I am inclined to suppose that Polo's
large pears were Chinese quinces, Cydonia chinensis, Thouin, this fruit
being of enormous size, sometimes one foot long, and very fragrant. The
Chinese use it for sweet-meats." (Bretschneider, Hist. of Bot. Disc. I.
p. 2.) - H.C.]
As regards the "yellow and white" peaches, Marsden supposes the former to
be apricots. Two kinds of peach, correctly so described, are indeed common
in Sicily, where I write; - and both are, in their raw state, equally good
food for i neri! But I see Mr. Moule also identifies the yellow peach
with "the hwang-mei or clingstone apricot," as he knows no yellow peach
in China.
NOTE 6. - "E non veggono mai l'ora che di nuovo possano ritornarvi;" a
curious Italian idiom. (See Vocab. It. Univ. sub. v. "vedere".)
NOTE 7. - It would seem that the habits of the Chinese in reference to the
use of pepper and such spices have changed. Besides this passage, implying
that their consumption of pepper was large, Marco tells us below (ch.
lxxxii.) that for one shipload of pepper carried to Alexandria for the
consumption of Christendom, a hundred went to Zayton in Manzi. At the
present day, according to Williams, the Chinese use little spice; pepper
chiefly as a febrifuge in the shape of pepper-tea, and that even less
than they did some years ago.
