EASTERN SZECHUAN 79 



and Irish potato elsewhere. Tobacco is grown ; a little of 

 this crop has been noted every day since leaving Taning Hsien. 

 Limekilns were common all day. In one place we saw a 

 number of men out with guns after Muntjac. They fired 

 several times, but did not succeed in killing the animal during 

 the time we watched the sport. 



A few li before reaching Che-kou-tzu we passed an un- 

 usually large house of much architectural beauty. It was 

 erected by a rich man named T'ao, who held the purchased 

 rank of " Hsien." He died some twenty years ago, and the 

 family has fallen on evil times, thanks to idleness and opium. 



The flora was not very interesting. Some fine trees of 

 Cypress and odd ones of Catalpa Duclouxii were noteworthy. 

 Pine abounds, and I saw several examples of " clustered 

 cones," These cones, a hundred and more crowded together, 

 were all small, and appeared to have displaced the male 

 flowers. Che-kou-tzu, alt. 2050 feet, consists of some forty 

 houses situate above the mouth of a stony stream and backed 

 by low mountains, on the top of which is an ancient fort. 



On leaving Che-kou-tzu we immediately entered a pretty 

 valley, highly cultivated with rice and bounded by low, 

 rolling hills. A large number of farmhouses and a small 

 hamlet occur in this small but prosperous valley. Through- 

 out the whole forenoon we traversed a number of such depres- 

 sions separated one from another by low ridges, always 

 ascending slightly with the valleys narrowing until finally they 

 become mere basins surrounded by rocky limestone mountain- 

 tops. Crossing a final ridge we entered Kai Hsien at a place 

 called Shih-ya-tzu, 35 li from Che-kou-tzu. Up to this point 

 the scenery is very pretty, the rocky mountain-tops being 

 clothed with woods of Pine and Cypress. Oak is common, 

 and in more open places and around habitations we passed fine 

 trees of Spondias, Pistacia, Paulownia, Tapiscia, and Hovenia 

 dulcis ; the last covered with masses of white flowers. 



The afternoon's journey was all downhill, ending in a very 

 precipitous descent to Wen-tang-ching. The road led through 

 maize plats, odd rice fields, and bare, treeless hilltops, with 

 no flora of interest. Nearing our halting-place for the day it 

 was fearfully hot, and the absence of shade was severely felt. 



