Chap. XII. 
SOIL OF THE COTTON DISTRICT. 
209 
before the stalks of the latter are removed. Thus, the 
Chinese in the northern provinces lengthen by every 
means in their power the period of growth ; and gain 
as much as they possibly can from the fertility of their 
land. The reader must bear in mind, however, that the 
soil of this district is a rich deep loam, which is capable 
of yielding many crops in succession without the aid of a 
particle of manure. Nature has showered her bounties 
on the inhabitants of this part of the Chinese empire 
with no sparing hand ; the soil is not only the most 
fertile in China, but the climate is capable of rearing 
and bringing to perfection many of the productions of 
the tropics as well as the whole of those found in all 
the temperate regions of the globe. 
