180 THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS OF KWEICHOW 



interpreter to see the Governor (who at this time was not- 

 accessible to strangers) in order to get permission to pursue 

 our journey eastwards. The roads were in a dangerous con- 

 dition on account of robbers and he absolutely vetoed our 

 going to Panghai, the headquarters of the C.I.M. for work 

 among the Black Miao, whom we particularly wished to see. 

 He promised however to supply us with a military guard of 

 twenty men to escort us direct to Chen Yuen — an eight days' 

 journey — whence we could pursue our journey into the next 

 province by boat. 



We made the acquaintance of Mr. Liu, Postal Commis- 

 sioner for the province, to whom we were greatly indebted 

 for having made the most admirable financial arrangements 

 for us, should we fall into the hands of robbers. His 

 thoughtfulness and courtesy I shall not soon forget. He 

 took us to see a wonderful Buddhist temple on a wooded 

 crag overlooking the city. Below us were slopes covered 

 with thousand of graves, and he had spent a long afternoon 

 once studying the headstones to see if any were old : not one 

 did he find dating back mere than eighty years. As we 

 returned to the city in the glowing sunset the road was 

 thronged with people taking a stroll, flying huge kites, etc., 

 quite like a Saturday afternoon at home. 



We visited the silk shops, which are well stocked and 

 have certain attractive goods peculiar to this province, which 

 is noted for its wild silk. Lack of time prevented our doing 

 any other shopping, but it was evident that we might have 

 found much to please us, for we passed through busy streets 

 as we left the city, crossing a fine bridge. There are big 

 tanneries and also an Agricultural College. Some hours 

 later we saw a plantation belonging to the college adjoining 

 the high road. It is doing good work, especially with regard 

 to afforestation, a matter of great importance from which 

 this province is particularly fitted to benefit, as it has such 

 valuable and uncommon trees native to it. There are many 

 beautiful pine trees, especially the Cunninghamia; Liquid- 

 ambar formosana, from which the tea chests are made; the 

 Rhus vernicifera (the varnish tree), the Boehmeria nivea, of 

 which grass cloth is made, which is so universally used in 

 China and for which there would be a market in Europe and 

 America if it were imported there not merely in the form of 

 embroidered goods; the Gleditschia sinensis, of which the 

 pods are sold in the market for use as soap; Sapum sebi- 

 ferum, the vegetable tallow tree; the Aleurites fordii, wood 

 oil tree ; the Sapindus puskerossi, paper mulberry, from 

 which is made a thin tough paper; the Broussonetia, and 



