TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 717 



They, however, determined to push on and try to effect an exit by the Yang-tse 

 River. From Ta-Chien-hi, they followed the great tea road between Tibet and 

 China, so called because of the great traffic in tea carried between Lhasa and Ya- 

 chou. The lecturer pointed out that if free commercial relations could be esta- 

 blished with Tibet there was no doubt that the better and cheaper Indian tea would 

 capture this market. From Ya-chou the route taken was by raft down a tributary 

 of the Yang-tse, then through the Yang-tse gorges to Ichang, and then by steamer, 

 900 miles, to Shanghai. Proceeding thence to Tien-tsin, the party were just in 

 time to join the Peking relief expedition. On September 20, 1901, the author 

 started again on a journey of some thousands of miles across Central to Western 

 China. Captain liunter,' ILE., was his fellow-traveller, and each was accom- 

 panied by a surveyor and three Gurkhas. From Peking they travelled ninety 

 miles by the French-Belgian controlled line, which is projected to run to the 

 Yang-tse Valley at Han-kau, and is likely to have a great effect on the develop- 

 ment and history of China, as it traverses some of the most populous and fertile 

 districts of the empire. Trains were then running from Peking for 160 miles, and 

 from Han-kau for 200 miles along' the southern section. At Han-kau the line is 

 connected with one from Canton in course of construction from materials being 

 supplied by French, Belgian, and Ameiican firms. The author's party marched 

 to Cheng-ting-Fu, fifty miles further, where evidence of foreign railway enter- 

 prise was again found. Many bridges would have to be constructed, the largest 

 across the Yellow River itself at Yung-tse. There it was satisfactory to find 

 evidence of British energy in a railway 700 miles distant from a seaport; but on 

 crossing the Yellow River and reaching the city of Kai-feng-Fu, they found 

 evidence of Continental enterprise, especially German. The Paper then gave a 

 description of the province of Sechuan, with its 45,000,000 inhabitants and 

 immense industries, and of the Red River Basin, with an area of nearly 80,000 

 square miles, and a population of over 40,000,000, the densest agricultural popula- 

 tion in the world. Every foot of soil is under crops, including rice, wheat, millet, 

 peas and beans, sugar-cane, and every sort of vegetable. In many places are 

 brine wells, 2,000 feet deep, salt being a very valuable product in China. In 

 other parts rich iron ore, copper, and quicksilver, and also gold, are found in great 

 quantities. The author concluded by insisting on the importance of stimulating 

 British enterprise in Central and Western China, pointing out what railways had 

 done for British India, and expressing the opinion that far more might be expected 

 from them in China, which had much greater resources and undeveloped wealth. 

 China, too, possessed 400,000,000 of willing customers, whose industry, intelli- 

 gence, and civilisation give them a high standard of comfort. 



6. The Aff'orestation of Waterworks Catchment Areas. 

 By Joseph Parry, M.Inst.C.E} 



The author described the causes that 'led to the neglect of forestry in this 

 country and the pressing importance of the subject in view of the falling off in 

 and increasing cost of foreign and colonial supplies, which have hitherto made up 

 the deficiencies of home produce. The total imports of timber per annum amount 

 to 10,104,504 tons, valued at 25,676,988^., and the quantity of home-grown timber 

 used in Great Britain and Ireland is estimated at 2,000,000 tons, being equal to 

 about one-sixth the total consumption. 



The Departmental Committee appointed last year by the Board of Agriculture 

 made a recommendation — ' That the attention of corporations and municipalities 

 be drawn to the desirability of planting with trees the catchment areas of their 

 water supply.' 



The author estimated the total area of these catchment areas to be about 

 576,000 acres, of which at least 102,615 acres had been bought and were now 



' The full paper will appear in the Transactions of the Boyal Scottish Arhoriad- 

 Uvral Society, 



