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i REG

GEOGI^^HY

J.B.REYNOLDS

IvIBRARY

OF THE

University of California.

Class

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/asiaasiaOOreynrich

IRcgional (Beograpb^

A S I A

J. B. REYNOLDS, B.A.

Diploma in Geography, Oxford ; Examiner in Geography for the National Froebel

Union ; and Assistant Examiner for the Matriculation Examination of the

London University

Author of 'Regional Geography: The British Isles,' 'Europe' and 'The Americas';

'World Pictures'; and 'The Teaching of Geography in Switzerland

AND North Italy '

LONDON
ADAM AND CHARLES

1908

BLACK

J5?

GENERAL PREFACE.

In the first part of this little book an attempt has been made to give students a
grasp of those important physical facts in accordance with which countries have
. been divided into ' natural regions,' and in the second part to show the influence
of the physical features of such areas on the life of mankind. Special attention has,
therefore, been paid to the relief of the land and to climate.

The orographical maps on pp. 7, 77, and 95 have been constructed after the series
of hand maps published by the Diagram Company, and I must express my gratitude
to that company for their kind permission for their reproduction. For the map
illustrating the geological structure of Asia on p. 11, and for those showing the
distribution of rainfall, I owe my thanks to Mr Herbertson, Keader of Geography
at Oxford, to whose writings I am also indebted for much concerning the demarca-
tion of the various natural regions which I have adopted. To facilitate the study
of climate, some statistics have been inserted (see pp. 122 and 123) for purposes of
reference and comparison.

The economic aspect of the subject has been kept well in mind, and it is hoped
that the many views of important productions, and the maps illustrating the dis-
tribution of the same, will prove a useful feature in the book, while the diagrams
given on pp. 125-127 should help students to acquire some sense of proportion. In
reference to this branch of the subject I must acknowledge the help I have derived
from the ' Handbook of Commercial Geography,' by Mr. G. G. Chisholm, the Atlas
of the World's Commerce, by Bartholomew, and the ' Statesman's Year-Book ' for
1908.

Other works which I have found useful for the description of various regions,
and which students would do well to consult for further information] than can be
given in a text-book of this size, are : ' From the North Pole to the Equator,' by
Brehm ; the ' Historical Geography of the Holy Land,' by G. A, Smith ; the ' New
Imperial Gazetteer of India '; the volume on ' India,' by Sir T. Holdich, and on
' The Far East,' by Mr. Little, of the series entitled ' Kegions of the World ' ; and
the volume on ' Asia,' in the series of ' Descriptive Geographies,' by F. D. and A. J.
Herbertson.

The book will be found to contain sufficient information, with regard_to the area
described, for candidates for geographical examinations of the standard of London
Matriculation, and is well adapted for the use of students in the upper forms of
schools and in Pupil Teacher Centres.

In conclusion, I have to thank Mr. G. G. Chisholm, M.A., B.Sc, Lecturer in
Geography in the University of Edinburgh, for kindly revising the book, and making
several valuable suggestions.

