" THE LEAVBS OF THE TREE Were FOR THE HEALING OF THB NATIONS." 25 



outlook is even worse than in the memorable year that followed the big 

 overflow of the Yellow river " For 150 miles not so much as a single 

 grain of wheat has been reaped by the inhabitants, so that after they had 

 consumed their reserves nothing more could be done than to lie down 

 and die." Here we have unmistakable evidence of ruined soil in an 

 almost treeless portion of a vast Empire, soil that has been cropped for 

 centuries to feed teeming multitudes minus any recuperating rest, and, 

 as stated by M. Marchand in his work I have already quoted : " With 

 the ruin of the soil begins the ruin of the people. The more unhappy 

 they are, the more selfish do they become." And this is how Marchand's 

 affirmation is borne out in this case. The Chronicle's correspondent 

 makes reference to the miserable appearance of the famine cursed people, 

 as also to the heartless treatment they are being subjected to from their 

 more wealthy brethren in the following manner : 



"They reminded one on looking at them like so many skeletons, with faces 

 as sharp and pointed as the eagle. The rich in the famine districts stayed at 

 home, of course, but they had to economize their scanty stocks of oil and wheat, 

 while those either too old or poor to leave the country were fortunate if they could 

 find herbs and roots of trees and plants to satisfy the cravings of starvation. He 

 must have had a heart of iron not to have wept tears whenever his eyes rested on 

 the hundreds of bodies lying on the roads and by-patns, either in a dying condition 

 or stiff and lifeless. And the bitter cold ! Which of these two cruel enemies took 

 away the most cold or hunger ? The crafty grain dealers of Shansi made enor- 

 mous profits out of the poor sufferers, some of whom, having no money to buy the 

 precious cereals, sold or gave in exchange their children in barter. For instance, 

 a child of 6 was worth many hundred cash, and marriageable girls were bartered 

 in exchange for a camel's load of wheat or 400 catties. 



" A correspondent from North Hhansi says that Dr. Stuart reports that near 

 Ningwu Hsien he met seventeen loads of young women and girls on the way to- 

 ward the south to be sold. Each load had an average of t went v persons, all from 

 one district. The people of the Kueihua Hsien villages say that out of every three 

 persons two will die before the end of the second month of next year. This year 

 the oat and wheat crops were practically a failure, and the millet crop was not 

 more than one-half as largo as usual." 



The Chronicle also alludes to fearfully destructive fires and snow 

 storms in Japan and in Canton causing great loss of life. 200 persons 

 perished in Canton crushed to death by the immense weight of snow 

 falling on their dwellings and in the streets. "Snow was a thing un- 

 heard of in Canton," adds the writer, etc. Surely " grievous times" are 

 now upon us ! 



A DEFORESTATION. LESSON FROM RUSSIA. 



" The first article in the Edinburgh Review for January last is entitled 

 "The Penury of Russia." A more dreary and unrelieved picture of blank 

 desolation has hardly ever been printed." (Review of Reviews, March, '93). 



FORESTS AND EAINFALL. Without entering into details, here is one startling 

 statement made by the reviewer. He says that owing to the destruction of the 

 forests the rivers are drying up, and the eastern part of the country is literally 

 being sanded up : " The ruthless forest destruction which has been going on for 

 a long time has had a eerious effect in reducing the average rainfall. The belts of 

 wood attracted and held the moisture, which was slowly distributed for^the benefit 

 of agriculture; now, in vast regions, as, for instance, on the black soil, there is 

 hardly a tree to be seen, and the consequence is that the underground rivulets 

 which nourished the soil have disappeared. The forests also broke the force of 

 the fierce east desert winds. Now these winds, piercingly cold in winter and 



