EXPEDITION TO CENTRAL ЕОКТЕХ. 351 
exhaustive collection of all the species of flowering plants and cryptogams 
recognizable in late spring and early summer, and to preserve all but the 
commonest species in quadruplicate for purposes of distribution. With this 
object in view, I determined to take as much drying paper as could possibly 
be wanted for making a large collection, to take an extra man from the 
colonial herbarium expressly for managing the drying presses, and to keep 
throughout within touch of rivers, the only routes on which this heavy outfit 
could be easily transported. Foochow was reached on April 25th, and eleven 
days were spent in collecting on the plains and lower hills round the city. 
The banks of the Yuen Fu River were also explored up to about 30 miles from 
its Junction with the Min. At this point lies the large island of Nantai, on 
which Foochow is partly built. The narrow rocky gorges which run up from 
the Yuen Fu, and the extensive bamboo groves which clothe the lower hills 
along its course proved most interesting collecting grounds, and yielded 
several new or otherwise interesting species. 
On the evening of May 4th we started up the main stream of the Min, and 
in two days reached the lower end of the rapids at Shui Kau (mouth of the 
waters). From this point the Min is barred by an almost unbroken succes- 
sion of more or less dangerous rapids as far as Yenping, a distance of 
90 miles in the direct line, or about double that distance by river. 
The passage of the rapids in either direction is expensive and difficult, and 
this, in an almost roadless country, has doubtless contributed to the scarcity of 
the information, both botanieal and otherwise, which has reached us from the 
interior. 
Up to this time the weather had been fine and most favourable for our 
purpose, and, although a few wet spells were encountered during our stay in 
the interior, they were never long enough seriously to hamper our work. 
А day was spent in exploring the valleys near Shui Kau, along Tap Ling 
Ho, and several interesting plants were found among the extensive Tea-oil 
plantations whieh here cover nearly all the low-lying hills ; the little known 
Actinidia lanata was as common as the blackberry is in England, and groves 
of the rare Machilus Grijsii, just then in full fruit, made fine pieces of colour 
owing to the vivid scarlet of their peduncles. As the rapids were ascended 
the country, which had at first been open and cultivated, became enclosed by 
high mountains. 200 more species from the banks of the Min were added to 
our presses, which now contained about 700 species or some 2000 specimens. 
Yenping was reached on the 13th of May : here we were fortunate enough to 
meet Dr. Skinner of the American Mission, who lent us a room in which to 
store our belongings, and I determined to make this the base for future 
work. As we could see from the river that high mountains, densely covered 
in some parts with forests, stood within reach of the city, this neighbourhood 
seemed a suitable one in which to occupy the 3 or 4 weeks which still 
