Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/78

 74 Ling-Nam. interest. Near the village of Pak-sha is seen the tomb of the great scholar Chau-pék-sha, whose tablet is found in the great Temple of Sages in Peking, and whose works, in voluminous editions, comprising essays, poems, and treatises on various subjects, are exposed for sale in every book store. The village of To-ui attracts attention as the home of a native Christian preacher, and as having three thousand males all of the same family name, no people of any other surname being found in the village. Wooded hills to the right form a pleasant contrast to the level plains to the south, and from the foot of some gush forth living streams of water, so clear and limpid that the Chinese overcome their repugnance to cold water, and stop to refresh themselves from these pure fountains.

Passing Kong-mun, we enter the palm district, which forms a limited area, extending about twenty miles from east to west, and about ten miles from north to south, The restriction of palm culture to this particular region is a matter of much interest, and leads to some suggestive inquiries as to the particular qualities of the soil and climate in this district. That the limitation of this industry is a matter of necessity and not of choice is proved by attempts made at various times:to cultivate the palm in other places, attempts that have always resulted in failure. In the flower-gardens about Canton these fan- palms (Livistona Chinensis) grow as ornamental shrubs, but their leaves, though beautiful in appearance, are of no value in the manufacture of fans,

Be the reasous what they may, we find a section of country, in extent as described, given up almost wholly to the production of the fan-palm. Several thousand acres