FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY. 103 



the summer residence of the Emperor. These 

 forests used formerly to be strictly preserved for 

 the Imperial chase, but the death of Kia-king in 

 1820 while hunting put a stop to this amusement. 

 Notwithstanding the foresters placed there to protect 

 it, the timber is undergoing wholesale destruction 

 and judging from what we saw, hardly a good-sized 

 tree remained, the number of stumps evidencing 

 recent and extensive fellings. 



The only animal wc found was \}i\^ pygai'g {Ccrvus 

 pygargiLs) ; the natives, however, asserted that there 

 were roe-deer and tigers. Pheasants {Phasiamts 

 torqiLatus), partridges {Perdix barbata, P. cimkar), 

 and rock-doves {Columba rupestris) were plentiful ; 

 woodpeckers {Pic us sp.), buntings {Emberiza ciodcs ?) 

 and Ptei'0}^hiims Davidii more scarce. The ornitho- 

 logy was not very varied, perhaps because the season 

 was not far enough advanced for the migratory 

 birds. 



This border district forms part of the circuit of 

 Chen-tu-fu, and belongs to the province of Chihli.^ 

 Although outside the Great Wall, i.e. beyond the 

 boundary of China Proper, its inhabitants are exclu- 

 sively Chinese, not a single Mongol being found 

 among them. The valleys are covered with villages 

 or detached farm-houses, '-^ surrounded by cultivated 



i. 132-138. See also 'A Month in Mongolia,' 'The Phoenix,' ii. 114, 

 120.)— M. 



^ According to the most recent changes Chihli or Peh-chihli, the 

 northern province, extends about fifty miles to the north of Dolon-nor, 

 and ten to the east of Kalgan. See 'A Month in Mongolia,' 'The 

 Phoenix,' ii. 1 13. — M. 



'^ There are no towns here like those in China Proper ; and we only 

 passed two settlements, J'ic-iuj!i^-s/ia and Uau-dji-Zi/ii. 



