ed it, America being then unknown, as decidedly the greatest river in the world; and Mr Ellis conceives, that only those of the New World can dispute its native title of the "firstborn of Ocean." Its breadth, above Nankin, is from three to four miles, its banks populous, diversified by wooded mountains, and highly picturesque. These primary streams have numerous tributaries, several of which equal the greatest rivers of Europe. The Yuenho, the Hoeiho, and the Hoay-ho fall into the Yellow river. The Yalon-kiang (itself 700 miles in length) the Tchoo, the Ta-kiang and the Yuen-kiang are tributary to the Blue River. But besides these, China has two independent rivers of great magnitude, the Peiho in the north, which, after rising in Tartary, passes Pekin, and falls into the Yellow sea; and the Kankiang in the south, which, after a course of nearly 700 miles, falls into the sea of China, near Canton, thus giving origin to the immense trade of that city.

Lakes.] Of the Lakes of China the Poyang is the best known, having been sailed through by a late embassy. It is about 30 or 40 miles in circumference, and the scenery is most striking, being surrounded by lofty granite mountains, down which vast torrents are continually pouring. On its banks are several large cities, and the tops of the hills are adorned with numerous pagodas. The Tung-ting lake, according to Mr Ellis' information, is much longer, being nearly 300 miles across. It is situated in the province of Hou-quang, which signifies the Country of Lakes, and fully answers to the title, though all the others are much smaller than the Tungting. No remarkable lakes appear to occur in any other part of the empire.

Canals.] If China is happily situated with regard to rivers, she has been no less happy in, every where, improving and connecting her navigation by canals, which she has done to an extent that surpasses all other nations. No nation can produce a parallel to the Yun-ho or Great Canal, which extends in a continuous line from Pekin to the Yang-tse-kiang, a distance of 500 miles, and by means of which an inland navigation is maintained, with the interruption of a single day's journey, between Pekin and Canton, a distance of not less than 1200 miles. This great work is said to have been executed under the reign, and by the directions of Khublai Khan, a grandson of the renowned Genghis Khan. The Chinese canals are not constructed on the same artificial and scientific principles as those of Europe, nor composed, like them, of standing water, fed by reservoirs, elevated and lowered by locks. They are formed merely by turning aside the course of a river, and conducting its waters, by an artificial channel, till they join those of another river, from which it is again continued, according as it is found necessary or practicable. They have, for the want of locks, generally, a more circuitous course than European canals, and their waters, instead of being, like them, at rest, have a perceptible current. The Wenho, a river in the province of Shan-tung, is the main feeder of the Great Canal, from which it descends on one side to the north, falling into the Peiho, near Pekin; and thence, on the other side, to the south, till it joins the Hoang-ho or Yellow river; thence to the Yang-tsekiang, which great stream, with its tributary, the Kan-kiang, carries on the navigation to the frontier of the province of Canton. It is here interrupted by a chain of mountains, to cross which occupies a day's journey, when the traveller embarks upon another river, the Pe-keaung, which carries him to Canton. Smaller canals, connecting the rivers and larger canals with each other, are innumerable; and there occur many bridges, remarka

ble for their magnitude, and the difficulties to be overcome in their construction.

Climate.] A country extending from north to south so far as China, must necessarily experience great variety of climate. The southern provinces, from their proximity to the equator, experience heats stronger than those of Bengal, but moderated by periodical winds; and the northern provinces, owing partly to their distance from the equator, and partly to the neighbourhood of the lofty mountains of Tartary, are extremely cold. The mean heat of Canton is about 76° of Fahrenheit's scale. At Pekin, the mean term of the greatest heat is 121°; that of the greatest cold 63° below zero; the medium heat of the year 55o. The winds are often extremely violent, especially at Pekin. June, July, and August, are the rainy months: it seldom rains in winter. No part of China is said to be unhealthy, a circumstance which may be owing, in some measure, to the state of cultivation in which the country has long existed.

Vegetable Productions.] In China are produced all the fruits common to the tropical and temperate zones; but some of them do not succeed well. The apples, grapes, and pomegranates, are very indifferent; olives, though abundant, are gathered for eating, but not for making oil; a wild apricot, however, which flourishes in bleak tracts and a barren soil, is much used for that purpose. The oil is expressed from the kernels, and the stones are consumed as fuel. There are lemons no bigger than walnuts, and large oranges with a large solid pulp. China has some fruits and vegetables peculiar to itself; such as the li-chi (dimocarpus litchi), the long-yan, dragon's eye (dimocarpus longan) hwang pi (cookia punctata), &c. Of grain, rice is the staple produce; then barley, and after that wheat, especially in the north; buck-wheat, millet, maize, pease, beans, and other vetches, are the other kinds of grain and pulse most cultivated. Sugarcane, cotton, hemp, lintseed, tobacco, indigo, mulberries, varnish trees, (Rhus vernix,) camphor, tallow-trees (Stillingia Sebifera), and cinnamon, are among the trees and shrubs most common in the fields and gardens. But the most remarkable among the vegetable productions of China is the tea plant.

