3 Celled by the Englifh Hoppo-Houfes.
O 3 floops
i 9 3 OSBEGR'S VOYAGE.
floops of the Europeans pafs free with their
flags, to the factory, where the cuflom-houfe
officers receive them.
If any one goes from a fhip to Canton, and
fhews the Tiapp which the Mandarin gave
him, in each of the two firfl cuftom-houfes, an
oblong red feal is put upon it ; but in the lad
cuflom-houfc the Tiapp is left. Returning
from Canton, you obtain a Tiapp from the In-
terpreter, and a Comprador goes with you to
the next cuftom-houfe, where you are fearched,
and the Tiapp is fealed : in the other cuilom-
houfes they obferve the fame method as in the
going to Canton.
To go with the tide to Canton, and likewife
down with it, is by far the moft expeditions
and agreeable way. In coming from the fhips,
the firfl cuflom-houfe is on the right hand, not
far from them, and is called —
The Wampu Tiapp-houfe by the Europeans ; in
the Chine fe language it is called Huamp-Siogim.
Near the entry flood a Pomegranate Tree,
Eibifcus mutabilis, Rofa Indica, Z$c. Huampu
is a little town behind the cuflom-houfe, hav-
ing
CHINA. i7Si- 199
ing a tower with nine flories, which the Chinefe
call Pa-tiaw™.
These towers ferve as ornaments to the
cities, and, as the Chinefe affirm, as a meafure
to the roads : but the inhabitants contradict
what fome hiftories have advanced, that thefe
towers are ufed in times of war, as watch
towers : on the different ftories of thefe towers
grew trees and plants, but I could not deter-
mine their kinds, being at too great a diflance ;
fomewhat further on, I faw the mouth of ano-
ther river, through which the larger Chinefe
boats pafs. There was a Pagoda, with feveral
houfes. On the fhore grew in feveral places,
Saccharum pluviatile and Cyperus odoratus.
The Chinefe here catch fifli, by putting up
mats along the fhore, while the tide is in,
which hinder the fry from returning with the
ebb. As foon as the water was fallen, many
people were feen wading up to the knees in
the blue clayey ground mixed with fand, after
the little fry, which jumped about in the mud
like lizards ; but when they faw no means of
faving themieives, they crept a foot deep into
w Pagoda,
6 4 the
Z.qo OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
the oozy ground, not without the knowledge of
the Chinefe, who took care to obferve them;
and pulled them out with their hands ; thefe fifh,
fryed in oil, are the principal food of the poor,
befides rice; and are of two fpecies, as will
appear from the following defcriptions.
i, Fay-ye, or (Gobius feStinirofirh Linn.)
The membrana branchiofiega has four very final!
rays; the dorfal fins are afh- coloured, with
blue tranfverfal lines, and black fpots at the
bottom: the firfl dorfal fin is higher, reaches
from oppofite the bread, to the middle of the
back, and has fix rays ; the ficcnd has twenty-
fix very lhort rays, and reaches from the middle
of the back, to over-againii the anus ; the
pecloral fins have eighteen rays ; the fingle
ventral fin is infundibuliform, fits clofe to the
head, and has ten rays; the anal fin has twenty-
fix parallel rays : all the fins but the dorfal
ones are brownifh ; tl;e head is narrow, fmooth,
and of the fame breadth with the middle of the
body ; the mouth is large and oblong ; the/on?-
bead flat; the tongue lacerated and truncated ;
the teeth are little, pointed, {trait, unequal in the
upper jaw ; they (land only in one row, in tfce
middle 2.x c few, in the lower jaw they fill. up
she whole margin; the lips are fhort, and do
not
CHINA 1751. 201
tiot cover the teeth : I have not difcovered that
they have any noflrils ; the eyes are elevated,
very prominent, oblong, and (land near one
another on the head ; the pupilla is blue ; the
irides of a golden colour ; the back grey, with
red and blue dirty fpots ; the belly whitiih ;
the whole body oblong, as long as a man's hand,
and as it were compreffed.
2. Tan-noao (Gobhts niger Linn.) The
tQembrana branch'wjlega has four rays ; the firft
dor/a I fin is almoft quadrangular in the middle
of the back, and has eleven rays ; the fecond
is longer, and lefs, oppofite the anus, has ten
rays, is tranfparcnt on both fides, with tranf-
verfal black lines ; the fingle ventral fin forms
a funnel, and has twelve rays ; the anal fin
has thirteen rays; the fpace between the
fecond dorfal fin and the tail, and that between
the anal fin and the tail, is equal to the
breadth of one's little finger ; the tail ends in
a point, and has eighteen rays, of which the
outermoft are the fhorteft; the body is the
fame as that of the preceding fifh, except its
having more white and dirty black grey ; the
head is large, and has very fmall white dots ;
jfce movAh is much lefs, and almofl round "J I
' faw
2C2 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
faw here a net drawn by two Cbinefe up tq
their chins in water.
Duck Sampanes lay on the ihore : hundreds
of ducks came into the boat, as foon as the
owner let down the bridge and called them.
The Brandy Tower was fomewhat further
off, on the left ; the Cbinefe call it Tie-koang ;
"When the failors come over-againfl it, and can
fee light quite acrofs the windows of the tower,
from their floop, they are entitled to a draught
of brandy. This cuftom gives name to the
tower, which is half way between Wampu and
Canton.
The Lazarus tree is further up on the right;
It was faid, that people having the leprofy, and
other nafty difeafes, lived under this tree,
which has very luxuriant branches. Some
little inns, which {land feveral of them clofe
together, fomewhat higher up on ports, above
the river, make the beginning of the fuburbs :
before them he innumerable fmall and great
fampanes quite crowded, as well as junks or
large Cbinefe veflels; which occafion the
pafiage to be very narrow and difficult, by the
beat?
CHINA. 1751. 203
boats meeting each other in fo contracted a
fpace.
We now flopped at the fecond cuftom-houfe 3
called Toang-pack-toy in the Chinefe language ;
having jufl before paffed a caflle in the middle
of the river, which was on our left ; another
cattle is fomewhat higher up ; both were fur-
rounded by trees : I was told, that the Dutch
had built one of thefe forts.
The third cuflom-houfe is the principal : it
is near the factories, and the Chinefe call it
Tay-quam-So?ig-gunn ; it is the lafl you meet
with before you get to Canton : the cuflom-
houfe papers (Tiaps) are taken in and kept
here. If you were to go from Canton to
Bocca-tyger, you need not flop at any other
cuflom-houfe, except thefe three, though
there are many others between thefe places -
for next to Huam-po is the fourth, called Oty t,
the fifth is called O-tyoang; the fixth, Baxia-
tunn ; the feventh Toann-tao ; and the eighth,
jPho-?nunn, or the cuflom-houfe of Bocca-tyger, _
or the mouth of the Tyger.
The tower of Canton was the third that we
faw on this route?
The
2<4 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The Factory is the firft place in the fuburbs
to which the Europeans come : this is a general
denomination of the houfes built towards the
river, or over it upon piles, and which are let
by the Chinefe merchants to the European fhips
during their itay : this time is fometimes five
months, and fometimes a year ; which long
delay, though it may arife from accidental
caufes, is often by defign, left feveral fhips
coming home at once fhould glut the market
with Chinefe goods : during this time the Eu-
ropeans lend money to a great advantage in
China ; but a perfon who has not borrowed
confidcrable fums himfelf runs great rifque,
when he lends his money in a place where the
debtor is often fought for in vain. Commonly
each fhip takes a factory for itfelf ; but fome-
times two fhips of a nation, may be together,
and this time it happened fo to two Swedijh fhips,
and if I remember right, they paid 900 tel for
it, which, at the rate of feven dollars per tel,
make 6300 dollars in fiiver.
The* above-mentioned houfes are but two
ilories high, but very long ; and one end of
them jlretches towards the river, and the other
to the fa&ory-ftreet : forne are built of un-
burnt brick?, others of brisks and wood laid
crof:«
C H I N A 1751. i&j
crofs-ways ; but the partitions and upper floors,,
&C. are foractimes entirely of wood : therefore
they are fo poorly provided againft fire, that
on the feventh of December 1743? m three or
four hours, more than 150 houfes were re-
duced to afhes : the fire, for want of proper-
regulation, would have fpread farther, if it
had not been for Commodore Anfcn and
his men : the inhabitants, who believe an
inevitable deftiny, were merely fpectators,
not attempting to extinguish it. The factories
look like two houfes built parallel and near to
each other, between which there is a court-
yard - m the floor 6f the lower flory is covered,
like the court yard, with fquare or rather
oblong (tones ; in thefe Hones are here and
there little holes, through which the water"
may run into the river ; the flair-cafes are
either of ftone or wood ; the rooms are high,
and the roofs are Hoping and covered with
tiles, like thofe La Spain.
Windows are made in the roofs, but they
are fquare, and lefs than thofe in the walls :
there are no ceilings up flairs below the roof :
a room has feldom windows on more than one
fide ; thefe are long, and narrow, with wooden
bows, and have fquare panes of mother of
pearl,
i*6 OSBECt'S VOYAGE.
pearl, but the poorer fort make ufe of other
Ihells ; which are the breadth of a hand each
way. Lead and glafs are never to be met with
in a Chinefe window: thefe windows (land
open in day time, becaufe they do not give
fufficient light ; at night they are (hut, to keep
out gnats, bats, &c. In the lower flory are
few windows, and thofe look into the inner
court.
Near fome of the rooms is a little garden,
of the fize of a middling room. The doors^
when opened, give fufficient light to thefe
apartments : for the fide towards the garden is
quite free. The garden encroaches no farther
on the court yard than the projection of the
building. From the exceffive heats, the doors
are moilly kept open ; but a nanking curtain,
is commonly hung up before them, with three
pieces of wood plated with brafs ; one of which
is at the top, one in the middle, and one at
the bottom.
Our hangings confided of white Chinefe
paper, palled to the wall. Though this paper
is very fmooth, yet lizards (lacerta Cbinenjis)
run with fuch agility up and down the walls.
that they can fcarce be caught. In fummcr
CHINA. 1751. 207
time they abound in thehoufes, but in winter
they difappear : they do no harm, but merely
feek for their food, which is mill-beetles and
other infers.
The Chinefe padlocks are made in fuch a
manner that many of them may be opened
With one key ; and therefore it is a proper
precaution to bring fome from Europe.
The company finds in every room a table,
chairs, and a bed, with curtains of gauze, or
blue 7ianking-ftuff.
You are obliged to draw your curtains quite
clofe, to keep out Mufqtatoes, a fpecies of gnats*
which is very troublefome at night; and whofe
(ting is fometimes the caufe of incurable com-
plaints.
Hence the influence of different climates
appears : for in our country the bite of a flea,
and the {ling of a gnat, are reckoned equal 3
but it is quite other wife in Cbina> though
thefe gnats are the fame with ours.
In each room is likewife a lamp, fattened to
the roof by a long rope. The Chinefe do the
c fame
208 OSBECK'S VOYAGE
fame in their houfes, though they have both
white wax candles and others, which they call
Lapp-tiocL Thefe latter looked as if they were
wade of tallow ; but, as I fuppofe, were made
of the fruit of the tallow-tree. The out-
ward layer of thefe candles, which is red aiid
llifFj is called Nan-cy in the Chinefe language.
Some kept, on the outfide before the win-
dows, in a glafs bowl, gold and filver fifties,
called Kanmi-ko by the Chinefe.
Their colours ihift like thofe of the fined
birds. Fbr their food, a fpecies of plants was
put into the water, the leaves of which refera-
ble Ceratophyllum demerfum & Piftiaferatiotes,
which is here called Siu-yan-gai.
Others had, befides thefe Mies, feveral
little trees in flower-pots, before the windows,
fuch as are likewife cultivated in their nurfe-
ries and gardens ; 'videlicet, a fort of low fweet
orange trees, with a fmall fruit which is called
Gatt here ; moreover the Lemt-yes tree, which
bears little round four lemons called Na-
mang in China, and which are ufed inftead of
tamarinds, or common lemons, in punch, and
generally
CHINA. 1751. 20©
generally before they are ripe. Befides th'efe
are the following plants :
Capficumfrutefcens.
Thuya orientalis*
Lanfa, or Leetifa Chinenfium*
Moquaifa Chinenf.
Nyflanthes orientalis, wood of roles.
Celofia cryjiatcif in the Chinefe language
Lat-feo.
Narctjfus Tazetta, or Chinefe lilies, which
flower in January, and are called Soifom-fatt
by the Chinefe.
Their culture requires little art ; they only
put fo much coarfe fand upon a tin plate as
jull covers it, and upon this they fet the bulbs
quite naked. Thefe were fooner in flower
when the bulbs were prevented ftriking down-
wards.
Gomphrena globoja*
Impatiens balfamina*
Vol, I, $ Ipomced
2to OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Ipomcca guamoclit, in China called Kam-fan-
fang, which adorned the hedges without the
city.
The tea-chefts and porcelane-chefls, and
other effects which are to be taken home, are
piled up on both fides of the yard. This
yard is divided quite acrofs by three arched
walls : in fome places of the yard buildings
like coach-houfes run quite acrofs it, which
are fometimes fupported by arched roofs.
A factory is moflly built in the following
manner : near the entrance of the ftreet of the
fadlory, on both fides of the gate, is a little
apartment, upon which are commonly fome
papers with figures like arms, and two round
lanthorns of bamboo, covered with fkins ; for
glafs-or horn lanthorns are quite unufual here.
The gate of the factory is on the infide built
over : directly behind it Hands a high board
almofl as broad as the entrance, to hinder the
people in the ftreets from looking into the
yard or court, without being any obflacie to
thofe who pafs to and fro. In almofl all cor-
ners are buckets into which people make wa-
ter, which is afterwards carried upon.the fields
The
CHIN A. 175?. iu
The foremoft rooms on the fides look like
kitchens, and have rails before them. Fur-
ther on, quite acrofs the court, in the fecond
ftory, is an open hall, with a fort of gallery,
upon which is an altar covered with flowers
and incenfe, provided with a gilt picture and a
table. Behind this the yard is quite open in
front, but on the fides are rooms both above
and below* In the fide roofs are here «md
there fome lanthorns of painted gauze, in
fome of which they burn lamps at night. Be-
fore the fide roofs, and on their fides, are lit-
tle gardens, with bamboo trees, citrons, and
plaintains, and other trees already mentioned.
The wall about thefe trees towards the yard
is made of brick, which, except the founda-
tion, are laid like lattice work. Next to thefe
gardens is an inclofed court-yard, and then an
open one, with rooms and gardens for plea-
fure on the fides : the laft of all is a hall in
the fecond ftory acrofs the yard, having rooms
on its fides, and another hall goes towards the
water, which we fitted up for a dining-room.
Below it is the kitchen, the watch-houfe of the
failors, and the lodging of the captain of the
raclory . The captain of the factory has a mate,
Who is to take care that the failors and Cb'uufs
workmen do their bufmefs : and he notes
P 2 down
■i; OS BECK'S VOYAGE
down thofe people who come from or go to the*
fhips with fampanes of burden. In the facto-
ries live the fupercargo, the afliflants, the
purfers, the cooks, and other fervants, during
the whole time of their flay ; and befides
them, thofe who come occafionally thither from
the fhips.
There are Continually fome failors, who
watch with drawn fwords in their hands, to
hinder thofe from entering who have no right.
They indicate the time upon the Gimgimg\
and beat upon it as it were upon a drum with
flicks, when dinner orfupper h ready. Every
thing is carefully kept in the factories, both
effects coming, from the fhips,. videlicet, money,
lead,, cloth, raifms, almonds, &c. and thofe
which are to be embarked, as porcelane, tea,
filk,. and many other things, which are brought
on board by the fampanes of burden, after
fome mandarins, appointed for that purpofe,
have weighed them, and llamped a feal upon
them. In each fampane, loaded with thefe
and other things, goes a mandarin and fome
armed failors from the factory to the fhip to
guard them, left the mailer of the fampane
fhould defraud them, as often happens not-
withftanding thefe regulations. The fuper-
cargo-
CHIN A. 1751. aij
<cargo always fends a letter to the captain, or
whoever has the command of the (hip, with
an account of all the boxes and packs, and the
failors bring an anfwerback. The flag of the
faftory ftands on the water -fide, and is hoifted
on all feftivals-
Our mips are obliged to have a Fiador;
For that purpofe one of the richeft and moft
refpettable merchants is generally chofen, who
is anfwerable for all damages to the company;
and in cafe an European fhould wrong a Chinefe,
mud make tip matters in the bell manner pof-
fible, &c. Our Fiador V name was Suqua,
The name we give to the Chinefe fervants is
Kulier. Thefe wait at table in the factories,
bring in the meat, warn the dimes, &c. clean
the knives and forks, fill the lamps in the
yard and rooms with oil at night, clean the
vefTels, and do the like bufmefs; which the
Chinefe valets de chambre look upon as trifling,
in regard to fweeping the rooms, afTifting in
carrying the tea-chefls, and other wares in and
out, &c.
These, and a Chinefe cook, are paid by the
company. Befides thefe, every one, or feve-
P 3 raJ
|i* OSBECK'6 VOYAGE.
fal together, hire a Chinefe fervant, who is
paid fome dollars per month. This perfon
buys every thing you want, and frequently by
this means avails himfelf more than by his
wages. Happy is the man who has not the
misfortune of hiring a thief into his houfe j
but often however it is the cafe.
The city of Canton is the trading place of
China, whence all the European (hips fetch
their Chinefe wares, fince the trade upon A-moy
has ceafed : the merchants came hither from
thence. Canton lies in a province of the fame
name, under 23 deg. 8 min. north latitude,
and 95° 30' longitude, or 6 hours 22 min. eaft
from Upfal; but 3 deg. 31 min. weft from the
meridian of Peking. One fide of it lies on
the banks of the river, from which one or
more canals crofs the fuburbs. The houfes
are built on both fides clofe to the ftone bridges
which go over the canal ; which, for this rea-
fon, is not immediately perceived. Both the
old and the new city have the name of Can-
ton : the latter is not fortified : the old town,
which has been built many centuries, has high
walls and feveral gates : each gate has a centi-
nel, in order that no European may get in,
except under particular circum dances, with the
leave
CHINA. 1751. . 215
kave of people of note ; in this cafe you are
carried into the city in a covered chair, and
thus you do not get a fight of any thing worth
notice in the place. The centinels have whips
inflead of multets. Three fourths of this
fortified town (which, as we are told, is inha-
bited on one fide by the Tartars , on the other
by Chinefe) is furrounded by the fuburbs. On
the outfide of that part of the city which is
open to the country, is a fine walk between the
wall and the ditch. The plantations begin
clofe to the ditches ; they are moflly on low
grounds, contain all forts of greens, roots
and rice, and reach as far as you can fee.
The dry hills ferve for burying places, and
paitures for cattle.
The city wall confifb of hewn fand-ftones,
is covered with all forts of little trees and
plants, videlicet, Ficus hdica, Urtica nivea,
&c. and on the top of them are centry boxes;
however, the watch is fo ill obferved, that
Grangers palling by are often welcomed with
fuch a volley of Hones that their lives are endan-
gered ; as happened to an Englishman during
my flay. It is faid that on the walls are fome
eight or nine pounders ; at leaf! it is certain,
that at. eight o'clock at night their report is
P 4 heard.
ti6 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
heard. I had no opportunity of meafuring
the circ.uk of the city, but it feerned to me tp
be above a Sivedijh mile x .
I know nothing of the infide of this city,
exceii whar report fays of it; namely, that
Jbefides the merchants and ladies, it is inhabited
by people of the highefl rank.
Tsang-to, or Tfan-iacky is theprincipal per-
fon in this town, who has the whole command
not only of the militia, but alfo of the pro-
vince and the cities round about ; and is com-
pared to a viceroy by the Europeans, The in-
ferior lords fall upon their knees before him :
his retinue is magnificent, as we had an oppor-
tunity of obferving when he honoured us with
a vifit.
Fu yenn is the next in rank to Tfangto in
this town.
Happa is the principal officer of the cuf-
rom-houfe.
The high court of judicature at Canton has
11 other towns under its jurifdidiion, one of
? That is, about fix miles three quarters Englijb. F.
v/hich
CHINA. 175 1 - 2I ?
which is of the fecond, and the reft of the
third rank.
The fuburbs of Canton (in which the Eu-
ropeans live during the time they trade here)
are much greater than the fortified city.
The ftreets are long, feldom (trait, about
a fathom wide more or lefs, paved like the
court yards, with oblong fand-ftones, (Cos Chi-
nenfts) without any gutters. The (tones are
full of holes, that the water may run off;
for the town, at lead apart of it, is built on
piles. Nothing is more common than to fee
Chinefe hogs, dogs, and chicken, about the
ftreets, and in the houfes : yet every thing is
cleanly here, becaufe poor people continually
go about with balkets and gather up all the
filth. I never faw any other animals, fuch as
are ufual with us, not even horfes, though
they are to be met with in the country : where
alfo I faw buffaloes, which were kept off from
the plantations (which have feldom any fence
round them) by people appointed for that
purpofe. No carriage is to be met with in
the city ; and whatever is brought from one
place to another, fuch as hogs, ducks, frogs,
{hails, roots, greens, &c. is all carried on
men's
iz8 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
men's moulders in two balkets, hanging on the
extremities of a pole.
Living fiili were carried about in buckets ;
The Chinefe keep them in the following man-
ner in their houfes :
The fifli are put into large water veffels in
the {beets, but each vefTel {lands under a
fpout which comes out of the wall ; out of
which the water runs continually, but llowly,
upon the fim : and for this reafon they were
always to be got quite as frefh as if they had
juft been caught.
Fish cut to pieces were carried about for
fale on little tables, which hung on poles as
above defcribed : the fame was done with ba-
con, and Fdanfu, a difli which is like our fweet
cheefe, but which was prepared of Chinefe
beans (Dolichos Chinenfis).
Persons that carry any thing muft continu-
ally be calling to the people that throng the
principal ftreet, to dear the way.
Palankin, or Chinefe chairs, carried by
iw> half naked Chinefe, on the moulders with-
out
CHINA. I75i- 2T 9
out (traps, were to be hired out of the city,
at the rate of half a piaftre.
Most of the houfes are built of bricks,
and are in general as high as the aforemen-
tioned faftories, but fometimes lower. They
contain merchants {hops, working-places and
the ladies houfes, which are far removed from
the {beets.
The ladies are continually confined ; and in
{hops or working-places are only men, and
perhaps fometimes a blind beggar woman.
Some merchants have feveral fhops in one
houfe, and quite clofe to one another, in a
line ■ but befides them fcarce any other apart-
ments. They leave their houfes at night, and
ao home to their ladies. In the outward {hop
they commonly have coarfe porcellanc, fuch
as the Chinefe themfelves buy, a quantity of
toys, and the like. This mop is quite open
towards the ftreet, fo that the people that pafs
by may fee every thing in it. In the middle
of it is an opening to another vault, filled
alfo with porcellane on both fides, but of a
finer kind, and for the Europeans, who are
here not fo much peftered with impudent Chi-
eao OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
v.ofe. Behind this is another for filks, velvets,
and fuch like commodities. In fome fhops
the next vaults have tea or other commodities
of this kind. On great feftivals thefe long,
narrow homes are opened, illuminated and or-
namented with artificial flowers and trees,
which look as if they were the work of nature
itfelf. The lait vault is for the muficians.
In the porcellane ftreet, which is the broad-
eft m the whole town, are feveral of thefe
houfes, with many arches or vaults one after
another, in which is nothing but porcellane.
The lefs merchants are fatisfied with about
two fhops, one behind another ; in the firfl of
which, as jufl mentioned, is coarfe porcellane,
aud in the other all forts of other wares, as
filk, ituifs, handkerchiefs, ribbands, cotton-
fluffs, Indian ink, painted paper, tea, fnufr-
boxes of mother of pearl, tortoife mells
Uyprao), fans, tea-boxes made of tutanego, or
of copper, with a porcellane enamel, Englifi
knives, &c.
In the inward vault is a flair cafe to a gal-
lery which goes above the outermoft vault,
and gets its light from windows towards the
ftreet.
CHINA. 1751. 22T
Sheet. They ufe it as a dining-room, or fome-
times to work in, &c. In a place like this,
the famous Face-maker was at work, who
makes mens figures, moftly in miniature. Eu-
ropeans often go to this man to be reprefented
in their ufual drefs ; and fometimes he hits
them exceedingly well. The upper rooms;
above-mentioned, the floor, the partition, the
lattice-work, as alfo doors, frair-cafes, and
rails towards the ftreets, are commonly all of
wood. On the outfide, before the fhops and
working-places, hang boards, on which the
name of the merchant or tradefman is written,
in large Chinefe characters : on the fides arc
Qther boards, on which the wares are marked.
Instead of ovens and chimnies, ftoves arc
made ufe of here, which draw very well. The
pots in which they boil rice and other meats
look clumfy, as if they were made of cafl
iron; their fhape was pretty much like the cup
of an acorn.
People of the fame trade commonly live in
the fame ftreet together. The factory ftreet
has merchants fhops, joiners, japanners, and
workers in mother of pearl.
The
222 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
The porcellane ftreet is known for its fine
vaults, containing porcellane. In the other
flreets are a number of druggifts, and apothe-
caries, flower-makers, dyers, umbrella-makers,
book-binders, mirrour-makers, fmiths, taylors,
llioe-makers, diftillers of famfu, flone-mafons,
and fome goldfmiths. In the apothecaries
ihops (of which there are a great many) hung
fome flags horns on the cieling and walls, as
alfo a number of dried plants, unknown in
our country.
I never could obferve that they mixed fe-
veral things together, or that they fold any
ele&uaries, efTences, and the like ; but only
fome roots, partly entire, partly cut in pieces.
The people bought thefe medicines without
prefcriptions, and cured themfelves as well as
they could.
Yan-sam, or Yan-fom, is the Chinefe name of
a root, which is to be got in our apothecaries
lliops by the name of Ninfi {Fanax quinque
folia, Linn.) ; every ounce of it cofts at prefent
30 or 40 ounces of filver : the root is whitifh,
fomewhat like parfnips, but fcarce fo large j
it often divides into two (talks, in which the
Chinefe
CHINA, 1751. 223
Cbinefe find the refemblance of a man, for
which reafon they have" given it the afore-
mentioned name. It is fomewhat knobby, or
as it were in rings ; and fo it is in the infide.
It is hard ; and the heavier the better.
