SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



notably in Western Chihli and Eastern Shansi. 

 The nuts produced by some of these are of excel- 

 lent quality. Needless to say the wood of the 

 Walnut is greatly valued, and is the most ex- 

 pensive to be had in the country. The Walnut 

 occurs throughout all North China, but is very 

 rare in North Shensi. 



The Wild Walnut occurs, though rarely, in North 

 China, the mountains round Peking being almost 

 the only place where it is known. 



Another nut-bearing tree that should be men- 

 tioned is the Chestnut {Castanea sp.) This tree 

 grows wild in the mountainous regions of North- 

 western Chihli, occurring only very rarely else- 

 where. The chestnut is one of the favourite 

 nuts of the Chinese and it may be seen on every 

 fruit or sweet stall in both town and country. 



In the dry and alkali impregnated parts of the 

 Chihli plain and the wide valleys of Shansi the 

 Tamarisk {Tamarix sp.) is to be found. There 

 are two varieties, one a tree with a thick knotty 

 trunk, light feathery foliage and clusters of minute, 

 pink flowers. The whole plant is very graceful 

 and ornamental. It is evidently capable of 

 withstanding considerable drought. The other 

 variety is a small shrub, with a red stem and long, 

 trailing roots. It grows on the mud-flats of the 

 large rivers in Shansi. 



225 Q 



