SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 



while the new sub-species were a sulphur-bellied 

 rat {Epymys confucianus luticolor), a large hamster 

 rat {Cricetulus triton incanus), and a hare {Lepus 

 swinhoei suhluteus). The kindred forms of the 

 last three species are found in the Shantung 

 Peninsula and in Chihli. 



The abundance of game and small mammals 

 round Yen-an-Fu is undoubtedly due to the 

 extensive thickets of wild jujube in the vicinity. 

 This plant, wherever it occurs, forms excellent 

 cover for pheasants, hares, small mammals and 

 birds. It grows usually in the form of low shrubs, 

 and is thickly covered with strong sharp thorns, 

 some of which are straight, and others hooked. 

 The result is that large animals and human beings 

 experience great difficulty and inconvenience in 

 traversing thickets of this growth. The fruit, 

 which has a pleasant sour taste, together with 

 the hard stony kernels, forms a regular part of 

 the autumn and winter diet of the smaller mammals 

 and birds. One of the characteristics of this 

 peculiar plant is that it never grows at an altitude 

 exceeding 3,000 ft. above sea level, and another 

 is that it comes into leaf long after all other plants 

 in the same districts in which it grows. 



We were told by the natives that there were 

 some very good collecting grounds about ten miles 

 south-west of Yen-an Fu. Accordingly we packed 

 our traps and visited the spot. We were rewarded 

 by finding excellent country, both for shooting 



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