﻿PLANTS 
  OF 
  CHINA 
  — 
  WALKER 
  351 
  

  

  fuel. 
  It 
  is 
  little 
  wonder, 
  then, 
  that 
  the 
  hills 
  near 
  the 
  great 
  cities 
  are 
  

   denuded. 
  

  

  A 
  factor 
  favoring 
  destruction 
  in 
  some 
  areas 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  fear 
  of 
  

   wild 
  animals, 
  such 
  as 
  tigers, 
  leopards, 
  and 
  wolves, 
  and 
  of 
  wild 
  men 
  

   or 
  bandits, 
  who, 
  indeed, 
  may 
  be 
  the 
  very 
  people 
  who 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  

   instance 
  lost 
  their 
  land 
  through 
  erosion 
  and 
  then 
  turned 
  to 
  banditry 
  

   in 
  order 
  to 
  maintain 
  life. 
  Thus 
  forests 
  have 
  been 
  cut 
  down 
  and 
  the 
  

   new 
  growth 
  kept 
  under 
  control 
  by 
  repeated 
  burning, 
  till 
  grasses 
  were 
  

   thoroughly 
  established 
  which 
  can 
  now 
  be 
  replaced 
  by 
  forests 
  only 
  

   with 
  the 
  greatest 
  of 
  difficulty. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  reported 
  that 
  hillsides 
  

   have 
  been 
  burned 
  over 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  ashes 
  will 
  wash 
  down 
  and 
  fertilize 
  

   the 
  cultivated 
  lowlands. 
  

  

  It 
  might 
  be 
  supposed 
  that 
  the 
  obvious 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  forests 
  to 
  the 
  

   country 
  as 
  a 
  whole 
  would 
  have 
  led 
  to 
  governmental 
  control 
  of 
  cut- 
  

   ting 
  and 
  to 
  replanting 
  on 
  an 
  extensive 
  scale. 
  Such 
  has 
  indeed 
  oc- 
  

   curred 
  in 
  certain 
  ancient 
  times 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  resumed 
  in 
  the 
  modern 
  

   period 
  of 
  China's 
  awakening. 
  But 
  governmental 
  control 
  in 
  China 
  has 
  

   long 
  been 
  weak, 
  and 
  the 
  intense 
  preoccupation 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  with 
  the 
  

   struggle 
  for 
  existence 
  has 
  prevented 
  any 
  general 
  demand 
  for 
  im- 
  

   proved 
  conditions. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  observed 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  Ming 
  and 
  Ching 
  

   Dynasties 
  the 
  officials 
  were 
  drawn 
  largely 
  from 
  the 
  "literati" 
  or 
  

   scholars 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  who, 
  though 
  they 
  appreciated 
  the 
  forests 
  

   around 
  the 
  villages 
  and 
  temples, 
  were 
  little 
  inclined 
  to 
  protect, 
  main- 
  

   tain, 
  and 
  develop 
  forested 
  areas. 
  They 
  left 
  the 
  problem 
  to 
  the 
  lower 
  

   classes, 
  who 
  had 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  vision 
  beyond 
  their 
  narrow 
  fields 
  nor 
  

   means 
  to 
  carry 
  out 
  what 
  little 
  they 
  did 
  have. 
  Furthermore, 
  the 
  

   rulers, 
  unlike 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  feudal 
  governors 
  of 
  Europe, 
  were 
  not 
  

   given 
  to 
  sports 
  requiring 
  hunting 
  preserves. 
  Hence, 
  no 
  wild 
  areas 
  

   were 
  protected 
  for 
  their 
  immediate 
  owners 
  and 
  for 
  posterity, 
  as 
  

   happened 
  in 
  Europe. 
  An 
  exception 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  certain 
  imperial 
  

   hunting 
  preserves 
  in 
  north 
  China, 
  most 
  of 
  which, 
  after 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  

   the 
  Empire 
  in 
  1911, 
  were 
  sold 
  by 
  the 
  abandoned 
  and 
  impoverished 
  

   Manchus 
  for 
  commercial 
  exploitation, 
  so 
  that 
  they 
  themselves 
  might 
  

   still 
  subsist. 
  This 
  lack 
  of 
  interest 
  in 
  forests 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   "literati" 
  rulers 
  has 
  prevented 
  the 
  Government 
  from 
  protecting 
  any 
  

   private 
  investment 
  in 
  maintained 
  forests, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  common 
  people 
  

   have 
  been 
  unimpeded 
  in 
  their 
  seizing 
  of 
  whatever 
  they 
  could. 
  Even 
  

   safe 
  titles 
  to 
  nonagricultural 
  lands 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  had, 
  so 
  that 
  there 
  

   was 
  little 
  incentive 
  to 
  private 
  initiative 
  in 
  forest 
  development, 
  and 
  

   lumber 
  companies 
  could 
  profit 
  only 
  by 
  quick 
  and 
  complete 
  exploita- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  whatever 
  concessions 
  they 
  could 
  obtain. 
  

  

  Even 
  the 
  little 
  protection 
  which 
  the 
  Government 
  could 
  give 
  in 
  

   peace 
  times 
  has 
  been 
  impossible 
  in 
  times 
  of 
  war. 
  During 
  these 
  crises, 
  

   especially 
  following 
  the 
  revolution 
  in 
  1911, 
  forest 
  destruction 
  has 
  gone 
  

  

  