﻿358 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  Of 
  all 
  the 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  from 
  which 
  plants 
  may 
  be 
  introduced 
  

   into 
  Europe 
  and 
  America, 
  China 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  promising 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  

   great 
  number 
  and 
  diversity 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  occurring 
  there 
  and 
  because 
  

   most 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  Temperate 
  Zone 
  plants, 
  hence 
  suitable 
  for 
  cultivation 
  

   in 
  other 
  temperate 
  regions. 
  Another 
  factor 
  is 
  that 
  during 
  the 
  long 
  

   development 
  of 
  Chinese 
  agriculture 
  many 
  new 
  varieties 
  and 
  forms 
  have 
  

   been 
  selected 
  and 
  developed 
  which 
  are 
  also 
  suitable 
  for 
  our 
  use. 
  

  

  Many 
  kinds 
  of 
  introductions 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  from 
  China. 
  Some 
  are 
  

   ornamentals 
  for 
  adorning 
  our 
  gardens, 
  others 
  are 
  new 
  food 
  plants 
  or 
  

   new 
  varieties 
  or 
  forms 
  of 
  old 
  ones, 
  or 
  disease-resistant 
  forms, 
  and 
  still 
  

   others 
  are 
  plants 
  needed 
  in 
  industry, 
  such 
  as 
  wood 
  or 
  tung 
  oil. 
  

   Furthermore, 
  some 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  introduced 
  for 
  special 
  protective 
  

   plantings, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  Chinese 
  elm 
  (Ulmus 
  pumila) 
  from 
  dry 
  north 
  

   China, 
  much 
  used 
  in 
  our 
  well-known 
  Prairie 
  States 
  shelter-belt 
  project. 
  

  

  The 
  methods 
  used 
  by 
  plant 
  explorers 
  vary 
  according 
  to 
  their 
  ob- 
  

   jectives, 
  their 
  own 
  individual 
  peculiarities 
  and 
  abilities, 
  and 
  the 
  

   regions 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  work. 
  Most 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  been 
  sent 
  by 
  some 
  

   scientific 
  society 
  or 
  government 
  to 
  collect 
  living 
  plants, 
  seeds, 
  or 
  cut- 
  

   tings. 
  Others 
  have 
  been 
  foreign 
  residents 
  in 
  China, 
  teachers, 
  mission- 
  

   aries, 
  or 
  consular 
  officers, 
  who 
  have 
  obtained 
  material 
  in 
  their 
  spare 
  

   time, 
  or 
  as 
  part-time 
  collaborators 
  with 
  their 
  home 
  governments. 
  

   Some 
  explorers 
  have 
  traveled 
  far 
  and 
  fast 
  with 
  little 
  baggage, 
  picking 
  

   up 
  the 
  most 
  promising 
  plants 
  from 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  for 
  mailing 
  home. 
  

   Still 
  others 
  have 
  traveled 
  in 
  large 
  parties 
  with 
  full 
  equipment 
  and 
  

   many 
  helpers 
  (pi. 
  6), 
  usually 
  with 
  official 
  military 
  escorts. 
  Some- 
  

   times 
  they 
  have 
  gone 
  unobtrusively 
  about 
  their 
  work, 
  speaking 
  the 
  

   language 
  and 
  mingling 
  with 
  the 
  people 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  them, 
  or 
  perhaps 
  

   working 
  with 
  or 
  through 
  a 
  trained 
  native 
  assistant. 
  Some 
  of 
  our 
  ex- 
  

   plorers 
  have 
  established 
  themselves 
  with 
  full 
  equipment 
  in 
  some 
  large 
  

   city 
  near 
  the 
  region 
  to 
  be 
  explored, 
  from 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  sallied 
  forth 
  

   on 
  frequent 
  journeys 
  into 
  the 
  country. 
  This 
  enables 
  them 
  to 
  return 
  as 
  

   often 
  as 
  necessary 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  place 
  to 
  see 
  the 
  different 
  stages 
  of 
  de- 
  

   velopment 
  of 
  plants 
  they 
  were 
  gathering, 
  or 
  the 
  local 
  process 
  oi 
  

   harvesting 
  and 
  preserving 
  them. 
  Frequently 
  in 
  working 
  in 
  this 
  man- 
  

   ner 
  they 
  first 
  visit 
  the 
  markets 
  to 
  discover 
  what 
  fruits 
  and 
  vegetables 
  

   are 
  being 
  offered 
  for 
  sale 
  (pi. 
  12, 
  figs. 
  1 
  and 
  2) 
  . 
  Then 
  they 
  find 
  whence 
  

   they 
  came 
  and 
  finally 
  visit 
  the 
  farmers 
  who 
  raised 
  them. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  

   plant 
  explorer's 
  greatest 
  problems 
  is 
  packing 
  and 
  shipping 
  the 
  seeds, 
  

   cuttings, 
  and 
  full 
  plants 
  to 
  their 
  new 
  homes, 
  so 
  that 
  they 
  will 
  arrive 
  

   safely 
  and 
  in 
  viable 
  condition. 
  They 
  must 
  also 
  be 
  disease-free, 
  so 
  

   that 
  they 
  may 
  pass 
  the 
  rigid 
  quarantine 
  established 
  to 
  keep 
  foreign 
  

   diseases 
  from 
  reaching 
  plants 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  not 
  immune 
  to 
  their 
  

   ravages. 
  Often 
  these 
  collectors 
  have 
  endured 
  great 
  hardships, 
  and 
  

   a 
  number 
  have 
  died 
  in 
  the 
  field 
  as 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  privations. 
  Many, 
  too, 
  

  

  