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 CHINA 443 in. before it finally breaks out of the elevated and broken lands which make its waters eve- rywhere in its upper course turbulent and un- safe for navigation. Down through the alter- nating table lands and gorges of this tract it pours floods which are charged with a peculiar brownish yellow loam called by Mr. Pumpelly terrace deposit, and by Baron Richthofen loess. In its original state it is of such constitution that when a stream of water cuts down into it vertical banks are left. Throughout the dis- tricts where it is found the inhabitants make houses in the cliffs, whole villages being con- structed in this way completely out of sight of the traveller upon the plains above. When a river washes the foot of a wall of loess, the earth softens at the water's edge, and after a time a cleanly cut section of the superincum- bent mass drops into the flood, to be carried along until first the sandy and then the finer particles are deposited upon the plains below. A more slowly moving stream would be less charged with the loess, and would deposit it more rapidly. But the Yellow river can only carry the mass to the level country and then struggle with the shallows and banks which it forms. The result is that the river is almost useless for navigation, and its floods, which are numerous, become peculiarly dangerous to the lower country. At low tide there is about four feet of water on the bar at the mouth of the river, and there is no part of its course where steam vessels, excepting those of very light draft and small burden, could be used. It is believed that the floods of 187l-'2, which were disastrous to an immense region in east- ern Chihli, came from the Yellow river. The area of its basin is estimated at 200,000 sq. m. ; that of the Yangtse at 750,000. The Chu- kiang or Pearl river with its branches, the chief of which are called the North, East, and West rivers, drains the eastern part of the ba- sin south of the Nanling. The West river is the largest of these branches, and will prove an important artery for steam navigation. The Chu-kiang and branches drain a region of not much less than 200,000 sq. m. The navigable course of the Pei-ho lies entirely within the great plain. Tientsin is the head of steam navigation. By a northern affluent large junks go nearly to the walls of Peking. Another affluent affords communication with the coun- try south of Peking, and still another trends away nearly to the southern bend of the Yellow river. The flood of the Pei-ho is small in com- parison with that of the Chu-kiang, but it drains a region of at least equal magnitude. The river Tonquin affords ready access to the southern part of the province of Yunnan, and was con- sidered by De Carne to be a natural outlet for the produce of that region. The Min river, which flows by Foochow-foo, the Tsih, upon which Ningpo lies, and the Tsientang, leading up to Hangchow, are the most considerable among the lesser outlets. The Liau-ho and Yahyuen-kiang are the only ones deserving mention in Shingking or southern Mantchooria. The Irrawaddy, Salwen, Menam, and Mekong draw a portion of their waters from the S. W. of China. The Songari has its source in Shingking. The principal lake in China is the Tungting in Hunan, which is about 220 m. in circumference. It receives the waters of several small rivers, and discharges into the Yangtse by a short outlet at the north. There are many smaller lakes connecting with it. This is the system of lakes which has been noticed as a salient feature of central China. Their immediate basin is 200 m. long and 80 broad. The Poyang, 90 m. long and 20 broad, lies midway between the Tungting and the sea, and also discharges into the Yangtse. It is very shallow excepting in seasons of high water. The scenery of the country around the lakes is very beautiful. The Taihu, near the mouth of the Yangtse, on the southern side, is about 40 m. long and 30 broad. It is very shallow, with many picturesque islands. A peculiar feature of this lake is that, although shallow, mountains rise abruptly from its shore on the western side. The Tsauhu, on the northern side of the Yangtse, west of Nanking, is smaller. The Hungtsih, in Kiang- su, connects with the Yellow river, and lies between it and the Yangtse, 150 m. from the sea. The country between the mouths of the two rivers is so marshy and full of lakes as to suggest the idea that the whole was once an enormous estuary where their waters joined, or else that their deposits have filled up a large lake which once occupied this tract, leaving only a number of lesser sheets. The lakes of Yunnan are described by De Carne as particularly beautiful. That near which the capital city is built is the largest. Other small lakes are found in Chihli and Shantung. The extent and excellence of the canals of China have been greatly vaunted, and it is in the construction of them that the Chinese have shown public spirit more than in any other direction. But considering the vast population of the empire, its internal commerce, and the character of the country, it is wonderful that they should have left the canal system so imperfect as it is. There are many districts of an alluvial character where canals are numerous. Some of them may be natural channels, lagoons, or bayous ; others have been excavated for irrigation. The writer has seen a district where a field of 20 acres could not be found, the canals being so nu- merous. These of course could not have been formed for purposes of traffic. In these al- luvial districts many of the canals, like the bayous of Louisiana, are broad streams which excite the admiration of the traveller. It is not uncommon to find canals near Shanghai from 50 to 150 yards wide and 6 to 10 ft. deep ; and one may travel there 100 miles without meeting a lock. Those canals that may be considered artificial follow generally natural channels, and are subject to fluctua-