Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/208

 204 Ling-Nant.

to the sun. They are then taken to the oil mills and more thoroughly dried in ovens, after which they are crushed and submitted to the press, where the oil is extracted. This oil is used in cooking, for dressing the hair, and also for medicinal purposes, and sold for about five cents per pound, As soon as the nuts are gathered the new flowers begin to open, and the young fruit is well set before winter comes on.

The country, as we passed through it in the clear October days, had a wonderfully fresh and clean look, No haze, no smoke, no sign of wear and tear on the hills, but, springing from their luxurious dew bath of the night into the exhilarating sun bath of the day, they had a most charming look of being freshly washed and cleansed. It was luxury to look at them, and new life to inhale the pure, sweet air wafted from them by the

bracing north wind.

Owing to rapids and dams, over some of which the water falls three feet in one plunge, the boat makes slow pro- gress, and allows time for hurried excursions to the tops of prominent hills to catch views of distant scenes. On the side of one of these hills is a small temple called “The Monastery of the Lofty Peak,” which is remarkable for the magnificent sweet olive tree (Olea fragrans) growing in front of it. This tree, which is nearly forty feet. high and of beautiful proportions, was completely covered on all sides with masses of most fragrant flowers. A short distance up the river a little stream comes in from the west. It flows down through the emall plain of Po-on, in the centre of which is a market town of the same name, surrounded by a number of villages. At the