No. 216.] 275 



fest therefore that the growth of the plant does not depend upon the 

 temperature of the climate. 



The soil of the eastern part of this province, extending to the sea 

 coast, is sandy, poor, just sustaining'a miserably destitute population. 

 The middle and northern part is a level plain with richer and more 

 productive soils. The western, broken and hilly, and adapted to 

 agricultural purposes. Productions; Tea, Millet, Wheat pulse, and 

 varieties of Fruit, and some Rice. In Lat. parallel with Madrid, 

 Philadelphia and Delaware. 



2. Proceeding south, we come to the adjoining province of Shan- 

 tung, a maratime province stretching along the coast of the Yellow 

 Sea. 



The face of the country is diversified. The eastern part, hilly and 

 mountainous; the western, level and undulating. 



The temperature of this province, is cold in winter and hot in 

 summer. Snow falls and sharp frosts ensue during the winter 

 months, and even the Yellow River, the southern boundary of this 

 province, is often obstructed with ice. Ice houses are far more com- 

 mon than in this country, though the ice is generally used to pre- 

 serve fish rather than as a summer luxury for the table. 



The productions of this province are Tea, Rice, Millet, Maize, 

 Fruits, &c. Lat. about 34 to 37° N. Lying parallel with Gibral- 

 tar, and northern parts of North and South Carolina. 



3 Shansi is a northern frontier province, west of Chihli, and 

 about the same latitude. 



Its surface is mountainous, hilly, rugged, its winter cold, and tem- 

 perature freezing. Productions: Grain, Millet, Wheat, Vegetables, 

 Fruit; we have no reliable accounts respecting the production of 

 Tea, excepting the general one that it grows in all the provinces 

 Lat. 35 to 40°. Parallel with Virginia. 



4. The province b{ Honan, south of the Yellow River, is situated 

 near the centre of the provinces. The face of the country is gene- 

 rally a rich plain; but the southwestern part of the province is in- 

 tersected with hills and corresponding valleys. 



The temperature, cold in winter, both frost and ice. Productions: 

 T ea, Silk, Cotton, Hemp, Flax, &c. 



