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 