J. B. K.

CONTENTS

^^^^ PAOE

BOUNDARIES - - - 5

CONFIGURATION AND STRUCTURE 10

RIVER SYSTEM - - - 17

CLIMATE^ - - - 19

VEGETATION - - -24

FAUNA - - - - 27

POPULATION - - - 30

ASIATIC RUSSIA —

THE TUNDRA - - - 30

THE FOREST - - - 38

EASTERN SIBERIA - - 40

WESTERN SIBERIA - - 42

THE STEPPES - - - 42

WESTERN TURKISTAN - - 44

TRANS-CAUCASIA - - 47

TURKEY IN ASIA —

ASIA MINOR - - - 50

SYRIA - - - - 52

MESOPOTAMIA - - - 50

ARABIA - - - - 00

THE PLATEAU OFJRAN - - 05

TIBET - - - - 09

EASTERN TURKISTAN
MONGOLIA
MANCHURIA -
KOREA

CHINA

NORTHERN
MIDDLE -
SOUTHERN

JAPAN

INDIA —

THE NORTHERN RANGES
THE NORTHERN PLAINS -
THE SOUTHERN TABLELAND

CEYLON

INDO-CHINA -

MALAY PENINSULA AND EAST INDIES

STATISTICS R/-: —
CLIMATE
AREA AND
COUNTRIES
TRADE -

POPULATION

PAGE

72
72
74
75

75
70
82
80

104

108
112

122

124
125

189266

LIST OF MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

ASIA—

PAGE

OROGRAPHICAL -

GEOLOGICAL

- 11

RIVER SYSTEM -

- 17

ISOTHERMS, JANUARY

- 18

JULY

- 19

ISOBARS, JANUARY

- 20

JULY -

- 21

RAINFALL, ANNUAL

- 23

DECEMBER

- 25

JULY

- 25

VEGETATION

- 27

ZOOLOGICAL PROVINCES

- 29

POPULATION

- 31

ASIATIC RUSSIA-

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

TURKEY IN ASIA —

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

TURKEY IN ASIA {continued) — PAGE

ASIA MINOR, ECONOMIC - - 51

PALESTINE, OROGRAPHICAL - 53

SOUTH-WEST ASIA, CLASSICAL - 59

THE FAR EAST —

OROGRAPHICAL - - - 77

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC - 79

ENVIRONS OF CANTON - - 87

INDIA —

OROGRAPHICAL - - - 95

GEOLOGICAL - - - 99

PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL - 101

ENVIRONS OF BOMBAY - - 107

ECONOMIC - - - 110

INDO-CHINA AND EAST INDIES —

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC - 112

DIAGRAMS SHOWING PRODUCTION OF

VARIOUS ARTICLES - 125-127

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

SUEZ CANAL - - - - 9

PAPANDAJAN - - - - 13

FUJI-YAMA - - - - 15

TAPIR - - - - 29

CHINESE BOY - - - 33

GREAT WALL OF CHINA - - 35

SAMOYADS - - - - 39

SIBERIAN PEASANTS - - - 41

KIRGHIZ ENCAMPMENT - - 45

PETROLEUM WELLS, BAKU - - 47

MOSQUE OF OMAR - - - 57

CAMEL CARAVAN IN THE DESERT - 61

MOUNT DEMAVEND - - - 67

SHEEP CARRYING GRAIN - - 69

YAK CARAVAN - - - 71

COOLIES CARRYING TEA - - 73

CAMEL CARAVAN, PEKING - - 81

RICE CULTURE, CHINA - - 83

HANKOW - - - - 85

RICE CULTURE, JAPAN

BAMBOO FOREST

GATHERING TEA, JAPAN

TEMPLE AT KYOTO -

INDIARUBBER-TREE -

THE TAJ MAHAL

BENARES

PEPPER PLANTATION -

COCO-NUT PLANTATION

BUDDHA

ELEPHANT HAULING LOGS

PAGODA, RANGOON -

BANGKOK

RHINOCEROS -

HUSKING RICE

MALAY HOUSES

NUTMEGS

SAGO PLANTATION

PAGE
89

90
91
93
97
103
105
107
109
111
113
115
116
117
117
119
120
121

OF THE •

UNIVERSITY

ASIA.

THE BOUNDARIES OF ASIA, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON

HISTORY.

The mainland of Asia lies entirely north of the equator, and is bounded
by the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans on the north, east, and south
respectively. On the south-east it is linked to Australia by the East
Indies, and on the south-west to Africa by the isthmus of Suez. On the
west it is continuous with Europe.

The European Boundary. — Although, for historical reasons,
Europe and Asia are regarded as separate continents, it is well to realize
that the present political division is purely artificial ; for even the Urals
do not form an important barrier to communication, and cease, moreover,
about 350 miles north of the Caspian. Through the gap thus left, Asiatic
nomads have invaded Europe from time to time ; and these inroads have
been facilitated by the fact that the grasslands of Southern Siberia are
continued across Southern Russia and the Danubian plains. By this
route the Huns entered Europe in the fifth century, and the Mongolo-
Tatars in the thirteenth. The latter established themselves in Southern
and Western Russia, and though their dominion had been greatly reduced
by the close of the sixteenth century, the Mongol Khanate of the extreme
south-west, which had become a Turkish power, was not conquered till
1783. Meanwhile, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the
Russians had spread eastward to the Pacific, and thus acquired the whole
of North Asia.

The Caucasus Mountains, which may be regarded as forming the
boundary between Europe and South- West Asia, although the political
frontier lies to the south, are high and as yet uncrossed by any railway.
About their mid-point, however, a road leads over the Dariel Pass, at
a height of more than 4,000 feet ; and a railway runs between the eastern
end of the range and the Caspian. In spite of this barrier, the region
bounded by the Red Sea, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian, and Persian

6 B0UNDABIE8 OF ASIA

Gulf, has for centuries been in close touch with Europe on account
of important trade routes across it, and its proximity to the Balkan
Peninsula, from which it is separated only by the Strait of Bosporus
and the Dardanelles.

Further, between Asia Minor and Greece lie many islands which
make communication easy ; and thus the Greeks, some centuries before
the birth of Christ, succeeded in planting colonies along the shores of
Asia Minor. In a later period the Persians conquered Syria and Asia
Minor, and invaded Greece; and still later, in the fourth century B.C.,
a Greek King of Macedonia, called Alexander the Great, took an army
across the Dardanelles and defeated the Persians. He advanced into
India, but finally died at Babylon. His expedition led, however, to the
establishment of Greek dynasties in Syria and Asia Minor, and to Greek
influences permeating all the important cities of this area.

The next European invaders were the Romans, who held Asia Minor
and Syria at the time of the birth of Christ, and for some centuries after-
wards. In the seventh century, however, the power of the Saracens
arose, and they spread eastward from Arabia to Persia, and westward
along North Africa and into Spain. They were the followers of Moham-
med, who declared himself to be the Prophet of God, and by their per-
secution of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem roused western Christendom
to unite in the Crusades. These Crusades stimulated the Asiatic trade
with Europe in silks, jewels, spices, and drugs, the goods passing through
this area to ports on the Mediterranean, or up the Red Sea and across to
Alexandria, near the mouth of the Nile.

