tending to intrude in all open places and sometimes occupies enormous areas, called cogonales by the Filipinos. Cogon is often used as a thatch for the roofs of houses and sheds.

At Los Baños, the seat of the agricultural college, one has an opportunity to explore virgin forest on Mount Maquiling. On this mountain is preserved, at a point easily accessible from Manila, the undisturbed native vegetation. In ascending this mountain the writer had his first experience with one of the worst pests of the Old World Tropics-the leeches. These are brownish worms as much as an inch long and one-eighth inch in diameter. They are present in countless numbers on the fallen leaves on the floor of the trail and on the vegetation along the sides. As one walks along the leeches are seen to advance like measuring worms, now and then waving a free end in the air, attaching themselves with wonderful dexterity to any part of the body with which they come in contact. The feet may be protected by wearing shoes in which the tongue is sewed to the body along each side to the top and then wrapping the legs closely with wool puttees, being careful to come down well over the top of the shoe. Thick socks drawn up outside the legs of the trousers may take the place of puttees. Soap well worked into the socks is a deterrent. Particular care must be taken to prevent their entrance to the nose, eyes, and other openings in the body. They are usually able to attach themselves without exciting the sense of touch. Persons going in pairs watch each other for attacks about the head and neck. When they find lodgment. they gorge themselves with blood and become oval in shape and finally fall off, but they inject a substance which prevents the coagulation of the blood and a wound bleeds for several hours. Fortunately the leeches are troublesome only in very wet woods during or between showers. On Mount Maquiling they did not extend as low as Los Baños.

A trip was made to Baguio, a resort in the mountains about 170 miles north of Manila at an altitude of nearly 5,000 feet. The weather here is cool and comfortable in summer, in striking contrast to that of Manila at this season. The trail to Santo Thomas (about 7,000 feet) led through grassy mountain slopes and yielded an excellent collection of grasses.

JAPAN.

Japan is very mountainous and largely forested, hence not preeminently a grass country. Aside from bamboos, only about 50 species were collected here while in some localities in China as many species might be obtained in a single day. Even in the grassy slopes and meadows in the vicinity of Lake Hakone, though the individuals were numerous the species were few. Mount Fuji is a beautiful

mountain as viewed from a distance, its nearly perfect cone dominating the view like our Shasta and Rainier, but botanically it is disappointing, especially from the agrostological standpoint. As observed on the ascent from Gotemba, there is an abrupt transition from timber line to the bare cinder slopes above. There are no alpine meadows harboring interesting grasses, as are found on most mountains, the portion above timber line here being devoid of vegetation. An account of the vegetation is given by Hayata.1 Fujiyama or Mount Fuji is a beautifully symmetrical somewhat truncated cone, 45 by 30 kilometers wide at base and 3,778 meters altitude, the upper slopes being about 34°. Hayata states that in the Salix-Alnus region, about 2,500 meters, there are three species of grasses (Agrostis canina, Glyceria tonglensis, Miscanthus matsumurae), and that "above the Salix-Alnus formation, there comes a small area of higher (alpine) grass formation. This formation is, however, very poor on this mountain, owing to its recent habitation. Only 29 species are listed for this region on the whole mountain, and only one of these (Deschampsia caryophyllea) is a grass.

The bamboos are well represented in Japan both by species and individuals. The bamboo covered hills in the region of Lake Hakone were a surprising sight. Large areas, square miles in extent, were covered by a single species (Arundinaria chino), forming an impenetrable thicket 4 to 8 feet high.

CHINA.

China was entered at Shanghai, a city giving much evidence of foreign influence, as reflected in the fine modern buildings, electric tramways, electric lights, and many good roads. Here is located the only United States post office to be found outside of the United States or its possessions. One can mail official packages home from here under frank. Shanghai is not on the coast but about 18 miles up the Whangpo River from the seaport Woosung.

The journey of about 200 miles to Nanking was made by rail in fairly comfortable coaches. Nanking is a treaty port and was formerly the old classical capital of south China.

Ports as used in this sense are not confined to the vicinity of the seacoast but may be in connection with interior cities that have been opened to trade by treaty. Most Chinese cities are surrounded by walls, these having been for protection against invasion in earlier days. The wall of Nanking is 32 miles long and 30 to 50 feet high. A comparatively small proportion of the area within the wall is occupied by buildings, the remainder being farm land or unused grassland. The University of Nanking, a thriving missionary instiThe Vegetation of Mt. Fuji. Tokyo, 1911.

tution, is located here and has in connection with it a farm for experimental purposes.

A journey was made up the Yangtse River to Kuling, going by steamer to Kiukiang and by chair up the mountain. Kuling is a pleasant resort, at an altitude of about 3,500 feet, much frequented during the hot season by the missionaries of central China. Much of the trail is up over stone steps like a gigantic stairway and all the supplies of whatever character are brought up to Kuling by man power-coolies carrying loads balanced on each end of a single bamboo pole or a heavier load slung from a pole carried by two. For the ascent the chairs are manned by four carriers with an extra pair for relieving.

South China is entered at Hongkong, an island 30 square miles in area, under British control. The British also control the adjacent mainland to the north including the city of Kowloon and the New Territory. Between is a fine harbor buzzing with the world's commerce. Hongkong is a mountainous island, the highest point being 1,800 feet. It is a modern city with electric tramcars, a cable line to the peak, and fine buildings. The journey of 90 miles to Canton may be made by rail, or more comfortably by river steamers leaving Hongkong in the evening and arriving at Canton the next morning.

