Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. II.pdf/21

 not uncommon for the tub with its occupant to be carried off the raft and washed ashore. My own experience of the catamaran leads me to believe that it would be dangerous, and at times impossible, to land without it.

No. 15 was taken on the left bank of the Han river above Swatow. The banks of this, in common with the other streams of China, are high above the water during the dry season, and at those times chain pumps are employed for irrigation. A pump of this sort is simple and ingenious; it consists of a long square wooden tube into which an endless chain is fitted, carrying a series of wooden diaphragms separated about six inches from each other. The diaphragms descend over guiding rods above the tube, and return again with a rapidity sufficient to raise the water in a continuous stream. At its upper end the chain traverses a wheel having a series of spokes, or treadles, outside, and it is by working these with the foot that the chain is made to revolve.

Bold rocks abound in and around the harbour of Amoy; inscriptions are to be seen on their most prominent surfaces. Plate No. 16 gives a specimen of these rock inscriptions, which usually relate to incidents of local history or tradition.