"The dragon comes from an egg, it being desirable to keep it folded up. When the male calls out there is a breeze above, when the female calls out there is a breeze below, in consequence of which there is conception. The _Shih Tien_ states, when the dragons come together they are changed into two small serpents. In the _Siao Shwoh_ it is said that the disposition of the dragon is very fierce, and it is fond of beautiful gems and jade (?). It is extremely fond of swallow's flesh; it dreads iron, the _mong_ plant, the centipede, the leaves of the Pride of India, and silk dyed of different (five) colours. A man, therefore, who eats swallow's flesh should fear to cross the water. When rain is wanted a swallow should be offered (used); when floods are to be restrained, then iron; to stir up the dragon, the _mong_ plant should be employed; to sacrifice to _Küh Yuen_, the leaves of the Pride of India bound with coloured silk should be used (see Mayers, p. 107, § 326) and thrown into the river. Physicians who use dragons' bones ought to know the likes and dislikes of dragons as given above." "_Dragons' Bones._[244]--In the _Pieh luh_ it is said that these are found in the watercourses in Tsin (Southern Shansi) and in the earth-holes which exist along the banks of the streams running in the caves of the T'ai Shan (Great Hill), Shantung. For seeking dead dragons' graves there is no fixed time. Hung King says that now they are largely found in Leung-yih (in Shansi?) and Pa-chung (in Szchuen). Of all the bones, dragon's spine is the best; the brains make the white earth _striæ_, which when applied to the tongue is of great virtue. The small teeth are hard, and of the usual appearance of teeth. The horns are hard and solid. All the dragons cast off their bodies without really dying. Han says the dragon-bones from Yea-cheu, Ts‘ang-cheu and T'ai-yuen (all in Shansi) are the best. The smaller bones marked with wider lines are the female dragon's; the rougher bones with narrower lines are those of the male dragon; those which are marked with variegated colours are esteemed the best. Those that are either yellow or white are of medium value; the black are inferior. If any of the bones are impure, or are gathered by women, they should not be used. "P'u says dragons' bones of a light white colour possess great virtue. Kung says the bones found in Tsin (South Shansi) that are hard are not good; the variegated ones possess virtue. The light, the yellow, the flesh-coloured, the white, and the black, are efficacious in curing diseases in the internal organs having their respective colours, just as the five varieties of the _chi_[245] plant, the five kinds of limestone, and the five kinds of mineral oil (literally, fat), which remain still for discussion in this work. "Su-chung states: 'In the prefecture of Cheu kiün, to the "East of the River" (Shansi), dragons' bones are still found in large quantities.'