quinesenoed nothing inthe shape of money induce- meno persuade them to work, nor do they re- quire pecuniary assistance to extend the area of cultivation. The whole country outside of the villages is in a most elaborate state of cultivation, and even in the villages themselves every available inch of ground is taken up with vege- tables or tubers to season the native's bowl of rice and areca palms and patches of sugar-cane for his solace. Capital is required merely to im- prove the varieties of produce which he grows, so that the best possible results may be obtained from tl: smallest possible area. The country- the delta at any rate-is very densely populated, and the greater part of the harvests is required for the support of the population of the country itself. A dry list of products may be the best way of showing what already exists and where improvement is possible and likely to be pro- fitable.
Rice. This is the misin growth of the country, and immense as is the quantity produced, there is comparatively little left even for exportation, after the home months have been filled. The remedy lies not in making two blades grow where only one grew before, but in the introduc- tion of a richer variety, in the multiplication of grains in the ear. Tonquinese rice is very much superior to that of Cochin-China, but still it is very much below Burmah rice. Almost no rice goes from Saigon to Europe, and probably the new province will not send much more. The grain is too soft or too brittle, and will not stand hasking for table rice. Moreover where an aere in Burmah produces from tou to twelve baskets the same area in Tonquin returns no more than from four to six, or if ten, the greater part of it is chaff. Presumably a more fertile species might
be introduced, for the soil does not lack fertility. By this time all the world knows that two or even three crops may be garnered in during the year.
Maize is at present only cultivated where there is not sufficient moisture for rice. It flourishes exceedingly well, and a species from Central America called by the French teosinte (Reana luxurians) with a very largo grain has been in- troduced by the missionaries in Christian villages with very good results.
Sugar-cane grows everywhere. Every house has a small patch of it to furnish dessert, but there are few extensive fields except in the Nam-Dinh district and on a river island. Nam-Xang, to the south of Hanoi. It grows very high and has a very pleasant flavoured sap, but it is too dry for extensive cultivation. The Annamese extract very fair sugar from it, but the variety is not good. That called violette in Java, which has been extensively introduced in Cochin China, would probably yield very much better results.
Cotton grows very well in the fertile alluvial lands down by the sea, where the salt breeZDR and the general characteristics of the country recall the American States of Carolina and Louisiana. There again experience and capital will greatly improve the thread. The cultivation is already not unimportant and it is capable of al- most unlimited extension, and with the needs of China so close at hand would repay the labour in the most satisfactory way.
Tobacco grows abundantly, but is at present particularly nasty. It has an acrid and disagree- able flavour. Experienced curors and Virginia or Manila seed would probably soon put this to rights. As it is the Muongs of the upper reaches of the Black River produce a vary fair weed which they roll up in bundles the size and shape of a cow's horn.
Tea. The shrub is the same as that of China. but it is not prepared in the same way and is not
very
very palatable. A. very fair groen tea comes down from the upper reaches of the Red Rivor. There are tolerably extensive tea plantations on the hilla round Sontay. The French hope to attract the whole of the Puerh tea trade through the Laos country to the Red River, besides producing a rival to that famous brand on the hills bordering Yunnan.
Coffee-Huge plantations might be established on the hills along the Song-coi river valley and those of its affluents. The French missionaries at Késő have acclimatised the planton the hills near this their central station and the results have exceeded the most sanguine hopes. The provinces north of Hanoi would be the most eligible. La- hour and land might be had for a mere song.
Cinnamon is grown largely, mostly the inferior kind. A very superior variety, however, is found in the hills of the southern province of Thanh-hoa, and the crops used always to be reserved for His Majesty at Hué. When, however, the French penetrate thither, which they no doubt will next October, the famous barks of Trinh-Van and Thuong-Dong will no doubt be consigned to lega royal consumers.
Indiyo abounds in a good many provinces. The Tonquinese do not know how to prepare it, and therefore it is at present only used in the country. With Tirhut methods and Tirhut ex- perience there seems no reason why there should not be a remunerative cultivation.
The Castor-oil plant grows in great abundance all over the country, apparently thriving equally well in the marshes and on the hills. There are huge tracts of it in the Bacninh district.
Tubers and roots of all kinds are largely cuti- vated and grow to an amazing size. Cabbage, and all European vegetables thrive wonderfully, The Jersey people are proud of the height of their cabbages; the Tonquin article surpasses them in every respect, in length and breadth and thickness. A Hanoi cabbage would require a table to itself and could not be got on to any reasonable sized dish. Ground nuts, sesamum, and a considerable variety of leguminous plants are very extensively cultivated.
The F-dzi (Coir exaltata) is a most useful me- dicinal plant. The Tonquinese call it the herb of life and health. It is one of the Phalaridos, a plant of the grass family called in France Larine de Job, but the Tonquin species differs from the European plant, coix lacryma, which has been introduced from India. When the skin is re- moved the seed may be eaten like an ordinary cereal. It has a peculiar aromatic flavour. From the roasted seeds a refreshing diuretic beverage is produced, which purifies the blood and streng- thens the digestion. It is also used extensively as & remedy against the evil offects of the bad water of the mountain streams, which contain quantities of salts of copper and lead in solution. From the flour of the seeds a valuable medicinal soup is prepared. The plant gets its name from the Chinese General Ma Yuen, who conquered Tonquia in the first century of our era, and who ate very large quantities of the seed to counter- act the bad effects of the climate on his constitu- tion.
Another remarkable medicinal product of Tonguin is the Hoang Nan (Strychnos Ear therione) which grows freely on the hills of the Southern provinces of Bo-Chinh and Nghé-Au. It is said to have been proved by experiment to be an efficacious remedy against the plague, pa- ralysis, leprosy, snake-bito and in general against all blood poisoning. European science has been greatly interested in this product of late years, and in the Bulletin Général de Thérapeutique for Angust, 1881, there is an interesting paper by a Dr. Barthélemy, who claims great value for the plant in cases of paralysis.
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