SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



attains the size of a marble and is very luscious 

 and sweet when ripe, and the stems are thickly 

 covered with sharp spines. Sometimes bushes of 

 spineless fruit may be found, and they are very 

 nice. Even the spiny fruit can be eaten if a 

 little care be exercised. It is strange that the 

 Chinese have never thought of cultivating this 

 excellent berry. 



In the higher parts of the mountains two varieties 

 of Red-currants occur. One of these is a tall 

 thickly leaved and close-growing shrub, the 

 berries, sharp and astringent, growing in a thick 

 cluster on an upright stalk. The other resembles 

 exactly the Red-currant of British gardens, both 

 in appearance and flavour. 



A very superior Wild Raspberry (Ruhus idaeus) 

 also occurs in these mountains. It, too, resembles 

 the British cultivated variety, and grows chiefly 

 in the valley bottoms, where one may sometimes 

 find extensive patches of it. The fruit is full}' 

 as large as our garden variety and is very sweet 

 and well flavoured. 



Another berry belonging to the genus Ruhus 

 grows on the mountain sides. This resembles 

 the Dewberry, in leaf and blossom, and in its 

 straggling growth. The fruit, however, remains of 

 a bright red colour when ripe, one or two only 

 of the drupels remaining, which attain a com- 

 paratively large size. 



In the long grass and open glades of the forests 



235 



