CHAPTER XV 

 THE STORY OF THE DAVIDIA 



How many garden lovers ever pause to think of tie means whereby 

 their gardens became endowed with multifarious variety from distant 

 lands and climes; of the time and money expended in the quest, and 

 of the toll paid in human energy and life? Could the denizens of our 

 gardens give speech their story would be more engrossing and more 

 romantic than that told or conceived by authors of the "best sellers." 

 All who love a tree give heed for a little while and learn how gardens 

 came into possession of one of the most beautiful and most remark- 

 able of all trees. 



THE object of the journey is to collect a 

 quantity of seeds of a plant the name of 

 which is known to us. This is the object 

 — do not dissipate time, energy, or money on any- 

 thing else. In furtherance of this you will first 

 endeavor to visit Dr. A. Henry at Szemao, Yunnan, 

 and obtain from him precise data as to the habitat of 

 this particular plant and information on the flora 

 of central China in general." 



So read my instructions from Messrs. Veitch. A 

 three years' agreement was signed on March 27, 

 1899, and on April 11th I sailed from Liverpool on 

 the Cunard ship Pavonia en route for China via 



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