Cuar. XX.] POPULATION. 373 
chow-foo than in the other towns which I have 
visited. Paper notes are a common medium of ex- 
change, in which the people have the greatest confi- 
dence, prefering them to dollars, or “cash.” Some 
of the notes are as low as four hundred cash —about 
eighteen pence English money ; others are for very 
large sums. 
The people here are generally much cleaner in 
their habits, and appear to be a more active race, 
than those in the northern towns. In fact, they 
approach more nearly to the natives of Canton than 
to any other, in these respects. I was much sur- 
prised to find them consuming beef, and even milk, 
in considerable quantities; articles which are never 
used by the inhabitants of the other districts where 
I have been: indeed, everywhere else the Chinese 
were wont to express their astonishment when they 
saw the English using such articles of food. 
The ladies of Foo-chow-foo are particularly fond 
of flowers—artificial as well as natural—for the 
decoration of their hair. The rustic cottage beauty 
employs the more large and gaudy, such as the 
red Hibiscus; while the refined damsels prefer the 
jasmine, tuberose, and others of that description : 
artificial flowers, however, are more in use than 
natural ones. ' 
The population of Foo-chow-foo has been esti- 
mated at about half a million; and I have no doubt 
that if the suburbs and numerous villages in the 
vicinity be taken into account, the number is not 
over-stated. Up to the time when I left China, 
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