24 ASIA 



by icy blasts from the north. It has therefore an 

 extreme climate, with dry and intense cold in winter 

 and sweltering heat in summer. Spring and summer 

 rains are sometimes abundant and render the plain im- 



FIG. 10. The Manchurian Steppe and its Camps. 



passable. Indeed, in many respects, Manchuria deserves 

 the name of Eastern Gobi, which is often applied to 

 it; but it also offers some analogies in respect of its 

 situation, climate and vegetation, with the low plain of 



