188 CHOICE OF CAMPING GBOUND 



side the door was a nauseating heap of all manner of 

 filth, the accumulation of years. The medicines collected 

 here are rhubarb, TcJiong-tsau [Sphceria sinensis), a 

 plant the root of which bears an almost exact resem- 

 blance to the body of a caterpillar, and pey-mou 

 [Fritillaria Roylii), a small bulb about the size of a 

 marble, to which tonic principles are attributed. 



The next day I started to find a suitable place for 

 camping in the neighbourhood, and after having crossed 

 a small stream opposite the house by means of a log 

 bridge, I found a path gradually ascending through 

 virgin pine forest, ending at last at an abandoned clear- 

 ing about twenty li from Ya-chow-kun. I saw at 

 once that it was a very suitable place for camping, 

 and I especially wanted a clear place in order to be able 

 to sugar at night for moths. Near by was a small lake, 

 the banks of which were clothed with rhododendrons. 

 The pine trees round had a beautiful lichen growing 

 on them of a pea-green colour, which hung from the 

 limbs and branches in graceful festoons. The elevation 

 was 12,000 feet above the sea. I sent back and had 

 aU my baggage brought up, the tent being pitched as 

 soon as possible. The climate being very damp, I saw 

 that it would be almost impossible to preserve specimens 

 unless a house was built, and I set my men to work to 

 erect one the day following. It was built of logs after 



