172
Topography of Chekiảng
Marci,
Of grains and vegetables, there are barley, beans, chives, cresses, gentian, ginger, hemp, millet, mustard, onions, puinpkins, rice, wheat, sesamum, melons of various sorts, &c.
Of ornamental flowers there are the white lily, small pœony (Pæonia albiflora), mowian (Paonia mautan), cinnamon rose, camellia, Hibiscus, flowering prunus, day lily, Daphne ordora, Narcissus, &c.
Of animals, there are the antelope, ape, ass, chamois, deer, dog, fox, goat, hog, horse, leopard, otter, ox, porcupine, rabbit, sheep, squirrel, weasel, pangolin, &c.
Of birds, besides common fowls, ducks, and geese, there are pheasants, quails, thrushes, cormorants, mandarin ducks, long legged water fowl, kingfishers, passerine birds of various sorts, and many ac- cipitrine birds.
There are also many mineral productions such as silver, iron, brass, tin, white lead, coal, and salt. This last named article is a very rich source of gain to the government.
The animal, vegetable, and mineral productions obtained for medicinal purposes, are very numerous, but need not be separately enumerated.
The manufactured articles are rich in quality and plentiful. The silks, damasks, scnshaws, etc.,-probably are not surpassed by any in the empire. The so called Nanking raw silk, which is produced in the department of Húchau, affords some of the finest samples that can be found in any part of the world. The pencils of Sháuhing are held in esteem all over the empire. The hams of Kinhwá are among the articles sent annually as tribute to Peking.
In closing this decription of Chekiáng, a few words may be said regarding the character of the people. Those in the northern de- partments, for their wealth, learning, and refinements, are generally considered as being in no degree inferior to those of any other parts of the empire. But those on the frontiers of Fukien and Kiángsí are probably among the most rude and savage that can be found in any of the provinces. By an edict published in 1836—a translation of which was given in this work for February of that year-it appears that extensive tracts of land on the southern and southwestern fron- tiers are interdicted-for reasons of state the people are not allowed to cultivate or occupy them. These are wild lands, and on their borders the people are as rude and wild as the hills they inhabit. Our means for studying the character of the people of this province are very meagre. Our native authorities are full and explicit enough; but it is not always easy to determine their meaning What the Chi-