SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



make mats, grows in dense jungle-like patches, 

 while in the river valleys and streams Sedges and 

 Bulrushes form cover for wild-fowl. The furthest 

 north that the Bamboo grows wild is in the Tsing- 

 ling mountains of South Shensi, but in gardens 

 it is found as far north as Tientsin. 



The Chinese cultivate a number of cereals, the 

 chief of which are, Millet, Sorghum, Rice, Wheat, 

 Maize and Oats. The last being able to withstand 

 severe weather, is grown high up in the mountain 

 ranges of Shansi, and, with the Potato, forms the 

 staple diet of the mountaineers. This cereal 

 and also Wheat, with a little Millet, is now being 

 grown by Chinese on the Mongolian Plateau with 

 great success. 



iv. CRYPTOGAMS 



Under this our last heading we have to con- 

 sider but few plants. 



North China is extremely poor in ferns, only 

 six species having come under my notice, in spite 

 of my continual searching for these types of plants. 

 This scarcity is doubtless due to the dryness of 

 the climate. 



One of the commonest ferns is a small plant 

 with a frond, shaped like a deeply lobed vine or 

 maple leaf, and a thin black stalk. The spores 

 grow along the margins of the frond on the under 

 surface. This fern grows in the lower mountains 



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