Chap. XI. 
THE HILLS DESCRIBED. 
185 
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 : 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 numerous 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, however, 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 
luxuriance, these their more lovely companions were not 
to be found. I can scarcely believe that the hills be- 
tween 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 vastly 
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 