Canton is a large, thoroughly Chinese city of over 1,000,000 inhabitants. Recently broad avenues have been cut through the city in various directions giving it a more modern appearance, but one can step easily from these avenues to the narrow, crowded streets scarcely wide enough for a chair to go. Innumerable sampans flit to and fro on the river, and it is estimated that 250,000 people have their permanent residence in these sampans.

The Canton Christian College is located across the river from Canton on the island of Honam. This institution is developing rapidly and is destined to be the educational center of south China.

With the college as headquarters, excursions were made to White Cloud, a small mountain east of Canton; to Whampoa, 10 miles east of Canton, where the Wilkes Expedition made collections; and to Macao, a Portuguese colony, 40 miles southwest of Hongkong, and the first European settlement in China. A longer trip was made up the North River to Yingtak and Shiuchow, the latter at the end of the railway and about 140 miles from Canton. A four days' trip to the mountain of Lohfau was very profitable. To reach Lohfau one goes by rail from Canton to Sheklung and on foot with carriers north about 25 miles to a monastery which affords shelter for the sojourn.

In company with Mr. F. A. McClure, of the Canton Christian College, a trip was made to Indo-China and the island of Hainan, Pakhoi in southern Kwangtung being visited on the way. Hainan

is a large island off the south coast of China, about 180 miles long. Landing at Hoihow we went inland to Kachek, one day's journey by boat and two days on foot (though one can go by chair). From Kachek a boat trip was made up the river into the foothills of the central mountains.

The writer is under great obligation to the presidents and faculties of the two institutions mentioned, the University of Nanking and the Canton Christian College, and to the missionaries at Yingtak, Shiuchow, and on the island of Hainan. The cooperation of the missionaries is almost indispensable to scientists traveling in the remote parts of China.

INDO-CHINA.

Landing at Haiphong in Tongking we went by rail to Hanoi and, the next day, south by rail to Vinh. From this place over a good road the journey is by auto and is scheduled to be a day's ride to Dongha where another railway brings one to Hue, our objective. Because of excessive rains it took two days to reach our destination, the night being spent in a native hut on a Chinese bed-a board platform.

Hue, the capital of Annam, was of interest because here resided the Portuguese botanist, Loureiro, who wrote a book on the flora of Cochin China, published in 1790. It was hoped that collections made at Hue might aid in interpreting Loureiro's meager descriptions. The director of the botanic garden assigned an assistant to help us in correlating the common or Annamese names with the Latin names of the plants, and these common names were in turn checked with those given by Loureiro. The native names of conspicuous or wellknown plants are probably the same now as in Loureiro's time and in several cases among the grasses the names served to confirm the descriptions. Aside from the comparison of the native names, the collections of the grasses from this region aid by showing what species Loureiro probably had at hand for study. The work of Loureiro is of importance because, being published so early, his names, when identified, have priority in many cases.

After having finished our work at Hue we visited Tourane on the coast and then returned to Haiphong the way we came.

NOTES ON BOTANY AND AGRICULTURE OF CHINA.

The conditions for collecting grasses were very favorable and a large series of specimens was obtained. One of the prime objects of the visit to China was the study of the bamboos. This group of grasses is of much importance here because of the great variety of uses to which the plants are put. The larger sorts are used for structural purposes; thin-walled sorts are split into narrow strips

to be used for baskets and ropes; certain species furnish food, the tender young shoots being used as a vegetable.

Bamboos are difficult to study and identify from herbarium specimens because most of the species flower only at rare intervals and the leaves furnish few distinguishing characters. But when the species are examined as they are growing their distinctions are more evident. One soon recognizes the different kinds by the habit of growth, the size, shape, and color of the stems, and by the appearance of the young shoots, which usually grow to the full height of the plant before sending out branches, and which are covered with large characteristic scales or bladeless sheaths. It is therefore almost necessary, in the study of this group, to supplement herbarium work by observations upon the growing plants.

Aside from the bamboos the grasses of China furnish an interesting field for study. From books and herbarium specimens one may learn much regarding the identity of the species of foreign countries but may be unable to obtain information concerning the habit of growth, the habitat or conditions under which the plants grow, and especially does one fail to form a mental picture of the grasslands or gain a knowledge as to what species are dominant in a given region. Much information of this sort was gathered throughout the trip. It is interesting to find new species but much more interesting to determine the identity of obscure and doubtful species described by early authors. The Wilkes Exploring Expedition visited Whampoa and made collections there. This place is about 10 miles below Canton on the Pearl River and was in the early part of the last century the anchorage for vessels trading with Canton. Since some of the grasses collected at that time by the Wilkes Expedition have remained obscure, a visit was made to Whampoa (pronounced Wampō). From personal observations on the physiographic features and from a study of the collection of grasses obtained it becomes comparatively easy to interpret the grasses of the Wilkes Expedition. This is only one example of many similar instances.

China is said to be a thickly populated country, and indeed the cities and villages are very much crowded. The country population is fairly dense in the valleys, which are intensively cultivated. But one is greatly surprised at the vast stretches of unused grassland, mile upon mile, on the rolling hills, uninhabited and ungrazed, covered with a luxuriant growth of nutritious grasses. This condition obtains not merely in the remote parts of the country but within sight of large cities. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is probably the prevalence of actual or potential banditry. A herd of cattle on these grass hills would at once invite the attack of robbers, and the rich man, the only one who could afford herds, will not risk his capital. The small farmer of the valleys, with