oolboy has learned ere he is twelve years old, but of which he was
ignorant because they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study
modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox Chinese for
"everything good must be old," and all his life he delves into the past
utterly neglectful of the present.

Every valley along the road was green with rice fields and this, together
with the deforestation of the mountains, is responsible for the almost
total lack of animal life. Night after night we set traps about our temple
camps only to find them untouched in the morning. There were no mammals
with the exception of a few red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus
erythraeus_ sub sp.) and now and then a tree shrew (_Tupaia belangeri
chinensis_).

The latter is an interesting species. Although it is an Insectivore, and a
relative of the tiny shrews which live in holes and under logs, it has
squirrel-like habits and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is
totally unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired mouselike tails of the
ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed long bushy tails and in fact
look and act so much like squirrels that it is difficult to convince the
white residents of Yuen-nan, who are accustomed to see them run about the
hedges and walls of their courtyards that the two are quite unrelated.

The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one of the most remarkable
instances of a superficial resemblance between unrelated animals with
similar habits. A study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that they
represent a distinct group which is connected with the monkeys (lemurs).

Although birds were fairly abundant the species were not varied. We were
about a month too early for the ducks and geese, which during the winter
swarm into Yuen-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants are
difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed in the game birds,
for we had expected good pheasant shooting even along the road and
virtually none were to be found.

The main caravan roads of Yuen-nan held little of interest for us as
naturalists, but as students of native customs they were fascinating, for
the life of the province passed before us in panoramic completeness.
Chinese villages wherever we have seen them are marvels of utter and
abandoned filth and although those of Yuen-nan are no exception to the rule,
they are considerably better than the coast cities.

Pigs, chickens, horses