58 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



At Chu-ku-ping we managed to get one good meal from the 

 local head-man and bought portions of a wild pig recently 

 killed. At the hostel nothing was obtainable and the men had 

 to eke out on the small rations they had with them. Goitre 

 is common in these regions and nearly every one is affected. It 

 would seem to be hereditary, since I noticed children in arms 

 showing unmistakable sweUings in the throat. 



Boisterous winds and heavy clouds alternating with bright 

 sunshine marked our first day's journey in eastern Szechuan. 

 We were again amongst cliffs of hard limestone and the scenery 

 strikingly resembles that of the Yangtsze Gorges and contiguous 

 country. The whole region is too steep for cultivation, and 

 habitations are few and far between and most dilapidated in 

 character. The soil is stiff, clayey loam and the few crops we 

 saw were wheat, Rye {Secale fragile), Irish potato, maize, and 

 pulse. The cliffs are for the most part well timbered, and 

 the common trees and shrubs of Hupeh are represented. Pinus 

 Armandi is very abundant and P. Henryi is also common. 

 Odd trees of Spruce and Hemlock also occur. A fine speci- 

 men of Acer griseum, 60 feet tall, 7 feet in girth, with curious 

 cinnamon-red papery bark was the feature of the day's march ; 

 unfortunately, it was badly situated for photographing. Beech, 

 Yellow-wood and Dipteronia sinensis were common trees en 

 route. 



The road is one long succession of ascents and descents 

 and most fatiguing. In the afternoon, after a particularly 

 trying ascent, we wandered for an hour or so through woods of 

 Oak (chiefly Quercus variabilis and Q. aliena) and Sweet 

 Chestnut, the latter laden with its white, evil-smelling flowers. 

 Walnut and Varnish trees are everywhere abundant and 

 Campanula punctata is a common weed of cultivation. No 

 foreigner had ever before traversed this region and the people 

 were very timid, locking up their houses and hiding themselves 

 from view at our approach. The cliffs in this neighbourhood are 

 full of caves and many of these are bricked up to form places of 

 refuge in troublous times. We found lodgings for the night at 

 Peh-kuo-yiien, alt. 3750 feet, in the house of the head-man of 

 the hamlet. Food-stuffs were scarce and there was great 

 difficulty in persuading the people to part. What little we 



