PREFACE 



So far as the author is aware, this is the first book on the common, 

 important Cliinese trees that has been written in any language. 

 Although the literature of Chinese flora is rather extensive, it is scattered 

 through numerous publications, issued in many different languages, 

 and as few of the standard botanical works are available in China, it has 

 been next to impossible to identify even the commoner plants around us. 

 This manual aims to fill, in a measure, the need that' has been felt for 

 some time for a handy volume on Chinese trees. With the help of this 

 book, even those with only a meager knowledge of botany will be able to 

 identify a large number of the trees likely to be encountered, and at the 

 same time to learn something of their characteristics and uses in so far 

 as these are known. This manual is also designed as a textbook for use 

 in Middle Schools and Colleges, particularly in the institutions where 

 agricultural sciences are emphasized. The manuscript has been subjected 

 to actual test of the classroom, during the past year, at the College of 

 Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Nanking. 



Obviously, in a work of this scope, it is impossible to describe every 

 arborescent species found in this country. Only a small proportion of 

 the species of Chinese trees are here described. A more comprehensive 

 work remains for development in the future. The limits of the present 

 volume admit the description, in most cases, of only one or two repre- 

 sentative species in each genus and a bare enumeration of others of minor 

 importance. On this account, the family and gen.eric characters are given 

 in some detail, in order to enable students to place a tree not treated in 

 this work at least in the proper family and genus. It will be noted that 

 following the description of families of more than one genus, there is a 

 key to the genera, but following the description of the genus there is 

 no key to the species. This omission is justified by two considerations. 

 In the first place, the number of species is not sufl[ieiently inclusive to 

 rendei' a key of any considerable value, and, in the second place, in the 

 instances where the species treated under any one genus are sufficiently 

 comprehensive, as under the oaks, an opportunity is given the students to 

 acquire practice in making keys themselves. 



Throughout this book, the specific names of the plants are uniformly 

 written without capitals in accordance with the procedure prevailing in 

 zoology, and with some progressive botanists, as those of the United 

 States National Herbarium, but contrary to the rule of nomenclature 



