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we stopped on one of the lateral streams in a sunny grassy field.  The sides of the valley here are forested the north side pine clad & dry, the south side shady, moist & bush clad with some spruces, alders, oaks & bamboo.  The older trees are still in green leaf. A few plum trees were radiant in a blaze of pink flowers & no foliage.  Long caravans of hides, tea & firewood were met. Some men carrying bundles of twigs bearing large rose flowers called tea flowers by the Chinese were met. These flowers are used in their New Year Ceremony.  They looked like a species of Rhododendron. The camp was pitched where the Tali Lake River joins the Yang-Pi. The country in the afternoon was a series of fields & scattered homes with naked oak trees & walnuts on hillsides. A large tree like Opuntia made its appearance here about cultivation.  Many of the plants bore a few leaves 4 inches long & pale yellow.  The common Indian fig cactus was 

Transcription Notes:
Opuntia is a kind of cactus.