accident, while bathing, which left him paralysed below the waist, with no hope of recovery.
It was in these circumstances that he determined to devote what time and energy remained to him to the cause of Science, and for the rest of his life he worked with indomitable courage and brilliant success at intricate biological and biochemical problems, taking special interest in Mendelian research. The success was the more astonishing inasmuch as many of his investigations called for exceptional manual skill, which he acquired by dint of almost incredible perseverance, in spite of the fact that his hands and arms were still partially paralysed. In the summer of 1921 a list of his published scientific works was submitted to the Council of the Royal Society, in order that he might stand for election as a Fellow, but he died before attaining that distinction, on June 27th, 1922, leaving an example of high courage to which it would be hard to find a parallel.FROM CHINA TO HKAMTI LONG.
By Captain F. KINGDON WARD, F. R. G. S.
Author of “The Romance of Plant Hunting,” “The Mystery Rivers
of Tibet,” etc.
One Volume. Demy 8 vo. With Illustrations and Map. 18 s. net.
Captain Kingdon Ward has already made a reputation as one of the most intrepid explorers of the difficult and little-known country on the marches of Burma, China, and Tibet. The important journey described in this volume gives the reader an insight into the changes—physical, climatic, and botanical—which take place as the traveller passes westwards from the Yangtze across that narrow strip of earth’s crust where the great rivers of South-East Asia escape from Tibet, and where jungle hides the head-waters of the mighty Irrawaddy. Captain Ward’s primary object was to discover new plants, but to reach the wild districts which are his hunting-ground is no light task. Even to reach the city of Likiang in the heart of Asia involves a formidable journey, for there is no “Magic Carpet” to transport one thither. A glance at the Map which accompanies the book shows how formidable were the obstacles he had afterwards to surmount, at one moment bathed in tropical heat in the river valleys, at another well-nigh frozen on mountain ridges, 16,000 feet above sea-level. Of great interest, apart from the difficulties of travel, are his accounts of the inhabitants and their manners and customs. Captain Ward possesses striking descriptive gifts and an admirable style: he has the philosophy of a man who has spent much of his life in the vast open spaces of the world; above all, he has the spirit of adventure.
