Cuar. XIII.) THE HILLS DESCRIBED. 249 
they are not more than 400 feet in height, and 
have none of that bold and rugged character which 
I have formerly noticed. Here and there crumbling 
rocks show themselves above the surface, but these 
are not so general as to affect the general pastoral- 
looking appearance of these hills. The country is 
also more richly wooded than any other part near 
Shanghae, and, of course, contains a greater num- 
ber of species of plants. One curious fact, how- 
ever, came under my notice: no Azaleas were met 
with in this part of the country, although the hills 
about sixty or eighty miles to the south abound in 
such plants; and, although the other plants, which 
accompany Azaleas on the Chusan and Ning- 
po hills, were here growing in all their native luxu- 
riance, these, their more lovely companions, were 
not to be found. I can scarcely believe that the 
hills between Ning-po and Shanghae are the most 
northern limit for this class of plants; yet such 
from my own observations would appear to be the 
case. 
The natives in this part of the country were 
‘yastly surprised when they saw me for the first 
time; at the different villages and towns, men, 
women, and children of all ranks lined the banks 
of the canals as my boat passed along, and often 
requested me to come out in order that they might 
have a better opportunity of seeing me. When I 
left my boat for the purpose of ascending the hills, 
my boatmen used to make a good deal of money 
by allowing the people to go in and inspect my 
