SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 



TIk' W u-tsai plain is in parts very fertile, but, 

 gcnenilly speakint;, laeks a good water supply. 

 The (listriet is not notable for anything. 



Not more than a couple of miles to the south 

 of the town the plain comes to an abrupt end, 

 and the foothills of the great mountain range 

 we had already visited commence. 



By February 15 we had completed our work on 

 the plain, and decided to return to T'ai-yiian Fu. 

 Accordingly we left Wu-tsai and struck out due 

 south, and, entering the mountains, followed a 

 deep valley as far as Tien-p'ing, a small mountain 

 village. 



The mountain path which we followed was, in 

 places, extremely dangerous, so that we experi- 

 enced great difficulty in getting the heavily laden 

 mules along in safety. Often a mere parapet, 

 made of saw-logs and supported by stakes driven 

 into the rock surface, formed the only means of 

 negotiating the steep-sided gorges. More than 

 once the mules, edging up too close to the side, 

 sent their burdens crashing down into the rocky 

 ravine bottoms below, causing considerable 

 damage to our equipment. 



At Tien-p'ing the heavily forested mountains 

 looked so favourable, that we decided to stay a 

 day or two to hunt. It was well that we did so, 

 for specimens of a rare flying squirrel were secured. 

 It has not yet been definitely ascertained to what 

 species this squirrel belongs. Having secured four 



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