INTRODUCTION. 
By Samurt HENSHAW. 
Tue collections described in the following pages were made in the Chinese 
provinces of Hupeh and Szechwan during the years 1907 and 1908. With hardly 
an exception they represent the work of Mr. Walter R. Zappey while he was 
attached to the expedition sent out by the Arnold Arboretum, under the direc- 
tion of Mr. E. H. Wilson, the well-known botanical collector. 
Mr. John E. Thayer, recognizing the need of zoélogical work in lower China, 
secured the consent of Prof. C. 8. Sargent, the Director of the Arnold Arboretum, 
for a trained collector to accompany Mr. Wilson, and most generously provided 
the necessary financial support. The obligations of the Museum to Mr. Thayer, 
already very great, were much increased by this recent act of liberality, and his 
selection of Mr. Zappey for the work was very fortunate. Mr. Zappey’s zeal 
was such as to require a constant word of caution that he might not overtax 
his strength, while the size and condition of the entire series of specimens afford 
evidence alike of his judgment, his energy, his skill in preparation, and his care 
_and watchfulness during the many difficulties in transportation. The results of 
Mr. Thayer’s liberality and Mr. Zappey’s zeal would have been very much less, 
however, had they not been supplemented by the tact and administrative ability 
of Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson’s earlier work in China was of distinct advantage 
for the success of the Arboretum Expedition. It had shown that he possessed 
the trustworthiness characteristic of his race, and the natural and ever present 
suspiciousness of the natives towards aliens engaged in a line of work the object 
of which is not wholly clear, was happily avoided, from the beginning. 
It should also be recognized that all of Mr. Wilson’s time and energy were 
required for his botanical work’ and that every additional task he assumed, 
‘even though willingly and successfully, was nevertheless a burden. 
The transcription of Chinese geographic names presents difficulties of ortho- 
graphy, syllabication, and capitalization; in some works the same name is vari- 
ously given. It is believed that throughout the following pages a considerable 
degree of uniformity has been achieved, a result due to Mr. E. C. Drew, who has 
1Some of the results of Mr. Wilson’s work in China have been published by the Arboretum:— 
Plantae Wilsonianae. Part I. Cambridge July 31, 1911, 144 pp. Part Il. Cambridge, April 30, 
(912, 168 pp. 
