BOTANICAL STUDIES IN ASIA HITCHCOCK. 377 



is a large island off the south coast of China, about 180 miles long. 

 Landing at Hoihow we went inland to Kachek, one day's journey by 

 boat and two days on foot (though one can go by chair). From 

 Kachek a boat trip was made up the river into the foothills of the 

 central mountains. 



The writer is under great obligation to the presidents and faculties 

 of the two institutions mentioned, the University of Nanking and the 

 Canton Christian College, and to the missionaries at Yingtak, Shiu- 

 chow, and on the island of Hainan. The cooperation of the mis- 

 sionaries is almost indispensable to scientists traveling in the remote 

 parts of China. 



INDOCHINA. 



Landing at Haiphong in Tongking we went by rail to Hanoi and, 

 the next day, south by rail to Vinh. From this place over a good 

 road the journey is by auto and is scheduled to be a day's ride to 

 Dongha where another railway brings one to Hue, our objective. 

 Because of excessive rains it took two days to reach our destination, 

 the night being spent in a native hut on a Chinese bed — a board 

 platform. 



Hue, the capital of Annam, was of interest because here resided 

 the Portuguese botanist, Loureiro, who wrote a book on the flora of 

 Cochin China, published in 1790. It was hoped that collections made 

 at Hue might aid in interpreting Loureiro's meager descriptions. 

 The director of the botanic garden assigned an assistant to help us 

 in correlating the common or Annamese names with the Latin names 

 of the plants, and these common names were in turn checked with 

 those given by Loureiro. The native names of conspicuous or well- 

 known plants are probably the same now as in Loureiro's time and in 

 several cases among the grasses the names served to confirm the de- 

 scriptions. Aside from the comparison of the native names, the col- 

 lections of the grasses from this region aid by showing what species 

 Loureiro probably had at hand for study. The work of Loureiro 

 is of importance because, being published so early, his names, when 

 identified, have priority in many cases. 



After having finished our work at Hue we visited Tourane on the 

 coast and then returned to Haiphong the way we came. 



NOTES ON BOTANY AND AGRICULTURE OF CHINA. 



The conditions for collecting grasses were very favorable and a 

 large series of specimens was obtained. One of the prime objects of 

 the visit to China was the study of the bamboos. This group of 

 grasses is of much importance here because of the great variety of 

 uses to which the plants are put. The larger sorts are used for 

 structural purposes; thin-walled sorts are split into narrow strips 



