168 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



bringing with them famine and pestilence, landshps and the ob- 

 struction of rivers due to detritus, all follow the disappearance of 

 a country's forest wealth. The price has to be paid, there is no 

 alternative. Natural laws admit of no corruption; they are in- 

 violable and inexorable. But we digress : — The fruiting of coni- 

 fers is always uncertain and it was with the keenest pleasure that 

 I found them fruiting abundantly. Everything depended upon 

 this, for it is only with great difficulty that seedling plants can be 

 transported such long distances. In reference to this matter it 

 may be interesting to record the fact that quite a number of small 

 plants of Spruce and Silver Fir packed in sphagnum moss, sur- 

 vived the long journey and are now growing in the nurseries of 

 the Arnold Arboretum. But with abundant seed it was not 

 necessary to send many living plants. In all, seeds of some fifty 

 numbers of different conifers were despatched and, thanks to 

 prompt and proper attention, every one of them is at this moment 

 growing in the Arboretum and elsewhere. In addition to the coni- 

 fers, seeds of some three hundred and fifty miscellaneous trees and 

 shrubs were collected and most of them are growing away freely. 

 Perhaps the greatest surprise of the expedition was the discovery 

 of an entirely new species of Peach. This is about the last thing 

 one would have expected to crop up anywhere, but the investi- 

 gation of the Chinese flora has resulted in so many remarkable 

 discoveries that botanists nowadays are scarcely surprised at any- 

 thing. 



Living plants of the Chinese Sassafras, the two Beeches, many 

 Willows and Poplars safely withstood transportation and are 

 now added to the Arboretum collections. Several thousands of 

 lily bulbs were collected and after much difficulty and anxiety, 

 safely delivered into the hands of the Messrs. Farquhar. 



I returned via the Canadian-Pacific route, and reached Boston 

 on the evening of April 8th, 1911. The hearty welcome I received 

 from one and all intimately concerned with the expedition, and 

 from my numerous friends here, was ample reward for any per- 

 sonal difficulties and dangers I had encountered. 



Just one word in conclusion. In China, the success of any 

 venture depends very largely upon the sympathetic assistance 

 and cooperation on the part of native help. My association and 