On the decline of the Saracens another Mohammedan power rose into
prominence in South- West Asia — namely, that of the Ottoman Turks.
These entered the Balkan Peninsula in the fourteenth century, and took
Constantinople in 1453. It was from these Turks that Turkey received
its name ; and as a result of this invasion Constantinople became the
residence of the Sultan, who rules over Turkey in Asia as well as in Europe.

The African Boundary. — From Africa, Asia is separated by the
Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea ; but the Isthmus of Suez forms a bridge
between the two. In early historic times there was constant communica-
tion between South-West Asia and Egypt, sometimes of a peaceful and
sometimes of a warlike nature, the route commonly followed passing
through the isthmus and along the maritime plain of Palestine. As
already stated, the Saracens utilized this route ; while in the sixteenth

BOUNDARIES OF ASIA

1. Under 600.

2. 600-3,000. 3. Over 3,000. Height in feet.
= Hundred-fatlioni line.

Asia : Orographical. (After the Diagram Co )

century the Turks, by taking Egypt, consolidated their dominion along
the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean.

In recent times the United Kingdom has virtually supplanted Turkey
as the ruling Power in Egypt. This country also owns most of the shares
in the Suez Canal, which was opened in 1869. This canal is free to ships
of all nations on payment of a toll ; but about three-fifths of the vessels
that pass through it are British. This is because so much of the shipping
of the world is in British hands. To protect this route to the East the
British have established a fortified coaling-station near Aden, near the
southern entrance to the Ked Sea. The British also possess the Isle of
Perim in the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, British Somaliland on the south
of the Gulf of Aden, and the Isle of Socotra to the east.

The Indian Ocean. — This ocean is divided by India in the north
into the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, and is bounded by Africa on

8 B0UNDABIE8 OF ASIA

the west and the East Indies and Australia on the east. The winds which
prevail over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal change with the season,
and blow from north-east in winter and south-west in summer, and in
changing affect the direction of the ocean currents. Very early in the
Christian era a Greek navigator noticed the seasonal character of these
winds, called monsoons, and utilized them in voyages between Southern
Arabia and India. In the Middle Ages the Mohammedan Arabs, who
were great traders, established many commercial stations along the
African coast, and from that time to the present have constantly imported
slaves and various products thence. Zanzibar is still an Arab sultanate,
though now under British protection.

South of Africa is the sea-route between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,
which was first traversed by Yasco da Gama on his voyage to India
1497-1498. His ship was the precursor of many others, mainly Portu-
guese, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and later Dutch,
French, and British. Though the Portuguese obtained possession of
many ports round the Indian Ocean, their conquests are now only repre-
sented by Goa, Daman, and Diu in India, and part of Timor in the East
Indies. The British, Dutch, and French started trading companies,
which gradually acquired land — the Dutch mainly in the East Indies,
the British and French in India and Indo-China. Olive's victories in
the eighteenth century reduced the French possessions in India to only
a few towns, and later the authority of the British East India Company
was transferred to the Crown. Both French and British hold lands in
Indo-China ; but the important route via the Strait of Malacca to the
Pacific is controlled by British settlements in the Malay Peninsula, and
by the fortified coaling-station of Singapore.

The Australian Boundary. — There is no historic record of
communication between Australia and Asia till within the last few cen-
turies ; and even to-day it is but slight. Long ages ago there probably
existed a land connection by which mammals entered Australia ; but the
curious nature of its fauna points to a long period of isolation. The
change from Asiatic to Australian fauna apparently takes place between
the Isles of Bali and Lombok, just east of Java ; but, for reasons of
physical structure, the division between the continents is best regarded
as lying east of Timor and the Moluccas and west of New Guinea.

The Pacific Ocean. — This ocean was so named by Magellan,
on account of its calmness when he crossed it in 1520-1521, after passing

BOUNDARIES OF ASIA

OF THE

10 BELIEF OF THE LAND

through the Strait in South America that bears his name. He sailed to
the East Indies, and there met his death in a fray with the natives of
one of the PhiHppines ; but one of his ships sailed homeward by the
western route, and was thus the first to circumnavigate the world.
Magellan sailed under the flag of the Spaniards, who, following in his
steps, conquered the Philippines, and held them until 1898, when the
United States captured them.

The Pacific is so wide that it seems to have prevented communication
between Asia and North America until within the last three centuries,
save where the continents are separated merely by the Bering Strait,
which is no more than thirty-six miles across and very shallow. It is
even possible that at one time this strait did not exist, and that by this
route animals and men crossed from the Old World to the New. In
some respects the American natives bear marked resemblance to the
Mongolian races of Asia. The strait takes its name from a Dane who was
employed by the Kussian Tsar, Peter the Great, to determine the north-
eastern limit of Siberia, and in so doing sailed through the passage in 1728.

There are now many regular lines of steamers crossing the Pacific,
and the number of Chinese settlers in North America bears witness to
the ease of communication between that continent and Asia.

The Arctic Ocean. — The shores of this ocean are ice-bound for
about nine months of the year. On several occasions during the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries the British and Dutch sought for the North -
East Passage — i.e., a sea-route to South-East Asia via this ocean. Owing
to the difficulties of navigation, it was not until 1878-1879 that a Swedish
explorer — Nordenskjbld — succeeded in taking his ship, called the
Vega, by this route ; and no one has made the voyage since.

