^sejt?:mr  }  Source  of  the  Radix  Galangce  Minoris.  405 
my  want  of  success  will  not  seem  surprising  when  it  is  borne  in  mind 
that  many  vegetable  products  shipped  from  Canton  come  from  distant 
parts  of  the  empire,  and  pass  through  a  number  of  hands  before  they 
reach  those  of  the  native  merchants,  and  that  these  latter  are  quite 
incapable  of  comprehending  the  interest  attaching  to  the  solution  of 
a  doubtful  scientific  point,  or  of  troubling  themselves  about  what  seem 
to  them  matters  of  aimless  and  puerile  curiosity.  Those  who  have 
tried  know  well  how  difficult  it  is  to  get  reliable  information  from  the 
natives,  who  will  frequently  invent  answers,  rather  than  seem  igno- 
rant, and  are  especially  prone  to  reply  in  the  affirmative  to  direct  or 
leading  questions,  as  if  they  supposed  the  object  of  an  inquirer  was 
rather  to  obtain  the  confirmation  of  his  own  views  than  to  elicit  the 
truth. 
In  November,  1867,  I  had  the  opportunity  of  making  a  visit — at 
the  invitation  of,  and  in  company  with,  the  Commissioner  of  Maritime 
Customs  at  Canton — to  the  Island  of  Haenan.  During  this  excursion, 
and  while  at  anchor  oif  Pak-sha,  a  fishing-village  on  the  south  coast 
of  Kwangtung,  about  seventeen  miles  from,  and  rather  to  the  east  of, 
Hoi-hau,  on  the  north  coast  of  Haenan,  we  landed,  and  some  of  the 
party  went  about  six  miles  inland  to  a  ruinous  walled  city  named 
Hoi-on ;  but,  being  slightly  indisposed,  I  preferred  botanizing  over 
the  low  hills  near  the  coast.  On  their  return,  Mr.  Sampson,  who  was 
one  of  the  party,  informed  me  that  they  had  seen  a  large  quantity  of 
what  he  took  for  ginger  (but  which  he  described  as  bearing  the  inflo- 
rescence on  the  leafy  stems)  under  cultivation  ;  and  another  gentleman 
produced — asking  if  I  knew  what  it  was — some  pieces  of  rhizome,  of 
which  quantities  had  been  passed,  exposed  to  the  sun  in  shallow 
bamboo  baskets  to  dry.  This  I  immediately  identified  as  Galangal ; 
and  as  some  inquiries  made  of  a  linguist  who  had  accompanied  them 
left  no  doubt  that  the  rhizome  belonged  to  the  plant  seen  growing,  I 
had  the  mortification  of  knowing  that  the  true  Galangal  plant  had  been 
met  with,  and  no  specimens  obtained,  whilst  our  arrangements  did  not 
admit  of  further  delay. 
Fortunately,  however,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  another  expedition 
to  Haenan  was  planned ;  and  on  this  occasion  Mr.  E.  C.  Taintor,  an 
American  gentleman  in  the  service  of  the  Imperial  Customs,  to  whom 
I  was  indebted  for  the  specimens  of  the  Oaks  on  which  the  North 
Chinese  wild  silkworm  is  fed,  respecting  which  I  have  already  com- 
municated a  paper  to  the  Society,  accompanied  it.  Mr.  Sampson  took 
