GEOGRAPHIC NOTES 



WHAT IS THE POPULATION OF 

 CHINA? 



WHEN I first studied geography 

 the population of China was 

 estimated at 230 millions ; then came 

 an advance to 360 millions ; now we 

 hear of over 400 millions, and if the 

 latest figures are correct there is reason 

 for talking of the " Yellow Peril." 



Upon what have these estimates been 

 based ? Has anything like a census 

 ever been taken of the Chinese people ? 

 Probably not, though the Peking gov- 

 ernment, no doubt, receives reports con- 

 cerning the number of people in the dif- 

 ferent provinces. The published infor- 

 mation must have been derived mainly 

 from travelers, missionaries, diplomats, 

 and naval officers. 



From my own observations during 

 the three years I was on the Asiatic 

 Station, I would say that there are less 

 than 200 millions of people in China, 

 and perhaps some of the contributors or 

 readers of the National Geographic 

 Magazine, who have had better oppor- 

 tunities to judge, will show why or to 

 what extent 1 am wrong. 



I spent several months in each of the 

 principal seaports from Tientsin in the 

 north to Canton in the south and five 

 or six months in the Valley of the 

 Yangtze, going as far inland as Ichang, 

 a town nearty 1,000 miles from the sea, 

 and beyond the reputed populous dis- 

 tricts. I noticed that the country peo- 

 ple instead of living on farms were con- 

 centrated in villages, and that these were 

 generally small and often widely sepa- 

 rated. 



The cities were limited in area and 

 contained no lofty buildings, one and 

 two storied houses being the rule. 

 Canton is the wealthiest, and, with the 

 possible exception of Peking, is the 

 most populous city. I was with a 

 party that made the circuit of the walls, 

 several members walking the entire 

 way in a little over two hours, which 

 proves that the enclosed space could 

 not have exceeded six square miles. 

 In the northern part we saw gardens 

 and unoccupied ground. Compare this 



with Manhattan Island, with its 22 

 square miles and lofty tenement houses. 



The streets of a Chinese city are very 

 narrow, and the people live in them and 

 on the ground floor of the wide open 

 shops and houses, therefore the visitor 

 seems to be always working his way 

 through a dense crowd. 



I believe that tigers are encountered 

 in all portions of China. It is certain 

 that they are killed north of Peking, as 

 the skins are sold there, and at Amoy 

 the missionaries, who had been inland, 

 told me of the terror they inspired. As 

 there is little of the dense undergrowth 

 of India it is a comparatively open 

 country through which the tiger prowls, 

 and his presence certainly does not sug- 

 gest a land densely populated. 



C. E. Clark, 

 Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy. 



The article on "Forecasting the Weather 

 and Storms/' by Dr Willis L. Moore, 

 Chief of the United States Weather Bu- 

 reau, published in this number, is an 

 advance chapter from "The New Me- 

 teorology," a text-book on weather sci- 

 ence which is in course of preparation 

 by Dr Moore and which will be pub- 

 lished in a few months by a well-known 

 firm. The chapter is published here in 

 advance of the appearance of the book 

 through the courtesy of Dr Moore. The 

 members of the Society will undoubt- 

 edly enjoy the interesting and lucid ex- 

 planation of storms and weather given 

 by Dr Moore, and will also appreciate 

 the good -will of an author who permits 

 the publication of a chapter in advance 

 of the completed volume. 



The map showing the present seat of 



war in eastern Asia which appears as a 

 supplement to this number of the Na- 

 tional Geographic Magazine was 

 prepared by the Military Information 

 Division of the War Department and is 

 republished by the National Geographic 

 Society through the courtesy of Major 

 Beach, chief of the division. It is be- 

 lieved that the map will prove particu- 

 larly useful to those who are following 

 military developments in Manchuria. 