CONFIGURATION AND STRUCTURE.

Size. — Asia is the largest of the continents, and its area is equal
to four and a half times that of Europe, or about a third of the total
land-mass of the world. From its most northern cape to the south of
the Malay Peninsula it extends over seventy- six degrees of latitude, or
5,350 miles.

Shape. — The mainland of Asia has a roughly quadrilateral form,
plus the three large southern peninsulas of Arabia, India, and Indo-
China, and the three smaller ones of Asia Minor, Korea, and Kamchatka.
The east and south-east coasts are fringed with mountainous islands.

BELIEF OF THE LAND

1. Areas composed of ancient archfean rocks. 2. High plains composed of unfolded sedi-
mentary rocks. 3. Lowlands composed of nn folded sedimentary rocks. 4. Highlands
and Lowlands mainly composed of rocks folded in ancient geological periods. 5. Plateaux
and ranges mainly composed of rocks folded in recent geological epochs. 6. Plains
mainly composed of unfolded recent deposits.

X B. — The structure of areas left blank is unknoAvn.

Asia : Structural Divisions. (After Herbertson.)
Relief. — The mountain system of Asia can be divided into (1) the
ranges that traverse the above-mentioned islands. (2) The belt of
plateaux and mountain ranges which extends right across the middle of
the continent, and broadens out in the east to include all between the
Bering Strait and the Strait of Malacca. This belt forms a serious barrier
to communication between the triangular plain which occupies West
Turkistan and most of Siberia in the north, and the river plains of Mesopo-
tamia, Northern India, and Southern Indo-China. It also separates
both northern and southern lowlands from the plains of Manchuria and
China proper in the east. A striking feature of this belt is the east to
west direction of a series of ranges which traverse it from the Caucasus
Mountains to the Tsin-ling Mountains of North China. The area is best
subdivided into {a) the southern and western plateaux and ranges, and

12 BELIEF OF THE LAND

(b) the north-eastern and eastern highlands and ranges. (3) The penin-
sulas of Arabia and India are occupied by tablelands, which differ in
structure from the central plateaux.

The Eastern Insular Ranges. — These are due to foldings of the
earth's crust, though many of the mountains have been built up by
volcanic action. The ranges were probably formed very gradually,
and though comparatively recently, as geologists reckon time, long before
men appeared on the earth. From the fact that they contain so many
active volcanoes, and that the whole region is subject to earthquakes, we
may infer that the district is still in an unstable condition, and subter-
ranean movements still taking place. Where ranges have been formed
by folding, it is sometimes possible to see how the layers of rock, called
strata, have been bent upwards or downwards ; but, owing to the destruc-
tive action of water, wind, and ice, they have generally been so much
worn down and altered that the original upfolds no longer form the
ranges, nor the downfolds the valleys. Sometimes the strata cannot resist
the pressure of internal forces, and are broken across. In this case one
side is generally lowered below or raised above the other, and such a dis-
placement is called a fault. The formation of even a small fault would
have the effect of jarring all the rocks in the vicinity ; and as rocks are
slightly elastic, the waves of motion set up by the shock might be felt as
an earthquake at a considerable distance.

Earthquakes are, in fact, only tremblings of the earth's crust,
and, though they often accompany the formation of faults and volcanic
activity, do not in themselves involve much actual disturbance in the
surface of the land. The terrible loss of life they sometimes cause is
mainly due to falling buildings or to the formation of great sea-waves,
which overwhelm vessels and inundate low coastal regions. In Japan
very slight earthquakes are of daily occurrence, and no year passes without
some of a more serious type.

Active volcanoes exist in Kamchatka, the Kurile Isles, Japan,
Formosa, the Philippines, Moluccas, Java, Sumatra, and the Andaman
Isles. It is the continuity of this chain of volcanoes that makes it well
to include in Asia all these groups, and also Borneo and Celebes, which,
though not volcanic, are thus enclosed by the volcanic girdle.

Volcanoes are often characterized by having cone-like summits,
because the ashes and lava ejected from the shaft, or hole in the earth,
naturally tend to fall in a roughly regular manner around the opening.

^ ' OF THh

UNIVE

RSITY

RELIEF OF THE LAND

_Q£.

C>^L!FO«iilJ^

Diagram of an upfold
section on line C D.

CWest

5 DWest

Diagram of a fault where the
strata on each side have been
bent along the plane of the
fault ; one side being depressed,
and the other dragged upwards
by the strain.

From Bel Mar's ' Around the World Through Japan.'

Crater of Papandajan, Java.

This is situated in East Java, and is 8,5.00 feet above sea-level. The crater is doted
over with apertures, some emitting jets of steam and hot water, some sulphurous
vapours, and some Ijoiling mud.

14 BELIEF OF THE LAND

One of the most perfect examples of a conical volcano is Fuji-yama, in
Japan ; but it has not been active for 200 years. Sometimes the shape
of a mountain is altered by volcanic explosions, as was the case with the
volcano Krakatao, situated on a small isle between Java and Sumatra.
In consequence of an eruption here in 1883, two-thirds of the isle were
blown away. The explosive nature of such eruptions is due to the
pressure of steam underground, which suddenly becomes sufficiently
powerful to blow away any material that has choked up the shaft, and to
force an exit. With these fragments of rock, steam and gas often issue
in large quantities, and afterwards ashes are ejected, and lava — i.e.,
melted rock — overflows the crater.

