CuAP. XIV. 
TEA-LAND. 
225 
than others. The tea-districts, for example, both in the 
province of Fokien and Chekiang, are not only more 
fertile, but are very different from what they are 
generally supposed to be. One of the most accredited 
accounts of China gives the following analysis of the 
soil of these districts : — " The tea-soil of China consists 
almost entirely of siliceous sand in a minute state of 
division — 84 per cent, of sand, a quantity of carbonate 
of iron and alumina, and only 1 per cent of vegetable 
matter." Where or how this analysis could be obtained, 
I have no means of knowing — most probably from the 
black-tea districts near Canton ; but it is certainly very 
far from being a correct one if meant to apply to the 
rich soil of the great tea districts. 
But even here, and over all the most fertile mountain 
districts of Central China, it would be ridiculous to assert, 
as some have done, that the whole, or even the greater 
part, is under cultivation. On the contrary, by far the 
greater part lies in a state of nature, and has never been 
disturbed by the hand of man. I am anxious to state 
this fact in express terms, in order to set those right 
who have been led to believe that every inch of la.nd in 
the empire, however bleak and barren, is under cultiva- 
tion, having given way to Chinese industry and skill ! 
I myself, before I visited China, was under the same 
impression ; but the first glance at the rugged moun- 
tainous shores soon convinced me of my error. Unfor- 
tunately, our opinions of a distant unknown country are 
apt to go to extremes, either fancying it entirely barren, 
or else a paradise of fertility. 
The soil of the valleys or plains varies quite as much 
L 3 