Yan-sam, or, as we commonly foy t Ginfeng t
is not allowed to be imported into China, be-
caufe it grows wild in that country. Duhalde,
m his Defcription of China, Vol. II. fays, that
it grows in Tartary from 39 to 49 degrees la-
titude ; that it was to be met with in fields
furrounded with woods, as alfo in woods on
the banks of rivers, on the roots of trees, and
near mountains, but was never to be found in
vallies, moraffes, and open fields ; and that
the Tartars call it Orhota, that is, Captain of
the Plants. When Father Jartona undertook
to make a map of Tartary, he defcribed this
plant ; which is likewife, though feldom,
found in Sctchuen. In American is called Ga-
rentouges, or human thighs. Notwithstanding
the order againft importing it, the Europeans
buy that in Spain which comes from America,
and import it privately ; but I fear that they
get fcarce half what it cods in China. The
Cbinefe are of opinion that the Weft Indian.
roots of Ginfeng are not fo good as theirs ; for
4 that
22 4 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
that reafon they hang it over a boiling pot, fo
that it may fweat, and dry it afterwards, t
never looked into their apothecaries (hops, but
they were always felling Ginfeng. Both poor
people and thofe of the higheft rank make ufe
of it. According to their opinion, it is an ex-
cellent remedy for a confumption, and other
difeafes, if they boil half an ounce in their
tea or foup, every morning. In 1709 the
Emperor gave orders to io/)oo Tartars to go
in quefl of thefe roots, and to bring as much
as they could find ; of which every one was
to give two pounds of the belt to the Emperor,
and to fell the reft for the fame weight of fine
filver. In this manner the Emperor got 20,000
Katye, or Chinefe pounds of Tan-fam, in that
one year.
I was greatly defirous of getting fome'
knowledge of the Chinefe officinal herbs, and ;
the difeafes againft which they are made ufe
of. On this account I applied to thofe who
were able to inftrucl: me in this branch of
knowledge ; and offered moderate rewards :'
but it was abfolutely impoflible ; for firft I
could form no idea of their inward difeafes,
as the people themfelves are not able to give
a clear defcription of them; and the mere
1 names
C H I N A. I75i. 225
names of difeafes are as incomprehenfible to
us, as ours to them. When they grow fick,
they go into the ladies apartments, which no
ftranger is allowed to enter. Secondly, their
officinal plants themfelves were unknown ; and
that the more, as none of them are to be met
with in the apothecaries mops with the parts
of fru&ification : and I could not, even for
money, get one to fhew me the place where
they grew. It is probable they get them at a
confiderable diftance ; fince, notwithftanding
my walks about the town, I never found a
fingle one in the places I was allowed to
go to, fuch as gardens, environs of villages,
hills, ditches, and rice fields. Thirdly, As
foon as a Chinefe obferves you want to be ac-
quainted with thefe particulars, he is either
filent, or gives you a falfe account; as I have
often obferved from the different relations of
feveral perfons ; which at lad made me very
loth to make any more enquiries. I finally
confidered, that the Chinefe officinal plants
would not thrive in our climate ; that if any
were of ufe in fome difeafes, we ihould be
forced to get them from China, and fo increafe
the revenues of its inhabitants unneceiTarilyj
when we are already provided with a fufficient
number of medicines. We have many plants
Vol. I. q^ in
*i6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
in our country, which have not yet been tried
in medicine.
The goldfmkhs Work pretty well, and com-
monly cheaper than in our country ; but they
do not think it inconiiitent with their characters
to cheat. In filver fnuff-boxes, plates of lead
have been found ; not to mention other frauds.
Their touch-ftones nearly refemble an egg in
fhape, and were like our pebbles. Snuff-boxes
are made of feveral forts of ftones, commonly
called fliiors, of mother of pearl, falfe agate
from Sumatra, and of tortoife fhells ; fome
have Japan copper on the inilde, in-laid with
figures of filver. The Europeans get buttons,
heads of canes, Sec. made, in which manner
part of the filver comes again to Europe after
the Chinefe have wrought it. Gold is not fio
much eHeemed as with us, and is not fo fine.
Great quantities of gold are brought from
China into France and other countries.
The joiners here make ufe of a lefs number
of tools than ours do, but they are not fo
ikilful as ours. For want of a bench, they fit
down on the ground, put the board agai-nft the
belly, and hold it only with the feet. Their
hatchets, or tu-pao, are fmall, and fomewhat
excavated
CHIN A. 1751. 227
excavated on the inner fides, but like our
hatchets on the outward fide, and in the reft
of their fliape. They do not make ufe of
hammers, but content themfelves with thefe
hatchets. Their pincers are not at all like ours,
for they confift of an iron a foot long, fcarce
as thick as a finger, and an inch broad ; how-
ever one end of it is fomewhat broader and
thinner, in which are two or three holes ; 011
the other end it has a quadrangular foot, which
is an inch fquare, and fharp on the corners $
on it a loofe quadrangular ring is hung, juft
fitting to the foot, fo that the extraction of a
nail is eafiiy effected. [See tab. xiu f. 3. J
Their whet-ftones are of a fine fand-ftone, and
were much admired by our carpenters* Their
laws are like ours, but lefs ; the whole frame
is wooden. The handle of their piercers, and
the piercers themfelves, are like thofe which we
employ to pierce iron, and other hard bodies.
They work in many forts of wood, both hard
and foft, which are no further known to us,
than that the bureaux, draught, and chefs-
boards, &c. which we bring to Europe, are
made of them. The black ebony, which is
ghdme, is not plentiful here, becaufe it is
brought hither from other places in the Eajl
I Indies, parkularly the French IJJe cf Maurice.
9^2 R 0SE
228 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Rose wood is heavy, red, has a fine fmell,
has black and light veins, and is very dear.
A certain fpecies of light-brown wood is much
eileemed here, and the Europeans have cherts
made of it. All tea-boxes are made of a foft
fort of wood, which cracks in the fire like
firr; and, as it isufed to contain tea, the Chi-
nefe call it Tia-mock, or the Tea-tree. The
light-brown wood, of which Europeans get
cherts made for their cloaths, is fold pretty dear.
I bought a chert of five feet long, two feet
broad, varniflied over, and plated with brafs,
to-lay my cloaths in, for ioo dollars of copper.
Chefs-boards of rofe-wood, inlaid with ivory
and black ebony, were to be fold here.
Shaupann is the Chincfc name of that fort
of wood of which they make coffins, which
are almoft every where of an equal breadth,
and therefore are more like our bee-hives *
than our coffins : the fides and the lids of
them are of planks of the thicknefs of fomc
y In Snxedaiy and in the northern countries, a bee-hive
confifts of a piece of fir-wood of about five or fix feet length,
excavated on one fide like a canoe ; and then a board is
clapped before this long hollow, with a fmail hole in it, for
the bees to go in and out. F.
inches :
Vrij.3%0
.'/a/,
JO
CiMPESirM aJrotemotcL&d.
CHINA. 1751. 229
inches : the bottom and the fides are likewife
of planks. On the ends, which fland out a
little, the boards are cut obliquely, and very
(harp on the outward edge. The coffins are
made fo clofe, that no fmell can come through.
The Japanners have ready-made bureaux,
tea-boards, boxes, &c. befides the work that
is befpoken. Thefe men, as well as thofe
who work in mother of pearl, and the painters
of porcelane, have little boys who are very
diligent and a<ftive. That kind of varnifhed
work which comes from Japan is reckoned the
moft valuable.
Kilong, or the blackifh-brown thick var-
nifh, which is fpread with a broad flifF brufh
upon boxes, and other fuch like things, is
very hurtful to the eyes. Duhalde fays* that
this varniih is made of rofm which exfudes out
of trees growing in Setchuen and Kiangfi ; the
cleared varnifh is faid to come from the neigh-
bourhood of Kanicbeciiy which is one of the
moil fouthern cities of Kiang-f. The rofm is
gathered as foon as the trees are feven years
old. They gather it in the fu miner nights ;
and to that purpofe they make incifions in the
tr ee, of which the lowed is feven inches from
R.3 the
230 OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
the ground, and the reft at the diftance of
feven inches from each other, along the whole
Hem. Under the incifions they put oyfter
{hells, out of which they take the varnifh the
next morning. See Dn Halde's Defcript. p.
303. Any thing covered with this varnifh
mull by all means be dried under cover, and
not in the open air.
The dyers make ufe of brazil oxfimambuco
to dye purple, which is moft in fafhion here.
Their other dying materials I never faw ;
though I have often been in their dying ma-
nufactories. I am of opinion that we can
learn very little from the Chinefe dyers, fince
there is fcarce any comparifon between the
colours of their fluffs and thofe of ours.
Those people who work in mother of pearl,
have a quantity of counters, boxes, tea-fpoons,
&x. to fell.
Here are barbers in plenty. Their razors
are fmali, and fomewhat bent ; they are well
(killed in their work. The hair is prefervcd,
and employed to manure the ground.
Ruebing
CHINA. 1751. 231
Rubbing is ufual among the Cbinefe, to put
the blood in motion, inftead of bleeding. The
people who do this bufinefs rub and beat the
body all over with their clenched fills, and
work the arms and other limbs fo that their
crackling may be heard at a confiderable dif-
tance. Some young fellows follow this trade ;
they carry a chain with feveral inftruments on
their fhoulders •, among thefe inftruments are
tongs, with which they make a noife like that
of a Jew's trumpet, and give notice of their
being at hand. They cut the nails with an
iron which has the look of a narrow plane ;
as alfo the hair within the noftrils, and on the
eye-brows, for fuch a trifle, that even the
lowed rank of people are enabled to make ufe
of them.
Porcellane comes hither from other places;
fome is painted, and fome not. That which
is painted here according to particular direc-
tions, or with names, or coats of arms, is very
dear. The porcellane from Nanking is reckon-
ed the bell, next to that from Japan ; though
a certain author fays, that the beft.porcelane
comes from the village of Sinktefimo. See
VAmbaJade da Frcv. wiles > p, 118. The
Q^4 Jhm
s 3 2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Jlone porcellane is the heavier!:, and its price the
greateft. Duhalde fays, that this porcellane
is only made in the province of Kiangfi, in the
city of King-te-ching, which is faid to be a
league in length, and to contain a million of
inhabitants. Porcellane is a compofition of
two kinds of clay, one of which is called Pe-
tun-tfe, and the other Kaolin ; the latter con-
tains fhining particles, and keeps the whole to-
gether. They have lately found out a fort of
itone, or lime, which they call Ho-a-khe, and
ufe inftead of Ka-o-lin. [Their phyficians give
fix parts of this ftone with one part of powder
of liquorice wood, to cool the blood]. The
porcellane is glazed with Chekao, a fpecies of
itone like allum, or with Ho-a-khe. The Che-
hao is firft burnt in an oven ; to make the blue
colour,- they take Lapis lazuli ; and to the pur-
ple they add a kind of ftones which they call
TJin. Dnhalde feems to mean by it Cobalt ,
with which our porcellane is painted. See Du-
halde' s Defcription of China, Tom. ii. p. 310,
31?., 314, 324.
Umbrellos are made in great quantities,
of black waxed paper and bamboo-wood, and
fold at two dollars in copper apiece.
Books
CHINA. 1751.
Books are only ditched in white, and feme-
times in gold paper. The leaves are thin and
always double. The fize is large octavo. No
books of any other language than the Chinefe
are to be met with in the country : and in the
fuburbs of Canton are fcarcely any others than
almanacks : the paper is made of the inner
bark of bamboo tree. See he Comtek Defcripu
of China, p. 186. May not the bark of the
juniper fhrub, and of other trees, be of the
fame ufe ? The mirrour-makers have fome lit-
tle pitiful looking-glaffes. I was told of a
glafs-houfe in Canton, but never had an op-
portunity of going to fee it. It is faid, the im-
portation of glafs from Europe is forbidden.
However, the Europeans often bring glafs with
them, and get rofes or other flowers painted
on them, as the Chinefe are pretty ikilful that
way.
The Ihoe-makers have learned to make Eu-
ropean fhoes and flippers, and fell four pair for
a piece of eight, or ten dollars in copper: but
they are indeed not worth more ; for they are
fewed with cotton thread, and therefore, as
foon as they are ufed in the wet, the feams
part, and the foles and heels get loofe. They
are
234 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
are made of hogs leather, and often rough on
both fides ; the hair is burnt off with a red-
ho: iron.
Taylors offer their fcrvice as foon as any
Europeans arrive, as almofl every one wants
waiilcoats of fatin, paduafoy, or taffcty ; for
which the black colour is commonly chofen.
All Europeans go here, as well as aboard, only
in their waiilcoats, with a white cotton cap,
and a hat over it, carrying a (lick in their
hands. Coats are only made ufe of when one
European vifits another. The taylors common-
ly find the (luffs, and arc paid for all together
afterwards: a waiucoat and a pair of breeches
irae to five tel, or feventy dollars in
;. The Chlncfe taylors fciffars are final 1,
but exaclly like ours in every other refpect.
< needles have round eyes, iooof them
cell a raes. Pins are not made here. Inflead
of the fmoothing iron, they have a little pan,
."without feet of brafs or copper, into which they
j .. i, me burning charcoal, and rub the feams,
1 that mull be fmoothed with it. Their
filk buttons and button-holes are ftrong and
made*. Thefe taylors are often contented
worfe filver than the Spamjh. The ell
svhffeh the taylors make ufe of is fometimes
longer,
CHINA 1751. 235
longer, and rhat ufed in Ihops fhorter, than
it ought to be.
The hatters twift all their hats, both for men
and women, of bamboo. The Chinefe never
make ufe of other hats. They at firit make
their hats like a round mat, and beat them
afterwards to the right fize. Hats for women
are higher than mens hats.
The diftillers of famfu, or the people who
make the Chinefe brandy called famfu, live
likewife in the fuburbs. This drink fmells
like the worit fort of common brandy, and
does not tafte much better. It is made of
rice, and is by no means, as fome imagine, the
fame as arrack, which the Chinefe and we buy
of the Dutch ; becaufe the cocoa-nuts of
which arrack is made do not grow here, but
only near the Line, in Java and other places.
The Chinefe make the famfu warm, and
drink a tea-cup full at their meals. They do
not ufe ftrong liquors to excefs, unlefs fome of
them learn to drink from the Europeans. Dur-
ing my flay in China, I never faw a drunken
Chinefe among fuch a number of people. The
heathens, who have no law naturally, do whar
the
2 3 6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
the law requires; but the chriftians are not
afhamed to diflionour God by fome vice or
other amidft the heathens.
The houfes of the ftone-mafons take up a
whole lane, and perhaps more. They hew
tomb-ftones and mill-ftones, the former of
red and the latter of grey fand-ftone. The
millers live in great numbers in a feparate part
of the town, and make the rice-groats. They
'iirffc grind off the hufks by a wooden mill ;
they then {lamp the grains in a flone mortar
with a peflle, which is fattened with an iron
pin to a wooden lever; one arm of which is
weighed down, and then the peflle by its own
weight falls upon the rice in the ftone mortar :
this motion is continued till the work is finifh-
ed.
"Watch-makers are very much wanted
here. The Cbinefe buy large and little watches
of the Englijb. In their {hops they have
fometimes EfigHJIj watches to fell, and fome-
times at moderate prices, but moftly of the
■worlt kind.
PerriwjiGS, gloves, bread, and coffee, are
things which the Chiaefe can do without ; and
for
CHIN A. 1751. 237
for this reafon we find no places where they
are made. They do not cut their tobacco,
but fmoak the leaves fuch. as they naturally
are. Taking fnuff and chewing of tobacco
are not yet in fafhion among them.
The filk manufactures are as far off as the
apartments of the ladies, whofe bufmefs it is
to fpin and to weave. Their looms are level
with the floor, and fo fituated that they may
fit on them and put their feet into that part
on which the loom {lands. I once came into
fuch a place towards the llreet, where a mat
of bamboo was hung up inflead of a door.
This occafioned an outcry from the perfonwho
flood at the door ; the dog received me as an
enemy, and the female weavers left their work
in a great hurry. The Europeans order their
filks as foon as they arrive, and they get them
ready a little before they fet off again. Old
fluffs are feldom bought, becaufe they are
good for nothing when they return from fuch
a long fea voyage. The filks are rolled or
calendered between two fmooth flones, whofe
thicknefs is the breadth of the filks : the lower
of thefe flones is fad in the floor, and is like
the concave fide of half a cylinder ; the up-
per one fits into the lower, in the form of a
half-
238 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
half-moon. The fluff is rolled upon a cylin-
der of yellow brafs, and put between the two
ftones; then a fellow gets upon the upper
flone, fo that he has one foot on each fide; and
holding himfelf by a fixed piece of wood,
thus with his treading he calenders better than
four perfons in our country are able to do it
upon our inconvenient and dear wooden rolls.
[See tab. xii. f. 4.]
Cotton is plucked afunder and made clean
with an initrument which would be worth
procuring : and though I ordered one, the
Chinefe was not fo good as hi? word ; and the
fame happened to me in many other things.
In the markets, where the people every day
run about like ants, they fell fruit, garden
herbs, fifh, bacon, &c.
A pagoda, or idol-temple, is near one of
thefe markets. In this they offer incenfe to
their idols, which the Europeans call yos, from
the Portuguese dios, and which are reprefented
by one or more gilt pictures of feveral fizes,
according as their faint looked when he was
alive. The honours they beflow upon him
are in confequence of his writings, or of any
5 other
C II I N A. 1751. 239
other fervices be has done to the public. Thefe
pictures, togctlier with fome foliage on the
fides, are in the place of an altar table. Both
upon the altar, and upon particular tables,
are flower-pots, incenfe, and all forts of meat
and drink, fuch as fruit and the like ; in par-
ticular large oranges*, a fpecies of fruit like
fweet oranges, but much larger, and having
a fpungy peel of the thicknefs of one's fmgcr.
This fruit has an agreeable tafle, is fomewhat
fourer than a fweet orange, and fweeter than
lemons. They offer the fame lacrifices in pri-
vate houfes ; for every body has his own idol.
A bell without a clapper hangs on one fide,
and a drum on the other fide, before the altar.
In other places at the entrance there are ■
areas and terraffes, but on both fides flanu very
tail figures of men. The pagodas have never
any fteeple. The roofs are ornamented with
large dragons, lying length-ways along the
walls. Rich people build pagodas fometimes,
that their relations may be every day employ-
ed in burning incenfe, facriheing, and other
ceremonies, in commemoration ci their faint.
The priefb are called Vau-jlong by the Chinefe t
" Thefe are (haddocks.
and
240 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
and Bonzes by the Europeans a . They go with
their heads bare and ihaved, drefs in (teel-co-
loured filk coats with wide fleeves, which look
like furplices, and Wear rofaries about their
necks. When they officiated on the feftival
of the Ian thorns, they had red coats and high
caps. Perhaps this was an order different from
the former. Hundreds of bonzes fometimes
perform their functions in one temple. The
houfes of thefe priefls furround the pagodas,
inftead of a church-yard wall. They live
upon the revenues from the legacies of their
patrons, which afford likewife fubfiftance to
the fleward. Rice, which is their principal
food, is boiled in a pot, which is fixed near
the pagoda. They eat all together in a hall.
Trade is carried on hereby the inhabitants
and by the Armenians , and other Afiatic na-
tions, befides the Europeans.
A quantity of foreign commodities, and
of their own country, is annually exported
from Canton, efpecially porcellane, commonly
called China ware, which is ufed many ways.
They bring it hither from the inner parts of
* The priefls in Japan are likewife called bonzes.
the
CHINA. i7Si 241
the country, fome painted, and fome not*
The painted china from Nanking is much
efteemed. The Japan china is reckoned beft.
The Jlone porcellane is heavier, harder, and
dearer than the common china. Du Halde fays,
that the fined comes from the little town o£
Kin-te-ching.
llA-wJilk, fuch as is clean and dry, does not
rub off its colour j if well packed up in chefts,
is the belt.
Silk fluffs, are of all forts, of one colour,
as well as of many, fuch as damaiks, fatins,
paduafoy, taffeties, pelings, velvets, &c.
Cottons, white, a piece commonly con-
tains ninety^-two koabi, or thirty-feven and
a half Swedijh ells, and are not in width
above half fuch aii ell. A piece co'fts two pefos
duros, or about twenty dollars of copper,
though fome cofl: more, when the bottomry
3s reckoned in : a piece of their common linen,
which is much finer, clofer^ flronger, and not
bleached, contains 1 1 3 koabi, or feventy-onc
three quarters Swedijh ells, and cofls four pia-
ftres and an ha 1 !'. Quilts, cotton- tick at four or
VoloL R or
542 os beck's Voyage.
or five mefs; (lockings, handkerchiefs, &:c.
are plentiful here.
But all thefe cottons are to be got at Mad"
rasj and other Indian trading towns, much
ftronger, and with more lading colours.
Fine ch'mtz y Madras linen, Madras hand-
kerchiefs, &c. are likewife to be had at Can-
ton ; the Englifi mips bring them to that place %
but they are very dear, fince they are fecond
or third hand goods.
Linen, made of other raw materials, fuch
as UannoeSy Ka?ityoa, Chincao, is to be got
here at four kandarin, four kafs, an ell.
Umbrellas are here made in gFeat quan-
tities, of horfe bones, ivory, mother of pearl,
tortoife fliells, and bamboo.
The painting of this country, rcprefenting
men and their employments, trees, plants,-
flowers, fruit, birds, and the like, by their
lively colours comper.fate for the want of art b .'
b Some years ago the Cbiaefe were very defective ttt
their drawings : but of late, fince they have had opportu-
Flowers
'I {«?/./. 34JI
&&.
Osbeckja mwienj/j
€ H I N A. 17510 243
Flowers of paper, and filk fluffs. Of the
innumerable quantity of painted flowers which
are to be had here, none are like nature ; and
either the leaves or the petals are mifreprefent-
ed. As for the animals, they feemed to mc
like horfes with birds feetj and men With
claws.
Japanned goods are bureaux, fhriries,
band-boxes, powder-boxes, and other boxes,
tea-boards, tables, fnuff-boxes, &c.
Gold is exported in great quantity to France §
and other European places.
Copper in bars. Japan copper is much em-
ployed to in-lay boxes of mother of pearl*
and of other kinds. Tortoife fhell boxes are
plated on the infide with fuch copper, gilt.
TinIenaque, or tutariego. See Walk*
rim's Mineralogy, p. 464. fpec. 32. is to be
got In long pieces, each of five or fix pekuls,
at th£ rate of threb or four tel. It comes In
r.ities of feeing the performances of Eurofeaii artifts, tfiey-
are much improved, and particularly in perfpe&ive, with
vi'hich they were before perfectly unacquainted.
B 2 great
244 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
great quantities from £>ueda and Jahor, on the
Malacca coaft, with the Englifo country fhips c .
It is univerfally believed, that this metal when
mixed with lead, is ufed to plate the tea-
chefls.
Tin comes in fmall pieces from Pegu and
Jahor,
Lead is ufed for tea-canniflers, and to line
tea-chefts.
Alum. The katty of the fine and clear
fort is fold at two kandarin.
Lapis lazuli comes from the north of China,
and from Tibet.
Borax, we ufed to buy annually of the
Dutch, after it had been refined, as a thing
abfolutely neceffary for our goldfmiths. But
probably we have already begun to refine it at
home; which will enable us to be fatisfied with
crude borax for the future ; which we can get
from Suratte in cur {hips, with considerable
gain d .
c Country fhips are European fnips, going from India
only to China, and to other JJiatic places.
d The Venetians were the firfl that refined Borax, or
limul as it is called before it is refined : fince whom the
Quick-
CHINA. 1751. 245
Quick-silver is tried by fqueezing it
through fharnoy, or any thin leather: and
if the quick-filver is good it will leave no-
thing at all behind. Another way of trying
it is, to evaporate fome in a fpoon over the
fire: if it leaves a fpot behind, it is looked
upon as impure and adulterated.
Cinnabar is looked upon as not pure when
it is in cakes, or ground. The bell mutt be
clean, of a fhivery compaft texture, of a film-
ing crimfon colour, very heavy, and in large
lumps, of two or three inches thicknefs. It
generally bears the fame price as quick-filver.
Indian ink. The befl comes from Nan*
king.
Musk comes from Tonkin in bladders. The
true raulk burns with a flame when fet on fire,
which it does not when it is adulterated with
goat's blood. Du Halde relates, that a Chinefe
who has mufk about him may lleep in the
fields without any fear of fnakes.
Putcb, and of late the Englijb have obtained the method,
which is ftill a fecret in kw hands.
K 3 Sugar
14* OSBEGK'S VOYAGE.
Sugar is to be got at a reafonable price
here. Powder-fugar is prepared in the French
ifland. Sugar-candy comes from Cochin,
China, and other places. The whiteft and
cleareil fugar-candy comes from Chink ew in
loaves : a pekul of it was fold at fix tel, and
three mefs. Loaf-fugar is not made in China.
Te a «. The Europeans learned to drink thi$
jnfufion in the fifteenth century, and fince that
time have vied with each other in giving the
Chinefe the mod money for this and other
goods which are become famionable: it
grows both in China and in Japan, of which
fee Kampfer's Amoenitates Exot. p. 505. et
feqq. where both the gathering and drying
of the leaves are defcribed. It likewife grows
in Tonkin ; but the belt tea, according to Du
Halde, comes from Fokien. We have as many
names for tea as there are places where it
grows ; and different ways of preparing it ;
J though all the Chinefe tea is faid to be of one
e Tea in the Chinefe language is called Tia, in Fokien
it is called Te, and as the Europeans landed firfl in that pro-
vince, that dialect has been preferved.
f It has been univerfally believed that all teas came from
the fairje ihrub, and are only difiinguifhed by the different
4 fhrubo
If/./. 2 /■:
Tat.
y.sr/u/i ta/^y
CHINA. 1751, 247
Chrub. Tea is generally diftinguifhed into
forown and green, according as it tinges the
water.
Brown tea is Honam Te, or Ktdi-Te,
which grows in fome places about Canton, and
is drunk by the Chinefe, but not by the Euro-
peans : its tafte being the lead agreeable of
any. [See tab. xiii. fig. 2.] The dried
leaves are either yellow or brownifh. The tea
{hrubs, which are fold in flower-pots here,
fcarce grow to the height of an ell. The
flower confifts of fix white petals, of which
the three lowed are the fmalleft.