The Southern and IflTestern Ranges and Plateaux. — These
ranges are also due to folding of the earth's crust in recent geological times,
though few contain volcanoes. All the ranges are steeper on their
southern than on their northern sides, and most consist of parallel ridges
and valleys. The plateaux must have been raised by gradual earth -
movements in the past, since which time they have been much worn down
by natural agencies. There are two places where the belt of plateaux
contracts, and to which ranges seem to converge — i.e., at the plateau of
Armenia and at the Pamirs.

The Plateau of Armenia. — This lies partly in Russian, partly
in Turkishj and partly in Persian territory, and seems to culminate in the
volcano Mount Ararat, where these dominions meet. Towards it con-
verge the four following ranges : (1) The Pontic Range, which bounds the
plateau of Asia Minor on the north ; (2) the Taurus and Anti- Taurus
Ranges, which bound the same on the south-east ; (3) the Elburz Moun-
tains, which bound the plateau of Iran on the north ; (4) the Zagros
Mountains, which bound the same on the south-west.

The Pamirs. — These stand at the meeting-place of the dominions
of Russia, China, India, and Afghanistan. They are a series of lofty and
broad valleys running east and west, which are separated and bounded by
still higher, snow-clad mountains. The following six ranges converge
towards this region : (1) The Tian Shan, which forms the northern
boundary of the plateau of Eastern Turkistan ; (2) the Kuenlun, which
bounds the same on the south and the far higher plateau of Tibet on the
north ; (3) the Karakorum, which crosses the plateau of Tibet in the
west ; (4) the Himalayas, which form the southern boundary of the same ;
(5) the Hindukush, which forms part of the northern boundary of the

BELIEF OF THE LAND

16 BELIEF OF THE LAND

plateau of Iran ; (6) the Hala and Sulaiman Ranges, which form the
eastern boundary of the same.

The plateau of Tibet is the highest of the plateaux, having con-
siderable areas with an average elevation of nearly three miles. On the
east it divides into a number of ranges, which separate the gorges formed
by the upper courses of the rivers of South-East Asia. These ranges
turn southwards, and traverse the Indo-China Peninsula ; one forms
the backbone of the Malay Peninsula, while the most westerly range
seems to be continued southwards in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
thus linking the ranges of the mainland with those of the East Indies.

The North-Eastern highlands and ranges are of older forma-
tion than those already described, and have therefore been longer exposed
to erosion, and are, on the average, lower. They can be divided into —
(1) The mountainous area around Lake Baikal, composed of the Yablonoi
and other highlands to the east, and extending to the Altai Range in the
south-west. Between the Altai Mountains and the Tian Shan is the
Dzungarian Gap, which is traversed by the Irtish tributary of the Ob,
and forms an important route between Mongolia and Siberia. (2) The
plateau of Mongolia, flanked on the east by the Khingan Range, and
stretching south to the mountains of Northern China.

The Eastern ranges comprise : (1) The Stanovoi Mountains,
running north of the Amur River to Bering Strait, with a western branch
to the mouth of the Lena ; (2) the ranges east of the Lower Amur and in
Korea, which bound the plain of Manchuria on the east ; (3) the ranges
in Southern China, which mainly run east and west.

The Tablelands of Arabia and Southern India. — These
tablelands are composed in part of basalt, which, in the form of lava,
must once have issued from great fissures in the earth, though no trace of
these remains. In India, the other prevailing rocks which form the
tableland are crystalline in structure, as gneiss, and of archgean — i.e.,
very ancient — age. In Arabia large areas are composed of sandstones
and limestones, and, on account of the arid climate, much of the surface
is either bare rock or covered with gravels and sand.

The straight form of the lines bounding both these tablelands is due
to faulting long ago. The Red Sea occupies the floor of a ' rift,' or
depressed region, bounded by two nearly parallel lines of faulting ; and
a similar smaller rift to the north-west is occupied by the River Jordan
and the lakes in its course.

RIVER SYSTEM

1. Land drained to the Arctic. 4. Land drained to the Atlantic.

2. ,, ,, ,, Indian Ocean. 5. ,, ,, ,, Mediterranean

3. ,, ,, ,, Pacific. 6. Areas of inland drainage.

j_Li = Canals. The darker portions of the rivers are the parts which are navigable.

Asia: Eiver System.

RIVER SYSTEM.

The rivers of Asia may be classified as follows :

1. Those flowing into the Mediterranean and Black Sea

— These are relatively short and torrential in character, and therefore
of no use for navigation.

2. Those flo\sring into the Indian and Pacific Oceans. —

These include the Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, Ganges, Irawadi, Salwin,
Mekong, Yangtse, Hwang-ho, and Amur. As these rise on the margins of
the central plateaux, they are long and well supplied with water from the
snows on the bordering ranges. Hence most are navigable for considerable
distances, and form important routes into the interior ; but an exception
must be made of the Hwang-ho. They are also in many cases useful for
irrigation, while the soil they bring down in great quantities has created
fertile alluvial plains and deltas.

