THE CHINO-THIBETAN BORDERLAND 153 



clothed only with coarse grass and scrub. Landslides are a 

 feature of these regions, especially during the melting of the 

 snows or after heavy rains in the surrounding high mountains. 

 At such times travelling hereabouts is highly dangerous, as 

 nearly every traveller can testify from ocular proof. I have 

 witnessed several disastrous landslides, involving loss of life 

 and much destruction of property. In 1910, when descending 

 the Min Valley, I unfortunately got involved in a minor one, 

 and sustained a compound fracture of the right leg just 

 above the ankle. In many places rockslides are constantly 

 occurring, and warning notices to travellers not to tarry are 

 frequently displayed throughout the Upper Min Valley and 

 elsewhere. 



Small villages and farmsteads are scattered through these 

 valleys where, goaded by stern necessity, the inhabitants 

 maintain a grim struggle to win a sustenance from the in- 

 hospitable soil. Where rice and maize can be cultivated 

 Chinese settlers are found, but above the altitudes admitting 

 of this the tribes are in full possession and cultivate crops of 

 wheat, barley, buckwheat, peas, and linseed — the latter for 

 its oil, which is used as an illuminant. Exceptionally good 

 Chilli peppers [Capsicum) are grown in these vaUeys, and certain 

 regions, for example Mao Chou, in the Min Valley, are renowned 

 for this produce. Around habitations a few trees, chiefly 

 Poplar, Alder, and Willow, are always present, affording a 

 welcome shade. Cupressus torulosa, a handsome timber tree, 

 often 80 to 100 feet tall, is very much at home in these valleys 

 and probably at one time covered quite considerable areas 

 hereabouts. This tree is well worth the attention of those en- 

 gaged in reafforestation work in dry, warm-temperate regions. 

 Other trees partial to these same conditions are Sophora 

 japonica, Diospyros Lotus, Pistacia chinensis, Erythrina indica, 

 Koelreuteria apiculata, Ailanthus Vilmoriniana, Celtis spp., and 

 the Soap trees [Sapindus mukorossi, Gleditsia spp.). Many 

 fruit trees occur, including the Pear, Apple, Peach, Apricot, 

 and Walnut ; the latter {Juglans regia) is the commonest 

 tree up to 8000 feet. The natives hack the lower trunk 

 to make the tree fruitful, so they claim, showing that 

 the old adage — "beating the Walnut tree" — is known out- 



