SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 



The whole country from Lama Miao to Tabool 

 reminded me of the North West Territories of 

 Canada, with its stretches of rich and roUing grass- 

 lands, its numerous small lagoons and swamps 

 and its herds of grazing stock, or, where the Chinese 

 had settled, its wude expanses of wheat and mus- 

 tard, growing luxuriantly upon the easily turned 

 black mould. 



The outcome of the present struggle for the 

 ownership of this land cannot be foretold, but 

 w^hoever gets it will be in possession of a fine 

 territory, only waiting to be developed, by the 

 sinking of deep and permanent wells and a 

 system of irrigation, into the richest pastures, or 

 the most fertile arable land. From the point of 

 view of the agricultural development of this land, 

 it would undoubtedly be best for the Chinese to 

 secure it ; but one would hate to bid farewell to 

 the picturesque Mongols, and to see these wild, 

 though simple, horsemen driven from this their 

 heritage by the materialistic, sordid race whose 

 proper home is south of the Wall. 



We spent a very busy, but pleasant, fortnight 

 at Tabool, after which we packed our things and 

 began our return journey to Kalgan. Travelling 

 in a southerly direction, w^e soon encountered 

 Chinese settlements once more, and perforce bade 

 farew^ell to the free grassy plains of Mongolia. 

 From sixty li south of Tabool to the edge of the 

 Plateau the land is all under cultivation. We 



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