Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/457

 CHINA 445 evaporations of the Asiatic seas and oceans, feed it with meteoric fuel for six months in the year, and whose periphery may be regarded as embracing nearly one third of the entire eastern hemisphere ;" and the active typhoon as incidental to the atmospheric disturbances so created. These storms are most frequent and severe in the neighborhood of Canton, and diminish in strength toward the north. None of the greatest severity have ever been expe- rienced near Shanghai, but on the S. coast of Japan they sometimes rage fiercely. There is reason to believe that the climate of the north- ern part of the great plain has undergone change in the last 200 years. Many great bridges are found there, and marks of great erosion, where now water is seldom seen. The fertility of the country has doubtless decreased with the diminution of the rainfall, and this will ex- plain the fact that the population of Peking and the surrounding country appears to be much less than it was formerly. Consider- ing the extent of territory, there is probably no region of the earth possessing soils of equal fertility to those of China. There is no desert land, and no district where the rainfall is not sufficient for the more or less abundant growth- of vegetation. In respect of heat and moisture China is well favored for agricultural opera- tions. Some of the alluvial districts have been in constant cultivation for many centuries and still produce excellent crops. The range of vegetable production is very great. Sugar cane is cultivated everywhere south of lat. 30. The centre of its production is in Kwang- tung. Rice is raised from one extreme of the empire to the other, but chiefly south of lat. 33 ; the variety produced further north is cultivated without irrigation. Tobacco is also raised throughout the empire, and as far north in Mantchooria as the southern bend of the Amoor. Millet is the chief crop of the north- ern part of the great plain. Wheat, barley, maize, and sorghum are also raised. In Shing- king pulse and wheat are the leading crops. In northwestern China rice, wheat, oats, maize, sorghum, and millet are raised. In central China rice is the leading product. In Sze- chuen there appears to be a wide range of pro- duction. Sugar is produced to such an extent that it competes at Hankow with that of the southern coast. Of late years the culture of the poppy has been introduced into this and the southwestern provinces, and has increased so largely that, in face of a growing consump- tion, the importation of Indian opium is not augmenting. The Szechuen drug sells at Shang- hai at about 70 per cent, of the value of the In- dian. Rice is the leading staple of the south- western provinces. The article of produce in which foreigners are chiefly interested is tea. Green teas are produced in Chekiang, south- ern Nganhwui, and eastern Kiangsi; black in western Kiangsi, northern Hunan, Fokien, and southern Hupeh. Kwangtung produces both varieties, but chiefly the black. Next in order of importance to foreigners is silk. That from the mulberry is produced in the southern and central parts of China and Szechuen, and as far north as lat. 33. The centre of produc- tion is in the southern part of the great plain, near the mountains of the southeast. The silk- yielding varieties of the oak and ailantus are found further north, extending into southern Mantchooria and Lower Mongolia. The zone of production includes Shantung in the east and Szechuen on the west. Cotton is raised in the valley of the Yangtse and throughout the country north of that river. The orange, lemon, pumeloe, mango, pineapple, cashew, be- tel, loquot (eriobotrya), casambola, persimmon, and cocoanut are native fruits. Apples, pears, peaches, plums, and apricots are inferior in flavor and size to those produced in the West. Grapes are extensively cultivated in the north, and compare favorably with those of Europe or America. The leguminosce afford many ex- cellent vegetables and valuable products (indi- go, soya, &c.). Peculiar to China are dimocar- pus litchi, dimocarpus longan, CooMa punc- tata, and pe-tsai, a kind of white cabbage. The sacred bean of the Egyptians (nelum- Mum speciosuni) is extensively cultivated as an article of food ; so are several species of aroidea, also the mgittaria Sinensis, a kind of arrowroot. The plantain fruit is less im- portant in China than in South America. Ginger is extensively cultivated. The chulan plant (chloranthus inconspicuus), the tube- rose, jasmine, and olea fragrans furnish the flowers which are used to scent some sorts of tea. A kind of grass (phragmetas) cultivated in the south is woven into floor matting. A species of andropogon and one of arundo are used by the poor for fuel. The bamboo is cul- tivated about villages for its shade and beauty, and is applied to such a vast variety of pur- poses that it may well be called the national plant of China. The tender shoots are used for food ; the roots as a material for carved work ; the culms as poles, rods, sticks, canes, joists, ribs of sails, shafts of spears, and tubes of aqueducts ; the leaves as covering for persons and dwellings, and for manure; the shavings for mattress stuffings. India ink is manufac- tured from the soot of pines, fir, and other substances, mixed with glue or isinglass and scented. Seaweed is collected on the coast and used for industrial purposes (glues and varnishes) and for food. Large trees and timber are scarce. Oak, walnut, camphor, cedar, cy- press, and varnish trees grow in the mountain- ous districts. Rosewood and ebony are not infrequent. The willow is a favorite plant in all parts of China. The chestnut, walnut, and hazelnut are all natives of China. The palm tree is cultivated for its leaves for fans, and the kuan-lan for its pith, which supplies an edible flour. The tallow tree resembles the birch, but the bark is white and the branches are slender; the fruit grows in bunches, each capsule enclosing three kernels, which are coat-