306 CHEFOO-NATURAL PRODUCTS. Chap. XIX. 
had been occupied by the French troops during 
the late war, and at the time of my visit there 
were two French ships of war in the harbour, and 
the town was still partially occupied by the French. 
It is certainly a healthy station, and has a fine 
beach for sea-bathing, but those who think it import- 
ant as a place for foreign trade will, I fear, be 
disappointed. It may, however, be of some value 
as a mail station in the winter season when the 
approaches to the Pei-ho river are frozen up. Ships 
can always get to Yentae, and the mails can be 
brought overland from Peking and Tien-tsin and 
shipped at Yentae. 
The soil of the surrounding country is very 
fertile in the valleys and low lands, but the hills 
are extremely barren. The cultivated lands pro- 
duce large crops of beans (. Dolichos ), peas, and 
several kinds of millet, one of which is not met 
with in the more southern parts of the empire. 
It grows to the height of from twelve to fifteen 
feet, and is, I believe, the Sorghum, which has, of 
late years, been introduced to Europe, and is said 
to be a good substitute for the sugar-cane. When 
in a young, growing state its stem is sweet to the 
taste, but I doubt its containing sugar enough to 
compete with the sugar-cane of commerce. It 
may, however, prove useful as food for cattle. 
On the hill-sides I observed two trees of an 
ornamental and useful description, and secured a 
portion of their seeds, which are now growing in 
this country. The one is a curious pine, which, 
