Cuar. VI.] FLORA OF THE NORTHERN HILLS. 101 
natives to convey the produce of their country and 
its merchandise to Ning-po, and from thence to 
Hang-chow-foo, and any other part of the world. 
Rice is the staple production of the low land in 
this part of the country during the summer months, 
and the oil plant is cultivated extensively on the 
same land in winter and spring, being in seed and 
ready to harvest by the time for sowing the first 
crop of rice. Large quantities of the trefoil which 
I have noticed before are also grown here, and for 
the same purposes; indeed, the agricultural produc- 
tions, both of the low lands and on the sides of the 
hills, are really the same as those formerly described 
on the island of Chusan. 3 
The native flora of the hills to the north of 
Ning-po is nearly the same as that found on 
Chusan and the neighbouring islands, but more 
extensive. It is a curious fact, that I always found 
the main land of China more productive in species 
of animals and plants than the neighbouring 
islands, although these islands were large, and 
only separated from the main land by a narrow 
extent of sea. I met here, for the first time in a 
wild state, the beautiful yellow Azalea sinensis. 
These hills are somewhat more barren than most 
of the others in this part of the country, and there 
are few trees on them of any size. They are very 
different from those which I have yet to describe, 
a few miles to the south of Ning-po. 
The graves of the dead are scattered all over the 
plain, and give the stranger 4 good idea of the 
n 38 