An-kay is a coarfc fort of tea, from a place
of this name. ,[Tab. xiii. f. 3.]
age, gathering, and preparation. But Do£lor £#// hss late-
ly difcovered that the brown tea comes from the tea fhrub
with fix petals, or flower leaves, which Kampfer has de-
fcribed, and reprefented : but that the green tea is taken from
the tea (hrub with nine leaved flowers. The former in Iin-
tiaus's Spec. Plantarum, Ed. ii. p. 734. is Tbea lohea,
and the latter Thea <virldis. Linnaus diftinguifh.es it, befides
the flowers, by the longer and narrower leaves. Dr. Schre-
ier. It is notwithstanding, very doubtful whether the
plant of the green tea is really different from that of the
iohea tea. F„
E 4 Ifc
j 4 s os beck's Voyage.
Te-bohe, which we ufually call Bohca-tea> i$
called Moji by the Chinefe. This fort is brought
to Sweden in greater quantities than any of
the others. The beft fort fmells agreeably,
and in a fhort time gives a brown colour to
the water, and confifts of leaves of one colour j
jf any black ones are among them, it is a ba4
fort. [Tab. xiii. f. 3.]
Tao-kyonn is the name of the tjeft fort of
bohea tea. [Tab. xiii. f. 4.]
Kongo, or as the Chinefe call it Kong-fo,
has an agreeable fcent: its leaves are finer
than thofe of Te-bohe ; though it is fcarce dif-
tinguilhable from the beft Bohea, except in
price ; for Congo is fomewhat dearer. [Tab.
xiii. f- 5.]
Sutchong, or Sooichuen, which the Chinefe
call Saatyang, or Su-tyann, is the deareft of
all brown teas, and is moil: ufual among our
people of quality ; as green tea is among the
fingtijh'. This tea gives a fine yellow green
colour to the water, and has an agreeable
taile ; unlefs you put too much into the pot,
which
CHINA. 1751. 249
which fpoils both tafte and colour. [Tab.
ariii. f. 6.]
Padre Jutchong is the bed tea that can be
drunk: for even the bed Rujjia tea, which
comes by land by carravans to Ruffia, is not
better in tafte or (cent. The leaves of this
tea are large, yellowifli, not rolled up,. but
expanded ; and packed up in papers of half
a pound each, like tobacco. If it is not taken
great care of at fea, it is much altered for the
worfe.
Lint-kisam is a fort of tea which hath nar-
row rough leaves, and foot-ftalks. It is fel-
dom ufed by itfelf, but mixed with other forts,
The Chinefe can turn Congo into Pecko, if to
the firft they add fome Lin-kifanu This may
be compared with with what Kampfer men-
tions about the word Zafanqua s. [Tab. xiii.
f-7-]
8 Amam. p. 853. " Zafanqua is a Iefs fort of Tfubadi,.
" has a fimple flower, with five petals, many fikments,
" and a pear-like fruit, with three grain?, of the fize of a,
'* Fiji achio Kernel; the grains are white and globofe j the
" leaves are prepared and mixed wish tea, to give it a fine
ft faell."
Each -ho
• S9 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Back-ho, or Pack-ho, is that which we
call Feckoy which has leaves with dots. It is
a mild tea, has a good tafte, and is faid to be
the ieaft heating of any. [Tab.xiii. f. 8.]
Of Green Teas, there are
Hyson, called Hy-iiann, or Hi-kiong by the
Chinefe, [Tab.xiii. f. 9.]
SniGLo, or Sanglo, is fo called from the
place whence it comes. The Chinefe likewife
call it Sing-tia. [Tab. arfii. f. n.]
Binc, or imperial tea.
Tio fe is rolled up like peafe h . [Tab. xiii,
f. JO.j
JiysoN-uTciiiN, is.di(linguimable from the
Hyfonftin by its narrow and ihort leaves.
Go-be' hath long narrow leaves..
The Chinefe likewife make tea cakes , which
they fell very dear.
* This fort is rolled up between the hands in a rounder
&aije than thepthers. A fmaller kind is called Gutrpnvder tea.
It
CHINA. 1751. 251
It is almoft incredible what quantities of tea
are annually exported into Europe and other
pans ; and what innumerable hands are em-
ployed in fo unnecefTary an article. The coun-
tryman mud with great care plant and nurfe
the tea fhrubs ; pluck every leaf in due time ;
feparate the new leaves from the old, and dry
them with extreme accuracy. The green tea
is faid to differ from the others only by con-
fiding of young leaves, or by means of repeat-
ed dryings. But fince fome fort of brown tea
likewife confifts of tender young leaves, the
afore-mentioned reafon is not probable. I
imagine the difference arifes from the plates on
which (according to their own accounts) the
tea is dried. It is not unlikely that green tea
is dried on copper plates, and the brown on
iron plates : which is the more likely, fince
green tea occafions purging, which feems to be
the effect of verdigreafe: but brown tea hath
the contrary effect. At laft when the merchant
has got the bafkets of tea, at a low rate, from
the country people, he muft often take care of
it for years together ; and is always uncertain
when or at what price he mail fell it. When
the Europeans have fixed upon a place where
they will make their bargains, they empty the
baJkete
252 OSBECTS VOYAG E.
bafkets (but let it be noted I am now fpeaking
of Bohea tea, for the finer forts are fold in
chefts); and if any bad tea is found in thefe
bafkets, it is feparated from the reft. The
good tea is then packed up in new chefts, the
weight of which is deduced; and thefe chefts
are marked, and lined with lead in the infide.
A Ch'mefe gets into thefe chefts, and treads down
the tea as it is emptied out of the bafkets:
this is very hard labour ; and throws the tread-
er, who is almoft naked, into a profufe per-
fpiration ■ . Though great care is taken to pre-
vent any thing' from coming into the tea, yet
it is hardly to be avoided : and fometimes
their feet are wounded and bleed. But the
tea has already pafTed through fo many dirty
hands, that thofe who ufe that drug have no
reafbn to be difgufted with this laft mark of
indelicacy in the package k . As foon as fome
1 This difgufting circumfcance remarkably attends the
lagging or treading of hops into their bags. Nor are the
circumftanccs regarding the treading the wine-prefs, or of
fngar or raifins into hogQieads or barrels, very delicate : yec
fuxh kind of package is unavoidable.
k The veins on the feet of fome Chinsfe are very ftrong,
and run in extraordinary dire&ions. The bamboo flicks,
upon which they carry tea cherts and other heavy things,
pake deep iniprefhons on their ihoulders.
9*
■CHINA. 1751. 253
.of the chefts are packed by a number of Ku-
leers, or Chinefe fervants, they are patted over
with paper, and carried out of the warehoufe
to the factories, where they are weighed by
the Chinefe cuftom-houfe officers, in the pre-
fence of the interpreter, and marked red with
a flift brum, or with a wooden (lamp. Some
poor people are fatisfied with the leaves of
Rha?nnusThea, which they put into their clayey
water inftead of tea, to make it more palat-
able. In the account of the Dutch embafly to
China, it is related that the Chinefe make ufe
of a fpecies of mofs jnftead of tea.
Soya, or the Tyongyao of the Chinefe, (Do-
lichos Soja Linn.) the Japan Soya, is better
and dearer than the Chinefe. For its prepara-
tion fee Kamph. Amcen. p. 839. and likewife
Soja Dolichos, F/or. Zeylan. 354. It was fold
the katty at three kanderins.
Camphire is fold here unrefined at a good
price. If it is to go far, it muft be well packed
up in a tintenaque. When camphire is pack-
ed near tea, it fpoils its fmell and tafte. A
Chinefe told me, that the camphire tree was to
be found near Canton, {Laurus Camphora Linn.)
and that it was called Tyongfio ; lie alfo began
VoL - T « R 7 to
254 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
to tell me in what manner the camphirc or
Tyong-noao of the Chinefe was extra&ed from
the wood by boiling ; but as foon as he under-
flood that this tree was unknown in my coun-
try, I Waited in vain for further information.
I defired him to fhew me a branch of it ; but
he anfwered that the leaves were already fallen
off, and that it was not to be diftinguimed i
but what he endeavoured to hide from me may
be read in Kampher's Amcen. p« 770.
Rice (Oryza Sativa) is the daily bread of
the Chinefe, and grows in fuch plenty here,
that both Europeans and other nations provide
themfelves and their countrymen with it at a
very low rate. If there is a famine in the
country, the people run by thoufands to Can*
ton, where they can get their livelihood bet-
ter, and may live upon rice groats for two
(livers (id.) a day. For on the fea fhore no
other grain is in ufe.
Rhubarb, in the Chinefe language Tay*
hoang, is fold the katty at two mefs, and fome-
times lefs. If we are to believe the Chinefe,
no rhubarb grows about Cant en. But I law
in one part of the town quite freih roots dry-
ing in the fun ; which therefore could not
come
CHINA. 17^1. 255
come a great way- off.- Du Halde tells us, that
the beft rhubarb grows in Setchuen. The
marks of its goodnefs are, that it is dry, old,
and as it were marked with oriental chara&ers.
The Chine fe doctors never ufe rhubarb by it-
felf ', but prefcribe it always frefli, and mixed
with other medicines. They cut the root into
Alices and put it into a cullender over a
boiling kettle, that it may imbibe the
ft earn of the boiling water. Thefe flices are
then expofed to the fun for fix hours together:
this is nine times repeated. The Portuguefe at
Macao boil it in water, and drink it as a fto-
machic m .
China root, (Smi/ax China) by the Chinefe
Long-fan-tao, ought to be heavy, and not
pierced by worms : it is very cheap here. In
our fhip we only threw it in between the chefts
of tea, and thus brought them to our apothe-
caries mops. It grew near the river, on dry
hills, where the wind can blow freely.
1 The Jefuit Martini died of half anoUnceof rhubarb. '' '
See Bayer's Muf. the Preface, p. 23.
-' - '-'■'■" "'
01 Bayer's Muf. the Preface, p. 24.
Galgant,
2$6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Galgant, Galangal, ox Radix Galang* (Ma*
rant a Galangd) is likewife an agreeable root. It
ought to be red, and not eaten by worms. It
u ufed, like China-root, to fill up the empty
fpaces in the fhips, between the tea chefts.
Indigo is fold here: but the bed comes
from Biana near Agra in the Eaft Indies \
Mother of pari is plentiful here.
The Chinefe fell their goods even in Java>
India, Japan, in the Philippines, and other
Afiatic ifles. They export not only their own
goods, but alfo thofe which they have got
from the Europeans, to fupply their wants
and thofe of others.
Goods from "Europe are filver, lead, thin
cloaths, fcarlet cloth, blue, black, dark, and
violet woollen fluffs ; flints, piftols, gunsj
blades of fwords, watches, wines, raifms, bot-
tles, and other glafs, g'mfcng n , &c.
R Ginfeng is a Chinefe plant, but it grows likewife in
"North Americas on plains in fliady places, and was frc-
Ti-ie
CHINA* 1751* 2 5?
The Chinefe get many commodities from
feveral parts of Afia ; and in particular,
Parrots,
Ivory,
Tortoife Jhells,
Afa-fetida.
Pinang, or Areca Catechu Linn, is a fruit
Which looks like a nutmeg in the infide. Our
Eaft Indiamen begin to bring areck from 5«-
ratte to Canton. A quarter of one of thefe nuts
is wrapt up in a betel-leaf, and covered with
lime of oyiter-fhells. In India it is looked
upon as a mark of ill-breeding riot to eat Pi-
nang before you fpeak to a man of quality;
and you will think yourfelf neglected if he
does not likewife treat you With the fame.
The Chinefe keep the (hells of the areck*
tints, and make a decoclion of them again!!
dyfenteries, &c. It is likewife reported that
quently gathered for the Chinefe trade in the neighbourhood
cf Quebec. See Kalm's Journey through North America,
1749, the 7th Aug. Mr. OJbeck mentions it under the
Chinefe merchandizes. F.
Vol, I. % the?
i$2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
they communicate to each other by means of
Pinang lafcivious med cines, their antidotes,
and the leaves of Cheat goena> together with
other poifons. Old Pinang-nuts, made round
and polimed, put during one night into water
in which fome fnake-tree wood has been foak-
ed before, are fometimes given for Piedra del
Puerco °, as Rumph. fays.
Birds nefts p are a fcarce and dear difli :
they look like little difnes, or like half the
rind of a lemon ; the bed are white and clear,
almoft like ifinglafs. They grow tough like a
Piedra del puerco is a concretion found in the cyjiis fellea,
or gall-bladder of the Malacca Porcupine, which, when foak-
td in water for fome hours, impregnates it with a confider-
able biuernefs ; although the Piedra del puerco lofes fcarce^-
ly a grain of its weight. This infufion is ufed in India as
a cordial in malignant putrid fevers, and in the jaundice.
The high price of tnefe Piedras del puerco, which fome-
times amounts to fifty pounds fterling apiece, has caufcd
that they are frequently counterfeited and adulterated. See
Ka-mpfer's Amcen. Exot. p. 395. F.
P Nidus avis is the name they bear in our apothecaries
fhops. Yenova Yenika, vulgo Yens. Nidus halcyonum,
vulgo nidus avium, pro obfoniis ad coquinas expetitus.
Nidos hos rupibus oceani orientalis affixos parant hi) undines
marinse, domefticis multo majores ex holothuriis mari inna-
tantibus matcriam decerpentes. Kemp/. Am. p. 853.
piece
C II I N A* 1751. 259
piece of leather : they are got at Borneo, Ja-
va, the Molucca JJles, Gambogia, and Cochin*
China. Thefe birds are faid to build their
nefts of little fillies on the rocks in the fea, and
to belong to the fwallow kind. A flimy juice
is faid to iffue out of their bills, by means of
which they f aft en their nefts to the rock : it is
alfo related of them, that they make ufe of the
flime fwimming in the fea, to make all the
parts of their nefts much in the fame manner as
(wallows do with clay. Their nefts are taken
after the young ones are flown 1.
Sanguis Dracotiis. The goodnefs of its
colour is tried upon white paper.
Sagu, r or Sago, from the Molucca I/lands ,
Java, Sumatra, Jahora, and Borneo. White
Sago is more fcarce, and rauil be of a different
fort.
Costus dulcis (Cojius Arabkus Linn. Mat*
Med.) or Putchuch, is a root ufual in our apo*
thecaries (hops. It ought to be clear, and
fmell like violets.
1 Dullaldes Defcript. of China, 8 ° torn. ii. p. 20 r.
r This is the Malak Name ; in Java it is called Bulum,
and is made of the pith of the Cycas circinnalis Linn.
S 2 Spices ;
i6o OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Spices; videlicet, Pepper (Piper nigrum) ;
Long Pepper, {Piper longuni) ; Cubebes (Cubeba
Linn. Mat. Med. 526) Cloves (Caryophylus
aromaticus), Cardamum {Amomum cardamo?num)^
come from Cochin-China, Cambogia, and Siam.
Sticklack from Pegu: The gum which
quite covers the (licks is clear and high colour-
ed. The lack from Vizapatnam is not fo good.
Gumm Benjamin, or Benzoin, comes from
Sindi, and the Spice I/lands, in large chefts of
50 or 60 pounds weight, packed up in mats.
The beft looks like white marble. There is
likewife a coarfe kind, which is black and foft :
it is packed in chefts*
Cambogia, Gamboge, or Gum-gutta, of a,
high yellow gold colour, from Cochin-China,
Cambogia, &c. in bundles.
Santal (Santalum album) is fweet-fcented,
and comes from Suratte, where our Szvedijh
ftip the Gothic Lion (the firft that ever came
to that place from Sweden) bought, in 1750,
jfome of this wood for feven tell, and fold a
ereat deal of it at Canton ; the pekul at 1 5
telL
CHINA. 1751- 261
tell. The Chinefe make ufe of this wood in-
ilead of incenfe. They take the faw-duft of
it, and glew it to a ftick, light it, and put it
before their idols, or in any place where they
would have an agreeable fcent.
Kobt, or the Chinefe ell, is about fifteen
Swedijh inches long, ft is divided into tea
pann, and each of them into ten kanderin.
The taylors ells are commonly longer, and their
length is fixteen inches two-thirds. Thefe ells
are commonly made of bamboo.
Every thing either received or given out
is weighed. However, Spanijh money has a
fixed price; and a piaflre is valued at feven mes,
and four kanderins. At St. Helena it is taken
for five (hillings. The Chinefe puts his ftamp
upon the piaflre, the more eafily to avoid tak-
ing falfe ones, which are fometimes made of
tin or copper, plated over with filver. For
want of fmall coin, a Chinefe has, befides the
weight, a pair of fciffars about him, witli
which he cuts the filver money in pieces, and
cither gives or receives fuch pieces en buying
of goods. Thefe fciffars, which are very thick,
they call Kiapp-chin. When a Chinefe wants
%o cut a piece of filver, he puts it between the
S 3 JafTars
2 6 2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
fciffars, and knocks them againft a flone till
the pieces drop off.
Kas, which the Chinefe call Lai, is the only
current coin which is (truck in China, and is
equal both in fize and value to our one-fixth
ocre filver coin. This coin is made of yellow
brafs, and round ; hath a quadrangular hole
in the middle ; the edge is plain, but its fides
are marked with Chinefe characters,
Datchin is their larger weight, with which-
they weigh by pekul and katty.
Lay-tang is a lefs weight, with which they
weigh little things.
A Pekul, or Uaam as the Chinefe call it,
is iookatti, or 1391b. 21-^- half ounces, L.L.
6 As, vi&ual- weight ; but is generally reckoned
equal to 142 Swedifh grocers pounds.
A katty, or Chinefe Kann, which is lib.
12 1J, of half ounce, and ȣ As, contain?
16 tel.
A tel l , which the Chinefe call Lea, has'
ten mes, about 14 dollars of copper coin.
s The fmallefl. Swedijb weight.
1 The Engtijh wine it tale, the Portuguese tael. It con-
Sains ico Frtncb. fouE, or z\ half ounces, and \z A', $ive-
A MES
C-HIN A. 1 75 1. 263
A mes u , by the Chinefe called Hane, con-
tains 10 kanderin..
A kanderin, or as the Chinefe call -it Fann 9
is 10 kas.
A kas, or kaJJj, is the fmaUeft coin w-hich
is ufed in every part of this country, and its
value is about \ ocre filver coin; though Du-
Halde mentions feveral lefs, which perhaps may
be ufed in particular places, and be neceffary
.only on particular occafions.
The Chinefe count thus :
Tatt * Tdaam, a pekul. [Tab. xiii. fig. *.]
Tatt Kami, a katty or catti. [Tab. xiii. f. b.]
Nghee kaiiy 2 ditto.. «
Samm kan, 3 ditto. [Tab. xiii. f. cJ]
Jijh viftaal weight. See Memoir of the Swed. Acad, pf
Sciences for 1750, p. no, the Swed. Edition.
u The Englijh write mace, the P-artugueze maz.
™ Yaft, or Tett } is one.
S 4 Tfoekan
5^4 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Tfockan, or fa ta, 4, (Tftn, Tfi, Tfoe, or
fyy> is 4.) [Tab. xiii. f. d.]
On fan, c. This is lifped through the teeth,
and leaves one to guefs whether it muft be w«,
or n, or aen. [Tab. xiii. f. e.~\
Lock kan, 6, [Tab. xiii. f./.]
Satt-kan, % [Tab. xiii. f. #.]
Fatt-kan, 8. [Tab. xiii. f. £.]
Kau-kan, 9. [Tab. xiii. f.f.J
Siapp-kan, 10. [Tab. xiii. f, £.]
• £7tf#> Yatt-kan, 11.
Siapp-ngee, 12.
Ngeefiapp, 20.
Jsfgeefapp-yett, 2I>
Samftapp, 30.
Tfifapp, 40.
Onfiapp, 50-
Lack-Jiappy 60,
Ifat-fuzpf, 70*
¥ttt->
CHINA, i7$u 26$
Patt-fiappy 80.
Kau-fiapp, 90.
Tett-pa, Ye-pa, or Gbee-pao, 100,
Ye-pa-yett, 10 1.
Ye-pa-ngce, 102.
Yatt-tfin, 1000.
Sam-tjtn, 100,000.
Siapp'pack-t/in, 1,000,000.
YatUleo, a tel. [Tab. xiii. f. /.]
Yatt-fane, or Saw**, a mefs. [Tab. xiii. f.j».]
Yatt-fann, a kanderin. [Tab. xiii. f. «.]
Ngee-fuen, oxfann, 2 kanderins. [Tab. xiii,
f.*.]
Yatt-lai, a kas. [Tab. xiii. f.^/|
Syan-p'ann, or the Cbinefe accompting-
board, is oblong, divided into two equal parts,
and has little beads, which are moved back-
wards or forwards on wires, of which there
are fometimes more or lefs, fometimes 25 on
each fide. One fide of each of thefe beads
fignifies
z66 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
fignifies one, but on the other it (lands for five.
If you count by thoufands, ioo, or 20, &c.
the firfl row on the right is one, the fecond
10, the third 100, the fourth 1000. If the
Chinefe knew how to reckon with cyphers,
they would do their bufinefs very quickly,
fmce all their weights, meafures, and money
accompts, are decimals ; videlicet, when I
have 464 kanderins, I immediately fee they
mark four tel, fix mefs, and four kandarins.
The inhabitants of this country, whom we
call Chinefe, are quite white, excepting thofe
who are tanned by the fun. Mod of them
look alike ; they have fhort nofes, fmall eyes,
ihort black eye-brows, a broad face, great
ears, and black hair, which the men always
(have off, having a tuft at the top of the
head, which grows as long as it will, and is
made up into a broad ftiff plait. In this man-
ner the Chinefe have worn their hair ever fmce
the Tartars began .to reign over them. They
formerly let the hair grow on the whole head,
which we fee the Chinefe in Botflvia do dill.
Old men, who have few hairs, make their
plait more confpicuous with ribbands, left at
firft fight they fhou'd be looked upon as crimi-
nals, whofe hair is cut off, if we may believe
the;?
CHINA. I75 1 - z6 7
their own accounts. The men let their beards
grow, and divide them into feveral locks. The
Chinefe are fome of them greater and others
(mailer in fize than we are. In convention
they are civil : in their demeanor gentle ; in
focial life diligent, having genius for trade in
particular : but they are likewife talkative, in-
quifitive, loving to take prefents ; are obfti-
nate, proud, and fufpicious. They fit upon
their feet, for want of chairs. When they
meet one another, they lift up their hands;
but touch neither hat nor cap, and do not
move their feet, but bow a little, faying,
Hoaw, Hoa-j}* which is a friendly falute, with
which they wifh all manner of good to each
other. The lower fort of people kneel down
before men of high rank, and ihew them their
fubmimon both by words and gefture.
The drefs of the men generally is as follows:
They wear two wide coats of filk or cotton,
the lower of which is white, but the upper
purple or black ; they are like our long night-
gowns, and have no lining, ftiffening, button-
holes, folds, and facings ; they are buttoned
* Good, Good. A repetition of the pofitive makes their
fuperlative, as in the Hebrew language.
f before
*68 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
before with little round gilt buttons, which
are at a diftance from each other, and catch
into little firings, fattened a little inward, and
this makes the coats to be double upon their
breatts. They do not quite cover their feet.
The fleeves are fo wide and of fuch a length
as to be fufficient to cover the hands. Their
breeches are wide and white, and are laced
about the body, and about the knees. The
ftockings are thick, embroidered, and made
like boots, of a dark-coloured lilk-ftuff; peo-
ple of quality have the edges and clocks of
the ftockings embroidered with gold or filver ;
fometimes they are fattened to the flioes, fome-
times not ; their ihoes are like flippers without
heels, but without quarters; and a white fole
as thick as ones finger ; they are as it were
chopped off before : the upper leather is em-
broidered : every thing belonging to them is
of hog's leather, andfewed with cotton yarn.
The workmen who are frequently expofed to
the fun, particularly peafants and fiihermen,
cover their heads with hats of bamboo, whofe
brims are of different colours. They ufe caps ;
fome of which look like an inverted funnel,
with a button at the top. They are covered
with a tuft of raw red filk, which is fattened
at the top, and hangs down loofely to the
bottom.
CHINA. 1751. 26?
bottom of the cap. None but men of high
rank make ufe of thefe caps. Others wear
caps of black filk, with brims of velvet:
fometimes the whole cap is made of velvet,
with or without tufts of red filk, in threads,
which hang at the top ; and in the middle is a
button of gold, precious (lone, amber, glafs-
fluor, or even fomething lefs valuable, accord-
ing to the difference of rank and fortune of
the wearer. No one is allowed to cloath him-
felf above his rank. Some men of high rank
diftinguifh themfelves from the reft by the
badges of fome orders, which they carry on
their breads : others carry behind in their
caps two fquirrels tails ; and others diftinguifh
themfelves by the value of the button on their
cap. But a Chinefe is never feen to wear a
wig, cravat, fleeve buttons, gloves, garters,
knee buckles, and buckles in the (hoes ; and
feldom walks with a flick. Inftead of thefe
things, their tobacco-pipe, tobacco-bag, and
purfe, hang down to the knees by long firings.
In winter they frequently put on thirteen or
fourteen garments one above another, or get
them lined with furs. Inflead of muffs they carry
a live quail (Tetrao coturnix) in their hands.
The poorer fort of people are content with a
little coat of cotton, with wide trowfers, and
with
27 o OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
with caps of bamboo leaves ; they go bare-
foot, and mod of them are half naked. It is
a very common thing to fee fmall boats full of
naked children, and of half-naked parents,
who have no other habitations than thefe on
the furface of the water, and live by thou-
fands by filhing, picking up old rags, dead
hogs, or whatever elfe is thrown from the
Ihips.
Labourers are obliged to pare their nails ?,
but people of quality let them grow as long
as they will; keep them very clean and tranf-
parent, and at night put little cafes of bamboo
on them.
The drefs of the ladies is little known to
me, fince ladies of fafhion always keep in
their houfes. I faw, however, a head-drefs
at the goldfmith's, which was twilled of a
coarfe filver-wire, and looked like a little ba-
fket ; in it were fattened pieces of red cloth,
to heighten the luftre. Their round filk fans
are well known. They can fcarce walk, on
account of their little feet. As this inability
y Very long nails are a token of elegance, and fhew
that the wearers are arrived at a thorough pitch of genteel
htlpleflhefs.
for
CHINA. 1751. 271
for walking is a mark of gentility, people of
rank prefs the feet of their daughters from
their very infancy in iron (hoes. It is faid that
this was a punifhment on the female fex, for
attempting to betray their hufbands in an ir-
ruption of the Portuguefe ; but they look up-
on this as an injurious report, which cannot
be proved. Common women are every day
feen, particularly in the boats, and they are
drelTed like men, in a coat and trowfers ; but
they do not (have their heads ; they tie their
long hair together in a knot at the top of their
heads -, and faflen it with a great long filver
bodkin. The hair of the unmarried women
is cut on the fides, and hangs round the head
about an hand's breadth. To paint the face,
is univerfally the fafhion. Tobacco is ufed
only for fmoaking ; but its ufe is very general
with both fexes : and women are frequently
feen in the boats at the helm, with their chil-
dren at their backs, and a tobacco pipe in their
mouths. The mothers, who always educate
their own children, tie them to their backs,
that they may not be troublefome to them in
working: and as the children often knock
their nofes againfl: their mothers backs, it is
probable that this is the caufe of their broad
nofes, which are a general characterifiic of this
nation.