Tea Plant.] This plant, though it affords us a daily beverage, is but imperfectly known to Europeans. In their descriptions of it naturalists differ. It is not exactly known, whether the different kinds of tea sold in Europe, under various names, be produced by the same shrub, or by shrubs of different kinds. Leaving these uncertainties, it appears to be generally agreed, that the tea plant is found in China, Japan, and Tonquin; and it is not certain that it grows spontaneously in any other part. It is said to grow to the height of five or six feet, some say, to the height of ten or twelve. The leaves are about an inch and a half in length, tapering to a point, and indented upon the edges. They have a strong resemblance to those of the sweet-brier, and are of a dark green colour. The flowers resemble a wild white rose. The branches are numerous and irregular. The wood is hard, and of a whitish green colour. The fruit, which is small, contains several round blackish seeds; but the only valuable part of the plant is the leaves. The tea-tree grows in many parts of China; but it is said to be found in greatest perfection between 30° and 45° N. lat. It grows wild, but is much improved by careful culture. The soil upon which it is planted is said greatly to affect the quality of the tea. That which is produced upon a clay soil is of the worst quality; that which grows in a light soil is better; and the best is reared in rocky situations.

It is propagated by seeds. When the shrub has attained the age of three years, the leaves are fit for being pulled. When it has attained a certain height it is cut down, and numerous sprouts rise from the same root. Kempfer affirms, that tea is collected at three different seasons : first at the end of February, or beginning of March. The leaves at this time are small and tender. The tea thus procured, is called "tea in powder," and is used by the upper classes. The second crop is gathered about the end of March, or beginning of April. The leaves are then of different sizes; and after they are pulled, they are assorted into different parcels; the smallest forming tea of the finest quality. The last crop is gathered in the end of May, or beginning of June. The leaves have then attained their full growth, and are numerous. The tea gathered at this time is coarse, and is used by the common people. When the leaves have been collected and assorted, according to their different sizes and qualities, they next undergo such operations as are necessary to prepare them for preservation and for use. They are exposed to the steam of boiling water. They are laid upon plates of copper, and are dried over the fire, till they assume the appearance in which we always see them.

For gathering the leaves of the tea-shrubs growing wild among the mountains, in situations where the most active men could not get at them, the Chinese have laid brutes under contribution. It is said that they train monkeys to climb up difficult places, and to strip all the leaves from the shrubs that are pointed out to them. These leaves are picked up by persons attending for the purpose, who reward their four-footed assistants from time to time with fruit. It may easily be conceived how difficult it is to train so indocile a creature as the monkey to this kind of operation—but what is there that Chinese patience and ingenuity have not accomplished? They have availed themselves even of the voracity of the cormorant, which they have taught to dive in quest of fish to the bottom of the lakes and rivers, and to bring his prize, as a tribute to his master. The Chinese and Japanese keep their tea a year before they use it for drink, because they assert that it is neither so good nor so wholesome when quite new. Father Benoit, a French missionary at Pekin, wrote as follows in 1772 to M. Delatour: "Tea in general acquires by the voyage to Europe a much more agreeable flavour, and becomes much more salubrious; so that a chest of the most common sort, carried to France, and brought back to Canton, is rendered by this double voyage a highly esteemed present in the country by which it was produced." The Chinese pour hot water upon tea, not in a tea-pot as we do, but in the cup out of which they drink it, just as it is, without either sugar or cream. The missionaries, in their house at Pekin, have no other beverage. The Japanese reduce their tea to a fine powder, which they use in the following manner :-The equipage for the tea-table, and the box containing this powder, are set out before the company; the cups are filled with hot water, and so much of the powder as can be taken upon the point of a knife is thrown into each cup, and stirred with an instrument like a tooth-pick, till the liquor begins to froth. It is then handed round to the company, who sip it while hot. This method is not peculiar to the Japanese, but is common in some provinces of China also. Such of the Chinese as pretend to be nice judges of tea, pay the most minute attention to the making of this beverage. The water must not be boiled upon a fire of any kind of wood, but only one of pinewood, in an earthen vessel from a particular province, and it must be infused in another particular sort of vessel. The essences of roses, jessa

mine, and moli-hoa, and all the perfumes of the flowers, are employed to heighten the delicacy of this favourite drink. The manner of performing the honours of the tea-table with grace, gentility, and politeness, is in China and Japan an art which has its principles, its rules, and its masters, who follow the profession of giving instruction in it. This art forms part of the education of youth of both sexes, who are taught to make tea and wait on company, as in Europe we take lessons in dancing, fencing, or riding. When tea has lost its virtues by age, and is no longer fit for drinking, the Chinese employ it in dying silks a brown or chesnut colour. A great quantity of old tea destined for this purpose is sent annually from China to Surat.

