Chap. III. GREEN GRANITE—BOTANY. 



61 



Opposite to the town of Tsa-yuen there is a curious 

 shaped hill, which is composed chiefly of granite of a 

 beautiful greenish colour, much prized by the Chinese. 

 The slabs which are quarried out of the hill are used 

 for various ornamental purposes, but they are more 

 particularly in demand for the building of tombs. 

 Large quantities are taken down the river to Yen- 

 chow and Hang-chow for this purpose. 



The tea-plant was now frequently seen in cultiva- 

 tion on the hill sides, this being the outskirt of the 

 great green- tree country to which I was bound. 

 Large camphor-trees were frequently seen in the 

 valleys, particularly near the villages. Tallow-trees 

 were still in extensive cultivation, and at this season 

 of the year, being clothed in their autumnal hues, 

 they produced a striking effect upon 'the varied land- 

 scape. The leaves had changed from a light-green 

 to a dark blood-red colour. Another tree, a species of 

 maple, called by the Chinese the fung-gze, was also 

 most picturesque from the same cause. These two 

 trees formed a striking contrast with the dark-green 

 foliage of the pine tribe. 



But the most beautiful tree found in this district 

 is a species of weeping cypress, which I had never 

 met with in any other part of China, and which was 

 quite new to me. It was during one of my daily 

 rambles that I saw the first specimen. About half a 

 mile distant from where I was I observed a noble- 

 looking fir-tree, about sixty feet in height, having 

 a stem as straight as the Norfolk Island pine, and 

 weeping branches like the willow of St. Helena. Its 



