188 CHOICE OF CAMPING GROUND 
side the door was a nauseating heap of all manner of 
‘filth, the accumulation of years. The medicines collected 
here are rhubarb, Tchéng-tsad (Spheria -sinensis), a 
plant the root of which bears an almost exact resem- 
blance to the body of a caterpillar, and pey-mou 
(Fritilaria Roylii), a small bulb about the size of a 
marble, to which tonic principles are attributed. 
The next day I started to find a suitable place for 
camping in the neighbourhood, and after having crossed 
a small stream opposite the house by means of a log 
bridge, I found a path gradually ascending through 
virgin pine forest, ending at last at an abandoned clear- 
ing about twenty li from Ya-chow-kun. I saw at 
once that it was a very suitable place for camping, 
and I especially wanted a clear place in order to be able 
to sugar at night for moths. Near by was a small lake, 
the banks of which were clothed with rhododendrons. 
‘The pine trees round had a beautiful lichen growing 
on them of a pea-green colour, which hung from the 
limbs and branches in graceful festoons. The elevation 
was 12,000 feet above the sea. I sent back and had 
all my baggage brought up, the tent being pitched as 
soon as possible. The climate being very damp, I saw 
that it would be almost impossible to preserve specimens 
unless a house was built, and I set my men to work to 
erect one the day following. It was built of logs after 
