Note 2 — Chapter LI · LAKE KHANKA TO THE COAST.

When he left America he brought eight of a choice sort in his portmanteau, and in three years had as many as he needed, and so fine that they weighed 1 lb. each. The Chinese have since planted them, but cultivate them so badly that their size has greatly diminished. On the same land the captain sowed maize, and from one grain grew a stalk with three heads and 900 grains. This he thought exceptional, but considered 500 grains for one an average return. He sowed in drills, and cleaned the land with a cultivator drawn by an ox. This plan in the Western States of America, he said, yielded six bushels an acre more than ordinarily.