415 
and curious animals in former geological E have played. 
Take the question of worms I think they do serve as protection 
against animals, and are not, as regards their rss e ront when 
once developed, mere beem of climate and soil changes 
* I was quite disappointed in the spring flora here. The first 
half of the year is rainless, and, except in woods with perennial 
ee and streamlets, the whole country remains almost barren. 
is 
as coming up in the burnt grass hills is, of course, not a dodge 
odes deba pst a dodge against the drought it sustains. 
pt e point in conuection with the change in the 
cultivated Prise sinensis which is not, I think, generally 
e wild form occurs in such a different condition of 
soil from what is adopted in egisse In the Yangtze gorges 
the wild form grows on cliffs n practically earthless ledges, an 
occurs, pig get wet. I am now speaking from memory, but I 
think I am quite correct as to the habit of the wild plant. The 
ledges, often hundreds of feet in length, present a beautiful 
appearance at flowering time in the dry Sek | season. In con- 
nection with this, there is no history to be got of when or how 
the Chinese began ed eultivation of such plants, and it is quite 
remarkable how few specimens of really wild forms of many 
cultivated Chinese Vh tpe plants there are, and also curious 
how many plants called Japonica are only Japanese in cultivation, 
and are originally Chinese in origin 
* [t is also remarkable that the Chinese shrubs in cultivation 
are scarcely the ones br ee make the best show in the wild state. 
At least, that is my opinio 
* In conclusion, I can see now that there were hundreds of 
interesting points which I might have noticed earlier in my plan 
collecting if I had had the experience or the genius or the 
* [f you ever again come across a budding d like igit 
I was when we began eo some years ago, plea 
insist on him being more than a mere collector, and perhaps oie 
will help to develop a naturalist. 
= August 2, 1897.—I enclose a photograph taken by Mr. A 
d'Anty in the Upper Shan States south of Szemao. He is the 
French Consul at Szemao, and is collecting some bees for me, 
the interesting ones of which you will receive late 
* He says : ‘The palm is very common ; it is seen around vest) 
temple, and the leaves are used to make paper with, or rathe 
used as paper, being cut into long strips. In the photograph one 
can see the way the leaves are cut off for this purpose 
“ I am in doubt as to what the palm is, but doubt e you will 
be able to identify it at Kew [probably Trach, ycarpus sp.]. 