272 OS BECK'S VOYAGE*
nation. The children are adorned with filvef
rings about their hands and feet, and with
medals hanging on their breafts. Their pa-
rents tie- a gourd, or a large fruit which the
Chinefe call Po-o (cucurbita lagenaria) which
is fhaped like a bottle, to their childrens
backs, that they may not be drowned in cafe
they fliould fall into the river. The bufinefs
of the women in general is to take care of the
children, the kitchen, weaving, and fpinning*
The elder children mud help to carry the
younger on their backs. The men help to
warn.
The eye is every where ftruck with the po-
puloufnefs of this healthy country,- in which
the people chufe rather to want, than to feek
a plentiful fubfiitence elfewhere. They are
allowed but little more navigation than what
they can carry on by their inland canals. Their
foreign trade is chiefly to Batavia, and fome
places adjacent. An Engtiflman, whofe men
were run away during his flay in China, could
with difficulty get fo many Chinefe failors as-
were neceffary to navigate his fhip to the Eajl
Indies ; though he affured them he would fend
them back by the firft opportunity. The
itreets are as full of people here, as if there
4 was
CHINA. 1751. 273
was a fair every day, at leaft during the flay of
the Europeans in this country, which is from
July to February,
In China are faid to be 58 millions of inha-
bitants, all between 20 and 60 years of age,
who pay an annual tax. It is reported that
many were ftarved to death this year on ac-
count of the bad crop, and that great numbers
were come from different provinces to get their
livelihood here. Notwithft anding the induftry
of the people, their amazing populoufnefs
frequently occafions a dearth. Parents who
cannot fupport their female children, are al-
lowed to caft them into the river ; however,
they faften a gourd to the child, that it may
float on the water ; and there are often com-
panionate people of fortune who are moved
by the mournful cries of the children to fave
them from death. Le Comte relates, that in"
the conquer! of Nankin by the Tartars, wo-
men were fold in bags, and he who had bought
an old woman, call both bag and woman into
the river 2 . The boys which cannot be
brought up by their parents are educated at
the expence of the public.
z Le Comte, p. 301,
Vol. I. T The
274 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The language of the country has nothing
in common with any other ; it has no alphabet,
but as many characters and different figures as
they have words ; which have different fignifi-
cations according as they are differently pro-
nounced, and have different accents ; videlicet,
Tcbu signifies a mafter, a hog, a kitchen, and
a pillar. Le Comte (hews that by the pronun-
ciation only they make 1 66$ words quite differ-
ent from each other out of 333. He is
reckoned very learned among the Cbinefe who
knows half their words ; for they have 80,000
characters a ; and for this reafon the Europeans
think it impofiible to learn the Cbinefe lan-
guage any other way than by abiding many
years in China ; and they likewife look upon
it as unneceffary, fince they can avail them-
'felves of the French, Portugueze, or Englifl?
languages, which the Cbinefe fervants employ-
ed in trade have learned ; though they have a
particular dialect, and think that he does not
fpeak well who does not intermingle Englijh,
Portugueze, and Dutch. Some of the Cbinefe
a It is faid that the emperor Koambi, 4300 years ago,
introduced the characters ; and afterwards wrote himfelf
allronomical, arithmetical, and medical treatifes. Le Comte,
p. 189,
fervants
CHIN A. 175 1. 275
fervants fpeak Szaedijh ; we like wife faw 2
man who had taken the Roman catholicdreligion
in Siam, where he had been taught Latin,
which he fpoke readily. This man's name
was Thomas Tya, and he related that he was
born in Nanfiong, a place ten days journey
from Canton. It is the more difficult for a
foreigner to learn the Chinefe language, as
there is a mixture of nations here, who all
diftinguifh themfelves by their dialect, befide
the eaftern Tartars, who fpeak their own
Mantcheore language. In Tonking, Cochin
China, and Japan, they make ufe of the fame
characters as in China ; however, a Chinefe does
not underftand their languages.
Sometimes the names of animals corre-
fpond with the noife which thefe animals
make; Miaa, a cat, &c. The corapofed
characters likewife deferve feme atten-
tion ; thus Tfai, which fignifies a misfortune^
is compofed of Miane, a houfe, and Ho, fire,
fince they can image to themfelves no greater
misfortune than that of a houfe being reduced
to afhes. We can by no means pronounce
fome words fo well as the Chinefe, becaufe to
my knowledge the teeth of their upper jaw
{land out forwards a little : on the contrary*
T 2 they
ij6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
they are unable to pronounce all the Swedijh-
letters, but pronounce b, d, r, x, z, like p,
t > U ft /'■> tne y c ^° not fp ea k alike, and pro-
nounce a great many of their words with a
ilnging tone. When they are heard fpeaking
to each other, one would frequently be induc-
ed to believe they were quarrelling, in parti-
cular when they fhake their heads, and when
they fpeak very loud, which is the cafe on
fliip board, and in other great companies;
where they far exceed the clamour of our
poor eft pot-houfes.
Paper is made of the inner bark of bam-
boo (Arundo bambos) ; it is not at all like our
paper, except in colour. Their meets are as
large as four of ours. On one fide it is as
fmooth as glafs, but not on the other; and
for this reafon they always lay their leaves
double, and always write or paint on one fide
only, and from the right to the left, from top
to bottom. The printing paper is as thin as an
egg's ikin, for which reafon the letters (how
through it. The fine paper which comes to
Europe with rhe tea is common enough. A
fort of writing paper ftronger than the com-
mon writing paper, and which is bought by
the name of Macao paper, is to. be had here ;
it
CHINA 1751- 277
it may be written on with ink, and in my opi-
nion is to be preferred to any European fort,
efpecially for drying plants. The Clmiefe,
who neither make ufe of pens nor of our ink
in writing, but write with hair pencils dipt
into Indian ink, can very well do with thinner
paper. Inflead of an ink pot, they make ufe
of a fmall marble table with elevated borders,
of the-fize of one's hand ; this ferves to mix
the Indian ink, which, being diifolved in water,
gathers in a little hole at one end of the ftone.
Books in all forts of fciences are to be had
here, ftitched in thin white paper ; but none
in a foreign language. The fize of their
books anfwers to that of our royal oclavo.
All their books are printed with wooden plates,
in the manner that the manufacturers in Eu-
rope print cottons.
Their obfervations on the heavens and
earth, and their hiflory, are remarkable on ac-
count of their antiquity b. Their morals are
looked upon as a matter-piece ; their laws are
confidered as excellent maxims of life ; their
medicine and natural hiflory are both of them
b According to their accounts, they go as high as the
times of Noah.
T 3 founded
syfi OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
founded on long experience c ; and their huf-
bandry is admired for the perfection it has rifen
to. But the want of the true knowledge of the
Supreme Being is an imperfection which out-
weighs all their other knowledge.
The religion in China is pagan; but by
their own accounts, there are almoft as many
feels as perfons among them : for as foon as a
Chinefs expects the leaft advantage from it,
he is without any confideration to-day of one
religion, to-morrow of another, or of all to-
gether : however, there are three principal
feels, of which we have an account in Du
Halde's Defcription of this Empire*
The firfl: principal feci: is called Tao-tfa, and
their founder Daokiun. Its followers endea-
vour to difengage themfelves from every thing
which tends to difquiet the reft of the foul, to
c This is proved by their Per.i-fa-o, or books of plants,
which were wrote by little and little. The emperor Sbin-
zongs made a beginning with it, and defcribed 360 medici-
nal plants, in three volumes. Afterwards feveral things
were published concerning natural hiftory, all which was
at laft reduced to 16 claffes by Li-kbe-tcbin; who likewife
added their ufe in phyfic, and their other ufes. Of this fee
pu Baliie*! Defcription of China.
live
CHINA. 1751. 279
Jive free and void of cares, to forget the pad,
and not to be in apprehenfions for the future.
They have fictitious fpirits, which are indepen-
dent of the Supreme Being, and among thefe
they comprehend fome of their ancient kings.
They look upon it as a folly to procure ano-
ther perfon's happinefs, and lofe their own reft
by it. They brag of a prefervative againft
death, left the remembrance of it fhould
caufe them trouble. They think to get their
willies fulfilled by the affiftance of the evil
fpirit. The emperor Fou-ti drank feveral
times of their pretended draught of immorta-
lity ; but he at laft found he was as mortal as
others, and pitied his own credulity. The
heads of this feci: are very learned, and live in
towns in fine houfes. Numbers of people
come to them out of the adjacent provinces,
and fetch remedies for their difeafes ; and by
the way get them to tell them the fate of the
remainder of their lives ; and the principal man
gives them a paper full of particular letters,
which they pay for very thankfully. This
feci: has decreafed or increafed according as,
the court has favoured or neglected it.
The fecond and moft common feci, are the
Fo } or Fo»e, The emperor Ming introduced it
T 4 in
ao OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
in the year 65 zhzxChriJl's birth, havingdream-
ed of, and recollected an opinion of the great Con-
fucius, that the Mod Holy was to be found in the
weftern countries. He, therefore, fent to en-
quire for him in India ; and his people meeting
with the idol Fo, or Fo-e, they believed they
had found the true worfhip, and brought this
idol to China, and together with it thofe tales
which fill the Indian books. This infection
began at court, and foon took root in the pro-
vinces, and afterwards fpread through the
whole empire. Their religion confifts in not
killing any living creature, for they believe
that the fouls of their anceflors tranfmigrate
into irrational creatures, either into fuch as
they liked beit, ©r into fuch as they refcmbled
moil in their behaviour : for which reafon
they never kill any fuch animals ; but while
they live feed them well, and when they die
bury them with fplendour d .
» Mr. Des Guignes, in his Hijicire des Huns, des Turcs iff
des M gels, is of opinion, that the religion or feci of Fo is
originally the Chriftian religion, perhaps corrupted by length
ot time fo far as to admit thefe abfurd tenets. Perhaps the
daay of his own religion was the only foundation he had
for this opinion. F.
Le
CHINA. 1751. 281
Le Comte gives the following account of
that which happened to himfelf : " I once
" was called to baptize a tick man 70 years
u old, who lived upon a little pennon, which.
u the emperor bellowed on him. When I
" came to him, he faid, I am much obliged to
{< you, for you will deliver me from a great
" punifliment. I replied, This is not all ; bap-
" tifm not only delivers a man from hell, but
" it alfo leads to a happy life. I do not un-
* derftand you, faid the fick man, and per-
" haps I have not expreffed myfelf plain
" enough : you know, chat I have for feme
" time lived upon the emperor's bounty ; and
" our bonzes, who are well inftru&ed conceni-
" ing what happens in the other world, have
" aflured me, that I (hall be obliged out of
" gratitude to ferve the emperor after my de-
u ceafe ; and that my foul will undoubtedly
" animate a poft-horfe, to bring the ports to
" court out of the provinces. They exhort
" me, therefore, when I (hall have affumed
" my new form, to do my duty well, and take
'* care not to fnort, nor to kick, nor hurt any
" one. They further exhort me to trot well,
<c to eat fparingly, and to be patient, in order
if to move the companion of the gods, who
" often
2 3 2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
" often change a good animal into an human
«* being, and make a great lord of him. I
" own this thought makes me fhudder, and I
" cannot think of it without trembling ; every
" night I dream of it, and fometimes when I
tl am afleep, I think I am faddled, and already
" ftart at the fir ft lafti of the rider's whip ;
<« after this, I awake in great trouble and
" anxiety, uncertain whether I am a man or
fi a horfe. But alas ! what will become of
" me, when I am to be a horfe in reality ! I
" have therefore taken this refolution : It is
" faid, that thofe of your religion are not ex-
* ' pofed to this misfortune ; but that with you
" men remain men, and will be fuch in the
" world to come. I befeech you, receive me
" among you. I know it is difficult to live con-
li formable to your religion ; but if it was
t( even more difficult, I am however ready to
«' embrace your faith, and at any rate to be a
" Chriftian rather than a creature void of
" reafon." This feci: particularly prohibits
pride, uncleannefs, and drinking of wine.
They acknowledge a God, who dwells in
heaven, fees every thing, rewards virtue and
puniihes vice ; for which reafon, if I made a
doubt of what they faid, they anfwered with
great emotion, that I being a priefl fhould afk
CHINA. 1751. 283
Tofs e in heaven if it were true or not. Yet
they have a very limited knowledge of the Su-
preme Being ; for being a/ked who was the
Creator of heaven and earth and of every via-
ble thing, they faid it was a great Lord. If
they were further afked, whether he was yet
alive, they anfwered no, he died fome years
ago. However, their priefts, in their morning,
evening, and other prayers, and when they
facriflce, bowed three times to the ground, as if
the Trinity was not unknown to them f . They
are greatly afraid of the evil fpirit, and be-
lieve, that if he was not withheld by a fuperior
Power, he would be able to do as much mif-
chief as he pleafed ; for which reafon they
pray to him to fpare them. They have a num-
e This is a name they haye learned from the Europeans,
by which they mean God; but in the Cbinefe language he
is called To-en, heaven, &c.
f It is from thefe and the like feeble hints that the party
of unbelievers have got fo frequent opportunities to ridi-
cule the facred doctrines of the Chriilians. Such is the ar-
gument of the Trinity doctrine difcovered even among the
Tibetans, by a late learned writer, and which he deciphered
from an idol with three heads, on a pafte coin, with fome
Tibetan characters : which his friend fo well acquainted in
the Hibernian antiquities gave out to be an old Irijh In-j
fcription. F.
ber
c8 4 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
ber of tales ready to fupport the truth of this
opinion. They fometimes pretend to fee in
their rooms fmall lights which on a fudden
grow very large, together with many other
things which they attribute to the devil. They
believe that the dead come back, and that the
deceafed husband vifits his furviving wife, and
the dead wife her husband. This is the reafon
why at every little alarm in the night-time
they are afraid of fpeclres ; and I myfelf have
often feen how fearful they were. But they
Mkewife believe every human being has his
angel, who attends him during his life and
after his deceafe. They reckon the fun, moon,
and deceafed great men, fuch as kings and the
like, among their Gods.
The third feci: confiflsof thofe philofophers
who ground themfelves upon the writings of
Confucius, and the difciples of Memcius. Confu-
cius* was born in the year 551 before ChrifFs
birth, in the province of Canton in the city of
Kiofmn h ; his works are highly efteemed, and
on account of Ins excellent morality deferve
to be read by thofe who would embrace the
s From Cun a peacock, and Su the fun.
h Bote's Journal, r. 79.
good
CHINA. 1751. 285
good and reject the bad. They are printed
at Canton, and a part of them at Goa in India,
in Chinefe and Latin, under the infpection of
the Sicilian Intorcetta, fubfcribed by 16 Ro-
man catholic fathers, in the year 1676. Kir-
cher promifed to publifh this philofophy with
the commentaries upon it, which he had trans-
lated into Latin at Rome 5 but foon after the
writings of thefe philofophers were publifhed
in Latin at Paris, 1687. The editors
cf this edition were, Intorcetta, Herdtrich,
Rougemont and Couplet. However, this edi-
tion little differs from that publiflied at Goa,
A greater book of the writings of this philo-
fopher was that which Couplet had with him,
which has been publiflied by Aymon, after it
had been corrected by the mod learned mem-
bers of the fociety, and fome Chinefe. Francif-
cus Noel publiflied, anno 17 n, at Prague*
the fix Libri Cla/Jici of the Chinefe empire *.
The philofophers of the fe£t of Confucius en-
deavour to perfuade the people that the crea-
tion and government of the world are effected
by material caufes, not to mention other unrea-
sonable maxims with which they diflionour their
Creator.
1 JBaieri Prsf. Muf.
The
2%6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE,
The Roman catholics have, by means of the
jefuits and other learned men, converted many
Cbinefe to their faith ; but are now expelled the
country, after having experienced the viciffi-
tudes of favour and perfecution ; all except
thofe who were allowed to flay in the empire
(though not at court) in order to teach mathe-
matics, and are, it is faid, only about 20 m
number. Others hide themfelves in defarts, or
in diflant villages, waiting for the recovery of
the liberty of teaching their doctrine.
The Cbinefe priefts, who in their language
are called Wo-aw-fiong, pay their morning and
evening worfhip in thofe idol temples which
we call Pagodas. They are daily clothed in
grey coats reaching down to their feet, with
very wide fleeves. About their necks they wear
a large firing of beads. Their heads are every
where fhaved. In this drefs they appear at
the above places by hundreds, and go in pairs,
one after another, feveral times round the
altar, at which they fometimes flop, and with
a low voice repeat their fervice, which they call
Wo-aw-fiong-lam-k'ing • at which they fome-
times fold their hands, and fometimes hold
them up to heaven. This they continue for
a IV
CHINA. 1751. 287
an hour together, during which time they look
at nobody. During fervice feveral Chinefe in-
ftruments are played upon, at certain times.
Sometimes they fall down three times with
their faces to the ground, burn incenfe and fa-
crifice. They fometimes go about in the town
and facrifice in the houfes, and on that occa*
fton their drefs is a little different. They do
not marry, and eat neither flefh nor eggs.
The chief pried of the whole empire is called
Wo-aiv Siong Tao. The people go into the
Pagoda on certain feftivals only, when they
bring their facrifices ; but during fervice
they ftand at the doors, and look in through
the rails. However, every body fays his
morning and evening prayer befides, both in
the houfes and in the boats, kneeling before
their God ; in the latter they light on this oc-
cafion a trough, or Chinefe boat, which they
call Lintkyee, of gold or fdver paper, which
they throw into the water ; becaufe, accord-
ing to their opinion, it will turn into gold or
fdver if it is thrown into the fea when it is
burnt during the mufic of the Gungung*
They have four holy feafts every year;
among which is the lanthorn feaft, which will
be deicribed hereafter.
The
2 88 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
The parents of a boy marry him fomctimes
when he is yet a child, and even before the
children are born ; in this cafe, two men
whofe wives are with child agree, that if one
gets a fon and the other a daughter the chil-
dren are to marry one another, whether they
be born with defects or become maimed
afterwards, whether they be handfome or
ugly. Or if a man has a little fon, whom he
would gladly fee married, he goes to the father
whofe daughter he thinks mod fit for his fon,
flrikes a bargain with him about the daughter,
and fettles the day of his fon's marriage. 'Till
that day the bridegroom does not fee his bride,
but mult be content with the choice of his fa-
ther. The bridegroom receives hi3 bride at
his houfe door, and delivers her to his mother,
or to fome other women in the houfe, while he
treats the men in another room. If he does
not like his bride he may fend her home again,,
but the father-in-law keeps the money which
was paid for the bride. Before the Chinefc
give their daughters in marriage, they teach
them to refpeft their fathers and mothers in
law, to live peaceably with their fitters in law,.
to honour their husbands, to teach their chil-
dren, to be compattionate towards their fer-
vants.
CHINA. 1751. a 89
■yams, to take care of their filk work, to be
fparing, temperate, diligent, and patient, not
to love pratling, nor to meddle with any thing
Which does not belong to their houfewifry.
If they get a fon, they make great feaftV
and treat fuch of their friends as have
congratulated them on this account, and
have made fome prefents. The third day,
when the child is to be warned, the ceremony
is flill greater ; they then in particular eat
painted eggs (which are prefents of the grand-
mother), comfits, and other prefents. If a
man attains to 40 years of age and has no
children, he may marry more wives than he
has already, to prevent the extinction of his
family, provided he is able to maintain them.
He may ufe them as he pleafes, and fuffers no
punifhment if he kills his own wife in anger.
Nuptials are likewife celebrated in the
decked boats, which on this occafion are orna*
mented as well as can be imagined, both with-
in and without. They put little banners upon
the deck of the boat, and hang it round with
crowns, flowers, and fruits made of paper,
and in the night-time lanthorns are placed on
it. During this, feveral mufical inftruments
Vol* I. U . m
290 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
are heard, in particular the Gimgiwg, which
is ufed on all occafions.
If a woman fuffers herfelf to be deflowered,
(he is carried into the market by her fuperiors,.
as foon as it is known, and fold to the higheft
bidder ; thefe are bought to be fervant-maids-
for life, at the price of ioo dollars copper
money, fometimes more and fomeiimes lefs.
Thieves and other offenders are punifhed
with bamboo ladies, which puniihment may be
compared with the gantelope.
The malefactors are laid on the ground, and
beaten with fwitches of fplit bamboo wood ;
and the Chinefe ell being made of the fame
wood, a ftroke with it is very ignominious in
the eyes of a Chinefe. I likewife faw another
way of punifhing a thief ; a board was hung
on his neck, and his hands were put through
two holes in the board, and were fcrewed fad
into them. He was carried about the flreets
in this pofture for two months together, and
was obliged to wait for his further punifhment:
behind the thief went one who was very pro-
bably the beadle, holding up money in both
hands, undoubtedly to ihew the people (who
come
CHINA. 1751. . Z9 i
come from all the flreets) what the fellow's
crime was.
Almanacks, or Tongjioc of the fchinefe*}
were fold in thofe ilreets where fruits were ex-
pofed to fale. The derivation of the word
feems to denote, that they formerly may have
carved their chronologies in wood, as we on
our Runic flicks ; for wood in the Chinefe lan-
guage is called She, or Si-e. Three thoufand
almanacks are annually printed for each pro-
vince. They are either fmaller ones, or great-
er hiftorical ones. I bought one of the latter
fort for eight kandarin, about 12 flir. It was
for the year 1752, or the 17th year, which
they call Daatfing kan long fiapp fat miang, or
the great emperor Kang-longU 1 7 th year, count-
ing from the acceffion of the prefent emperor
to the throne ; for the Gbinefe begin a neW
period at the beginning of every emperor's
reign. This year was to begin with them the
fourth day of February. The 1 2 months are
marked with large letters at the top of every
page in the almanack ; each day takes up a
line, and in this is marked every thing which
may be fuccefsfully undertaken on that day ;
k Bayer de hcris Sinicis. Petrop. 1735, 4to.
U 2 which
292 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
which are the beft days for building, nming,
travelling, fowing, offering, bargaining, mar-
rying, &c.
The fir ft month hath
30 days,
The fecond,
29
The third,
3°
The fourth,
29
The fifth,
29
The fixth,
*9
The feventh,
3°
The eighth,
29 ^
The ninth,
3° -■'■
The tenth,
3° .
The eleventh,
29
The twelfth,
3°
Accordingly their year hath 354 days.
The 11 days which are wanting are fup-
plied every third year, which has 13 months.
An example of this is the prefent year 175 1.
The Chincfe divide the day into 12 hours,
beginning at midnight ; accordingly an hour
of theirs is equal to two of ours.
In each town is a tower, and on it an hour-
glafs, with fand or water, by which the hours
are divided.
Days
CHINA. 1751. 293
Days and nights in this latitude being con-
tinually equal, we often longed for a thing
which we do not take any notice of at home,
tp wit, the agreeable change-of unequal days
and feafons.
Soldiers are feldom feen, though the army
is faid to be very numerous. Thofe which I
fay/, had only fabres, and their drefs was no,t
diftinguiihable from that of the other Cbinefe,
except by their ..caps which were like thofe
of grenadiers.
The Chinefc bought arms of the Europeans,
efpecially old muikets and guns, at a very
moderate price, and they fold their air guns
of yellow brafs.
According to Du Halde's account, the
Chinefe knew nothing of the management of
cannons before the year 1621, when they
got three cannons from the Portugueze at Macao.
In the year 1636, when the roman catholics
were feverely perfecuted, and the Tartars
made inroads into China, the government had
rtotice that the jefuits could moot with guns;
father Adam-fchall was defired to affid them;
U 3 however,
*94 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
however, he excufed himfelf with his unexpe-
rience in thofe matters. But Ferdinand Ver T
biejl, a French jefuit, and prefident of the
mathematical tribunal, very fuccefsfully fired
j 30 cannon fhor, for which the emperor al-
lowed the free exercife of his religion.
Husbandry, efpecially agriculture and
gardening, are in a mo ft flourifhing ftate j but
as the Cbinefe fow and plant fuch herbs and
trees as we can fcarcely maintain in our bot-
houfes, our pbfervatlons mud be lefs advan-
tageous than if they made ufe of the fame
plants for their food as we do. Their em-
perors have always fhewn great regard for agri-
culture and planting, and even put their own
hands to work. Du Halde relates that the
emperor Tao (who, according to the accounts
of the Chinefe, lived about 4000 years ago)
once afked his courtiers whom he fhould ap-
point his fuccefibr ? upon which they pro-
pofed his eldeit ion : but the emperor know-
ing that his fon's difpofition would prevent him
from being a good prince, offered this dignity
to one of his mod faithful minifters, who ex-
cufed himfelf, and propofed a young country
fellow, who in his opinion was mofi able, on
account of his fidelity anc] prudence ; for as
he
CHINA. 1751. 295
lie was able to command his pafiions under a
bad father, unnatural mother, and quarrel-
fome brother, fo he would likewife have fuffi-
cient ilrength of mind to direct the helm of
an empire. They fay that he really afcended
the throne, and that during his reign he took
great care of husbandry, made feveral ca-
nals for the convenience of the country, and
wrote feveral books on agriculture. His fuc-
•cefTors have always contributed more and
more towards the improvement of the coun-
try : in particular the emperor Yen-ti y who
lived 179 years before the birth of Chriji.
He affembled his council, and confulted with
its members how his fubje&s, after de-
Itructive wars, might be moll flrongly induced
to practice agriculture. Their refolution was,
that he himfelf fliould give them a good ex-
ample. Accordingly he himfelf began plough-
ing, and the queen planted mulberry trees.
