the Valley of Columbia river and China. 85 



Oak. — On the plains, below Fort Vancouver, is a species 

 of white oak, which attains the size of eight feet in diameter, 

 They retain their size to the height of about thirty feet, and 

 then branch out very far. 



Laurel Bay. — There is a tree in the lower part of the Co- 

 lumbia valley, which grows much in the form of a laurel, or 

 bay tree, but attains a much larger size. The bark is smooth, 

 and of a reddish color. This may be a species of magnolia. 

 It is called by the hunters the strawberry tree. 



Thorn Bush. — There are several varieties of the thorn, 

 many of which are large and fruitful; those bearing a red ber- 

 ry present a very beautiful appearance. There is one kind 

 whose fruit is black, and of a pleasant sweet flavor. The ge- 

 nus Cralce^gus, or hawthorn, contains numerous varieties, and 

 it is stated, in the last Magazine of Horticulture, that between 

 thirty and forty species have already been collected in the 

 United States, and sent to England, and are so much esteem- 

 ed that they are selling rapidly. It is believed many more 

 kinds exist. 



Vegetable Productions of China. 



Tallow Tree, — or Lat-choo, according to Anderson, who 

 states that large plantations are cultivated, throughout China, 

 for the tallow, or vegetable wax, which their fruit yields. He 

 represents it as remarkable for its beautiful appearance; having 

 brilliant leaves, and pale blue blossoms. 



The profusion of candles used by the Chinese, which are 

 all made of the vegetable tallow, is evincive of the cheapness 

 of that material, for lanterns are used by all classes of people. 

 They decorate the entrance of their houses with them, they 

 are hung up throughout all the encampments of the troops, 

 and every boat and vessel on the numerous canals and rivers 

 is obliged to have one or more lanterns suspended during the 

 night, and illuminations of the streets are common. So pro- 

 fusely are lanterns used which afibrd every variety of colored 

 light, that the canals and rivers, villages and cities, presented 

 the appearance of a general illumination, as the embassies 

 passed from Pekin to Canton, a distance of fifteen hundred 

 miles. 



Mr. Ellis says the Chinese name of the tallow is Pee-ya- 

 kwotza, or skin oil fruit; but he designates it as the Sillgia 

 sebifera. He says it is a large tree, and when full grown, 



