purposes of irrigation the farmers resort to the method prevalent in 
Sstich’uan ; immense wooden wheels with buckets attached are placed so 
that the current of the river causes them to revolve; the water is thus 
automatically carried up in the buckets, and being emptied into troughs flows 
into canals thus fertilising the thirsty fields, which would otherwise be of 
necessity useless. A considerable amount of opium is grown in the valley ; 
tobacco, vegetables, and a little wheat forming the rest of the crops produced. 
Immediately adjoining the city are some fine orchards, one of which was 
within the grounds of our residence. For the rest, the surrounding country— 
save for perennial streams along the ravine-bottoms—seems to be utterly 
dessicated and sterile ; indeed, Europeans who have been long resident in the 
district state that the desert is approaching slowly but surely from the north, 
and engulfing the country. Of the truth of this there can be but little doubt, 
and were it not for the Yellow River, Lan-chou would certainly cease to exist. 
The river, at this point some 300 yards wide and 25 feet deep, was formerly 
crossed in summer by means of an extensive but very shaky pontoon, liable 
to breakage in the rainy season by any more than usually heavy rush of water. 
An iron bridge was in process of construction during our visit, and was 
completed at the end of the same summer, so that the old boat-bridge is now 
a thing of the past. Great anxiety was felt by Mr. Coltman, the engineer in 
charge, as to how the bridge would stand the severe strain of the autumn 
floods; but though the rains, which commenced in July, were the heaviest 
that had been experienced in the district for many years, and the river in 
consequence rose far above the usual high-water-mark, the well-planned and 
strongly-built structure stood the test, and remains a fine example of modern 
engineering skill. 
We saw the first samples of woollen cloth produced in Lan-chow. More 
than thirty years ago, Tso Ching-t’ang, an official of the city, had decided to 
start an industry in the manufacture of woollen goods. All the machinery 
necessary for a large factory was bought and transported overland from the 
sea-coast at great cost, only to be dumped down and allowed to rust on 
reaching its destination. Rockhill (author of ‘‘ The Land of the Lamas”) 
speaks of seeing the chimney of the wool-factory at Lan-chou, which was at 
that time (1888) abandoned. It is only quite recently that an official, more 
enterprising than his predecessors, has engaged European experts, and 
completed the building of the factory and the installation of the machinery. 
The Belgians employed in this have had their work cut out, but after untold 
labour they have succeeded in getting everything into working order. The 
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