This is looked upon as the foundation of a
great feilival which is held every year in
China. The emperor goes into the fields in
fpring, and ploughs fome acres to encourage
the countrymen ; the nobles who accompany
him have each their bufmefs ; one prepares the
facriflce, another makes the fpeech which the
emperor is to deliver on this occaiion \ another
U ^ erects
z. 9 6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
erects the tent in which the emperor is to eat j
and another gets 40 or 50 old venerable pea-
fan ts together, who are prefented to the em-
peror ; the younger ones direct the plough,
lead the oxen, and get the corn ready which
is to be fowed. The regard of the emperor,
and of the greateft lords, for agriculture is
Jiich, that when deputies are fent to the go-
vernors, the emperor always enquires in what
condition agriculture is. The governor of
Peking often vifits the fields, and is greatly re-
joiced in cafe he finds all in a good condition.
The emperor Cang-ti particularly favoured
countrymen ; he ordered the governors annu-
ally to fend in an account of what was mod
remarkable, becaufe he intended to reward
the diligence of the husbandmen with peculiar
honours, (o that they fhould be dreffed like
the king's fervants, vifit the governor of the
city, fit clown in his prefence, and drink tea
with him ; and after their deaths be handfome-
\y buried, and a decent monument erected tq
their memories.
This nation prepares its food in the mod
fimple manner : rice, which they make ufe of
inftead of bread, and which is their principal
food, they bcil in water, letting the watec
rim
CHINA. 1751. 297
run off, and eating the fwelled rice quite
warm. The people in the boats feat them-
felves about the pot, each has a large tea difh
of coarfe porcellane, into which they put the
rice with a fpoon. They hold the tea difli to
their mouths with the left hand ; and between
the two firll fingers of the right hand, they
hold two {lender flicks, almoft a foot long, with
which they cram one di(h full after another
into their mouths.. Between this they eat a
bit of filh, bacon, or a reddiih fruit like figs,
but longer, and almoft every where equally
thick, called Ay-qua or Kca by the Chinefe ;
befides this they alfo make ufe of a fort of
greens, which they eat out of another faucer
along with the rice. The workmen in the
factories feat themfelvesin the yard in a circle,
after each has filled his pot out of a great tub,
which (lands by and is full of frefli boiled
rice : this is eaten in the fame manner one
pot full after another, along with the other
vi&uals. Thofe who are fomewhat higher in
quality make ufe of tables and chairs ; but
have neither table-cloth, knife, fork, or
napkins ; but handkerchiefs fupply the place
of the latter. Knives are unnecefTary at ta-
ble, fince they eat no bread. Fifh, bacon,
3cc. are cut into little pieces, and put upon
the
298 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
the table like the greens, in tea dimes, or little
pots, that every one may take what he likes »
bed. Spoons are of ufe. Their meat has
no fauce, nor do they make foups, or the
like. Two little flicks for each perfon, and
fome tea dimes or pots with meat cut in pieces,
make the whole arrangement in a collation.
They drink either tea without fugar, or a
wretched fort of brandy called famfu y during
their meals. And with this they treat one
•another, fo that no one drinks off his own cup,
but each carries hiscup to the other's mouth and
lets him drink, and the other returns this civi-
lity with his cup of Jamfiu They make no
compliments before or after meals. They eat
haflily, and take three or four good meals a
day. Their provifions are not dear, and it is
faid a workman may maintain himfelf upon
two {livers a day, (id.) at leaftonewho lives
upon plucking of tea leaves will fcarce be able
to gtt more a day.
Pork and nfli are the common food the
Cbinefe eat with their rice. But flefh is
lefs ufual ; the mod uncommon is beef, then
goat's flefh and mutton, next rabbits, he.
hares and venifon I have never feen. It is
faid the Chinefe like horfe-flem, dogs, and rats.
Frogs,
CHINA. 1751. 299
Frogs, called Kopp-na by the Cbinefe, are
fold here in every ftreet. They tie them to-
gether with a thread about their bodies, and
carry them alive in bafkets; and they are the
dainties of the Ghinefe> though they are little
different from our common frogs, as appears
from the following defcription :
Rana (Chinenfis) palmis tetradaclylis fffis,
plantis bexadaftylis digito indlce reliquis lo?i-
giore. The paws have four diftincl fingers,
which are almofl of equal length ; but the
fecond and fourth is a little fhorter : on the
feet are fix joined toes, thefeare palmated : the
firfl and third are equally long ; the fourth is
fhorter ; the fifth flill fhorter ; the fixth, or
innermoft, the fhorteit ; but the fecond the
longefl of all. The body is warty at the top,
with ftreaks of black brown ; white below :
the throat is white, fpeckled with black : the
belly is white, without fpots, except on the
fides: the eyes are black, the hides yellow
gold : the fore and hind legs blackifh yellow,
with whitim fpots on the outward fide. The
ipalma and k plant <z are flefh-coloured, and in-
clining to black. I here am put in mind of
vvhit I read in the Turkijlj Spy, Loud. 1748,
vol.
i Paws, k Feet.
S oo OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
vol. iii. p. 167. viz. that the French in 1646,
began to cat frogs and muihrooms, being prefix-
ed by hunger.
Buffaloes (Bos Indicus) are ufed to plough
with, and foreigners buy them to kill. Thefe
oxen are generally wilder than ours ; however
I ventured through the midfl of a whole herd
of them. They are generally grey, their
hams almoft ftrait, fomewhat angulated. A
buffaloe colts at prefent 10 tel, and a calf two
tel and live mefs.
Their goats are (as far as 1 could fee) no
way different from owrs.
The deep of this country have little horns,
and fhort tails, which are one lump of fat,
and oblong. Thefe fheep are no bigger than
the Swedijh deep, but grow fo fat on the dry
Chinefe mountains, that mutton tafles better
here than in any other place in the world :
and they iiktwife fell dearer than in any other
country. A flieep cofts here 15 plates, and
Sometimes more. A: prefent it is fold at four
tel and eight mefs, which is thought very
cheap. In a climate which is fo warm, where
wool is not wanted, and cotton and filk are
plentiful, they are lefs neceffary.
The
CHINA. 1751* 301
The Chinefe Swine (Sus Chinenjts) are al-
ready fo well defcribed 1 that I can add no-
thing. They are generally either black or
white. They propagate more than ours, and
are cleanly ; for which reafon they are kept
in houfes like dogs. They alfo fometimes go
into the ftreets, but never wallow in dirty-
places ; however, I have been told by one of
our husbandmen, that when they come to
Sweden and fee the uncleannefs of our fwine,
they fometimes take to the fame manner of
living. The Chinefe hams are much efteemed
by the Europeans. The katty is commonly
fold for one mefs, or a piaftre apiece, which
is nine dollars and fix ocre copper money ;
but they are very little, and what they want
in weight is made up by a piece of firing to
which the ham is f aliened. The goodnefs of
the hams doubtlefs depends upon the manner
of faking and fmoaking, but likewife much
upon the food of the animal, by which they
get a better tafte, and more flefli. It is more
agreeable to nature to allow the animal dur-
ing its fattening fome moderate exercife, than
1 Linnai Iter Wsjlrogothk. p. 6z, and Iter Scamcum,
to
5 o2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
to confine it in a narrow fiye ; in which,
though they get more fat, yet it is not fo
good ; and who knows whether it is not more
unwholefome ?
Chicken of feveral forts are to be met
with here, and are fold at fuch a price, that a
pound came to about 10 flivers. But here,
as well as in every other tranfaction with the
Chinefe, you muft take care of being cheated.
One of my countrymen can teflify this, who
buying fome chicken, the feathers of which
were curioufly curled, found in a few days
time, the feathers growing flraight, and that
his chicken were of the moil common fort.
The Chinefe had curled the feathers up like a
wig, a little before he was going to fell them.
This is an inflance of a Chinefe who fpares
neither time nor pains if he can only gain
money, whether by fair or fraudulent means.
Eggs were fold at three (livers apiece, (two
cas.)
The Chinefe goofe is not unknown to us
{Anas cygnoides (3. orient a lis) ; fome had yellow
bills, but they are ufually black. Compare
with this Linn. Iter Weflrogoih. p. 145.
The
CHINA. 1751. 203
The Chinefe quails (Tetrao Chinenfis) have
already been mentioned as being ufed inftead
of muffs by the Chinefe. We bought feveral
females to make into pies on our voyage.
We gave three kandarin apiece for them.
The cock quails are larger, dearer, and more
fcarce.
Con us (Chinenfis) Jlriis tranfverfis reirorfum
imbrkatis, called Ha-ing by the Chinefe , is a
fort of almoff, round fhells; the animal of
which is taken out, put into water, and fold
in every ftreet by the name of Ha-in-yo.
As the Chinefe live moftly on roots, fruits,
and pot-herbs, the country hereabouts is al-
moft all garden. Befides rice, fugar-canes,
and Chinefe potatoes, I have obferved the fol-
lowing forts :
Pease of feveral kinds are fown here, and
likewife two fpecies of beans, which are not
ufual in our country, for they require more
warmth than our climate affords. I have per-
fected fome however in Swede?! by a hot-bed.
One fort is called by the Europeans
Callvanses
304 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Callvanses (Dolichos Sinenfts m ~). They
are planted on dry hills, and are treated like
dwarf kidney beans. They do not grow high,
and therefore do not much want to be fup-
ported ; this however is done in fome places,
and efpecially where they ftand in the open
fields, which have no hedge or fence round t
nor are fences neceffary, as the cattle are al-
ways kept in the paftures by herdfmen. Thefe
beans are of the fmalleft kind, and are quite
white, except the germen, which is black,
but white in the middle. The Europeans buy
them in great quantities, and make ufe of them
in their return from China inftead of peafe.
They have thin hulks, and are very palatable.
A katty, which anfwers to a pound we ufe
for grocery, was fold for two kandarin, or
about three (livers.
Lack-tao n is the Chinefe name of another
fort of beans, or rather peafe, which are
much lefs" than our wild vetches. The plant
itfelf grows like the former, upright, and
m Dolichos (Sinenfis) caule ere&o ramofiffimo, pedun-
culis eredtis muhifloris, leguminibus pendulis; Chinenfibus
lao.
» Phafeolus Max, Mungo Perfarum.
wants
CHIN A* tjiil 305
wants no fupport in cafe it is not too much ex-
poled to the wind. It is treated as the former*
With thefe pcafe they feed the parrots.
Among the many feeds which I brought to
Sweden, was a kind of fmall green peafe,
which was fo nicely eat up by the worms at
my arrival, that nothing but the hulks were
left, which ferved as a nidlis to the little
beetles, with which they were almoft filled.
They were doubriefs (lifted in the paper into
which I had put the peafe.
Fdau-fu, or Tou-fu, which has been men-
tioned page 2 1 8j was fold by pieces in feveral
places. The Cklneje (hewed me a fort of
fmall peafe, which they call U-avg-teo, and
of which cheefe is faid to be made, though the
name gives reafon to conjecture that it has
been made from Tao, which are the Chimfe
beans, or Calhavfcs.
Ling-kamm, or Lcng-ha among' the Chi-
nefe, (Trapa naiahs -) is a fruit which looks
like two herns put together, and has a kernel
in the middle. It was fold in the (hops which
We fhould call huckfters, and enten by poof
* Trapa bicornis, Vid. 'Plum. tccn. T. 67.
^ T o l. I. X people.
3 o6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
people. I faw in one place a very fmall tea
pot, whofe handle was made of this fruit.
Kamm-katt is the name of a fort of fmali
lemons, which are not much larger than cher-
ries.
Ayq.ua, fee page 297.
Samm-nim is the name which is here given
to an oblong, yellow, fourifh fruit, with five
deep furrows (Averrhoa Bilimbi) which has
the quality of lemons, but is fooner fpoiled.
The Chinefe make a conferve of this fruit,
becaufe it then becomes more palatable. I
have been told that it is called Kala-mang.
L e m t y e s {Citrus medico). With this
compare page 208 p. Though the Chinefe are
forbid to fell punch prepared with the juice of
Lcm-tyes to the men on board the mips, yet
* The Jhm is round, fomewhat rough, a(h-coloured,
with pale ftreaks. The boughs grow in no particular order,
are expanded, bent backwards, and have feldom any thorns.
The young jhoots have Mrait thorns, which are very (harp,
and Hand either alternately or in the corners of the boughs.
The haves are alternate, lanceolato-oblong, petiolated, fome-
what emarginated, The petioli are (harpened, and of an
equal bieadth.
they
CHINA, 1751. 307
they hand many a bowl full through the port
holes ; but fometimes the fellers have the mor-
tification of not being paid for their forbidden
goods, and the buyers get dyfentaries or other
bad difeafes ; for the juice which is taken be-
fore the fruit is ripe for this purpofe, is very
unwholefome. The trees which are fold in
pots are feldom above a yard high, and looked
like lemon trees. A hundred of thofe fruits
were fold for one -ftiver and a half.
Here are two forts of China oranges (Citrus
ftnenfis). The firft is that called the Manda-
rin-orange, whofe peel is quite loofe, and the
Chinefe call them Kamm, and it is the beft
kind. The peel of the other fort fits clofe ;
it is called Tiang, or rather Kang, the better
to diftinguifh them from oranges.
Here alfo are two forts of Lemons {Citrus
dccumand) See page 150, which are called
Too by the Chinefe. The firft is round, and
its name is Lo-yao ; and the fecond, called Han-
yao, is long, and is ufually offered as a facritice
to their idols.
Reixettes, and other forts of apples,
are eaten in the country; but I doubt whether
th^y grew about Canton.
X 2 Lat-yee
3 o8 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Lat-yee is the Chbiefe name of a fruit,
which is here eaten with tea. This fruit taftes
almoft like a fort of our plumbs, and looks
like large gall-apples, covered with a browniih,
thin, and warty lkin*
Lang -an is lefs than Lat-yee ; they have a
fmooth Jkin, and fweet pulp, as in the Lat-
yee <i .
Plain tain tree, (Mufa paradijlacd) fee
page 151, is called Tfeu by the Cbinefe* When
the yellow ikin is pulled off; which muft be
done by the fingers without a knife, that the
iron may not alter the tafte, the fruit itfelf is
as foft as dough, and of an agreeable fweet-
nefs. It is believed that Adam after his tranf-
greflion in paradife covered himfelf with the
fp reading leaves of this plant r *
Mango (Mangifera Indica) is the name of
that fruit which is in China fold by the name
*5 An CufTambium? Rumpb. lib. i. p. 154, T. 57.
r The Plaintain tree has flowered for the firft time in the
year 1755, in the Vpfal garden, and has alfo brought forth
ripe fruits.
Of
CHINA. 1751. 309
of gualmao, and in the Javanic language is
called Po.
Guayava (PJidium Guajava) is likewife
eaten here *.
Oriental MuJIard (Sinapis orientalist
Pack-la are Chinefe olives.
Tamarinds, (Tamarindus Indica) in Java
called Sunda ajfa : but the tree and fruit arc
called Thampahou.
Gourd s, Melons, and Water-melons, which
are red on the infide.
Leck of two forts, viz. Tfong, and Lofra.
The katty is fold for two kanderin*
Radishes. A kanderin is the price of a
hundred of thefe roots.
Long turneps, at one ftiver and a half the
hundred.
* The inhabitants of Java call it Nyamba-cuneng,
Rumpb. I. p. 141. T. 47.
X 3 Carrot:
5 io OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Carrots of the white fort were not very
good. The Chinefe pound of them was fold
for four flivers.
Gnao, or Laen-gao (Nymphaa Nelumbo) is
a fort of white roots of the thicknefs of car-
rots, but longer, articulated like a bamboo-
flick, and hollow in the infide. Poor people
eat them raw, but they are not very palat-
able. They are planted in a moift clay
ground.
O-o-tao are roots fo called by the Chinefe ;
they cannot be eaten raw, becaufe the acidity
would prevent the action of fwallowing. None
of us Europeans would tafle them.
Bamboo roots {Arundo bambos) is what we
call Ajla, when preferved with fait, vinegar,
leek, and Guinea pepper (Capficuni). This
is the only root of all thofe above mentioned
which we make ufe of. A pot of Afia is fold
here for eleven dollars copper money.
Preserved ginger > or the Kaong of the
Chinefe.
Dry
CHINA. 1751. 311
Dry ginger. This is valued at fix (livers
per pound.
Fann-sio, or Fay-Jio r , the Chinefe potatoes,
grow with long tendrils, which they extend
along the ground. They are multiplied either
by planting the tendrils which are cut off in
the ground ; or by cutting the roots as we do.
Thefe potatoes are quite different from ours,
and feem to be natives of a warmer climate,
for they never flower in China, (o that they
would hardly grow with us, though they are
more palatable, and perhaps more wholefome
than ours. They are planted in the dry fandy
fields, at a diflance from each other, manured
with human dung, and kept clean from weeds,
which rule is obferved in all plantations. A
hundred Chinefe potatoes were fold for about
one {liver and a half.
Tdai-sio u , or Tarns (Diofcorea alatd) is
a dry root of different fhapes, about as big as
* This plant is, to my certain knowledge, the Spanijb
potatoe, Con-volvulus batatas, Linn, or Convolvulus radict
tubtrofa efculenia minore purpurea, Sloane Cat. Mill. Ditt. ii.
C fr. Kalm's American voyage, Part II.
8 The flems wind to the left, and arife between leaf
and ualk. The leaves are oppofite to each other, cordato-
X 4 two
3i2 OSBECK^S VOYAGE.
two fids, fometimes larger, fometimes lefs.
In many places of India it is ufed inftead of
bread. The katty was at prefent fold for a
kanderin and two I>as. Thefe roots are plant-
ed like the potatoes on high places, about
half a yard afunder, and a quarter of a yard
deep. They grpw ten months ; and when fuch
a root is taken out, it weighs fome pounds.
In winter they keep them in fand. Before they
are planted, the rotten parts are cutoff; and
before they are eaten, they are put into water,
that their bitter tafte may in part be extracted.
The lowermoft joint of the root is pentagonal,
the next hexagonal, the third Jieptagonal, the
fourth tetragonal, which I obferved in thofe
roots which I planted in pots, and took with
me to Sweden ; which grew very well. If
they bear fo great a change of climate, th'ej
may very likely in time be inured to our air
and (hort fummers, and be of no fmall advan-
tage to our husbandry,
Siuu, Chinefe truffles *, are carried about:
for fale in the ftreet:,
f?£;tated or heart-fhaped, though almoft like the head of
%w anew, pointed, and have three flrong nerves.
* Confer. Siooro tubera efcuknta. K*mpb. Am<zn. p. 832,
CHINA. 1751, 313
Chinese cabbage^, is very like our white
cabbage. Among all the cabbages which we
bought for our fhip I did not fee one head but
they were all in flower. This makes me doubt
whether the white cabbage, which in our
country requires more than one year before
it arrives to fructification, may not by the
warmth of this country blofibm the firfl year,
inflead of forming heads.
Celery and Spinage, which is here called
Boat-fay.
Convolvulus reptans, by the Chinefe called
Or-fay, was fold to our men inftead of fpin«
age, but is, in regard to genus, totally differ-
ent from the true fpinage. This creeping
Convolvulus grows fpontaneoufly every where,
in ditches, and low places : of the true fpinage
I only faw the feeds. We daily eat of the
new fafhioned fpinage, without fuffering the
lead inconvenience. This may give us a hint
to make ufe of our common Convolvulus in the
* Brajfica Chinenf.s or as the Chinefe call it Kay-lann '.
the leaves of the calyx are alternately narrower. Another
fort, which the Chinefe call Pack-fc-a, with a bulbofe roof,
is fold here like wife,
fields^
314 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
fields, which is very like this Chinefe fpinage,
inftead of true fpinage.
The leaf of a kind of pepper called Betel
{Piper betle Linnau) is wrapt about the nuts,
which the Chinefe are continually chewing.
Chinese mujhrooms s ; of thefe the katty,
or pound, is fold at Canton for two mes, but
they took four kanderin more per katty when
they brought them on board the mips.
Here is no other water than that which is
taken out of the river. For fix hours together
the fait water is brought up into it by the tide,
and during that time its water is by no means
drinkable. And though the water required
for common ufes is taken during the fix hours
of ebbing, yet it is fomewhat brackifh and
muddy. Thus the people here, for want of
good water, are obliged to boil the bad, and
to mend its tafle with fome tea.
The Chinefe always drink tea without fugar
or milk. The frefli Honam, or Canton tea,
which is not agreeable to other peoples palate,
h moil ufual in town. They make ufe of no
* Agaricus Chinenfis, cfr. Fungus, K.emph. 832.
tea-pot,
CHINA. 1751- 3*5
tea-pot, but only a tea-kettle, which they put
into a wooden veffel, to keep it warm the
longer : but the poor have none but thele
wooden veffels, without any brafs or copper
kettle in it.
Chinese brandy, (Skee-et fa da) which we
likewife call famfu, is never drunk except at
meals, and inftead of tea. It is unneceffary
here to hang up figns to denote the houfes
where fpirituous liquors are fold ; for the dii-
agreeable fmell of the famfu is a fufficient
guide.
The Cbinefe wine, which our Eaft India
traders call Mandarin wine, is fqueezed out
of a fruit which is here called Paufio, and
reckoned the fame with our grapes. This
wine was fodifagreeable to us, that none of
us would drink it. The Eaft India fliips never
fail taking wine to China, where they often
fell it to confiderable advantage. The Xeres a
wine, for which at Cadiz we paid 13 piaflres
an anchor, we fold here at 33 piaftres an an-
chor. But in this cafe you (land a chance of
having your tons fplit by the heat during the
voyage. I have fince been told, that in 1 754*
the price of wine was fo much lowered at Can-
* Sherry.
7 m
2 :6 O SBECK'S VOYAGE.
ton, that our people could with difficulty re-
imburfe themfelves. The Spaniards fend
wines to Manilla and Macao, whence the Chi-
nefe fetch a confiderable quantity, efpecially
for the court of Peking* The wine of Xeres
is more agreeable here than any other fort,
on account of its ftrength, and becaufe it k
not liable to change by heat. The Chinefe are
very temperate in regard to wine, and many
dare not empty a fingle glafs, at leaft not at
once. Some, however, have learned from
foreigners to exceed the limits of temperance,
efpecially v/hen they drink with them at free
ccft.
Beer, and fmall beer, is not brewed in this
country : all the ftrong beer which is fold at
Cqnlm comes from England, in very flrong
c^.'ks.
.Arrack, is well known among us, {incethe
ufe of punch has been introduced. This li-
quor comes from Goa and Baia-via to China ,
but is not, as fome have related, made in
China, of rice alone. It might fooner be ima-
gined that it is made of Areca, fince this tree
is called Araquero by the Portuguese. If Ar-
rack was diftilled of rice, the Chinefe (who
havo
CHINA. x,75:i* 317
have fuch plenty of rice) would, without
doubt, take this advantage from others, and
keep it to themfelves. Thefe people do not
want induftry. But to make arrack, not only
rice, and fugar canes, but likewife cocoa-nuts
are required, as I have been told by a perfon
that comes from Batavia. While a fufricient
degree of heat is wanted in China for the
Cocoa-tree, its inhabitants will be obliged to
fetch arrack from thofe countries where this
fort of palm grows fpontaneoufly ; among
which Goa, on the Indian coaft, and Batavia,
on the iQe of Java, are the mod noted.
The arrack from Goa is weaker, paler, more
fcarce, and commonly dearer, becaufe that
place is the furtheft off. The arrack from Ba~
tavia is like French brandy, but is fo vari-
able, that fometimes it is but half as ftrong
as at others, though the price continues the
fame. For this reafon the buyers ought to
provide themfelves with an inftrumenr, which
by its rifing or falling fhews how ftrong the
arrack is. Our Eaji India traders buy the
Batavia arrack from the Dutch mips, and the
Goa arrack from the EngHJJ) ; but in Suratie
it may be had at fir ft hand. A liggar of Ba-
tavia arrack was fold from 44 to 50 piaftres ;
and a quart of it came to 1 2 dollars of copper
money,
3i8 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
money, inftead of fix plates, which it was
fold at about two years ago. The duty upon
arrack is three dollars of copper money per
quart. The company has lately begun to carry
arrack to Sweden on its own account ; all was
conveyed before by private perfons, under
the name of proviiion for the voyage. It is
known to almofl every one how punch is made ;
but, that it may be obferved for the future
where it is made to its greatefl perfection, I
will mention the true proportion of its condi-
ment parts a . To a quart of boiling water,
half a pint of arrack is taken, to which one
pound of fugar, and five or fix lemons, or in-
flead of them as many tamarinds as are necef-
fary to give it the true acidity, are added : a
nutmeg is likewife grated into it. The punch
which is made for the men in our fhip was
heated with red hot iron balls which were
thrown into it. Thofe who can afford it,
make punch aufual drink after dinner. While
we flayed in China, we drunk it at dinner in-
a If the Englijb reader mould be inclined to fmile at
feeing a receipt for punch fo gravely introduced, let him
confider that it proves the fimple and abitemious life of the
Swedes, and how little they are acquainted with thofe luxu-
ries fo common to the reft of Euroje. F.
{lead
CHINA. 1751. 319
(lead of the wine which the company allowed
the firfl table.
The Chinefe drink no coffee, except with
the Europeans, though the berries might be
procured from Java.
Turkish tobacco (Nicotiana riiftica) which
has the colour of our dried tobacco, is univer-
falJy fmoaked in China, both by the old
and young. Their pipes are long and
black; the heads are very fmall, have the
fhape of the cups of acorns, and are made of
White metal. They very often fmoak while their
tobacco pipes hang on a ribband on one fide.
Blindness is efteemed the infirmity of this
country. Authors relate, that many Chinefe
are blind ; but I have not obferved it. It is
true, they may flay in their houfes ; but in
the ftreets I never faw more than three or four
blind old beggar-women, and one or two blind
children, among fo many thoufand people.
It was lucky that I found fo few, as a Granger
could elfe fcarcely pafs. For a blind old wo-
man comes with a wooden cliili in her hand,
and cries, Lou-tayaTJJaves-laiuma ; if (lie then
catches a flranger, by the directions of the
other
3 23 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
other Chinefe, me hangs with all her might
about his feet or body, and cries, with an
agreeable look, Palata, Senior b , which figni-
fies Moneys Sir, and does not loofe her hold
till {he has been fatisfied. Some are of Opi-
nion that the eating of rice is the occafion of
blindnefs. Perhaps it is the effects of the
fteam rifing from the hot rice. But why mould
not the fame happen in other places of lndia i
where the fame food is made ufe of? It may
be afcribed to many other caufes. The huf-
bandmen, who have a great deal of bufmefs
with human dung, may hare their eyes hurt
by it. The japanners too may be injured by
the flrong varnifh, which affects the eyes
Trorfe than horfe-radifh. The flrong fmoak
arifing every evening from their perfuming
chips, may likewife contribute to it. I once
afked a Chinefe about it, and he told me that
the waQiing with warm water, which they do
every morning, was the caufe of it. But none
of the caufes can be confidered as univerfal,
for mod of the blind people are, according to
the accounts of the Chinefe themfelves, born
blind. And in this cafe, the caufe is to be
looked for in the mother.
