CHAPTER Ix 
THE FLORA OF THE SINO-MONGOLIAN 
FRONTIER 
N this chapter, which cannot be considered 
as more than a very superficial account of 
the flora of the country along the Chinese frontiers 
of Mongolia, an attempt is made to give the general 
reader some idea of the subject. 
Notwithstanding the ever-increasing deforestation 
of the wooded areas, the yearly close cropping of 
the smaller herbage by the natives and their half- 
starved flocks in less favoured districts, the general 
dryness of the climate over vast stretches of 
country, and the recurring droughts, sometimes 
extending over periods of two or three years, 
there exists a wealth and variety of vegetable 
forms, the proper identification of which would 
take a lifetime. 
Hitherto only the fringes of the subject have 
been touched by specialists, and there is very little 
in the way of works of reference to aid the would- 
be explorer in this vast field of research. 
The following notes may therefore be of interest 
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