1725 
know. They are large trees, one especially, with a 
trunk over 3 feet in diameter and a spread like a Ban- 
yan. Unfortunately the fruiting season is over; Octo- 
ber is the time. 
"I collected many specimens and gathered much 
information. I am sending you from here 13 parcels of 
plants; I sent six from Chiengrai. There are many more 
to come, but they are not yet dry. You will find many 
chestnuts and oaks among them. I took photos of the 
chestnut trees to give you an idea of them. * 
"I climbed to the summit of Doi Chang which looks 
like an elephant in profile, hence the name. On that 
mountain I found a village of people of Chinese origin. 
They are called Miao;they do not eat or grow any rice 
but only corn. They cut down the forests and plant 
corn at an elevation of 3,500 to 4,000 feet. They are 
the dirtiest people I ever saw, barring not even the 
Tibetans. They live with their pigs, the naked chil- 
dren wallowing in the mire with Sus domestiea. I looked 
at the heads of some of these people and found their 
hair full of maggots. It would turn the stomach of 
anyone. I camped in the woods above them, but they 
paid me a visit just at breakfast time. There are many 
idiots among them, evidently due to opium smoking. 
They are natives of Kweichow Province, China, but have 
migrated over into Yunnan and even into north Siam. 
They are the aborigines of China and in the book of 
Shu King, the oldest historical book of China, dating 
back over two milleniums before. the Christian era, they 
are mentioned as the Barbarians. They say they have 
cultivated corn from time immemorial. Their way of 
living is the most primitive possible. They rarely 
come to the lowlands, as they dread malaria. Their 
wants are few, and their main food is corn and pigs. I 
photographed their village, individual houses, their 
corn bins, and corn mill. I also sent you their se- 
lected seed corn for next year's planting. 
"There are several chestnuts on Doi Chang at about 
5,800 feet, but I was again too late. I collected ma- 
terial, so we know what there is. I have now struck 
the wild pear country. On the last day's march to 
Kentung,the trail led over a mighty mountain pass and 
there I found many of the sand pear trees in full 
flower. They looked glorious in the morning sunlight. 
There were also cherries and plums all wild along 
brooks. After hunting for sometime I found one tree 
of the Yunnan pear with fruit, but also in full flower. 
The fruits were last year's but fresh, and only the 
