A Naturalist In Western China

Author : Ernest Henry Wilson
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781331910244
Total Pages : 403 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (12 download)

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Download or read book A Naturalist in Western China, Vol. 1 written by Ernest Henry Wilson and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-07-20 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Naturalist in Western China, Vol. 1: With Vasculum, Camera, and Gun; Being Some Account of Eleven Years' Travel, Exploration, and Observation in the More Remote Parts of the Flowery Kingdom In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a general account of Western China, more especially of its natural history and of the manners and customs of the non-Chinese peoples inhabiting the Chino-Thibetan borderland. The attempt is based as broadly as possible, and it is earnestly hoped that the information will be of interest to many sorts and conditions of people. My travels in Western China began early in 1899, and had for their object the collecting of botanical specimens and the introducing of new plants into the gardens of Europe and North America. I have made four separate expeditions, covering in all nearly eleven years, and the nature of my work made it necessary for me to eschew the beaten tracks of the Flowery Kingdom. The opportunity to travel and study the natural history of China I owe to the business enterprise of the house of Veitch, the famous nurserymen of Chelsea, to whom I was recommended by Sir William T. Thiselton-Dyer, then Director of Kew Gardens, at the instigation of Mr. W. Watson, the present Curator of that establishment. My first two expeditions were in the interest of Messrs. Veitch; the last two in that of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. The results of these four trips are well known in the horticultural and botanical circles of Europe and North America. In my wanderings in China I have been singularly fortunate. The Chinese treated me always with kindly courtesy and respect. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.