SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 
make mats, grows in dense jungle-like patches, 
while in the river valleys and streams Sedges and 
Bulrushes form cover for wild-fowl. The furthest 
north that the Bamboo grows wild is in the Tsing- 
ling mountains of South Shensi, but in gardens 
it is found as far north as Tientsin. 
The Chinese cultivate a number of cereals, the 
chief of which are, Millet, Sorghum, Rice, Wheat, 
Maize and Oats. The last being able to withstand 
severe weather, is grown high up in the mountain 
ranges of Shansi, and, with the Potato, forms the 
staple diet of the mountaineers. This cereal 
and also Wheat, with a little Millet, is now being 
grown by Chinese on the Mongolian Plateau with 
great success. 
iv. CRYPTOGAMS 
Under this our last heading we have to con- 
sider but few plants. 
North China is extremely poor in ferns, only 
six species having come under my notice, in spite 
of my continual searching for these types of plants. 
This scarcity is doubtless due to the dryness of 
the climate. 
One of the commonest ferns is a small plant 
with a frond, shaped like a deeply lobed vine or 
maple leaf, and a thin black stalk. The spores 
grow along the margins of the frond on the under 
surface. This fern grows in the lower mountains 
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