THROUGH THE LAOLIN (WILDERNESS) 237 



extended exploration impossible. The flora generally is that 

 common to every mountain in this region of similar altitude, 

 but, of course, it has a certain number of species peculiarly its 

 own in the same way as every other mountain in China has. 

 The outstanding feature is its wealth of Bamboo-scrub ; its 

 speciality, the abundant carpet of Sphagnum moss on the 

 summit. This moss occurs on Wa shan and virtually on all 

 the other mountains of this region, between 8000 and 11,500 

 feet, but nowhere have I seen it so luxuriantly plentiful as on 

 Wa-wu shan. 



The day being fine and clear I obtained good views of every- 

 thing. The summit is made up of low, wooded hillocks, tiny 

 dales, and glades. Here and there it is a morass, and on one 

 occasion from such a place we flushed a Solitary Snipe. The 

 feathery Bamboo-culms are very beautiful, and the scattered, 

 often sentinel-like, old trees of Silver Fir quite picturesque. A 

 few trees of Hemlock Spruce occur, but their number is in- 

 finitesimal. Some of the Silver Fir were 100 feet tall, and 10 

 to 12 feet in girth, but all such trees contain much dead wood. 

 Here and there saplings are common, but they can scarcely 

 compete with the Bamboo in the struggle for possession. 

 At one time Davidia (both hairy and glabrous-leaved forms), 

 Tetracentron, Magnolia, various species of Acer, Pyrus, Cas- 

 tanopsis, Evergreen Oak, and Laurinece covered the lesser 

 slopes, but, to-day, these are all represented only by bushes 

 which have sprung up from the felled trees. Rhododendrons 

 are fairly numerous, and I noted about ten species. One of 

 these forms a tree 25 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet in girth. (It 

 proved to be new, and has been named in honour of the 

 Rev. Harry Openshaw, of Yachou Fu.) Various Araliads are 

 plentiful, and were mostly in ripe fruit. The Chinese Fir 

 ascends to 4500 feet altitude, and very few of the evergreens 

 other than Rhododendron extend above 6000 feet. Herbs, 

 of course, occur, but none of any great value or interest. 



A local industry of considerable importance at the season 

 of the year my visit occurred, and for six weeks previously, is 

 the collecting and preparing of young Bamboo shoots for 

 culinary purposes. The species in request is one having 

 culms the thickness of a man's thumb, and growing 10 feet tall. 



