Chap. XXI. 



SEAECH FOR NEW TREES. 



411 



servants and myself were early astir, having a 

 long journey in prospect for tlie day. The object 

 I had in view was to obtain various kinds of seeds, 

 more particularly those of the " golden pine-tree " 

 (Abies Kcempferi), which I have already noticed in 

 these pages, and which I had searched for in the 

 previous season without success. 



Taking an early breakfast, we ascended the 

 pass behind the temple, and soon reached the vale 

 of Poo-in-chee and the little village of that name. 

 Here I observed for the first time two very fine 

 yew-trees, which apparently were quite new. They 

 evidently belonged to the genus Cephalotaxus — a 

 genus perfectly hardy in England, and very highly 

 prized. They were too young to have seeds upon 

 them, and too large to dig up and carry away. 

 While my servant and myself were looking at 

 them, the person to whom the garden belonged 

 came out and very kindly gave us their name and 

 history. He told us he had received the seeds 

 from a place about ten or fifteen miles distant 

 amongst the mountains, where the trees grew to a 

 great size and produced seeds annually in consider- 

 able abundance. It is called Fee-shoo by the 

 natives, and its seeds are to be found in a dry state 

 in all the doctors' shops in Chinese towns. They 

 are considered valuable in cases of cough, asthma, 

 and diseases of the lungs or chest. I am not aware 

 that their seeds are known to English doctors in 

 China, or if they are considered by them of any 

 value. 



