JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1915. 55 



40000 to 40039— Continued. (Quoted notes by Mr. F. N. Meyer.) 



They call this tree on this account Shih mien shu, meaning ' stone cotton 

 tree,' reference being made apparently to the resemblance of this 

 caoutchouc or rubber to asbestos. The bark of this Eucommia is a valu- 

 able drug, used as a heart stimulant and said to benefit especially those 

 whose hearts have become affected by overindulgence in opium. The 

 bark is called Tu chung, meaning ' heart's ease,' and the tree also passes 

 under that name, although in Shensi and Kansu the name Shih mien shu 

 is the one commonly used. It seems that the bark is mostly taken from 

 trees that are from 7 to 12 years old. Here and there the Chinese have 

 taken advantage of the rapid growth the Eucommia makes when young, 

 and they have planted them along roadsides, together with poplars. The 

 long, stender, and straight stems are used for house-building purposes. 

 This tree reaches a height of 80 feet, but it seems to grow best when 

 sheltered by other trees. Of value as a quick-growing ornamental tree 

 for parks in those sections of the United States where the winters are 

 not too severe. It also might be planted in plantations, after careful 

 inquiries have been made as to the amount of bark China could take an- 

 nually, and its bark exported to China. Obtained from the garden of 

 the Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries in Huihsien." 



"A deciduous tree, not yet found by Europeans in a wild state, but 

 from 20 to 30 feet high, as seen cultivated by the Chinese. It probably 

 readies a large size. Leaves alternate, ovate to oval, long and slender 

 pointed, toothed, 2 to 8 inches long, slightly hairy on both surfaces when 

 young, becoming smooth above. Flowers unisexual, the sexes on separate 

 trees ; they are inconspicuous, the males consisting of brown stamens 

 only ; female ones not seen by me. Fruit flat and winged, 1-seeded, 

 rather like an enlarged fruit of wych-elm, oval oblong, 1£ inches long, 

 tapering at the base into a short stalk, apex notched. 



" Introduced to France from China about 1896, and a few years later 

 to Kew, where several plants raised from the original plant (a male) 

 are 15 to 20 feet high and have several times flowered. It was first 

 discovered in China by Henry as a cultivated tree, 20 to 30 feet high, 

 but as its bark is and has been for 2,000 years highly valued by the 

 Chinese for its real or supposed tonic and other medicinal virtues, it 

 is never allowed to reach its full size, but is cut down and stripped of 

 its bark. To Europeans the most interesting attribute of this tree is its 

 containing rubber. What its commercial value may be is doubtful ; the 

 rubber is apparently of inferior quality, but the tree is of peculiar 

 interest, as the only one hardy in our climate that is known to produce 

 this substance. If a leaf be gently torn in two, strings of rubber are 

 visible. At Kew, grown in good loam, it has proved absolutely hardy 

 and a vigorous grower; it can be propagated by cuttings made of half- 

 ripened wood put in gentle heat. Wilson introduced seeds to the Coombe 

 Wood nursery, from which, no doubt, trees of both sexes have been 

 raised. Some authors place it in the witch-hazel family." ( U . •/. Bean, 

 Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, vol. 1. p. 5S4-5S5.) 



For an illustration of these gum-producing trees as found growing in 

 China, see Plate IX. 

 40029. Trachycarpus excelsus (Thunb.) Wemll. Phoenicacese. Palm. 



"(No. 21G7a. Huihsien. Kansu, China. September 28, L914.) The 

 Chinese fan or coir palm, cultivated in gardens in southern Shensi and 

 southern Kansu as an ornamental tree, reaching a height of 30 to 40 