BIVEE SYSTEM

1. Under 0°. 2. 0°-32°. 3. 32°-50°. 4. 50°-70°. 5. Over 70°.
Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Asia : Mean Isotherms for January. (After Buchan.)

3. Those flowing into the Arctic Ocean. — The most impor-
tant of these are the Ob, Yenisei, and Lena ; but as all are frozen for
most of the year and their mouths for at least ten months, and as they flow-
through sparsely peopled regions, there is little traffic carried on by them.
As the ice in their upper channels melts before that in their lower courses,
floods are caused and convert wide areas into swamps.

4. Those floiving into inland seas and lakes, and those which
disappear after a shorter or longer course. Regions traversed by such
rivers are called ' areas of inland drainage.' The most important rivers
of this class are : the Ural, which flows into the Caspian ; the Syr and Amu,
which flow into the Sea of Aral ; and the Tarim. Though these are navi-
gable for parts of their courses, the last three are chiefly useful for irriga-
tion. Many of the rivers of Arabia and the central plateaux are merely
wadis — i.e., channels that are only full of water for a short season of the
year.

TEMPEBATVBE

•-•^^i'c'.

1. Under 50°. 2. 50"-70°. 3. 70°-90°. 4. Over 90.

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Asia : Mean Isotherms for July. (After Buchan.)

TEMPERATURE.

The temperature of any place depends on the following circumstances :

1. On the season ; for since the earth moves round the sun with
its axis inclined, the sun's rays fall more vertically north of the equator
in our summer, and south of it in our winter. These seasonal changes
are naturally but slightly marked in the torrid zone ; while in polar regions
the sun never sets during part of the summer, and full daylight never
occurs during part of the winter.

2. On the latitude ; for the sun's rays fall with increasing obliquity
towards the poles, and must penetrate an increasing thickness of atmo-
sphere. The effect of latitude on temperature over a large area like
Asia is very marked, and can be seen from the figures indicating degrees
of temperature attached to the isotherms — or lines drawn through places
which have the same mean temperature for the same period — on the
maps on pp. 18, 19. 2 — 2

TEMPEBATUBE

1. Over 30 5. 2. 30 5-30 3. 3. 30 3-30 1. 4. 301-29 95. 5. 29 95-29-7. Pressure in inches.
■ — ^ = Direction of prevailing winds.

Asia : Mean Monthly Isobars and Winds for January. (After Buchan.)

3. On altitude. The effect of this is not shown in the maps
relating to temperature, but it amounts to a fall of about one degree for
every 270 feet of vertical ascent. In the case of gently rising plains and
of broad plateaux, the fall is much less than this ; though if the plateaux
be very high, as in Tibet, the result is still very marked. The direction
of a range will also affect the temperature of a given area, on account of
the shelter afforded from winds from certain quarters. The central
plateaux and ranges of Asia, for example, partially protect the northern
plains of India from cold winds ; but they also prevent southern oceanic
winds from reaching far inland.

4. On the direction of the prevailing winds. A good example
of this is the warmth of North- West Europe, which is exposed to the
south-west anti-trade winds, compared, latitude for latitude, with the
east coast of Asia. The same is true in a slight degree of North- West
Asia (see p. 18). Moreover, it is only indirectly, through its influence on
the winds, that the sea can affect the temperature of places inland. Places

TEMPEBATUBE

1.30 1-29 95. 2.29 95-297. 3.29 7-29-5. 4. Under 29 5. Pressure in inches.
^ = Direction of prevailing Minds.

Asia : Mean Monthly Isobars and Winds for July. (After Buchan.)

exposed to sea-winds, for example, experience a smaller range of
temperature — i.e., amount of difference between their maximum and
minimum temperatures — than those exposed to land winds, because water
changes its temperature more slowly than land. There is, therefore, a
very wide range of temperature in places in the interior of Asia, which,
on account of the size of the continent and arrangement of the ranges,
is cut of! from sea-winds. The same is also true in a modifi'ed degree
of places on the east coast in the temperate zone, because these are
exposed in winter to more or less northerly land winds.

Winds are also warmed or chilled by ocean currents over which
they pass, and carry their raised or lowered temperature inland. Thus
Japan gains much from the warm Kuro-shiwro current, which flows
northwards along its eastern coast ; while a branch of the same, pene-
trating the Sea of Japan, strikes the north-west coast of the main island.
On the other hand, the north-eastern coast of Siberia is affected un-
favourably by the cold current that flows past it from the Bering Strait.

WINDS AND RAINFALL.

Winds blow from areas of high or great atmospheric pressure to areas
where this pressure is less ; and since there are belts of relatively high
pressure over the oceans about the latitude of 30° north and south of
the equator, winds blow outwards from these areas towards the equator
and the poles. Owing to the i-otation of the earth, however, they are
deflected to the right hand of their path of motion in the northern hemi-
sphere, and to the left in the southern. Therefore north-east and south-
east winds, called trade winds, blow respectively north and south of
the equatorial belt, where calms or variable winds prevail ; and south-
west and north-west winds, called anti-trade ivinds, blow north and
south of the belts of high pressure, where also calms and variable winds
occur. All these winds shift somewhat with the seasons, blowing a little
further north in our summer than in our winter.

