From the meridian of the western extremity of the Munni-ula, the character of the valley on the southern shore of the Hoang-ho as we ascend the River changes a good deal. The soil, which was heretofore dense and fertile, is now mixed with salt, so thick in some places as to cover the ground with a white layer; there are none of those marshes or rivulets which are occasionally seen in the preceding section, and, except in the great river itself, not a drop of water can be found.
As the soil changes so does the vegetation. The flowery fields[1] disappear, and in their stead the reed grass (Calamagrostis sp.), and Lasiagrostis splendens cover the valley. The latter grows in tufts as high as seven feet, and is so tough and wiry as to make it difficult to pluck a single stalk. Clumps of bushes become more frequent, often covering extensive areas along the banks of the Hoang-ho.[2] The prevailing kind of shrub is a species of tamarisk, which is sometimes as high as twenty feet, with a stem three or four inches thick.
The sand-drift which in the former section was 12 to 15 miles from the bank of the Hoang-ho, now approaches nearer and throws out occasional arms to the River itself. These sands, as we have said, are called by the Mongols Kuzupchi — a name which
- ↑ In the valley of the Hoang-ho and the oases in the sands of Kuzupchi, we gathered, between the middle of July and end of August, 137 kinds of flowering plants; in the mountains of Munni-ula, between the end of June and beginning of July, 163 kinds; but some of the latter were also found in the valley of the Yellow River.
- ↑ These bushes also grow on the opposite shore of the Hoang-ho.
