﻿THE 
  PLANTS 
  OF 
  CHINA 
  AND 
  THEIR 
  USEFULNESS 
  TO 
  

  

  MAN 
  

  

  By 
  Egbert 
  H. 
  Walkeb 
  

   Assistant 
  Curator, 
  Division 
  of 
  Plants, 
  U. 
  S. 
  National 
  Museum 
  

  

  [With 
  12 
  plates] 
  

  

  Foreigners 
  traveling 
  in 
  China 
  are 
  struck 
  by 
  the 
  contrast 
  between 
  

   the 
  barren, 
  treeless 
  mountains 
  and 
  hills, 
  with 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  small 
  

   patches 
  of 
  dense 
  forest 
  hiding 
  the 
  picturesque 
  temples, 
  and 
  the 
  inten- 
  

   sively 
  cultivated 
  fertile 
  valleys 
  or 
  strikingly 
  terraced 
  hillsides. 
  

   Scholars 
  delving 
  into 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  or 
  the 
  causes 
  for 
  the 
  

   locations 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  centers 
  of 
  population 
  find 
  that 
  the 
  plants 
  

   and 
  their 
  distribution, 
  past 
  and 
  present, 
  lie 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  many 
  

   problems. 
  Foreign 
  residents 
  meet 
  curiosity-arousing 
  plants 
  on 
  their 
  

   rambles 
  or 
  strange 
  plant 
  foods 
  on 
  their 
  tables. 
  The 
  great 
  majority 
  

   of 
  the 
  Chinese 
  people 
  are 
  farmers, 
  a 
  much 
  larger 
  proportion 
  than 
  

   in 
  America. 
  Likewise 
  most 
  merchants 
  are 
  constantly 
  dealing 
  with 
  

   plants 
  or 
  plant 
  products 
  in 
  their 
  business 
  transactions. 
  These 
  and 
  

   many 
  other 
  considerations 
  stress 
  the 
  importance 
  to 
  China 
  of 
  her 
  plants 
  

   and 
  vegetation. 
  

  

  The 
  flora 
  of 
  China 
  is 
  the 
  richest 
  of 
  any 
  temperate 
  region 
  in 
  the 
  

   world 
  and 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most, 
  if 
  not 
  the 
  most, 
  important 
  and 
  useful 
  to 
  

   man. 
  Although 
  it 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  explored 
  and 
  studied, 
  no 
  one 
  has 
  

   yet 
  prepared 
  a 
  manual 
  of 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  this 
  vast 
  area 
  or 
  of 
  any 
  major 
  

   part 
  of 
  it 
  comparable 
  to 
  our 
  well-known 
  Gray's 
  Manual 
  of 
  Botany 
  

   or 
  Britton 
  and 
  Brown's 
  Illustrated 
  Flora 
  of 
  the 
  Northern 
  States 
  and 
  

   Canada. 
  

  

  HISTORY 
  AND 
  PRESENT 
  STATUS 
  OF 
  BOTANY 
  IN 
  CHINA 
  

  

  How 
  we 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  know 
  about 
  this 
  plant 
  wealth 
  is 
  important 
  

   in 
  understanding 
  what 
  we 
  know 
  about 
  it 
  and 
  where 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  re- 
  

   corded 
  knowledge. 
  Recently 
  a 
  student 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  In- 
  

   stitution 
  to 
  find 
  a 
  detailed 
  map 
  showing 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  vege- 
  

   tation 
  in 
  China 
  and 
  its 
  character 
  in 
  every 
  locality. 
  Had 
  he 
  under- 
  

   stood 
  the 
  stage 
  of 
  development 
  of 
  our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  botany 
  of 
  

   China, 
  he 
  would 
  have 
  known 
  that 
  no 
  such 
  map 
  existed 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  

  

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