The above arrangement of winds is partly upset, and especially in
the case of Asia, by the fact that land changes its temperature more
rapidly than water. Therefore, since hot air is lighter than cold, a land-
mass becomes in summer an area of low pressure, towards which winds
will blow ; while in winter it becomes an area of high pressure, and winds
tend to blow outwards. These winds which change with the season are
called monsoons.

Turning to Asia, we find that it is affected by the following
winds :

1. The South- West Anti-Trade. — This is the prevailing wind
over North- West Europe, to which it brings abundant moisture from the
Atlantic ; but in crossing Europe it loses most of its strength and moisture
before reaching Asia. It is only in winter that this wind blows with
sufficient strength and far enough south to bring rain to the Mediterranean
region, and thus to Asiatic Turkey and the plateaux of Iran.

2. The North-East, North and North-lfiTest Monsoons. —
These are due to the area of high pressure on the mainland, from which
winds blow outward, and, owing to the revolution of the earth, are
deflected to the right hand of their path of motion. They prevail in
winter over Southern Asia and the Indian Ocean, where they are practi-
cally the same as the North-East Trade-Wind, as well as over Eastern
Asia, where their general direction is north, or north-west. The wind is
also deflected to the north-west across the plains of North India, on

WINDS AND BAINFALL

1. Under 10. 2.10-20. 3.20-40. 4.40-80. 5. Over 80. Rainfall in inches.
Asia : Mean Annual Kainfall. (After Herbertson.)

account of the physical formation of the Ganges Valley. These winds
are cold and dry save in those regions reached after passing over seas —
as the South-East coast of India, North-East Ceylon, in Western Japan,
Anam, and the East Indies.

3. The South- VTest and South-East Monsoons, which prevail
in summer over the Indian Ocean, the peninsulas of India and Indo-China,
and Eastern Asia. They are due to a hot area of low pressure over
Baluchistan, towards which winds tend to blow ; but are deflected owing
to the rotation of the earth. The wind is also deflected to the south-
east by the Ganges Valley. They come laden with moisture, and con-
densation is especially heavy on the slopes of, and in front of, the ranges
opposed to their directions, since such barriers force them to rise, and
thus grow cool by expansion, and by contact with the cooler upper layers
of the atmosphere.

24 WINDS AND BAINFALL

4. In the Bay of Bengal furious cyclones or hurricanes are sometimes
experienced ; while in the Chinese Seas similar winds are known as
typhoons. These are systems of low atmospheric pressure and small
area, in which the pressure decreases rapidly towards the interior, and
towards which winds blow violently in all directions. This inward motion,
being deflected on account of the earth's rotation, creates a sort of whirl,
which, in the northern hemisphere, moves in the direction opposite to
that of the hands of a clock. Heavy rainfall accompanies these storms,
as the air is always rising, and much damage to life and property is often
wrought by their fury.

The areas of deficient rainfall in Asia are : (1) Districts
which are so far inland, or so shut in by mountains, that the winds from
the sea do not reach them, or have precipitated their moisture on their
way. Such, for example, are the deserts of Gobi and West Turkistan.
(2) Areas in the belt of the dry north-east trade wind, which do not
receive ocean winds in summer, such as the desert of Thar in India, and
the Iranian and Arabian deserts. (3) The northern regions, where the
cold hinders evaporation, and hence limits the rainfall. What moisture
is precipitated here falls partly in the form of snow, and this is deep in
winter ; but about 10 inches of snow are, in volume of moisture, only
equivalent to 1 inch of rain.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION.

Vegetation depends chiefly on climate ; and from what has gone before
we see Asia can be divided into the following climatic areas, each of
which will have its characteristic vegetation :

1. The frigid region, or tundras, in the north, practically in-
cluding the land within the Arctic Circle. Here the intense cold reduces
vegetation to mosses, bushes, and stunted trees ; while much of the
island of Novaya Zemlia is covered with an ice-sheet. Some of the few
plants found in the Arctic regions occur also in other parts of Asia on
high mountains (see p. 27).

2. The cool temperate region south of the above area,
where forests predominate. This includes the whole of Eastern Siberia,
and Western Siberia to about latitude 57°. The most common trees are

WINDS AND BAINFALL

1. Under 2. 2. 2 4. 3. 4-8. 4. 8-12. 5. Over 12. Kaiufall in inches.
— -^ = Direction of currents, (After the Diagram Co.)

Asia : Mean Monthly Eainfall for December. (After Herbertson.

1. Under 2. 2.2-4. 3. 4-8. 4. 8-12. 5. Over 12. Rainfall in inches.
^ = Direction of currents. (After the Diagram Co.)

Asia : Mean Monthly Eainfall for July. (After Herbertson.)

26 VEGETATION

spruces, firs, pines, and larches in the north, poplars, birches, and other
deciduous trees further south.

3. The temperate lowlands, or Steppes, of Western Siberia
and Western Turkistan, where the rainfall occurs chiefly in early summer,
and is scanty in parts. Here the natural vegetation is grass, but this
is being supplanted by agriculture wherever the rainfall is adequate or
irrigation possible.