* From the Spanijh words Plata Scnor.
Fevers
CHINA. 1751. 321
Fevers, and other difeafes ufual in our
country, are likewife not unfrequent here.
But thofe- who have had an opportunity of
being better acquainted with the fick in this
town, are better able to defcribe their diftem-
pers. It is faid that a confumption is in this
country cured by a glue of affes (kin, called
Okeeao. This glue has a very bad tafte, and
you either take a piece of it into your mouth,
or diffolve it in tea.
Wounds and fores are the Worft diforders
here. Poor people who are plagued with
them, mull not only fuffer the greateft pains
during the great heats, for want of furgeons ;
but rauft likewife carry their difgrace about
them ; and only cover themfelves with mats,
when they are obliged to go about the (beets.
Wood is feldom or never made ufe of,
but coals fupply its place ; and their confump-
tion is fo much the greater. There is no oc-
cafion for a fire in the rooms, except in
the mod rigorous cold, or on account of fick
people. On this occafion the room is warmed
by means of a little Hove, which is fet in the
middle of the room. Thefe little ffoves are
Vol. I. Y extremely
322 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
extremely convenient, and deferve to be made
known univerfally in our country. Some of
our company took fuch ftoves • with them to
Gothenburgh, as models for thofe who might
want to know their confl: ruction.
There is no occafion to fear any beads of
prey ; but the men have affumed their fero-
city, and aflault ftrangers frequently with
ftones and infults. Murders are feldom heard
of: but a Cbinefe makes very little of ftripping
people to the fhirt. I here will add an ac-
count dated at Canton, November the 7th,
1747. " Captain Congreve being happily ar-
" rived at Canton, with the Englijh {hip Onflow,
" took a walk upon the French IJland (an iile
" near the road where the Europeans anchor),
" where he was foon attacked by fome Cbinefe,
" They took, without much ado, all his money,
<f gold, filver, and buckles ; they cut the gilt
" buttons off his coat, and he would hardly
" have preferved his finger, if he had not
" pulled a ring off with all his might and
" given it thera. After he had been quite
" {tripped, he returned to his boat. But the
" next day, being Sunday, he armed his boats,
" and landed in the fame iile with fixty of his
" men, who had fixed their bayonets, and
were
C H I N A. 1751- 323
u were provided with four fmall cannons : he
" marched his men before Wam-pu, a town ia
" this ifle, and began to fire. The inhabi-
** tants were immediately put into the greatefl
" confufion, and the principal mandarins im-
" mediately came to him, to defire him to
" ceafe the attack, being very willing to give
" him fatisfaclion. The captain told them,
" that he had been ftripped the day before,
fC and now was come to revenge himfelf and
" other people who had been infulted by
" thofe rogues ; that he would not ceafe till
" fatisfaclion fhould be made him by the pu-
" nilhment of the malefactors. During this
" time, the robbers were fearched for in the
" town, and four of them were apprehended,
" who, in the prefence of the captain, had
u their hands and feet tied together, and were
" fent to Canton to receive further punifli-
" ment c ."
Plays were acted gratis in the ftreets. A
fcaffold is built quite acrofs the ftreets, here
and there, but commonly at the corner
houfes, from one corner to the other. The
c A like example fee in Lord Anfons Voyage roand the
World, p. 360, Src. D. Scbreber.
Y 2 fcaffold
324 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
fcaffold is about fix yards above the ground,
fo that any one may with eafe pafs under it.
It is clofely covered with boards, and chairs
are placed on it for the a&ors and muficians.
The players generally wear long gowns, and
foirietimes are dreffed like harlequins. The
inhabitants are no doubt better pleafed with
their finging, bawling, and mimickries, than
the Europeans, who are ufed to fee their own
theatrical entertainments much more fkilfully
conduced. Thefe plays are afted in the be-
ginning of autumn, both in the ftreets on
account of good fuccefs in trade, and likewife
in houfes after meals, to infpire the guefts
with mirth. The fpeclators fit upon the roofs
or in the windows, thofe excepted who flop
in the ftreets while paffing. The Ch'inefe play
at cards fometimes ; but their cards have a dif-
ferent form from ours, and have but half their
breadth. They likewife play at another game
which requires a great deal of thought, and
goes on very ilowly, and is managed with two
(tones, which are moved on a board, fome-
what after the manner of chefs.
The children play at night with their birds,
kites, and butterflies of paper, which they
fend up into the air.
September
C H I N A. 1751. 5 2 5
September the 8th, 1751.
To-day, being the fifteenth Sunday after
Trinity, 1 preached in the factory in the
fuburbs of Canton, and fome Chinefe came to
hear me. In the afternoon I patted the river
in a boat, and landed at the little town of
Holam, or Honam. Here was a large pagoda,
or Chinefe place of worfhip (if there are not
feveral one above another) ; round about it
were built houfes for the priefts and their
(rewards. Between the more and thele houfes
is a broad way, or great fpace, furrounded
with large high trees, which were called
Leean-fee. At the entrance flood two gilt
images, fomewhat bigger than life. On the
fides lay large blocks of wood, which were
intended for the imperial palace at Peking.
My company fat down at the uppermoff.
Pagoda and eat fome water-melons, but I had
a greater inclination towards the plants that
grew hereabouts ; for which reafon I went
to the other fide of the houfe. Here I was
met by a Chinefe, who offered me a filled to-
bacco pipe ; but, on my refufing to accept of
it, he took hold of my coat, and endeavoured
Y 5 with
%i6 5 BECK'S VOYAGE,
with all his might to take my knee-buckles. I
at lai't got rid of this fellow, who, however
endeavoured to do me a favour in return, and
fet number of boys at me, who pelted tne
with fand and pebbles. I was therefore ob-
liged to join my company, and give over my
amufement. In the mean while I had found
the following plants :
Mirabilis odorata, which grew in the fame
fituation as nettles generally do in our country.
■ Convolvulus hedcraceus.
Scirpus glome rat us.
Nymphaa Nelumbo, growing in a ditch in the
yard, which was dry.
Near this place was a garden, but neither
entreaties nor money could procure me an en-
trance- We faw Lemon trees, and the Nym-
pbtca, through the door. We went to the
houfe where the furveyor of it lived. Here
was a little gilt human figure, on an altar,
which was one of the lares of this Qhlnefe.
We were well received in his room : and he
immediately ordered a difh of tea without fu r
gar, and a tobacco-pipe to be given us, but
.did net defire us to fit down. We were after-
wards prefented with two forts of fruit, which
in
CHINA. 1751. 327
in their language are called La-tyce and Long-
an d , and which have already been mentioned.
We went further on to the right, into a little
wood, confiding moftly of Bamboo trees, of
which our light Bamboo walking-flicks are
made, which we get from the Cbinefe. The
wood is light and exceeding tough, for which
reafon it is more ufed than any other fort.
The Cbinefe cover their boats with it, and
build their warehoufes, called Bancjhals, near
Wam-pu, for the European mips, of that fort
of wood ; and their own houfes are partly of
the fame. It fupplies them with flicks to carry
any thing upon, for chairs, beds, tables, rails,
fails, angling-rods, hats, cafes for guns, fans,
weavers combs, painting-brufhes, bowers,
fpouts, and troughs for cattle ; in which latter
cafe, the wood is fplit afunder. Thefe Reed-
trees are of all fizes, from the bignefs of a
quill, to that of a yard round, and more ; and
many yards long. The tree flowers, as the
Cbinefe fay, every fixtieth year only c . It
appeared to me that there are two forts of this
tree in this country : one grew on the hills, no
d The leaves of this tree are palmated, and have eleven
lanceolated lacinia, fmooth at top, and downy below-
The flowers grow in clutters, and have five filaments.
* In the year 1754. 1 got fome flowers from China.
Y 4 higher
323 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
higher than about two yards, and is very ra-
mofe and full of fpines f ; and the other in
lower places, as high as eighteen feet, and
without fpines s. We went through the little
wood of Bamboo trees, and came to a high
even fpot, where the Chinefe buried their
dead.
Some coffins flood above the ground, and
were put clofe to the trees like' bee-hives.
They occafioned a flench, which made me keep
off. In this manner they bury thofe whofe
kindred is either unknown, or who come from
?ery diflant parts.
In the burying-place I found
Euphorbia neriifolia, which is ufed for
hedges.
Solan urn diphyllum*
Hibifcus ficulneus .
Frutex baccis albis, folils obverfe ovatis,
Nydajithes hirfuta : the calyx is cylindrical,
fexfid, with equal lacinia. The corolla have
f Arundo arbor fpinofa, Rumph.iv. p. 14. t. 11.
s Arundo arbor fera, Rumpb. iv. p. 16. t. 3. cfr. Gron.
flat, orient." 32, -3, Rauwpjf. ixer. p. 97.
eight
CHINA. 1751. 3*9
eight oblong pointed lacinia:, which are ftiorter
than the tube : the filaments are fhort : the
anthera are oblong, and longer than the fila-
ments. The leaves are elliptically lanceolated,
frequently oval, undulated, oppofite. The flower
ftalkr. Hand between the leaves and ft em,
(axillares).
Curcuma Chinenjis.
Gratiola Virginica.
Citrus aurantium.
Clematis Chinenjis : it has many charafterif-
tics in common with the Clematis vitalba ; but
the leaves are narrow, lanceolated, and the
flowers fmaller.
Achjranthes Chinenjis: the calyx is double,
and longer than the pentapetalous corolla,
which it includes : the exterior calyx, or
flower-cup, is lefs and bifid; the interior quin-
quifid: the flowers grow at the top of the
ftalks, in cluflers : the flower-italks proceed
from the corner of the leaves : the leaves are
lanceolated, oppofite, venofe, fmooth : the
item is red.
Achyranthes lappacea, fol. oppofiiis.
Carpefium abrotanoides.
Si da fpinofa.
Polygonum
33° OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Polygonum Chinenfe.
Yitex Negundo.
Poa Chinenfis.
Poa tenella.
In ihady places :
Carina Indie a,
Cajjica fophora.
Hedyfarum Gangeticum.
Apluda mutica.
Panicum arborcfeem, which grew out of
the wall, is a fort of grafs of an odd fort ; for
ir grows to ten or twelve feet high, and is very
ramofe.
As night advanced, we were obliged to
return to Canton, for which reafon I referved
mv amufement for another day.
Phal^ena atlas Linn, is one of the finefr.
moths which can be met with h . I found
fome of them in a merchant's mop : they were
all alive, upon a branch of the Nerium
h Cfr. Petiv. Gazophyl. nat. etartis, decas I. t. 8. f. 7.
Papilio Indie us maximus, Valentini Mufeum, "• p. t6S.
Oleander,
• CHINA. 1751. 331
Oleander, and fuffered themfelves to be carried
on it to the factory, where I fluck them upon ,
pins ; but the windows being open in the
night, a bat came in and eat them all but the
wings. However I got fome afterwards in a
little box of infects, which the Ch'mefe bring
to fell. Thefe boxes were made of Tya-?nock,
and other coarfe wood, without covering, and
lined with paper. Such a box full of butter-
flies, the Ch'mefe fold at half a piaftre. In
the box were about ten or twelve forts, but
many of each fort. In their mops are no
Hemiptera except Cicada Chinenfis, nor any
Coleoptera except Buprejlls maxima. Perhaps
it is the opinion of the Ch'mefe, that other in-
fects do not ftrike the eye fo much as butter-
flies. I feldom found any but butterflies in the
fields ; but it is probable that others may be
met with in fpring, though they were not via-
ble in the other feafons of the year. The
butterflies which were expofed to fale in the
afore-mentioned boxes were :
Pap Mo Helena.
Deiphobus.
Dijfiniilis,
* ■ Similis*
Papi-
2 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Papilio Tryphe.
. Agamemnon,
. C. Aureum.
i Orythia.
■ P amnion.
■ Aonis.
— Leucothoe.
De?nolcus.
Troilus.
. ■ Paris.
Midamus.
— Mineus.
- Euippe.
- Almana.
- Plexippus.
- Chryfippus,
- Philoclctes.
The ioth of September.
The weather was fine and clear, fuch as it
had been for fome days pafc,
The
CHINA. 1751. 333
The fruit of the Avicennla tomentofa> which
by our apothecaries is called Anacardium ori-
entale, was brought hither in a Szvedifo fhip
from Suratie. This fruit in bulk and hardnefs
equals a nut, but is blackifh, and foraewhat
compreffed, and contains, inflead of a kernel,
a thick black juice, with which names are
written upon cotton, fluffs, and handkerchiefs,
as with ink, though it does not flow fo well.
The letters are covered while wet with quick
lime, which makes them lad in warning, and
prevents them from hurting the Huff.
I now longed to fee the country without the
town, and fome of my fellow travellers ho-
noured me with their company. We had
fcarce palfed through the principal flreets of
the fuburbs, but a croud of boys gathered
about us, who perhaps looked upon us as am-
baffadors from the moon, or fome fuch odd
animals, whom they were obliged to attend out
of the city with an univerfal clamour: the croud
continually increafed, and particularly in the
Miller* s : ftreet 9 in all the houfes of which, on
both fides, rice is pounded and ground.
Little flones, fand, and dirt being thrown
at us, we made the beft of our way
3 out
334 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
out of the fuburbs, to get rid of our dis-
agreeable retinue.
We left the city with its wall on the right,
and faw on both fides of the road only plough-
ed grounds, or great narrow clay fields, cover-
ed with rice, Nymphaa Nelumbo, and Sagitta-
ria bulbis oblongis \ The laft mentioned plant
is juft like our SwediJJo arrowhead above the
ground, it only grows larger, which may be
owing to the culture ; the roots of the Chinefe
fort are the fize of a clenched fift, and are
oblong, and the Swedijh are round, and not
much larger than peafe.
We change the quality of the ground by
draining the water, and other arts, till we
make it agreeable to our few forts of corn ;
but the Chinefe make ufe of fo many plants
for their fubfiftence, that they can fcarce have
any fort of ground, but what will fit fome one
of them. Thus they do not improve the
1 The Chinefe call it Succoyee-fa. It is larger than ours :
the ftem and the flower-iialks are hexagonal, and pretty
ftrong : the leaves have eleven red nerves, of which the
middle ones are ramofe on both fides : the leaves under the
flowers (BraHete) are oval-pointed : the flowers are urn-
bellated> and commonly thirty- three in number.
field
CHINA. 1751. 355
field for the feed, but chufe the feed for the
field. Rice (Oryza fat ha) grows under
water : Nymph a a and Sagittaria grow in
water : Sugarcane (Saccharum officinale) and
Potatoes {Convolvulus Batatas) want a lefs
moifl foil. If it is frill more dry, it will do for
Tarns (Diofcorea alatd). Indigo (Jndigofcra
tinclorid) and Cotton (GoJJypium herbaceum)
grow on the higheft mountains. If a moun-
tain fhould happen to be too dry, it ferves for
a burying-place. But if a foil be ever fo wet,
the Chinefe .have a plant that grows in it, and
ferves for food to men. If we could not imi-
tate the Chinefe in our tillage ; yet we might
manage the paftures in the fame manner. Let
us fuppofe a piece of ground whofe fituation
will not afford fo much fail to the water as to
let it run off: now no meadow is fo wet but
Poa aquatica grows on it; which we fetched
out of other countries, till we difcovered this
excellent grafs in Weflgothland, in ponds, rivers,
and the like places. No hill is fo dry but
Fefluca ovina grows well on it. For want of
money, and the workmen neceffary to work in
the ponds, a poor farm may be greatly im-
proved by a fimple imitation of nature ; name-
ly, if the hufbandman brings fuch plants
upon his meadows as will fit each foil, this
* would
336 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
would make up what is wanted, and take up
the place of fuch plants as we ihould like to
get rid of.
But let us proceed on our road, where we
faw hedges of Euphorbia Nerii folia, or Fu-
yong-fa, here and there twifted abng with
Ipomcea quamoclit, which, with its fine red
flowers, would be an ornament even in an ar-
bour. We have likewife found our Swedijh
hops (Humulus Lupulus) climbing over the
hedges ; and likewife Pcriploca Gr<zca, whofe
flowers feem to be of velvet in the infide.
At lad we found a burying-place, where
the bones of many of our countrymen reft,
as the epitaphs {hew. This mountain lies on
the right as we come from the town, near
the road, without any enclofure, like a com-
mon. It is faid to be half a mile diftant from our
lodgings. I found in this burying-place the
following fcarce plants :
CaJJia procumbent.
Crotalaria juncea .
Celofia argent ca.
Achyranthes afpera.
And
CHINA. 1751. 337
Cajfida nigra, oblonga, fafciis duabus tranf-
•verfis tejlaceisy punftis qicatuor ad bajin.
On our return we met three Chinefe, who
defired money ; but their demands not being
complied with, they attacked us with great
Hones ; I in particular was in danger, being
fomewhat behind my companions, in queft of
plants. I found
Torenia Afiatlca : the calyx is pentagonal,
erected ; its five fegments are lanceolated, nar-
row, and morter than the tube of the flower :
the corolla is lanceolated : the upper lip is al-
moft entire, and reflected : the lower lip has
three lacinite, and is bent downwards. The
Ji laments are four, fhorter than the corol/a,
two of them are even (hotter than the tube of
the corolla, they are fattened in pairs in the
lower lip, the two upper ones have a fterile
excrefcence by their fide : the Jlylus is filiform :
the fdgma is bifid : the capfula is long, and
feems to be unilocular : the feeds are nume-
rous : the flowers are axillar: the leaves are
oval, emarginated, oppohte, and have very
fliort (talks.
Vol. I. Z This
338 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
This plant likewife grows in the rice fields,
in the Danifi ifland. It may ferve now as a
monument of the difcoverer Mr. Torccn, and
remind his friends of their lofs.
We met a Cbinefe burial. We were then
fufficiently protected. There were wooden
idols in the proceflion. Firil and foremoft
went two Chinefe, with little banners; next
were the pipers and other muficians, who
fometimes founded their inftruments. Behind
thefe, the idol, a gilt human figure, was car-
ried in a palankin ; it was followed by the
coffin, which was carried on a pole of bam-
boo. The mourners had white handkerchiefs
about their heads. When they have let the
coffin down into the grave, they lay a couple
of (tones upon it, and befides that, for the
fubfiftence of the dead, and for the reconcilia-
tion of the idol, they put rice, fruit, tea,
money, &c. by him. At night they likewife
perform all forts of muiick in the boats,
and row up and down the river in them.
Wives and husbaiwjs only mourn 49 days,
or ieven weeks, for each other. No Cbinefe,
and much lefs a foreigner, can be buried in
' the
C H I N A. 1751. 3:9
the town. I once aJfeed a Chinefe whether, at
lead, people of the higheft rank were never
buried in the town ? Is this, (aid he, with' a
fneer, your cufrom ? And I anfwering in the
affirmative, be proceeded to fay, What honour
can this pcilibly be to the deceafed ? We bury
our dead in the free, blooming fields, and
erect a (lone by the fide of their graves, on
which ail their remarkable actions are infcrib*
ed, that every body may read them. If we
fhould bury them in the honfes, they would
be noifome to their children, and their merit
would, as it were, be buried with them.
The Chinefe graves are made on the fide
of hills, and look like ice-cellars. They are
elevated on both (ides with (tones. In (lead of
the door (lands a (lone, on which the epitaph
is hewn in large Chinefe chara&ers.
September nth.
I had a mind to have a nearer fight of the
Moorijh Pagoda {Dchihrmm Mauri tani.au), which
is at a good dillance from the European graves:
for this reafon I left the town by the fame
road we had taken the day before, in com*
Z 2 pany
34 o OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
pany with Mr. Braad, whofe attention to all
that is curious is well known, and two other
gentlemen. On the road, a Chinefe covered
only with rags ran after us, and defired Kant'
fa-a, or alms. We did not mind him, but
went on as fad as the great heat would allow ;
but he came nearer, and pulled one of us by
the coat, and would not leave his hold till he
had money given him. We did not know
how to aft ; for though we could have made
him depart, we were afraid that by his cries
he would bring hundreds of the Chinefe, who
were every where working in the fields around
us ; to whom we could not have proved our
innocence, fince none of us underftood the
language. When we were in doubt what we
fhould do, another Chinefe came and laflied
our follower about the legs with a whip,
which made him cry out exceedingly, and
jump into the rice fields, where he was up to
the knees in mud. This man called himfelf
and his comrade officers of the government ;
he afterwards accompanied us to the Pagoda,
which lay upon a high mountain, and its in-
fide was fomewhat different from that of the
Chinefe temples. Having obferved all the
trees that were planted hereabouts, we made
hade back. In the hurry we found no other
tbau
CHINA. 1751. 34 t
than the trees which have already been men-
tioned before, except the Plaint ain tree (Mu/a
Cliffortiana), which was now fully in blofTom.
Going down the hill I obferved theTe-limm,
or Melajioma oclandra, on both fides of the
road. This little plant is an ornament to the
mod: barren hills, by means of its red flowers,
which Hand open during night, atleaft a long
while after fun-fet, while others are clofed to
efcape the nocturnal dews, which would injure
the tender parts of the flower. Its defcription
is as follows :
The calyx is urceolated, or cylindrically
oval, covered with (tiff, fhort briflles, and in-
cludes the germen ; its fegments are quinque-
Cd, equally brown, and downy, except the
five lefTer ones in the incifions : the corolla is
pentapetalous ; the petals are obovared, and
fattened to ihe inner margin of the calyx,
whofe fegments they furpafs in length : the
eight filaments are fubulated, inflected, ,-ind
fattened to the calyx: four of the antbera
are equally broad and erected ; the other four
are fterile and hamofe, and longer than the
filaments ; they are all inflefted when they are
not yet evolved : the pjlillum is longer than
2 3 the
342 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
the flamina : the germen is almoff. round {cb*
roiundum) : thcflyJm is pointed and bent at
top : the fttyma undivided : the feed caffula
is an a! moil round urceolated berry, which is
black without, but red within, and is fur-
rounded by a fetiferous calyx. The feeds are
Tumorous, very final 1, almoft in form of rings,
and difperfed in the berry. The plant is
buihy: the root is ramofe, creeping : the Jlalk
is round, and lies on the ground : the leaves
are ova!, a little em.irginared. trinervous, op-
pofite, and petiohited : the flowers are on the
top of the branches. I found another plant
here, the flowers of which, by a curfory
view, was like the' preceding; though it is
quite different from all the other genera : in
the natural order it is like the Lyfimachia y and
the Chinefe call it Komm-Heyong-loaa , or Fea-
ther of Goldrofes. Sir Charles a Linne, think-
ing that my labours defer ved fome remem-
brance, has thought fit to call this plant Of
beckia Chinenjis [See Tab. ii. f. i, 2. 3.].
The whole plant is fold in the apothecaries
fhops; they boil it together with old Kuli-
'ica i and drink the decodlion in colics. In
ftrains and fvvellings it is ufed in the bath.
The following are the characleriilics of the
jJant:
The
CHINA. 1751- 343
The root is woody, and fometimes confnls
of a little knob with branches, but fometimes
it has no knob ; it is perennial, and fometimes
fhoots into a number of (talks : the Jlalk \i
quadrangular, of the thicknefs of a pack-thread,
feldom exceeding half a yard in length, gene-
rally ramofe, and fometimes like a little bufh.
The branches, which are quadrangular and
fomewhat hairy, are commonly oppofite, and
fmgle, or not divided. On the top are com-
monly two flowers, furrounded with four
leaves, two of which are ftiort, but longer
than the flowers: the leaves are oppofite; each
couple is about an inch or more from the other,
and the nearer to the flower the further afun-
aer. They are fomewhat obtufe in young
plants, and about an inch long ; but in old
ones they are longer, and run (harp : thofe
which grow at the bottom of the branches
are frequently as long again as the others.
They have mod of them no pctiolus or (talk,
and are lanceolated fometimes, yet narrower ;
almoft every where of equal breadth ; have
entire margins, are covered on the upper fide
with ftiff hairs, which lie down, and have
fome thin down on the under tide only, on
the margin, and upon the three veins, which
Z 4 run
344 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
run almoft the whole length of the leaf, in a
flrait line. The calyx is monophyllous, cam-
paniform, or bell-fhaped, quadrifid, with four
oblong, fliarp fegments, which are fomewhat
downy on the out fide ; in each incifion is a
fquanmln, with hair on its margin. The corol-
la conutta of four upright, oval, red petals :
the/lamina are eight in number, narrow, in-
flected, and, together with the petals, fattened
to the calyx : they are the fame length with
the calyx, and are accordingly fhorter than the
petals: the anther a are upftanding, oblong,
and end in a point which looks like the calyp-
tra of a mofs. The' pijtillum has' an oval ger-
men, a narrow and bemjiylus, and a fliort en-
tire jU?wa : the capful a looks like a little pot,
runs narrower towards the bottom ; is quadri-
locular, and on the outfide covered with the
tube of the calyx. The feeds are numerous,
fmall, and in a microfcope look like little
worms, which lie in a circular form.
Coming down the hill between the rice
fields, we few, in a field which was partly co-
vered with water, Impatiens Ghinenjis, which,
it taken particular care of, might be made ro
6 adorn
CHINA. 1751. 34t
adorn our windows with its fine red flowers,
in the fame manner as its relation the Balja-
mines*
Towards the city we found a fpecies of
fmall bullies (Crypt ant bus Chincnfis k ,) of the
fize of goofeberry bu(hes, which had white
double flowers. The leaves are us large as
thofe of the Rofe-mallow, cordated, obtufe ;
their margin is unequally ferrated ; they are
fomewhat rough at the top, but fmooth below,
and have at leaft eight pretty large veins.
The flowers grow in bunches, at the top of
the branches.
Our companions, who joined us without
being aJted, called themfelves government
officers; and having reminded us of their
rewards, put their whips into their pock-
ets. We defired them to accompany us as far
as the factory, where we would pay them ;
but they refufed, and left us.
k With oppofite leaves. The bulh bears a great refem-
blance to a Blackbtrry bulh.
September
'tf$ OSBECK'S VOYAGE
September 12th.
