P. BUNGEANA 25 
is going to develop into a butterfly stage of brightened 
beauty. 
In its native country, we are told—for few have 
had the luck to see the “‘ Pai-koo-sung ” (the native 
name which stands for ‘‘ Pine with the White Bark ”’) 
at home—that at fifty years of age this tree undergoes 
a remarkable transformation effect of colour scheme, 
and assumes a most striking and fascinating appear- 
ance. The grey and dingy bark is cast aside, the 
story of Cinderella is in scenic sense repeated, and the 
sombre dress of a household drudge, by wave of hand 
and ina moment of time, is changed into the radiant 
white of a spotless attire. 
The late Lord Redesdale, in his Memories, speaks 
of a visit paid to China in 1865, and describes the 
impression this Pine, planted around the Buddhist 
temples near Pekin, produced upon him. I will 
quote his words textually: ‘‘ The (Chinese) ceme- 
teries are darkly shaded by tall Chinese Junipers, 
and the weird lace-bark Pines (P. Bungeana), whose 
stems and branches are richly embroidered with 
silver patches, gleam ghostlike among the more 
brilliant foliage.” 
The Chinese have always been addicted to paying 
more attention to the decoration of their last resting- 
place than the comforts of their less-abiding homes 
on earth. Under these rather curious-to-us thoughts 
and ideas, it can only be regarded as a compliment 
to their appearance of the highest order, that these 
Pine trees were found where they were—namely, in 
full territorial possession of the mortuary sites of 
Chinese scenery. The occupation of such a site, we 
may point out, although it may be a much-sought- 
after surrounding for a Chinese native or a Chinése 
Conifer, is a complimentary position de luxe that hardly 
appeals to the representatives of either human or 
plant life in Western civilization, They, we think, 
