seventy matches. It is interesting as illustrative of the extreme frugality of the Chinese character to note that before laying out the sum of three cash—say the fourteenth part of a penny—upon a box, the purchaser may be seen counting the number of matches in the box, in order to assure himself that he is receiving full value for his money, and to enable him to discard any matches found without heads before finally concluding his bargain. Even the ubiquitous Japanese match is unable to compete on these terms, and if the Japanese match cannot, it is difficult to see how any other could. The Ch'ung-k'ing match is quite the lowest in the scale, and smells horribly, though to the sons and daughters of China the smell of burning sulphur is doubtless a pleasing variation from the usual all-pervading perfume of a Chinese home.
Another two days' march brought us to Yung Chang Hsien, a town of some size and importance. It is celebrated locally for the manufacture of a cloth from the ramie fibre, which is said to be much worn in the hot weather, though according to Sir Alexander Hosie "it
