54 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



but from 5000 feet downwards slate and mud-shales pre- 

 dominate. 



At 4500 feet altitude we reached the edge of the forest 

 and entered a cultivated area, where there arc a few inhabited 

 houses — the first we had seen for two days. Barley and Irish 

 potato are the crops. Near the edge of the forest the torrent 

 flows underground for about a mile. On rocks here Loniccra 

 fileata abounds as a fluviatile shrub ; the curious climber 

 Hosiea sinensis is common, covering rocks fuUy exposed to the 

 sun. In the open country I noted in full flower a fine 

 specimen of the Chinese Tulip tree [Liriodendron chinense), 

 70 feet tall and 5 feet in girth. 



A precipitous descent, through fields margined with Tea- 

 bushes, led to the tiny hamlet of Sha-kou-ping, where the torrent 

 we had followed joins with a very considerable stream flowing 

 down from the north-east. The united waters plunge at once 

 into a ravine and finally enter the Yangtsze a few miles 

 above the city of Patung. Sha-kou-ping is only 2600 feet 

 above sea-level, and is hemmed in on all sides by lofty 

 cliffs. The flora is that common to the glens and gorges 

 around Ichang, and the wealth of flowers was extraordinary. 

 The Banksian rose is one of the commonest shrubs here- 

 abouts, and was laden with masses of fragrant white flowers. 

 Opium Poppy was abundant and the whole country- 

 side was gay with the colour of flowers. Sty rax Veitchiorum 

 occurs here, and trees 12 to 40 feet tall were masses of ivory- 

 white. 



From Sha-kou-ping we toiled slowly up the rocky ravine 

 down which the main stream rushes. A paper-mill or two 

 are located here, but houses are few and far between. The 

 rocks are of slaty shales, often very rotten, and the torrent 

 is a succession of rapids and cataracts. In spite of the 

 turbulent nature of its waters it is full of fish, some of them 

 of good size. 



The hamlet of Ma-hsien-ping, our intended destination, 

 proved to be a miserable place of some half a dozen hovels 

 all filled with people engaged in collecting tea. We there- 

 fore journeyed on for another 10 li to some farmhouses at 

 Shui-ting-liangtsze, and arrived just as the sun was setting 



