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mountainside. The large rat had nothing but wild grass in his stomach.

The aborigine collector, Yang Fong Tsang is now overdue. It may be that there are robbers along the route so that he can not get out. If so, he will probably keep on collecting and bring out his whole catch later.

Feb. 16.
The collector, Chen Gih Uen, today collected fish, securing two or three good specimens. There is a strong movement among students and farmers to oppose the forced planting of opium and the collecting of opium taxes from farmers who do not plant opium.

Feb. 18.
Collector Yang Fong Tsang came in with 15 mammals, 56-68, including a young leopard, 27 birdskins, and 14 bird bones. I think he should get more, and if he does not, I may cut his wages or discontinue employing him. My present intention is to continue using him at least until next summer's collecting is over.

Feb. 20.
Yesterday I took care of most of the specimens brought in by the aborigine collector, Yang Fong Tsang. He has improved [[underlined]] some [[/underlined]], but still needs further training. I am taking him with me and training him daily hoping to help him get nearer perfection.

Today I passed through one of the most beautiful places in the Suifu perfecture. We dropped by boat from Suifu forty li down to Shui Liu Chi, then went sixty li overland to Gi Tien Ba. On the way we passed through a most beautiful and interesting ravine. In some places sheer, bare, perpendicular cliffs were exposed. In one place there is on the side of a cliff a fortified place or citadel, which is almost inaccessible, where apparently the populace has in the past escaped from robbers or soldiers. In some places there are terraced and cultivated hillsides. Much of the way there were woods. There must be at least twenty waterfalls along the bed of a creek, some of which have natural caves under them.

In this canyon or ravine is a kind of a tree that I have seen elsewhere. It is like a giant fern, expecting that the central tree or [[margin]] ^[[stalk]] [[/margin]] [[underlined]] stalls [[/underlined]] is permanent like a tree, and grows to be fully ten inches in diameter and twenty feet high. One leaf I measured was eleven feet long. I took one picture, and took pieces of the wood and samples of the leaves or twigs, secured four birds, and allowed the aborigine to practice on them.

Feb. 21.
Mammal No. 69, Traveled from Gi Tien Ba past Muh Jia Pin to Li Duan Tsang. Killed three birds on which the aborigine collector may practice.

Transcription Notes:
Ambrosia:- minor edits including adding spaces to improve readibility/searchability