A Naturalist in Western China with Vasculum, Camera and Gun 2 Volume Set: Being Some Account of Eleven Years' Travel(Cambridge Library Collection - Botany and Horticulture)

Ernest Henry Wilson (1876–1930) was introduced to China in 1899 when, as a promising young botanist, he was sent there by horticulturalist Henry Veitch (1840–1924) to collect the seed of the handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrata, for propagation in Britain. Subsequent trips saw Wilson bringing back hundreds of seed samples and plant collections, introducing many Chinese plants to Europe and North America. He wrote extensively about his travels in China: this two-volume work was published in 1913. Although much of the text is concerned with plant life, Wilson also gives a great deal of attention to the wider landscape around him. In addition, Wilson took a camera, and these volumes contain photographs of parts of China rarely seen by Europeans in the early twentieth century. In Volume 1 he discusses his journey through China and in Volume 2 describes the Chinese use of plants in medicine and agriculture.

Table of Contents:
Volume 1: Preface; Introduction Charles S. Sargent; 1. Western China – mountain ranges and river systems; 2. Western Hupeh – general topography and geology; 3. Methods of travel – roads and accommodation; 4. In quest of flowers – a journey in North-Western Hupeh; 5. Forest and crag – across the Hupeh-Szechuan frontier; 6. The red basin of Szechuan – its geology, mineral, and agricultural wealth; 7. Eastern Szechuan – narrative of a journey from Taning Hsien to Tunghsiang Hsien; 8. The ancient kingdom of Pa – narrative of a journey from Tunghsiang Hsien to Paoning Fu; 9. The Chengtu Plain – 'The Garden of Western China'; 10. North-Western Szechuan – narrative of a cross-mountain journey to Sungpan Ting; 11. Sungpan Ting – the land of the Sifan; 12. The Chino-Thibetan borderland – 'The Marches of the Mantzu'; 13. The Chiarung tribes – their history, manners, and customs; 14. Across the Chino-Tibetan borderland – Kuan Hsien to Romi Chango; the flora of the Panlan Shan; 15. Across the Chino-Thibetan borderland – Romi Chango to Tachienlu; the forests of the Ta-P'ao Shan; 16. Tachienlu, the gate of Thibet – the Kingdom of Chiala, its people, their manners and customs; 17. Sacred Omei Shan – its temples and its flora; 18. Through the Laolin (wilderness) – narrative of a journey from Kiating to Malie, via Wawu Shan; 19. Wa Shan and its flora. Volume 2: 1. The flora of Western China – a brief account of the richest temperate flora in the world; 2. The principal timber trees; 3. Fruits, wild and cultivated; 4. Chinese materia medica; 5. Gardens and gardening – favourite flowers cultivated by the Chinese; 6. Agriculture – the principal food-stuff crops; 7. The more important plant products – wild and cultivated trees of economic importance; 8. The more important plant products – cultivated shrubs and herbs of economic value; 9. Tea and 'tea-yielding' plants – the tea industry for the Thibetan markets; 10. Insect white-wax; 11. Sport in Western China – pheasants and other game birds; 12. Sport in Western China – wild-fowl shooting on the Ya River; 13. Sport in Western China – ruminant and other game animals; 14. Sport in Western China – carnivorous and other animals, including monkeys; 15. Western China – minerals and mineral wealth; 16. Conclusion; Index.