Birds of Foocliow and Swatow. 401 



me, to Shuikow (distance about 40 miles by road) the country 

 is wholly mountainous ; the hills are well wooded in many 

 parts and covered with thick jungle in others, rice being 

 grown in the valleys. The bed of the river down to Shuikow 

 is full of rocks and unnavi gable for any but rapid-boats, the 

 ordinary river-boats loading or discharging their cargo at 

 Shuikow (about 90 miles from the sea). The hills which 

 border the river for the next 50 miles are fairly high and 

 steep ; woods are numerous, but are chiefly composed of 

 firs {Pinus sinensis and Cimninghaniia lanceolata) , and 

 bracken and sword-grass jungle clothe the hill-sides to a 

 very great extent. The river continues to be hemmed in 

 by the hills till about 10 miles below Shuikow. The country 

 then opens out a little, allowing, occasionally, stretches of 

 flat cultivated country to extend between the hills and the 

 river-banks. Fifty miles below Shuikow the Foochow valley 

 is reached and the river divides into two wide branches, 

 which, uniting again about 18 miles further down at the 

 Pagoda anchorage, form the Island of Nantai. The extent 

 of the valley is about 25 miles in length, and 15 miles at 

 its extreme width. Rice (two crops), wheat, colza, sweet 

 potatoes, a little sugar, and water-chestnuts are the chief 

 ground-crops. There are also extensive groves of orange 

 (mandarin), lychee (Nephelium litchi), hingan {Nephelium 

 longan), and Chinese olive [Canarium album) ; large banyans 

 and clumps of tall pines occur here and there, and some 

 ranges of low hills which traverse the island are partly 

 covered with pine- woods. 



The hills which shut in the valley on the north are known 

 as the Peling (Northern Range) hills. This country re- 

 sembles that which lies between Shuikow and Ching-feng. 

 It is celebrated for its tea-plantations, which cover the hills 

 to a considerable extent. There is also a fair amount of 

 wooded country, and the valleys are devoted to the pro- 

 duction of rice. The altitude of Peling varies from 1000 to 

 3000 feet. 



The Yung-fu river flows into the Min at the southern side 

 of the valley. The hills along the Yung-fu are extensively 



SER. VI. VOL. IV. 2 D 



