SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 
cup, the daisy, the forget-me-not and many other 
beautiful flowers. 
The tops of the shale slopes are studded with 
bushes of the wild peach, the lilac and the yellow 
rose, all of which blooming in spring clothe the 
mountains with rich masses of blossom, and lade 
the air with delicate perfume. In autumn the 
rose bushes, which in themselves are more than 
usually ornate, with their red stems and spines, 
and minute pinnate leaves, are loaded with large 
sweet hips of a deep crimson colour. 
Throughout the warmer months flowers of 
one sort or another lend their beauty to the 
scene, but it is in the autumn that the richest 
variety is seen. Then it is that the deep rich 
blue of the gentian, mingling with the delicate 
mauve of the scabious, the warmer tints of the 
vetches and trefoils, the golden yellow of the 
toadflax, the pink of the daisy, and the brilliant 
scarlet and orange of the lilies, presents a wealth 
of colour hard to surpass even in the tropics. 
At the time of our visit all these floral glories 
were over, and the first nip of winter was making 
itself felt. 
We collected here a few specimens of well known 
species of mammals, such as the sulphur-bellied 
rat (Epimys confucianus luticolor), the wood mouse 
(Apodemus speciosus) and the hamsters (Cricetulus 
triton incanus and C. andersoni). 
On November 9 we returned to T’ai-yiian Fu 
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