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were the white bells of an Ericacea in drooping panicles much like Lilies of the Valley in shape & size. The white members of a sweet scented shrub having large white-ray or display bracts was conspicuous on the road. Pteris ferns or brakes are the prevailing growth in forest & under trees generally as well as on open hillsides. Hillier in his book on the Chinese language says it is a difficult language for adults to learn but babies learn it far easier than English or European tongues. In 2 years he says a European adult can converse in it but it requires at least 10 years to speak proficiently. Japanese he says can be acquired in 2 [[strikethrough]] mouths [[/strikethrough]] months a working knowledge sufficient to make wants known. The men at Teng-yueh custom house who speak Chinese say this estimate is quite correct.