They are sent
out every morning to get their own living and return at night. Until
they learn to obey their keeper's call quickly the last duck is always
whipped. I am told it is most ridiculous to see the hurry of the last
half-dozen birds of a flock of some thousands of ducks. I was most
anxious to see them, but it is not the right time of year now. The
young ducks are only just beginning to hatch, and the old ones are not
numerous, and are mostly laying.
There was no time to go and see the temple of Honan, for we were more
anxious to avail ourselves of a chance of visiting some interesting
places in the Chinese city. We went through a street, consisting
entirely of fruiterers' shops, to which the name of Kwohlaorn, or
fruit-market, is applied. In this market, which is of great extent,
there is for sale at all seasons of the year an almost countless
variety of fruit.
A silkworm establishment was pointed out to us in the distance, but we
did not go over it, as we had seen many before, and it is not the best
season of the year. The silkworms are most carefully tended, the
people who look after them being obliged to change their clothes
before entering the rooms where they are kept, and to perform all
sorts of superstitious ceremonies at every stage of the insect's
growth.
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