CHINA. 



939 



4. Islands. The island of Hai-7ian, lies upon ihe southern coast, and forms the eastern 

 Imit of the Gulf of Tonquin. It contains 14,000 square miles and is partly mountainous. It 

 produces sugar, indigo, cotton, and rice. Further north is Formosa, a very beautiful island ; it 

 is rich and populous, but subject to earthquakes. Further to the east are the Loo Choo Isl- 

 lands, which are well inhabited and productive. The Ladrone Islands, to the south of the bay 

 of Canton, are peopled by a race of pirates. 



5. Climate and Soil. The cliiViate of China varies according to the situation of the places. 

 Toward the north it is cold, in the middle mild, and in the south hot. It is subject in general 

 to great extremes, and resembles rather the climate of the United States, than that of Europe 

 and Africa in corresponding latitudes. The soil is, either by nature or art, fruitful of every- 

 thing that can minister to the necessities, conveniences, or iuxuiies of life ; and agriculture is 

 carried to a high degree of excellence. 



6. Minerals. Gold is obtained from the sands of rivers in Sechuen and Yunan, but no 

 mines are worked. Silver occurs in considerable abundance, and silver mines are worked in 

 Yunan. Tutenague or zinc, of which the Chinese make vessels and utensils, occurs in Hoopee. 

 Yellow copper comes from Yunan and other provinces, and is employed for making small coin, 

 which is current throughout the empire ; no gold or silver is coined. The famous petung or 

 white copper, which takes a polish like silver, also comes from lunan, and quicksilver is ob- 

 tained in Kweichoo. Lead and tin occur, and realgar, or native sulphuret of arsenic, is used 

 in blocks for making pagodas and vases. Earthy felspar or kaolin, also called porcelain earth, 

 an important material in the manufacture of the beautiful China ware, abounds in some provinces, 

 but the Chinese reckon yu or jade as the first of mineral substances, and it is much used for 

 ornamental purposes. Coal extends through considerable tracts, and good marble and granite 

 are found. 



7. Vegetable Productions. China produces all the fruits common to the tropical and tem- 

 perate countries. The camphor (^Laurus campliora) , tallow (Croton sebiferun), and cinnamon 

 trees are common in the fields and gardens. The most celebrated production is the tea plant, 

 which grows wild here, but is much improved by careful culture. It is a shrub 5 or 6 feet in 

 height, producing leaves of different flavor according to the soil, and care with which it is cul- 

 tivated. It is generally grown in gardens or plantations of no great extent. The leaves are 

 gathered by the cultivator's family, and carried to market, where they are bought by persons, 

 whose trade it is to dry them ; the black teas are dried by exposure to the air, the green in iron 

 vessels over a fire. Some of the leaf buds of the finest black tea plants are picked early 

 before they expand ; these constitute pekoe or the best black tea ; the second, third, and 

 fourth crops afford the inferior qualities. In the same manner the first crop of the green tea 

 plant is gunpowder ; the second, third, and fourth, imperial hyson, and young hyson ; hyson 

 skin consists of the light leaves obtained from the hyson by winnowing. The quantity annually 

 exported to Europe and America is about 60 million pounds, besides which it is largely sent to 

 other countries of Asia, and consumed in vast quantities at home. Japan and China are the 

 only countries which produce it. Rice {Oryza sativa), is, perhaps, more generally grown and 

 consumed in China than in any other country ; the delicate substance called rice-paper is not 

 made from this plant, but is prepared from the pith of some unknown species. The sugar-cane 

 is a native of China, and there are several species of orange. The banana, cocoa, pomegran- 

 ate, guava, Hchi, lemon, fig, and other fruits abound. The pride of India (Melia ^zedarach), 

 the camelias, the nelumbo or sacred bean of India, the olive {Oka fragrans), the tree-peony 

 &c., are admired for the beauty or fragrance of their flowers. 



8. Canals. The Imperial Canal is the greatest work of the kind in the world, being 700 

 miles in length, and, with the aid of several navigable rivers, aftbrdine; a line of inland navigation 

 from Pekin to Canton, interrupted only by a single portage. There are many other canals ; 

 the Chinese are unacquainted with the construction of locks, and the boats pass from one level 

 to another on inclined planes, over which they are drawn upon rollers by men. 



9. Towns. Pekin, the capital of the whole empire of China, and the ordinary residence of 

 the emperor, is situated in a very fertile plain, 20 leagues distant from the great wall. It is of 

 an oblong form, and is divided into two towns ; that which contains the emperor's palace is 

 called the Tartar city. The walls and gates are of the height of 50 leet, so that they hide the 

 whole city, and are so broad, that sentinels are placed upon them on horseback ; there are 

 slopes within the city of considerable length, by which horsemen may ascend the walls, and in 

 several places there are houses built for the guards The gates, which are 9 in number, are 



