4 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



of the Lower Yangtsze, and its vast alluvial delta and plains, 

 no doubt mizzled Maries, as it has done others. So densely 

 is China populated that every bit of suitable land has been 

 developed under agriculture. A Chinese is capable of getting 

 more returns from a given piece of land than the most expert 

 agriculturist of any other country. Dry farming and intensive 

 cultivation, though unknown to the Chinese under these 

 terms, have been practised by them from time immemorial. 

 The land is never idle, but is always undergoing tilling and 

 manuring. Nevertheless, in spite of the almost incredible 

 industry of the Chinese cultivator, much of the land in the 

 wild mountain fastnesses of central and Western China defies 

 agricultural skill, and it is in these regions that a surprisingly 

 varied flora obtains. These regions are very sparsely 

 populated, are difficult of access, and, until comparatively 

 recently, were totally unknown to the outside world. 



The botanical collections of the two French Roman Catholic 

 priests, les Abb^s David and Delavay, of the Russian traveller, 

 N. M. Przewalski, and of the Imperial Maritime Customs 

 officer, Augustine Henry, gave the first true insight into the 

 extraordinary richness of the flora of central and Western 

 China. Delavay's collection alone amounted to about 3000 

 species, and Henry's exceeded this number ! Botanists 

 were simply astounded at the wealth of new species and 

 new genera disclosed by these collections. An entirely new 

 light was thrown on many problems, and the headquarters of 

 several genera, such as, for example. Rhododendron, Lilium, 

 Primula, Pyrus, Rubus, Rosa, Vitis, Lonicera, and Acer, 

 heretofore attributed elsewhere, was shown to be China. 



This extraordinary wealth of species exists, notwith- 

 standing the fact that every available bit of land is under 

 cultivation. Below 2000 feet altitude the flora is every- 

 where relegated to the roadsides, the cliffs, and other more 

 or less inaccessible places. It is impossible to conceive the 

 original floral wealth of this country, for obviously many 

 types must have perished as agriculture claimed the land, 

 not to mention the destruction of forests for economic 

 purposes. 



In order to summarize the account of this wonderful flora 



