Chap. XVIII. APPEARANCE OF THE PEOPLE. 



369 



said, of disturbing tliem ; and tliey invariably- 

 cautioned me against making any unnecessary 

 noise while I was examining them. 



At this time nearly all the labour in this part 

 of the country was expended on the production of 

 the silk-worm. In the fields the natives were seen 

 in great numbers busily engaged in gathering the 

 leaves ; boats on the rivers were fraught with 

 them ; in the country market-towns they were 

 exposed for sale in great quantities, and every- 

 thing told that they were the staple article of 

 production. On the other hand, every cottage, 

 farm-house, barn and temple, was filled with its 

 thousands of worms which were fed and tended 

 with the greatest care. 



This part of the country is very populous, 

 villages and small towns are scattered over it in 

 every direction, and the people have the same 

 clean and respectable appearance which I had 

 already remarked in other parts of the silk dis- 

 tricts. In making my observations on the rearing 

 of the silk-worm I visited manv hundreds of these 

 towns and villages, and never in one instance had 

 any complaint to make of incivility on the part of 

 any one. 



After staying a few days in the vicinity of the 

 temple of Hoo-shan — for such was its name — 

 I gave my boatmen directions to move onwards 

 further up the river. We passed a number of 

 pretty towns and villages on its banks, and arrived 

 at last at a place called Kin-hwa, where I remained 



