248 TEIN-CHING, OR BLUE DYE. [Cuap. XIII 
plant seemed to be principally cultivated. From this 
plant a kind of indigo or blue dye is prepared; it 
— iscalled Tein-ching by the Chinese. Verylarge quan- 
tities of this substance are brought to Shanghae, and 
all the other towns in the north of China, where it 
is used in dyeing the blue cotton cloth, which forms 
the principal article of dress of the poorer classes. 
I brought home living specimens of the plant which 
produces this dye, and as these are now in flower 
in the gardens of the Horticultural Society, the 
proper scientific name of the plant will soon be 
ascertained.* 
As I approached the hills the level of the country 
became lower, and at that time of the year (June) 
it was completely flooded, and rice was extensively 
cultivated. In general, the higher land of this 
vast plain is used in the cultivation of cotton and 
the cruciferous plant mentioned above; while the 
lower lands, those which are easily flooded, are 
converted into rice fields. Here and there on my 
way I met with large trees of the Salisburia 
adiantifolia, which are the largest and most striking 
trees in this part of the country. Small patches 
of bamboo were seen around all the villages, and 
groups of cypress and pine generally marked the 
last resting places of the Chinese, which are scattered 
over all the country. | 
The hills were very different from any which I 
had seen in the more southern parts of China: 
* It has proved to be a new species, and has been named 
Isatis indigotica. 
