THE KINGDOM OF FLOWERS 1025 
Photo by E. H. Wilson, Arnold Arboretum 
A VARNISH TREE (Rhus vernicifera Dc.), 40 FEET BY 6 FEET: CHING CHI HSIEN, 
4,500 FEET 
The struts are to enable men to incise the trunk and collect the sap without their feet 
coming in contact with the acrid, poisonous sap. The remarkable lacquer of China is made 
from this sap. It is the most indestructible varnish known (see pages 1027-8). 
