A Naturalist in Western China with Vasculum, Camera and Gun

Naturalist Ernest Henry Wilson (1876–1930) spent much of his career in China, collecting seeds and plant samples. In Volume 2 of this work of 1913, Wilson describes how the Chinese use their plants in medicine and agriculture.

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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 2 Wilson examines how people in western China use their plants in medicine and agriculture, including the important tea industry.