﻿PLANTS 
  OF 
  CHINA 
  — 
  WALKER 
  357 
  

  

  named. 
  Indeed, 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  may 
  not 
  yet 
  be 
  known 
  to 
  science, 
  

   for 
  only 
  about 
  3 
  years 
  ago 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  lo 
  han 
  kwoh, 
  a 
  long- 
  

   known 
  Chinese 
  fruit 
  of 
  the 
  melon 
  family 
  (Cucurbitaceae), 
  repre- 
  

   sented 
  a 
  new 
  species, 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  may 
  well 
  be 
  true 
  of 
  some 
  industrial 
  

   plants. 
  Often 
  a 
  manufactured 
  product 
  or 
  food 
  comes 
  from 
  a 
  special 
  

   variety 
  or 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  well-known 
  plant, 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  developed 
  in 
  

   a 
  limited 
  isolated 
  region 
  never 
  visited 
  by 
  anyone 
  with 
  an 
  inquiring 
  

   scientific 
  mind. 
  Likewise 
  many 
  processes 
  of 
  manufacture 
  have 
  not 
  

   been 
  adequately 
  described, 
  for 
  few 
  observers 
  give 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  

   many 
  minute 
  and 
  apparently 
  trivial 
  details 
  of 
  the 
  intricate 
  processes 
  

   of 
  turning 
  raw 
  materials 
  into 
  manufactured 
  products 
  or 
  of 
  preparing 
  

   plants 
  for 
  food. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  impossible 
  within 
  the 
  scope 
  of 
  a 
  paper 
  dealing 
  in 
  a 
  broad 
  way 
  

   with 
  the 
  botany 
  of 
  China 
  to 
  do 
  more 
  than 
  suggest 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  the 
  

   fascinating 
  field 
  of 
  economic 
  botany. 
  To 
  discuss 
  the 
  plants 
  from 
  which 
  

   are 
  manufactured 
  paper 
  and 
  textiles 
  other 
  than 
  those 
  already 
  men- 
  

   tioned, 
  or 
  from 
  which 
  oils, 
  resins, 
  gums, 
  varnishes, 
  dyes, 
  drugs, 
  and 
  a 
  

   host 
  of 
  other 
  products 
  are 
  extracted, 
  would 
  require 
  far 
  too 
  much 
  space. 
  

   The 
  subject 
  of 
  the 
  uses 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  kinds 
  of 
  bamboo 
  alone 
  is 
  itself 
  one 
  

   for 
  a 
  separate 
  book. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  fascinations 
  of 
  China 
  is 
  the 
  

   finding 
  of 
  the 
  different 
  ways 
  in 
  which 
  things 
  are 
  done. 
  A 
  factor 
  

   which 
  makes 
  for 
  the 
  ready 
  observation 
  of 
  such 
  things 
  is 
  the 
  home-and- 
  

   shop 
  method 
  of 
  manufacture 
  of 
  numerous 
  articles, 
  in 
  contrast 
  with 
  the 
  

   closed-factory 
  method 
  used 
  in 
  this 
  country. 
  Generally, 
  too, 
  the 
  people 
  

   are 
  responsive 
  to 
  an 
  interest 
  in 
  their 
  occupations 
  and 
  the 
  methods 
  

   used. 
  

  

  THE 
  EXCHANGE 
  OF 
  USEFUL 
  PLANTS 
  WITH 
  OTHER 
  COUNTRIES 
  

  

  Most 
  of 
  the 
  important 
  crops 
  of 
  Europe 
  and 
  North 
  America 
  

   originated 
  in 
  Asia. 
  Likewise 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  crops 
  of 
  China 
  are 
  

   introductions, 
  wheat 
  being 
  a 
  native 
  of 
  southwestern 
  Asia, 
  kaoliang 
  4 
  

   probably 
  of 
  India, 
  and 
  rice 
  of 
  southern 
  or 
  southeastern 
  Asia, 
  as 
  far 
  

   as 
  known. 
  Many 
  plants 
  were 
  exchanged 
  between 
  Europe 
  and 
  China 
  

   in 
  early 
  days 
  along 
  the 
  caravan 
  routes 
  across 
  central 
  Asia 
  and 
  Persia, 
  

   as 
  has 
  been 
  told 
  by 
  B. 
  Laufer, 
  of 
  the 
  Feld 
  Museum 
  in 
  Chicago, 
  in 
  his 
  

   scholarly 
  study 
  under 
  the 
  title 
  "Sino-Iranica 
  : 
  Chinese 
  Contributions 
  

   to 
  the 
  History 
  of 
  Civilization 
  in 
  Ancient 
  Iran, 
  with 
  Special 
  Reference 
  

   to 
  the 
  History 
  of 
  Cultivated 
  Plants 
  and 
  Products." 
  The 
  taking 
  of 
  

   useful 
  Chinese 
  plants 
  to 
  Europe 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  mentioned 
  as 
  the 
  

   major 
  objective 
  of 
  most 
  western 
  botanists 
  in 
  China. 
  In 
  recent 
  years 
  

   the 
  methods 
  of 
  search 
  have 
  been 
  much 
  perfected, 
  and 
  the 
  results 
  at- 
  

   tained 
  have 
  considerably 
  affected 
  our 
  economic 
  life. 
  

  

  « 
  See 
  footnote 
  3, 
  p. 
  350. 
  

   566766—44 
  24 
  

  

  