Among the hay which was given to our
cow in the factory, I found the following
force grafTes, which would adorn the Hortus
Jiccus of an European botaniit :
Nardus artkulaia.
Jgrq/iis Indica.
1 Penicu?n crus Galls.
' — ; Dijjeclum,
— — Patens.
Brevifolhtm.
Andropogon Schznanthus.
■ Ifchamum, and likewiie
Fcfclculatunu
Hedyfarum lagopodioides.
The Chinefe needs not make hay for his
cattle, for they may run all the year in the
paftures. He does not want cows at home,
for he can do without milk, butter and cheefe.
He does not want horfes, for he either goes
on foot, or is carried in a chair. Thus can a
Chinefe employ all that time in agriculture,
which
CHINA. 1751. 347
which in our country is fpenr in improving the
growth of grafs, and in the hay harveft. But
he is obliged to have continually a perfon with
his cattle, in order to prevent their doing
any damage in the plantations; for, if they
are furrounded with a thin hedge, it is too
weak to be capable of keeping off unruly
oxen. All other fences are unufual in China,
though perhaps a little fpot within the hedge
may be furrounded with a wall of common
pebbles.
This day I returned on board, to look after
the fick.
The French IJland is an ifle in the river of
Canton, which is reckoned to be two Swedijh
miles from that place. The Chinefe name of
the ifland is faid to be Somfo-ang. It has the
name of French IJland becaufe the French mips
have their bancjhal, or warehoufe, on it.
Near it is the place where the European fhips
ride at anchor j and when the failors have a
mind to divert themfelves on holidays upon
Chinefe ground, they go hither, becaufe they
are, in fome meafure, fecure from the infults
of the Chinefe* The love of plants likewife
jdrew me thither, as to a place where for fome
days
543 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
days I could not want new obje&s. I could
here meet with nothing that decorates our
Swedijb foil. Trees, herbs, birds, infects,
nay the earth itfelf, was a new fight in my
eyes. On this iiland (for fo I call it, though
I have never been far enough on the other
fide of it to know whether it is one, or whe-
ther it is joined to the continent) are two fleep
mountains toward the river, with horizontal
ftages, or terraffes, like fteps, on their fides,
on which indigo, cotton, and Chinefe potatoes,
were planted. On the lowed terraffes, on
the fide of the banejhally are feveral graves of
our countrymen, Danes y and Englifhmen, who
died here fome years ago, as the infcriptions
on the tomb-flones (how. For each corpfe
which is interred here, we pay one tel, four
mefs, eight kanderin, to the Chinefe. Some-
what higher is a Chinefe burying-place ; and
at the top grow fruit trees, fuch as Lang-ann,
&c. and the Chinefe Pine {Abies Chinenfts).
. The foil on the hills confifts of a reddifh
fandy earth, which by the great heat often
cakes, and forms a friable fand-ftone, except-
ing the furface, which is kept loofe by dung
and vegetable earth. In thefe hills are great
snd imali quarry-flones, fome of which are
like
CHINA. 1751. 349
like cryftals, but opaque, and of the colour
of coarfe writing paper. The higheft hills
feldom produce any thing befides fome dry
gralTes and trees, and thefe but very fparing-
ly. This is the reafon why they are ufed
for burying-places, or they let cattle graze
upon them ; but, thefe excepted, it is very-
difficult to find a place which is not ufed for
gardens, plantations, or ploughed land. Cat-
tle are kept here, but in fmall numbers ; but
what dung is loft by this means, is fupplied by
another kind of manure before mentioned ; and
befides that, by bones, afhes, hair, men's
beards, and many other things, which wc
make no ufe of. The Chinefe never fail care-
fully to gather the bones (which are elfe
thrown into the river) from the European
fhips. I have been told, that they burn them,
and extract a lye from the remainder, with
Which they warn their cotton fluffs, which are
always whiter in China than we can make
them ; and for this reafon we ought to try the
experiment.
The Cotton plant (Gojfypiumherbaceuni) was
now in bloffom, and had fruit. It is annually
fown in the high grounds, and commonly in
rows,
3So OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
rows, which are at half a yard's diftance from
each other.
The Indigo plant (Ind/gofera tinclorid) y by
the Chincfe called Tong~am, or Va, is annually
fown in high places, and is in flower almoft at
the fame time with the Cotton,
Am ar a nt ii us triflis, or the In fey of the
Chincfe, likewife grew here. I have been
told, that its leaves are ufed inftead of Calc.
Sol a mum diphyllum likewife, but very
fparingly.
Sugar cane (Saccbarum ojficinarimi), the
Chincfe name of which is Kee-a, was planted
in rows between the hills. The plants were
tied together, to prevent their bending to the
ground. They were above a fathom long,
but I could neither at that time nor afterwards
difcover its flowers. China therefore is not
the place whence it originally came from,
which mull be a far warmer climate.
Rice (Oiyza Satha 1 ) is by the Chincfe
called Waa while it is yet in the ground, but
1 From this account we may judge of the poffibility of
fowing rice in Germany with advantage.
Wo-ko.h
CHINA. 1751- 35«
Wo-kock when it is not yet pounded. The
rice groats before they are boiled are called
Mabee, and when they are boiled they go by
the name of Fann. Rice is at firft' fown in
April in high places ; when it is grown half a
yard long, it is dug out of the ground, and
tranfplanted in rows upon a deep clay ground,
in fo low a fituation, that it is always laid under
Water by the tide for fix hours together, and
then is left dry for fix hours next following.
Accordingly rice requires a natural ebbing and
flowing, and a warm climate. If this were
not the cafe, it would be worth while to plant
it on our fhores. The ground on which it
grows is called paddy-ground by our people
who go to the Eajl Indies, and confifts for the
greatell part of a blue clay, which looks
brown at top from the different manures. The
Chincfc make ufe of a kind of dung which we
reject, to manure their rice fields and other
fields with, though not very plentifully : it
occalions a great ftench upon the grounds in
dry places ; but in the rice fields is fo temper-
ed with, or warned away by, water, that it is
but little regarded. The dung is brought to
the innermoft bays of the water, in order that
when it runs into the land every part of the
field may have its ihare. When the water
cannot
352 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
cannot overflow the field, this inconvenience
is remedied by water machines, but moflly by
two Chinefe who iland near the water, and
water the ground with buckets. To each of
the ears of the bucket they fallen a firing,
and ftand oppofite to one another, each twin-
ing his cord together : they then fink the buck-
et into the water, and when it is full each
pulls at his firing, by which means the bucket
is both drawn out of the water and overturn-
ed by the rope that was twilled together and
untwifls itfelf ; and by this means the water
runs over the higher rice fields, which can-
not be overflowed. Ditches are fcarce ob-
fervable in the rice fields ; but there are little
canals, in order to enable them in harvefl time
to get between with their boats, and carry the
rice from them to the high places, in order
that it may be dried, after that they have paid
the tythe in the cuflom-houfe. This fpecies
of corn bears very plentifully here, but colls
a deal of labour. The bread which is baked
for the Europeans (a katty or pound of which
at preient was fold at four kanderin two kas)
is not made of rice, but of wheat, which, to-
gether with rye and barley, is laid to grow-
further up in the country. When the Chinefe
mix rice flour with it (which they often do
unlefs
/' ol'.J.S52>
&u.
'RlfAMlClZS -Zt<>UY7/f/.t.
C II I N A. 1751, s<r
tinlefsyou take great care) it readers the bread
heavier and lefs palatable. About the hills
We met with feveral fcarce plants, and among
thefe were :
Polygonum bar bat um, by the Chin eft called
Ka-yong-mcta.
Polygonum orientate, in the Chinefe language
Tong-mcca.
Rhamnus lineaius, inermis, floribus hernia-
phrodit'iSy folih ovarii integerrimis multine\
[See Tab. vii.j A buih which till now has
efcaped the notice of botanifls. It often grows
to the height of a man, and is remarkable for-
ks fmall and beautiful leaves, which are of a
yellow-green colour below, and have red
veins : the anther <z are black.
Valeriana Chine nfis.
Hedyjarum trijiorum.
Narclus ciliaris, in high places.
Vifcum batch rubentibuu Kampf. Amc&n*
785.
Gonvallaria Ch'msnfis, folih linearibus, corollis
fex-partitio. This fpecies of Lily of the Valley
is a medium between Scilla and Gonvallaria.
Vol. I. A a It
354 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
It grows below and along with Canna Indica,
in fliady places.
On the road I found :
Torenia Aftatica. And in poor ground,
hawfonia inermis.
Mela/loma Malabarica, with fine red flowers.
He dy far urn Hedcrocarpon.
Urena lobata.
Aira feminibus hirfutis, ar'ijlh terminalibus
jlore longioribus.
Scirpus {Chinenfis) culmo triquetro fubnudo y
/pic is ternis feffdibus terminalibus, involucro di-
phyllo reflexo ; a fpecies of grafs with long nar-
row leaves, one of which, next the ear, is
much longer than the reft. In Van Reede's
Hort. Ma lab. torn. xii. p. 71. t. 38. is a print
of it, under the name of Motte pullu.
Jxora eoccinea, by the Chinefe called Kan-
long-fa, or Emperor's flower, is a flirub, or
fmall tree, which grows every where here-
abouts on the hills, a yard high; but has
the finefl: red flowers, in bunches at the
tops cf the branches. I made the following
remarks
CHIN A. 1751. 355
remarks upon it : The fegmcnts of the calyx
arc obtufe : the tube of the corolla is very
long : the filaments are very fhort, inferted in
the incifions of the limbus : the anthem longer*
pointed and inflected : the germen is very fmall,
and fomewhat fhorter than the calyx: the
Jiylus filiform, longer than the tube : the Jlig-
ma pretty thick : the leaves are oppofite, oval,
without incifions, almofi: without (talks, and
fmooth. On account of thefe magnificent
flowers this fhrub has got a place in the Chinefe
gardens, where it grows higher than a man's
head. I here am put in mind of the many
fine flowers which grow fpontaneoufly in
Sweden ; which, if they were . tranfplanted
into gardens, would look better than many
of thofe which we get as ornaments from the
molt diftant places*
Between the flones on the hills, grew,
Nauclea orientalis,
Spermacoce verticulatd. The anthera are
oblong and upright: the ptflilkm is longer
than the corolla : the germen is fmall : the
Jiylus hairy : the corolla is rolled down-
wards : the leaves lanceolated, oppofite, with
A a 2 nine
3$6 OSBECK'S VOYAG E.
nine nerves, and gibbofe : the flowers grovr
vertlcillated.
Near the rice fields the following plants were
in bloffom :
Verbcfina proflrata.
calendulacea.
On the hills were :
Folygala ciliaia.
Lycopodiwn varium.
nudum.
cemuum.
Polypodium crijlatum.
■ Barometz.
Jungermannia 'Chinenjis. Dill. Mufc. C\*-
f. 4 .
Lichen Chinenfis, or Lichenoides glaucum
■perlalimiy fubtus nigrum et cirrhofum t Dill.
Mufc. 147. t. 20. f. 39.
Agaricus Chinenfis , Jlipits albo, fpithomeo,
pileo lutefcente,
5 BUcbnum
^//<:
c FricMoma3T£S cnt/
'/f/fC//.ir
CHIN A. 1751. 357
Blecbnum occidentale.
^richomanes Chincnfis. [Tab. vi.]
Of Infe&s I found;
Cancer oryza, a fmall kind of rough crabs,
which crept about the rice fields.
Solan um Indicwn grew by the graves. On
this fpinofe plant I found a grub, which I kept
and fed in my hut till its third change, which
Was into one of the lepidoptera kinds. The
wondrous changes of thefe little creatures may
infpire us wretched men (who are juftly com-
pared to worms in Holy Scripture) with the
fublimeft thoughts. The grub in its firft (late
was reduced to creep over its little world with
juft as much trouble as we creep on earth and
feek our fubfiftence, frequently with the great-
eft; fatigue : how many needlefs journeys do
we take, and to how many dangers are we ex-
pofed ! one worm does not fpare the other on
the road. And as the grub in its next change
into an aurelia enters into a dark hcufe, in
which it lofes every fenfation of former plea-
fures ; thus we defcend into the obfcurc grave,
where we reft the appointed fpace : but when
A a 3 the
353 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
the grub has (laid its proper time in its narrow
lodgings, without any nourifhmenr, it at lafl
appears, by its third change, in its true per-
fection and fplendor ; often enriched with the
moft glorious colours. This gives an excellent
hint, that the grave (hall not for ever hold our
bodies ; but that at laft, at the general refur-
reclion on the lad day, we fhaU be cloathed
With fplendour and glory.
Larva Solani Indici. It is fmooth : together
with the head and tail, it is of the length of
a fpan, and of the thicknefs of an eagle's
quill. That articulation which contains the
head has a great black line on the fides : the
mouth is large : the antenna are thickeft at
bottom, white, with blackifh-brown tops, and
two black rings. The three pair of fore legs
are black, have claws, are dotted with white,
and are placed at the firfl, fecond, and third
articulation, beginning at the head. The five
pair of hind feet are fattened to the feventh,
eighth, ninth, tenth, and tail articulation; they
are fhorter, truncated, green, and have as it
were {hort bridles at their extremities; the
fourth, fifth, and fixth articulations have no
feet. The body is green below : the fides
have nine black fpots : the equilateral triangles
(of
CHIN A. 1751. 359
(of which one furrounded the other), which
{land on each articulation between the fourth
on the back and the tail, are fhaded with green,
yellow, and blue, (the lowed is yellow) and
dotted with black. The tail is (harpened in
form of a horn, and confilts of many joints.
The Croton febiferum was the food of an-
other kind of larva or grubs {Larva fenef-
trata .<*) ; which, the next night, changed into
aurclias. The larva were green, with many
rows of blue fpots. Of their change into
moths you will have an account the 3d of Fe-
bruary next year. On the road I found, be-
fides the Cojjlda cinerca, a Sivedijh infect, the
Coccinella feptem-punclata, which feems to have
been brought by chance from Europe as it were
in exchange for the Blatta orientalise
The 1 4th September,
The hoppo, happa, orfirft infpe£ror of the
cuftoms, (feep.216.) whofe bufmefs in particu-
lar it is to meafure the newly arrived European
{hips, came to us to-day. He fent his own Hairs,
covered with red cloth, before him, by which
he was to afcend into the fhip ; and afterwards
A a 4 came
$6o OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
came in a great fampane painted with red, ac-
companied by fome muficians, to entertain him
in his paifagc. In his train were, befides his
fcrvants, beadles and foldiers, who had each
their badges ; fome had feathers in their caps,
others had fabres at their fides, one had a belt
hanging from his fhoulder, another held the
umbrella over him while he got on-board.
After he had feated himfelf, he ordered two
of his attendants to meafure the length and
breadth of our fhip with a rope : this admea-
surement came very high in price to us ; for
by his own decifion our fhip was obliged to
pay 600 piaftres, or about 6000 dollars of
copper, for duty. He, in return, prefented
the fhip, as ufual, with two live oxen, eight
bags of flour, eight pitchers of Cbinefe wine 5 .
&c.
Both on his arrival and at his departure,
I 6 canons were fired off.
The 15th of September.
A Chinese Jhining infefl fat on the ceiling
of the great cabbin, and gave a coniickrabk
light in the dark,
I-
C H I N A. 1751- 3**
It was the Cantharis Chlncnfis (Lumpyrh
Chin. Linn.) thorace & elytris tejiaeeis, apice
nigris. The thorax and the wing-cafes are
highly marginated : the fcutcheon is black :
the wings are black : the feet are blackifti : the
lad ring of the abdomen, or belly, is of a
brownim-yellow ; but the laft but one is white
below, and this is it which (nines like fire in
the night time : the two rings next to this are
J>lackifh : the breajl is brownifh-yellow.
September 17th.
As I landed at the Bancfhat, I again faw
the Gobius peclinirofiris and nigcr, which I have
already defcribed, page 200 and 201.
Cyperus odoratus. The ftalk of it is tri-
quetrous, but round near the root ; with a
(hort, even, obtufe leaf, which furrounds the
(talk towards the bottom.
The 1 8 th of September,
To-day the firfl Chinefe boat came on -board
y/ith porcellain in cheib 5 and bales for the
company's
362 OSBECK'S VOYAGE*
company's account, and ten Chine fe boys who
were to fplice cables.
The 2 2d of September.
After I had preached and adminiftered the
facrament, I was tempted by the fine weather
to make a little excurfion on the French I/Iand,
where I found the following plants in flower :
Barleria crijlata, £Tab. viii.] by the Chi-
nefe called Ablieyfa, is a fhrub which exceeds
three yards in height. The item is fo weak,
that it cannot Hand upright without a fupport.
Its flowers are blue, and fall off eaflly : the
tube of the corolla is bent : the filaments are
fattened to its lower part ; two of them are
very fhort, and two almoft as long as the pi-
fiilla, bendes a barren one : the upper lip of
the corolla is broad and oval, the lower is quad-
rifid, with long fliarp points.
Chinefe Gourds {Cucurbit a Chinenfis) grew
here and there fpontaneouily ; and in other
places they were fupported near the houfes by
little (licks, or ftxrubs.
Convot-
"VotiMz
;//// s.
jB^LKXEJiZsL Grid^a/tL^.
CHINA. 1751. 363
Convolvulus Pes capra, a plant with thick
leaves, whofe ftalks lie on the fea-ftiore, which
is ornamented with its red flowers.
Urena Chinenfis, caule ereclo, fortius majuf-
tulis, grew at the foot of the hills.
Verbena nodiflora, with its flowers, hung
from a wall not far off the £hore. I found it
no where elfe. It is one of thofe plants which
fnew how much America is like Afia ; for it is
to be met with in both.
Pa-kockfa, or Morinda wnbellata ? grew on
the fiiore, together with the Periploca Graca.
The flowers of the latter are an ornament to
our hot-houfes, on account of their velvet
colour,
Mvjfanda frondofa, is a ihrub which the
Chinefe call KauUmang. It grew fome yards
high, and, on account of the weaknefs of its
flem, it likes to lean on other trees. It fpreads
its boughs over the European graves. The
following is its fliape: the calyx is monbpeta-
lous, divided into fix parts, and briftly : its la-
cinia are long, narrow, and pointed : the
itiouth (faux) of the corolla is hairy : the lim-
bus of it is expanded, horizontal, fexfid, with
pointed lacini<? : the filaments are commonly
foe
VOYAGE.
five in number, fometimes fix, and even feven,
all very fnort, and fattened about the middle
of the tube. The anther a are ere&ed, of
equal breadth; many times as long again as
the filaments , and touch each other at the
limbus : the germen is almoft round : the two
flylufes, which are joined together, are thread -
lhaped : the two ftigmas are fimple : the Jfcm
is round, hairy, brownifh : the /eaves are
oppofite, lanceolated, petiolated, not divided,
reflected, have five nerves, and are downy,
particularly below. The flowers fit clofe to-
gether at the ends of the branches ; they are
yellow, and have fometimes oval, white, pe-
tiolated braftea. The feed capfule is oblong,
unilocular. Thejeeds are numerous and very
finall. It grows near the fhore among the
Zanthoxylum triJotiatum y and in other places.
The 23d of September,
Anotpier boat with porcellane came to our
(hip. The air was fine.
Kay-fo-y, Diodon ocellatus {Tetrodonocellatus
Linn.) is one of the fined fifti I ever faw, but fo
poifqnous that whoever eats of it generally dies
in
CHINA. 1751. 365
in two hours time. The Chinefe, who affirmed
the fact, feeing me take the fifh into my hands*
earneftly defired me to wafh myfelf, adding
that it is forbidden under fome great penalty,
to be fold among other fifh. It is very like to
the Tetrodon lagocephalon, and is able to blow
itfelf up, which makes its fore part look like
the bread of a cropper pigeon. Yet it differs
m fome things from the Iail mentioned fifh,
as in the number of rays in the back-fin, which. "
is feldora found to vary in the fame fpecies :'
the fame likewife happens to it fometimes with
refpecT: to the other fins ; not to mention the
colour, and fome lefs conftant marks, which
however, upon the whole, diftinguifh it pretty
well from all other fifties-.
This fifh has an operculum branchiojlcguvi
on each fide : the dorfal-fin is fingle, directly
oppofite, the anal-fin is oval, and has fifteen
rays : the pecloral-fin has eighteen divided rays,
It has no ventral-jins. The anal-fin is oval,
and has eleven rays : the tail is truncated, and
has eight ramofe rays : the two lad fins are
moveable according to the fifh's inclination.
The body is globofo-oval, with a Jkin over it.
Its length is fcarce a quarter of a yard. The
back "is green: the line en the fides is bent:
the
3 66 OSBECK'S VOYAGE
the green colour of the back goes a little be*
low it, but further down it is white. The
bread and the belly are covered as it were
with thick threads, or white pipes, which are
beft obferved by ftroking the fifh with the
hand upwards from the belly to the head*
Behind the pectoral fins ran two brown-yellow
fpots from the back, and a circle of the fame
colour furrounded the dorfal-fin : the fpot in
the circle is black. The head is fomewhat
flat, and oval : the mouth round and fmall :
the jaws are equal, and confiit of two flat
bones. In the midfl of the mouth two teeth
are vifible, which are covered with moveable
lips : the tongue is fomewhat round : the eyes
are fmall, naked, and round : the pupil in the
eye is black : the irides are yellow : the no-
flrils are fmall, and clofe to the eyes. The
filh was taken in the river at Canton ; and a
civil failor, who was prefent when the Chinefe
caught it, gave it to me.
The 25 th of September*
Fine weather.
A little bird, which was a good finger,
Was fhot about the rice fields, whither it retort-
ed
CHINA. 1751. 36*7
cd to feek its livelihood among the rice. It
was,
Larinis Scbach, or the crefled red or ruiTet
butcher-bird, Edw. 54. Its ihape is as fol-
lows : the bill is Ihort and narrow, the upper
ja-zu is the longed, it is fharp and bent at the
point. Near the head it has feven or more
briltles : the lower jaw is fpotted : the tongue
is lacerated at the point : the feven tail fea-
thers are long, but the middlemofi are longer
than the reft : its forehead is black, and about
the eyes there is the fame colour. The wings
are black at the top ; but below, and in par-
ticular on the infide, they are whitifh, and
outwardly quite white: the head> the neck,
and the fore-part of the back, are afh-coloured :
the hind part of the back, and the uropygium
are red : it is red mixed with white at the top.
The thighs are covered with down : the legs
and feet are naked, and blackifh. It has three
fore-toes ; and one hind-toe, which is as long
as the middle fore-toe.
The 27 th of September.
Generally clear weather.
I CROSSES
3 58 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
I crossed over in a Chhiefe boat to the
Danijh I/land, which the Chinefe call Tfiang-
iiao. This is an ifland without woods, only
feparated from the French Ifland by a ft ream ;
but is exactly like it in regard to the quality of
the foil, and has, like the former, hills, culti-
vated vallies, and rice fields in the low places
by the river fide. There is feldom any thing
planted on the hills, fmce it would be burnt
tip by the fun, and the cowherds keep the
cattle upon them. In fome places were Chi-
nefe graves, towards the river of Canton ; but
here we faw European ones.
I here met with the following natural cu-
riofities :
Coccinella qiiadri-pujlulata? the foremoft
fpots near the head are rhomboidal, but crofs-
ways ; the hindmoit are round points, on
whofe fides are little atoms, fcarce vifible to
the naked eye.
Andrachne fruticofu The male plant has
no calyx. The corolla is bell-ihaped, reflected,
divided into fix parts, and green: its lacinia
are very Ihort, and the extreme edge as it were
emarginated. The female plant has no calyx ;
it
r l ' p/.'/.ddy
>/«/,
//.
Ct.er ojjejvbr m i /or//fH atom.
CHINA. 1751. 369
it has a germen, three fiyli, and fix Jiigmas :
the capfula is almoft round, has fix partitions
with fix feeds* The leaves are oval, fmooth
at top, and downy below. Both male and fe-
male plants are fhrubs.
' Ckrodendron fortunatum [Tab. xi.] grew
by the European graves ; and has not yet been
defcribed by any botanift. The plant fmells
like muik, by which it diftinguifhes itfelf from
all other plants growing near the graves. It
is called Hatag-nang by the Chinefe: the calyx
is monophyllous, angulated, red, divided into
five parts, and perfiftent: its figments are oral,
pointed, of the length of the tube of the co-
rolla, but broader than it. The corolla is rao-
nopetalous, quinquefid : the upper lip is trifid,
rolled up : the lower bifid, bent downwards :
the filaments are inferted in the mouth of the
corolla ; they are bearded below, and longer
than the corolla ; two of them are fomewhat
(horter than the others : the germen is oval :
the Jlylus filiform, and lhorter than the f!a~
tnents : thefligma pointed and bifid: the dru-
pa, or ftony fruit, ftands together in couples,
is green, and furrounded with the calyx. The
plant is ramofe, about one foot high, and fmells
Vol.-L B b like
37 o OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
like mufk. The flower Jlalks are axillary, and
each bears feveral flowers.
Gerard 'la glutinofa. [Tab. ix.]
Ruellia ringens grew every where in the
water on the fhore, and was above half a yard
high. It diftinguifhes itfelf from the Ruellia
antipoda, which generally grows along with
it, in the following particulars: the calyx is
monophyllous, cylindrical, quinquefid, with
fmall lanceolated fegments. The corolla is
monopetalous, ringent: the tube cylindrical:
the faux inflated ; the opening bifid : the upper
lip bifid, and reflected: the lower deflected,
trifid, dotted in the iiifide (like the corolla of
the Scutellaria') ; the four ft laments, of which
the two lowed are the lead, hang on the
lower lip : the anthenz are fagittated, and
erected : the gertnen is oblong : the Jlyhts is
filiform, longer than the filaments, and bent
near the top : the fligma is undivided, and
pointed : the capfule is oblong, narrow, trilo-
culare and contains only eight fiat feeds. The
root is big, and repent : xhcjlalk round, erect-
ed, fimple : the leaves are oppofite, petiolated,
lanceolated^ fmooth, and fomewhat carnofe.
Cyperus
\ of. I. ,370.
■ 7„A
CHINA. mS-U 37*
Cyperus Iria ?
Cyperus dichotomus ?
Onocleafenfibilis, or Filix Indica polypodii fa*
cky Menz. pug. [Tab. x.]
