SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



cup, the daisy, the forget-me-not and many other 

 beautiful flowers. 



The tops of the shale slopes are studded with 

 bushes of the wild peach, the lilac and the yellow 

 rose, all of which blooming in spring clothe the 

 mountains with rich masses of blossom, and lade 

 the air with delicate perfume. In autumn the 

 rose bushes, which in themselves are more than 

 usually ornate, with their red stems and spines, 

 and minute pinnate leaves, are loaded with large 

 sweet hips of a deep crimson colour. 



Throughout the warmer months flowers of 

 one sort or another lend their beauty to the 

 scene, but it is in the autumn that the richest 

 variety is seen. Then it is that the deep rich 

 blue of the gentian, mingling with the delicate 

 mauve of the scabious, the warmer tints of the 

 vetches and trefoils, the golden yellow of the 

 toadflax, the pink of the daisy, and the brilliant 

 scarlet and orange of the lilies, presents a wealth 

 of colour hard to surpass even in the tropics. 



At the time of our visit all these floral glories 

 were over, and the first nip of winter was making 

 itself felt. 



We collected here a few specimens of well known 

 species of mammals, such as the sulphur-bellied 

 rat {Epimys confucianus luticolor), the wood mouse 

 (Apodemus speciosus) and the hamsters {Cricetulus 

 iriton incanus and C. andersoni). 



On November 9 we returned to T'ai-yiian Fu 



41 



