42 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



crowd every available spot. A fine torrent collects up the 

 waters of countless smaller streams, and falls down the narrow 

 ravine, often in a series of waterfalls hundreds of feet high, the 

 noise of the falling water alone breaking the silence of the forest 

 depths. 



With some difficulty, owing to the timidity of the people, 

 we obtained lodgings in a peasant's hut at Wen-tsao, alt. 

 6150 feet. This tiny hamlet consists of four small houses, 

 scattered and pitched on the steep mountain-slope. It is 

 surrounded on all sides by precipitous mountains covered with 

 forests. Around the houses small patches have been cleared, 

 and wheat, a little maize, and a few peas and vegetables are 

 cultivated. 



The forests of this region are particularly rich, and in order 

 to better appreciate them I propose to interpolate here extracts 

 from my j ournal of another date : — 



" May 30. — Wen-tsao. On a precipitous slope facing our 

 lodgings a score or more Davidia trees occur ; they are one 

 mass of white, and are most conspicuous as the shades of 

 night close in. Two large trees of Pterostyrax hispidus are 

 growing amongst these Davidias, and are laden with pendu- 

 lous chains of creamy- white flowers." 



" May 31. — Go over and investigate the Davidia trees 

 and the forests generally. Crossing a narrow neck a wood- 

 cutter's circuitous path leads us down to a narrow defile 

 through a fine shady wood. Ascending a precipice with diffi- 

 culty, we soon reach the Davidia trees. There are over a 

 score of them growing on a steep, rocky declivity ; they vary 

 from 35 to 60 feet in height, and the largest is 6 feet in girth. 

 Being in a dense wood they are bare of branches for half their 

 height, but their presence is readily detected by the numerous 

 white bracts which have fallen and lie strewn over the ground. 

 The tree starts up from below when felled ; indeed, it naturally 

 throws up small stems after it gets old. The bark is dark 

 and scales off in small, irregular flakes. By climbing a large 

 Tetracentron tree growing on the edge of a cliff, and chopping 

 off some branches to make a clear space, I manage to take 

 some snapshots of the upper part of the Davidia tree in full 

 flower. A difficult task and highly dangerous. Three of us 



