Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/456

 444 CHINA tions of the depth of water like other streams. | They are as a rule imperfectly suited to the j wants of commerce. The water in them is sel- dom quiet, and frequently, even when there is no special flood, boats can stem the current only with difficulty. In many cases, when floods occur, they become useless. They are some- j times broad streams, where the wind creates a sea. Sometimes the course of navigation '. lies across a lake. The tow-paths are seldom perfect, and very often the banks are not avail- able for towing purposes. Transverse streams are not bridged by artificial waterways. Locks as constructed in the West are unknown in i China. Sluices which confine the current, > and inclined planes up which boats are pulled j with the assistance of rude windlasses, are | used instead. The Grand canal traverses the ] great plain from near Peking to its S. E. point. From near Peking to Tientsin it is formed by the northern affluent of the Pei-ho. From Tientsin to Lintsing, 300 m., it follows the southern affluent. From Lintsing to Tsining it is an artificial waterway ; and thence to the Yangtse it follows the lake system. From the Yangtse to Soochow and Hangchow it is everywhere broad and generally of good depth. The artificial portion between Lintsing and Tsining is now out of repair and disused. In I some places the canal is carried over valleys and marshy places by means of engineering i works of considerable magnitude. Boats used i on the canals of China are generally of small size, from 25 to 50 tons burden, and fitted with sails, which are used when the wind will serve. ; When it does not serve, the crew tow the craft by lines fastened to the mast head, or propel it j with oars or poles. Despatch boats frequently j traverse considerable distances at the rate of j five or six miles an hour. The oarsman uses his feet to work a sweep, steering his bout with a small one operated by his hands. The junks used by officials of high grade are often ; very large and fitted with all the appliances of a comfortable home. From what has been said of the rivers, lakes, and canals of China, it will be seen that they do not offer perfect communication with all parts of the empire. Beyond a doubt the transportation of pas- sengers and merchandise was 50 years ago attended with fewer difficulties in China than in any other extensive region. Nature had contributed chiefly to this condition of things, and the government in a much less measure than western people have been led to believe. At the present moment the canals are so much out of order that there is a crying need for their improvement. At the best, however, the canals of China afford so imperfect a means of communication and transportation that they would not greatly forestall the usefulness of a system of railways. The vast, unwieldy, and disjointed empire can never realize a perfect harmony throughout her various and widely differing sections until railways have been in- troduced. A movement, supported it is be- lieved by prominent men in the Chinese gov- ernment, is now (1873) on foot for their intro- duction. The government is so far afraid of foreign influence that it will endeavor to keep those which may be constructed in its own hands. There are few roads in China worthy to be mentioned. In the southern mountain- ous district no vehicles drawn by dumb ani- mals are ever used. The same may be said of the districts where canals are common. In the provinces of Chihli, Shantung, Shansi, and Shensi carts are used for the transportation of produce and merchandise. Leading S. W. from Peking across the two provinces last named is a road which has been constructed over rugged mountains at no inconsiderable expense. De Came mentions broad paved roads in Yunnan. It may be said of the roads of China, however, as of the canals, that they have not been constructed upon a compre- hensive system, and that they serve their pur- poses in an indifferent manner. The climate in so vast a country as China is of course va- rious. At Peking, lat. 41, there is no rain from November to April ; the summers are long and hot, and the mercury ranges as high as 105 F., and as low as 6 below zero. At Shanghai, lat. 31, rains occur throughout the year; the summer opens late, and lasts longer than in the same latitude on the coast of the United States; the atmosphere is charged with moisture, and the climate presents many of the features of that of New Orleans. At Canton the prevailing rains are in the cold- er months; the range of the thermometer is very great, and, although about the latitude of Havana, snow occasionally falls. The mean temperature of the whole coast is lower than in corresponding latitudes elsewhere. The cli- mate is in the main excellent. The N. W. and S. W. districts of the empire are much affected by the cold diffused from the neighboring mountains and table lands. The central region is warmer than the coast in the same latitude. In eastern Szechuen Cooper saw peas in blos- som in the early part of March, and the vege- tation generally was a month or six weeks in advance of that at Shanghai. The fall of rain for China cannot be stated, as it varies in different localities. At Peking it does not exceed in average years 18 inches. At Canton it is about 70 inches. A monsoon sets down the coast from October to June, and up the coast from June to October. Sand storms are not infrequent at Peking ; their effect is sometimes observed on the W. coast of Japan. Earthquakes have been experienced in different periods, but for the last 40 years have been as infrequent as on the Atlantic coast of the United States. The typhoons of the coast of China occur chiefly in the months of July. August, and September. Prof. T. B. Maury considers the monsoon of the coast of China " a part of a grand cyclone whose centre is stationary over the heated plains of central Asia, whose intro-moving winds, bearing the