52 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



of the pellicle, which adheres tenaciously to parts of the grain 

 after milling. Glutinose Rice (0. sativa, var. glutinosa) does 

 not take the place of the other two as a food-stuff, being only 

 eaten for a change. It is valued for the weak spirit which is 

 made from it, for the sugar which is extracted from it, and for 

 making into cakes and sweetmeats. It is later in ripening 

 than the other varieties, and always commands a higher 

 price in the market. In Yunnan a variety which will thrive 

 without water is grown. This Upland Rice [0. sativa, var. 

 montana) yields but a poor crop and is very inferior. 



Whilst the Chinese are pre-eminently a rice-eating race, it 

 should be borne in mind that there are millions of Chinese who, 

 save on rare occasions, never eat rice at all. To these people, 

 wheat, maize, and buckwheat are the staple cereals. In the 

 rice-growing districts of China, Wheat {Triticum sativum) is 

 a winter crop, occupying the ground from October to early 

 May. In the mountainous districts and in the colder provinces 

 it is a most important summer crop. I have noted no fewer 

 than five very distinct varieties, comprising both " red " and 

 " white " wheats, and both awned and awnless kinds. In late 

 August the mountain-sides and valleys in western Szechuan 

 present a glorious picture of miles and miles of rolling grain 

 fields. In this region 8ooo to 10,500 feet represent the wheat- 

 growing belt. The grain is sown by hand in rows, the seeds 

 being dropped in clusters a few inches apart. In the Yangtsze 

 Valley, if the wheat crop is late in ripening, it is ploughed in 

 to make way for rice. In the plains of central China the grain 

 is threshed out the moment it is harvested. On the Thibetan 

 borderland it is tied into sheaves and stacked, ears downwards, 

 on tall hurdle-like arrangements (Kai-kos) until time and weather 

 admit of its being threshed. (These remarks also apply to 

 barley, oats, and other crops.) The grain is ground into flour 

 and made into cakes and vermicelli. Chinese flour is usually 

 gritty and of bad colour. 



Barley is sparsely cultivated throughout the Yangtsze 

 VaUey, and it is only in the mountainous Thibetan borderland 

 that it is largely grown. The Chinese do not care for the meal, 

 and the grain is chiefly used for making spirit and for feeding 

 pigs and other domestic animals. The Thibetans, on the other 