Pange-ka (Columnea f Chinenfis) is the CM*
nefe name of a plant which is here plentiful
along the river fide ; and generally grows in
the water, together with the afore mentioned
plant, and has an agreeable fmell. It is with
difficulty ranged under any of the genera yet
known, as appears from the following defcrip-
tion : the calyx is double ; the interior one is
diphyllous, very fmall, with pointed leaves §
the fuperior calyx is quinquefid, with narrow
lanceolated fegments, which are (horter than
the tube of the corolla : the corolla is monope-
talous : the tube is cylindrical : the faux beard-
ed : the limbus quinquepartite : the lacinia.
oval : the incifion between two of the lacinia
on one fide is lefs deep than on the other j and
on this lean the pif ilium and xhejtamina, and
are furrounded with a beard : the four fila-
ments are filiform, two of them fhorter ; they
ftock together in pairs : the anthera fit on the
fides, and are fmall : the germen is ovated, or
B b z e £ pr "'
372 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
egg-fhaped . the ftylus filiform : the Jligma in
fome manner reprefents a hat ( fubcapitatuni)
and is bent downwards: the capfule is oval,
and contains many feeds. The plant has a
fialk which lies on the ground, is round, thick,
carnofe and hairy : the leaves are oblong and
ferrated : the flowers are axillary, and likewife
grow on the tops of the branches, and are of
a blue colour : the foot fialks are rough. This
plant grows on the banks of the river.
Jufticia purpurea adorned the European
graves. This plant too has hitherto efcaped
the notice of botanifts. The Chinefe call it
Happ-key-lee, or Happ-keyfa. The calyx is
double (which diflinguifhes it from the other
fpecies of Jufticia), monophyllous, cylindrical ;
the exterior ends in four teeth, the interior in
five bridles ; the latter is fhorter, is covered by
the exterior, and includes the germen t the co-
rolla is monopetalous : its tube cylindrical : the
limb ringent : the upper lip oblong, broad to-
wards the point, trifid ; and the lower lip
fmall, of equal breadth, and revolute towards
the point : the two filaments are fixed to the
incifion of the corolla y they are tabulated and
bearded towards the inlide : the anther <z are
oblong and ereel: the pijlillum is of equal
2 length
<14? 7.373
'////
Baeckea Trutetcenj.
CHINA. 1751. 373
length with xhtftarmna : the germen is egg-
ftiaped and fmall: the Jlylus filiform : theflig-
ma undivided : xhejlalk is almoft round, very
ramofe, about a foot long : the branches are
axillary, they are thicker at the place where
they are inferted, and dichotomous : the leaves
are oval, petiolated, run fharp at both ends,
are fmooth, and entire : the flowers are red,
and form at the top and on the fides fpikes
fcattered without order {/pica Jparfa) ; the
braclea are lanceolated. This plant, which
looks like Galeopfis tetrahit is an ornament to
the graves of the Europeans, fince I have not
met with it any where elfe.
Backea frutefcens [Tab. i.] is a little fhrub,
which grows above a quarter of a yard high,
looks like Mugwort, and fmells agreeably. On
my return I put fome of it into my box, which
preferved my cloths from tinias, or moths.
The Chlnefe call it Tiongma. This was the
firft time that it was carried to Europe. It h
defcribed in Linn. Species Plant arum: its
flowers are fmall, white, and fmell fomqwhat
like primrofes.
Near the hedges the following plants were
in flower :
B b 3 Bryonia
S 74 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
Bryonia cordifolia.
Hedyfarum pulchellum.
_ triquetrum : Kafong-fo In the Chi*
nefe language. It grows to a man's height,
and is very ramofe.
Sigefbeckia orientalis, by the Cbinefe called
Chimag, was fupported by another fhrub near
the water, which was called Fo-kay.
Volckameria inermis on the fhore.
N. B. I counted five Jiamina in this fpeci-
jnen : the flowers were white.
Kaiong-qua, a fhrub. The corolla is quad-
rind, has four filaments, and a ptftillum: the
leaves are fhaped like a heart, and thick. It
twifts round other plants,
Conyza hirfuia, by the Chinefe called Kylat-
foy.
Panictim glaucum.
Kay-in has four filaments : the fijlillum is
longer than the filaments: the flowers are blue :
the leaves are lanceolated, and woolly on the
under fide,
Ophioglojfum
s.
t/£ij.3JS
Ftjsjus Jcmfawria&i
J/rEicrL'aiuA AA>/a,
CHINA. 1751. 375
Ophiogkjfum fcandens, by the Chinefe called
Ka-yin-fey, winds about other plants.
Rhus Chinenfe (or, as the Chinefe call it,
Monkbi) was in flower about the graves.
Rhus Javanicum, genuine rubro, which the
Chinefe call 'Tay-Jha.
Pteris femipinnata, by the Chinefe called
Ka-lao, (S. t. 3. f. r.)
Waltheria Indica. Its flower is yellow, the
leaves are woolly, reflecled.
Rhamnus Tbea, or poor man's tea, is a fhrub
which grows a fathom high, and whofe leaves
are like thofe of the common tea ; but the
flowers belong to the firffc order of the fifth
clafs of the Linnaan fyftem of plants. They
are very fmall, and reft on the top of the
branches, which are again fub-divided into
letter boughs. The poor make ufe of its
leaves inftead of tea ; but in this place it ferved
as a hedge. The Chinefe call it Tia.
Min tao, Dolichos fc an dens Jioribus cgruleii
tnagnis.
Panicum alopecuroideum.
B b 4 On
376 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
On the (hare grew :
Akopecurus hordeifcrmis.
Cyperus haxpan, or Cyperus litorum echinato '
capita, cfr. lly Mullu, Hort. Mai. 12. Tab.
175. grew by the river fide.
On the hills grew :
Oct mum grati/Jimum.
Bartramia Indica. In the Cbinefe language
Hongfa-ma.
The creeping Convolvulus hirius y with its
yellow flowers, by the Cbinefe called Taqua.
Cynofurus JEgyptius,
Ifchatnum arijlatum,
Helicleres anguflifolia, by the Cbinefe called
Kay-ma, which has hitherto not yet been
found.
Besides the eatable roots which I have al-
ready mentioned, another fort is planted here,
which is quite white, and is of the fize of a
pigec-n's
c h>/}/.j7/>
-%f/r r>.
/f&/.ZCr.ERES a?/yw/?'/o/i# C
CHINA. 1751. 377
pigeon's egg, and by the Chinefe is called Fy-
Jhin, The plant is Arachis bypogcsa.
We likewifefaw three forts of birds, which
we met with in other parts of this country.
Ley-kao, which kept together in flocks.
Chinefe black Ravens, with white necks.
Grey-fpotted Chinefe Magpies, which they call
Daft-Jaw. And likewife
Chinese Locufls (Whom-ma), or Gryllus vi-
ridis y capite acuminato, obtufo, enfe adfcendente.
Oclober the 3d.
The cold northern winds now coming killed
the gnats, which had hitherto been trouble-
fome.
The 6th of Oclober.
Fine clear weather.
After I had preached, I went to the French
Ijland in a Chinefe boat ; where, befides the
plants
37^ OSBECK'S VOYACxE.
plants already mentioned, I found the follow-
ing along the river fide.
Mimofa Chinenjis, incrmis, Jlipulls foliolo longs
inajoribus, femicordatis. The leaves are feven
or eight pairs : ihzfoliola are numerous, lan-
ceolated, but at the bottom more obtufe. It
diftinguifhes itfelf from others of its kind par-
ticularly by the large femJcordated Jllpula,
which are fixed on the Jlem and furround it.
I did not fee the flowers.
Lichen (Euphorbia) foliaceus, pulverulent us.
Aralia Chinenfis is a tree about two yards
high, forms a crown, and is almofl every where
covered with thorns. Even the principal rib
of the leaves (rachis) is thorny : the leaves
are decompofite.
Hedyfarum biarticulatum,
Senecio divarlcatus,
Cacalia incana.
After Indicus.
Foa angufufoliciy on high fields.
Convolvulus reptans, or wild fpinage, on low
places between the rice fields, in the road, but
never in dry places.
The
CHINA. 1751. 37?
The tree Long-ann, whofe fruit the Chinefe %
as aforementioned, eat with their tea, grows
on the fummits of the higheft mountains, and
its fize is that of a middling plumb-tree. Its
leaves were devoured by a fort of grubs, of
the following mape :
The grub is white, oblong, brill ly, powder-
ed : it has eleven articulations befides the tail,
each of which has fix bridles : the lafl articu-
lation is blue on both fides, and longer than
the three firfl : the fourth articulation has
middling bridles ; and the three firfl are the
fhortefl. It has three pair of fore-feet, and
four pair of hind-feet, which lafl are flronger,
and have three joints : the tail has two pro-
minencies, and its fides have a red ring, but
at the top it is covered with a blue powder.
The 8 th of Oclcber.
Fine weather: fometimes rain.
The grub which I found the 13th, on the
Indian Night/hade (Solamim Indiawi) and which
had been in the aurelia ftate for fome days,
changed into a fphhix. It was but a bad fpe-
cimen ;
380 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
cimcn ; but as far as I could fee, it wasjphinx
atrcpos, the fame with what we had already
caught in failing by Java. See page 133.
The nth of Oclober.
The Captain of the Gothic Lion, SwediJJy
Eaft Indiaman, Mr. David Shierman, invited
me to go to CJanton in his floop ; which offer
I accepted with pleafure. We pafied the
cuftom-houfes, and only (hewed the colours.
Some jugglers came to the factory, and offer-
ed to amufe us with their flight of hand. They
fuddenly brought living fnakes before us, and
reftored little land-toitoifes to life, &c. The
whole trumpery was contained in an old
ragged carpet, which they fpread on the floor.
The 1 2 th of Oclober.
I this day took a journey in a Palankhi*
for two maje and five kandarin, about halt a
Sivedifh mile up the country (about three Eng-
HJh miles), to fee the funeral of the Dutch
3 Klao, Bay. Muf. lib. i. p. 48.
fupercargo
Veto
7.381
Ua/'r
9 j tehi>s ll <i>f'/fata^
CHINA. 1751. 381
fupercargo Robert s t who died the fecond of
this month, in the 54th year of his age. All
the captains and fupercargoes were invited to
come at two o'clock in the afternoon, and to
follow the corpfe to the aforementioned bury-
ing-place. On going thither I faw the follow-
ing plants, which covered the old walls of the
city.
Pteris vittata. [Tab. iv.]
Barleria crijlata. Its blue flowers were ia
feveral places the ornaments of the wall.
Ficus Indica, with round flgs.
Urtica nivea, which I have feen no where
but on the walls of Canton.
Convolvulus reptans covered the graves, where
fome boys were met together with fiftiing-rods
in their hands. They made ufe of a kind of
large dragon-fly (Libellula Chinenfis) as a bait.
I underftood they were catching frogs, but
had as yet tried their luck in vain. It is happy
for us that the art of fifhing is not rifen to
fuch a pitch of perfection as hunting ; for
then fifties would be as fcarce in our lakes as
deer are in our woods.
Jujlkia procumbent grew on the road.
A GOOD
382 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
A good way out of town, on the right of
the high road, I arrived at the European bury-
ing-placc, which was on a hill without any
fence, or diftinction from the other hills. The
infcriptionson the tomb-ftones are not all legi-
ble, on account of the rubbifti lying on them:
however, I could fee that Swedijh captains and
fupercargoes had died in this country. The
corpfe which was now to be buried was carried
by fix Dutch grenadiers. The procefGon fol-
lowed in Palankins without order. The Cbi-
nefc merchants who were here prefent, mourn-
ed with white, long, cotton handkerchiefs,
which were tied as the ribbands of an order,
over their common clothes. This fort of
mourning was diftributed to all the reft by the
young widow of the deceafed. She was born
at Batavia, and had accompanied her hufband
hither, but got admiffion into the fuburbs of
Canton with much difficulty. The people
in this country are very lingular, looking upon
foreign ladies as not much better than contra-
band goods.
A black tomb-flone was laid upon the
grave, on which an inscription to the memory
of the deceafed was engraved in great white
letters
CHINA. 1751. 383
letters in Dutch, mixed with fome Latin. On
this occafion people of all nations were aflem-
bled together.
The Chinefe had ere&ed tents about the
tombs, and diverted the funeral proceffion with
their rope-dancers.
The 13 th of Odober.
After I had a fecond time preached in the
fa&ory, the remainder of the day would not
allow of any trip out of town ; and for this
reafon I only walked about the neighbouring
ftreets, to fee whether the Chinefe had any cu-
riofities in their {hops, for they make no dis-
tinction with regard to Sunday, I found a fort-
of linen fomewhat rough to the touch, which
was faid (together with another very common
brown fluff) to be made of a kind of bark.
This linen was very white, and as narrow as
the afore-mentioned Canton cotton-linen^ but
it was neither cotton nor linen.
Flax is fo rare a commodity in theEa(l,that
many have judged with great probability, that
4 the
384 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
the fine linen of the rich man, Luke xvi. 19.
was no more than our common linen.
Abrus precatorius Linn. Syft. Nat. Ed. 12.
(in the third edition of the Spec. Plantar. Lin-
nxus calls it Glycine Abrus) is a fort of little
red peafe, with a black fpot, which were fold
in the chandler -mops. I bought fome for a
low fort of coin ; but fome children feeing me
buy them, gathered about me and defired me
to give them fome, which I did, and was glad
to get rid of them in this manner : I was told,
that they could buy fruit with them ; that they
were valued as the loweft coin, and ufed in
weighing gold.
A sort of mujky which the Chinefc call Wad-
namm, was kept in great bladders, and fold
much cheaper than in our country.
b BupREs r ns maxima, Muf. Reg. Suec. 82.
a fine green infect, which the Chinefe had dried,
and faflened leaden wings to it (which were
fo painted as to make them look like butter-
b The Buprejiis max, is a fpecies of the coleoptera ; and
mutt make a ftrange raonller when difguifed by ihe wings
of the hpidoptera.
flies),
CHINA. 1751. *8$
files), was to be fold in the vaults among other
trifles.
The next day I again returned on board
the fliip ; but the minifter from the Gothic
Lion, Mr. toreen, went to town. When two
fhips are at Canton at the fame time, one chap-
kin generally officiates aboard the {hips, and
the other in town.
The 1 8th of Oftoher,
Pack-fanny is the Chinefe name of a long*
tranfparent, white fifh, which is caught in this
river, and being dried is boiled and eaten. It
is Albula Chinenjis, and has the following cha-
racters : the lingle dorfal-fn oppofite the anus
is low, right-angled, and has 1 2 rays : the
pccloral-Jinsy fomewhat below the head, are
oval, and have 1 o rays : the ventral fins are
in the middle of the fiih's length, and are
wedge-fhaped, and have eight rays : the anal
Jin is in fome meafure articulated, and has 26
rays : the tail is furcated : the body is of the
length of a fpan, and is white, tranfparent,
and without fcales : the head is narrow, lan-
ceolated : the operculum branchiojteg. confifts
Vol. L G c cf
3 S6 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
of two fcales : the jaws are almoft equal : the
teeth are ftiarp, fattened in the jaws, and
bent backwards : the eyes are placed on the
fides, and are almoft round : the body, as far
as the ventral fins, is almoft round, but lower
fomewhat broad.
Rhamnus cenopolia, is by the Cl'nefe called
Kog-ne-hmn. On the leaves I found a larva
birfnta, Iuieo, eceruko, fufco et albo, <varicgata.
Its antenna are long, like the hair of a vhiik-
er, black, but blue at the bottom : the head
is brownifh-yellow, like lattice-work : the ar-
ticulated back is dotted yellow and white : be-
tween the third and fourth row of dots are
two white hairy tufts. Twelve pair of (blue)
elevations had black hair on the fides, fome
(white ones) on the tail excepted. The three
pair of fore-feet are brown, the four pair of
hind-feet likewife, and befides thefe is a pair
under the tail. The larva is about an inch
long, and of the thicknek of a foiall goofe-
quill.
Coisyza Chhicnfis gre^ among the ftones on
high places. And alio
Eriocaulon fcxangulare*
Qldenlandia iimbcllata*
Motiuga
CHINA. 1751- 2 8 7
Mollugo pentapbylla.
Ammanla baccifera.
Urena procumbens, floribus minoribus, a little
tree with a very low flera, whofe boughs hung
round about on the ground. I only found a
fingle one of this kind, and that on the fummit
of a mountain. At firft fight its fructification
looked like that of our agrimony.
A plant like the Brometia flood near the
water ; but I could not afcertain it, as the fruc-
tification was wanting.
Of fuch plants as are good againft fcurvy
I found none growing fpontaneouily in China ;
nor one w r ith a cruciated flower (Tetradynamia).
Indeed I did not hear of any body here who
had been much incommoded with the fcurvy.
But in tho.fe countries where this difeafe is
common, anti-fcorbutic plants grow in plenty,
efpecially on the fea-fhores ; that the failors,
who are mod afflicted with this diftemper,
may, as foon as they land, have the neceffary
remedies at hand. Thus we may fee in every-
place the cleared marks of the all-wife difpo-
fitions of our great Creator ; and the more
we confider nature, the more we are led to
C c 2 the
3 S8 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
flie knowledge cf him, who is the Lord of
the umverfe.
The harveft time now came on, for which
rcafon the Chincfe aflembled in great numbers,
to mow their rice, carry it home, and dry it
in convenient places*
The failor, who fome days ago fell from
our fhip into the river, and had been by the
rapid ftream carried immediately to the bot-
tom, was now found floating on the water, as
commonly happens on the third day. We
buried him very late at night, on the Danijl)
Wand,
The 20th of Oclober. t
To-day our boat was fent to fetch water
from the Dani/Jj IJland, whither I went with
i*:. We entered with the tide into a canal be-
tween the rice fields, nearer to the mouth of
the river than in the above-mentioned burying-
placc. We fetched the water out of a pit at
rhe bottom of a mountain ; and nothing but
ihe continual fupply of water could make us
te'ieve that this was a fprjng ; and even that
might
CHI N A. 1751-. 389
might arife from the water coming down the
hi! Is. The inhabitants, who were here in their
plantations, had purpofely ftirred the water
to make it muddy, that we might not go high-
er up ; for mifchievous people fometimes do
them a good deal of mifchief by pulling up their
potatoes, fugar-canes, &c. As I went on be-
tween their uninclofed fields, I was afked by
them, what countrymen we were ? and upon
ray anfwering, we are all of us Soy amen (for
fo they call the Swedes), I met with no further
oppofition ; but a Chinefs told me, that fome
Englijhmen had pulled up feveral roots in his
garden the day before : he then accompanied
me, and offered me fome potatoes ; but I was
more thirfty than hungry, and the v/ater was fo
wretched, though it was become clear, that
when it was ufed for tea, it flained cotton with
blue fpots. From this we concluded it was a
mineral water ; but we wanted the neceffary
materials to try it. It became milky with fugar
of lead.
Oxalis corniculata, by the Chinefc called
Syji-mee, grew near the fpring, and in other
low and ihady places. The corolla is as long
again as the calyx : the capfule is pentagonal,
oblong, with a point, and the whole plant is
jbiirj.
PvU ELL I A
39°
OSBECK'S VOYAGE
Ruellia crifpa grew under a tree on a high
mountain. The calyx is double, perfiftent,
and vifcous ; the lower one is biphyllous, its
foliola linear and ciliated ; the upper one is
quinquefid, with fegments as in the inferior
one : neither of them are deciduous, but the
flower is fo : the corolla is infundibuliform,
cylindrical below, and inflated at top : the
faux is bearded : the llmbus is quinquefid : the
lacinice are almofl round, equal to each other,
emarginated, and fomewhat reflected : the
four filaments are pointed, and fet at the bot-
tom of the cavity in the corolla : the two longer
ones are woolly, and bend towards the inci-
fions of the llmbus : the anthem are oblong,
triangular, ereded : the fijlillum is longer
than the filaments : the gcrmen is oblong : the
flylus is filiform, and dentated at the top: the
Jligma is long, fharp-pointed, and often bent.
The plant is zfigrutex, and has the appear-
ance of our yellow cock's comb {Rblnanihus
crlfta galli) it is rough, and lies on the
ground" The root is ramofe : the Hem is
almoft round, knobby, naked below, woody,
and ramofe : the leaves are alternate, lanceo-
latcd, oval, petiolated, undulated, green on
the upper, but whitifh on the under tide. The
flowers
CHINA. n$u 391
flowers grow at the top in globofe cyma, and
are yellow : the braclea are lanceolated. It
grows on open hills. The Chinefe name is
Fatt-fa,
Monard a Chlnenfis grew on a barren moun-
tain. The calyx is double ; the fuperior one
is pentaphyllous, with leaves of equal breadth;
the lower is diphyllous : the corolla is mono-
petalous : its tube is cylindrical, and longer
than the calyx : the upper-lip is undivided,
and fmall ; but the lower is trilaciniated, in-
flected, and longer than the upper one: the
fiamtna are two, with a fmgle pjlillwn. Its
yellow flowers are axillary, and very fmall.
The ftalk is fibrous. It grows on barren
places.
Lobelia Zeylanica flowered in the fame
place with the former. The calyx is quinque-
fid, expanded, hairy below, with oblong
fringes of the length of the corolla, which is
monopetalous and fattened to the calyx : its
tube is cylindrical: the limbus quinquefid:
the upper-lip is trifid, with o^al, cufpidated,
reSe&ed, lacinice. : the lower-lip is biiid, its
lacinice are the fame as thofe of the upper-
lip : the five f laments are filiform, broad, of
the
392 OSBECK'S VOYAGE.
the length of the tube, and come out of the
bell-fhaped neclarium ; two of them are hairy
below : the anther a grow together into an ob*
long cylinder : the pjiillum is of the length
of the filaments : the germen is almoft egg-
fhaped : the Jiyhis is filiform : the fiigma is
bifid or bilabiated : the capfulc is egg-fhaped :
the feeds are numerous, and very fmall. The
plant grows in watry and fliady places, and
creeps : the Jlalk is round : the leaves are al-
ternate, cordated, crenated, fmooth, petio-
lated : the flowerfialks, or peduncles, are axil-
lar, are the length of the leaves, and each
bears only one flower : the flowers are blue.
Evolvulus alfinoides is a very fmall, but
fine and fcarce plant, which likewife was an
inhabitant of a barren mountain ; and at a
diftance looked like flax : the calyx is quinque-
fid, with (tid.Yp figments, which arefhorter than
the corolla; this is monopetalous and inflated :
the five filaments are fhorter than the corolla ;
the anther a are oblong : the germen is fingle :
the fiylus quadrifid : the ftigmas entire. The
plant is of the length of a fpan, and looks like
the common flax.
HedysaruiM iriflorum', the flower of this
plant has eight anwera, whereof one is fingle,
but
CHINA. 1751- 393
but the other feven are connate, or grow to-
gether.
Polygonum Chinenfe, by the Chinefe called
Ka-yong-moa.
Solid ag o Chinenfts, caute procumbente, ra-
mis alternis, foliis radicalibus linearibus. It
grows fcarce one foot high.
Poly gal A ciliata.
Verbesina Chinenjis, by the Chinefe called
Kalingfa.
Clematis Ckinenfis. It has from three to
fix fiJHlla : the Jlyli are plumofe, reflefted, and
placed in a circle. I have feen no filaments.
The flirub is one of the climbers, and very
ramofe.
Commelina communis,
Commelina Chinenfts, or, as the Chinefe call
it, Ka-tyaa. The petals are all equal in fize :
the fern is knobby : the leaves are narrow,
lanceolated, rough, alternate, and end in a
'vagina. Perhaps it is the fame with the Com-
melina nudiflora.
Vol. I. D d Artemisia
594 OS BECK'S VOYAGE.
Artemisia vulgaris is the only StvediJJo
plant in this country % though it varies in
fome meafure from ours. The Chinefe heal
Wounds with it ; and to that purpofe apply
the frefh plant bruifed. They call it Gnai.
. Baccharis Indica, by the Chinefe called
Katc-gnau
Buxoides aeuleata, what the Chinefe call
Scw-pann-ghipp, is like our box-free, but
thorny. I did not fee its parts of fructification.
Zanthoxylon trifoliatum. A tree which
has not been obferved before. The Cfjinefe
call it Lack-fa.
Conyza hirfuta, of which the Chinefe name
is Kang-ganfa.
Katoa is a long climbing plant, with round
leaves and red flowers. It was without flowers
when I faw it.
S'yoe-lock-tao (Dolichos fcandens maxi-
mus) had large black beans, which were faid
r - This is alfo an Enghjh plaiit, mugwert.
10.
CHINA. 1751. 395
to be poifonous. The pods likewife grow
black when the fruit ripens.
Nauclea orlentalis grew on an hill, and
was now in flower. I made the following re-
marks on it : the partial calyces are monophyl-
lous, quadrifid, pilofe on the margin : the co-
rolla is infundibuliform : its tube is almoft
cylindrical : the faux is inflated and woolly :
the limbus is quadrifid and reflected : the four
filaments are fhort, fattened in the faux : the
anther a are imall, though longer than the
filaments, and erefted : the fiigma is narrow,
and bifid. The plant grows bufhy, and is of
the length of a fpan. The root creeps, and
(hoots many branches: xheflem is quadrangu-
lar : the flowers form a capitulum or head : the
leaves are oval, lariceolated, without incifions
or foot-ftalks, and oppofite. The Chinefe call
it Moyfa.
Cassvtha flifonms. The defcription of
the genus is to be met with in Linnai Gen-,
Plant arum. The plant is fcsrdent, filiform,
rough, and commonly climbs on the Euphorbia.
The little branches are in no order : vkieffliuitrs
grow in bunches like grapes: the ftipula 0:1
fhc branches are oval and final 1.
D d 2 In
39$ OSBECK'S VOYAGE, &c.
In the Eq/l Indies, boats and vefTels are nei-
ther tarred, nor their chinks caulked (filled
up with tow); but they are made to keep out
the water with a fort of cement, which is
prepared in the following manner : the afore-
mentioned plant is taken and beaten to a pulp ;
then fome lime, > both pounded and fifted, is
kneaded amongfl it, till it grows to a proper
confidence. This cement fecures their boats
longer from fpringing leaks, than tarring ;
befides that it does not become fluid as tar does
in hot countries. When a perfon's head is
rubbed with the flime which is fqueezed out
of the Caffytha, it makes the hair grow the
thicker. When the bruifed ftalks are put into
milk, it curdles, and the whey is ufeful in agues.
See Rurnph. Her bar. Amb %
tND OF VOL. I.
mm
New York Botanical Garden Library
DS708.O8 1771 v.1 ,_ „ gen
Osbeck, Per/A voyage to China and the Ea
3 5185 00074 2732