Animals.] China has scarcely any animals which are not common to other countries. The domestic animals are reared in comparatively small numbers. Elephants are common in the south of China; and the unicorn rhinoceros frequents the marshes in Yun-nan and Kwang-see. The lion is said to be unknown in China, but what is there described as the tiger is supposed to be the maneless lion. Our ignorance, however, of the interior of China prevents us from saying any thing with certainty on this subject. Monkeys are common in some parts. The musk-deer is among the most valuable of the Chinese quadrupeds; the buffaloes are usually grey instead of black; and the pigs there are much more cleanly than those with us. Small birds of beautiful plumage, and water-fowls, abound. Much value is set on the Mandarin duck. Beside the fish common in Europe, the Chinese have many unknown to us; as the sho-kya-yu, or 'fish in armour,' (tetrodon,) which tastes like veal, and is covered with spines; a kind of cod, caught and salted on the shores of Fo-kyen; haiseng, an unpalatable kind of blubber, (medusa,) eaten by the common people; and kin-yu, or "gold fish,' is a native of a Chinese lake, and, as with us, a constant ornament of the ponds of their pleasure-grounds. It was brought to England in 1611. The splendid butterflies, and multitudes of singular insects peculiar to China, are well known as favourite subjects of the Chinese artists. Silk-worms are common, and seem to be indigenous in the country.

A

Minerals.] There are some silver mines in China, but they are little worked. Gold is obtained from the sand of some of the rivers. white metallic substance, called tutenague, is common in China; but it is not exactly known whether it be a simple or compound material. There is also a peculiar copper of a white colour, which the Chinese call petung, or, according to some, pu-kfong. Yellow copper is used in the current coins of the empire. Quicksilver mines are common, but lead and tin are scarce. Realgar, or native sulphuret of arsenic, is employed by the Chinese in blocks for making pagodas and vases. Lazulite, jasper, rock-crystal, nephritic jade, magnetic iron, granite, porphyry, and different kinds of marbles, are found in China. Coal is not uncommon, and collieries are numerous, particularly in the neighbourhood of Canton. The torrents descending from the mountains of Yunnan, Kwei-chew, and Shen-si, wash a kind of marble, which yields an agreeable sound, and which is called the musical stone.' It is used in musical instruments. Peluntse, a whitish luminated feltspar; kaolin, a feltspar in the state of earth or clay; and che-kao, or sulphate of barytes, are the substances employed in the composition of Chinese porcelain.

CHAP. III.-AGRICULTURE-MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCEMONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.

Agriculture.] Of all the arts, agriculture is the most practised 'n China. Next to learning, it is the most honoured, and is considered as the basis of national prosperity. Every spring, a public ceremony is performed in its honour by the emperor, who lays aside his imperial robes, and opens several furrows with the plough, in a field appointed for the purpose, which ceremony is performed on the same day by the viceroys of all the provinces. The extraordinary diligence of the peasantry in cultivating the ground is not equalled by any people in the world. In the preparation of manure, no substance susceptible of putrefaction escapes them; and innumerable old men and women, as well as children, are constantly employed about the streets, public roads, banks of rivers and canals, &c. in picking up offal of any kind that may forward the process of vegetation. To such an extent is this carried, that manure, formed into cakes, is made an article of commerce, and sold to farmers, who, however, do not use it in a compact state.

The deficiency of cattle, which makes all these arts of procuring manure necessary, still leaves the supply too scanty. It is seldom applied to the rearing of grain, but is reserved for the purpose of procuring speedy and successive supplies of culinary vegetables. The seeds are steeped in liquid manure before they are sown, and liquid manure is from time to time applied to the roots of the plants; arts which we have frequently seen practised in the wilds of Scotland, where the redundancy of population was neither felt nor feared.

Grain is the principal object of Chinese cultivation. In the southern provinces, rice is chiefly raised, while wheat supplies its place in the north; but the species of vegetables, which are cultivated for food, are almost innumerable. A kind of brassica, bearing a strong resemblance to the coss lettuce, is cultivated in great quantities, and much relished as food. It thrives best in the northern provinces, where it is salted for winter provisions, and carried in that state towards the south. In some places, Indian corn and millet are reared. Tobacco is also an object of culture; but instead of being cured in houses, as in America, it is always cured in the open air. The annual cotton plant is reared in considerable quantities, though not sufficient for the use of the inhabitants, since cotton cloth is universally worn by both sexes. A great quantity, therefore, is imported from Bombay.

The mode of cultivation is, in some instances, nearly the same as in Europe; in others it is very different. The instruments for thrashing and winnowing are said to be upon the same principle with our own, and to be constructed in almost a similar manner. As animals are few, enclosures are not necessary; and as they are supposed to occupy too much ground, they are in general avoided. The animals used in tillage, which are chiefly oxen in the north, and buffaloes in the south, are fed in stalls, upon chopt straw and beans. The plough is a very simple machine. It has no coulter, for the ground being seldom in grass, there is no turf to penetrate. The share, which is sometimes made of iron, but more frequently of that species of timber, from its hardness, called ironwood, terminates in a curve so as to turn back the earth. To draw it, more than a single ox or buffalo is seldom necessary; and that office is sometimes performed by men or women.