4. The plateaux of the interior, including the tableland of
Arabia and plain of Mesopotamia. These suffer from drought, and, save
for a few favoured valleys where irrigation is possible, they are either
barren or poor grasslands. The temperature is reduced by elevation,
but differs considerably in different parts, and the seasonal range is great.
The date-palm is important in Arabia and Southern Mesopotamia.

5. The Mediterranean seaboard is characterized by its mild,
wet winters and hot, dry summers. Here vegetation has to withstand the
summer drought ; and hence the olive flourishes, as its thick-skinned
leaves prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture. The same is also
true of the fig, while the vine can obtain moisture from a great depth
by means of its long root. Wheat is cultivated, as it can be sown in
autumn, so as to benefit by the winter rains, and then be reaped in early
summer. This type of climate and products also prevails to some extent
over the western plateaux, though, on account of the inadequate rainfall,
they also belong to Class 4.

6. The Monsoon area, embracing India, Indo-China, China, Korea,
the plains of Manchuria, and the Japanese Isles. This region, with the
exception of a few districts already mentioned, receives the bulk of its
rainfall in summer, brought by warm oceanic winds, and is exposed in
winter to relatively cold land winds. As the climate is favourable for
agriculture, a large part of the area is under cultivation, the rest being
occupied by forests, or mixed grass and woodland. The temperature,
and therefore the productions, vary much with the latitude, but rice, tea,
and cotton are characteristic crops throughout the greater part of the
region. One of the most typical products of this area is the bamboo,
while the coco-nut palm thrives in the south.

7. The equatorial districts, embracing the Malay Peninsula and
East Indies. Here, on account of latitude and oceanic influences, the
range of temperature is slight, and the average is high, but moderated by
altitude in many parts. The rainfall is heavy and occurs at all seasons,

VEGETATION

Jt* ^

^\^^Z^"'ilJ'^

■^11,

^^^^^^^^J^^

^^^JhF^)f^

ts*""^^!!^^^?!^

_AiJffv

^/^

fiWiLS^'^

^;--^ JiMi

|S^

^51^

'r''

¥^

^j*^

Ft.

1 ^^ ^i» p . 1

1 2 3 ■* 5

^tOnilllSoe

-'■^'^ /«

1 Tundra and Alpine flora.

2. Deserts.

3. Grasslands.

4. Temperate and tropical forests.

5. Mixed wood and grassland — largely cultivated.

Asia : Vegetation.
though it is generally heaviest about the period when the sun is highest.
The districts are well supplied with forests, and yield such products as
coco-nut, sago, rubber, and various spices. There are also important
plantations of coffee, sugar, and tobacco.

FAUNA.

The land surface of the world has been divided into certain areas called
zoological provinces, each province being characterized by the presence
of a large number of similar native animals, and the absence of others.
From the map on p. 29 it will be seen that, while Northern and Western
Asia fall within the Palsearctic province, and Arabia into the Ethiopian,
South-Eastern Asia constitutes the Oriental province, and a part of the
East Indies lies in the Australian region.

The Palaearctic Province. — The southern limit of this is not
really a line, but is formed by the belt of plateaux across Asia, which
has constituted a barrier to the dispersal of animals. Although this is

OF THE "*

28 FAUNA

the largest of the provinces, it does not contain a remarkable number of
distinct native genera of mammals ; but one group that is much repre-
sented includes those hoofed animals of most use to man — the horse,
ass, ox, camel, sheep, deer, goat, pig, etc. Most of these inhabit the
steppes, but the reindeer lives on the moss of the frigid tundras, and the
camel can find support on the few prickly plants and shrubs which grow
in the deserts. A one-humped and a two-humped species of camel
occur in Asia. The yak, which is used as a beast of burden in Tibet,
is a kind of ox native to the central ranges.

The carnivorous, or flesh-eating, animals are represented by the
wolf, fox, polar and brown bears, lynx, and ounce — an animal distin-
guished from the leopard by its thick light fur. The tiger, although a
typical inhabitant of the Oriental province, is also found in Persia,
Turkistan, and Northern China ; while the leopard occurs in South- AVest
Asia. There, too, the lion is still found, though it is essentially an
Ethiopian animal, and is increasingly rare here. Some of these animals
are hunted on account of their skins, but many of the most valuable furs
are obtained from the squirrels, ermines, and beavers which inhabit the
northern forests.

No elephants are now native to this province, but the remains of a
gigantic species, known as the mammoth, have been found buried in
the swamps of the tundras, and preserved by the ice. The ivory obtained
from these remains has been an article of commerce for centuries, and is
still procured in small quantities.

The Oriental Province. — This is characterized by a particularly
rich and varied fauna, especially in the Malay Peninsula. It possesses
a large variety of monkeys and the orang-outang, a species of the anthro-
poid apes, so called from their resemblance to man. The chief car-
nivorous animals in this region are the tiger, leopard, hyena, and bear ;
other large native wild animals being the elephant, the tapir, and both
the one-horned and two-horned species of rhinoceros. The elephants
native to the Oriental province differ in some respects from those of the
Ethiopian — among others, in having no tusks, or tusks of smaller average
size, and thus they are less valuable as a source of ivory. They can,
however, be domesticated, and are largely used as beasts of burden. The
tapir is confined in Asia to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, and outside
this area occurs only in South America. Another animal which in Asia
is found only in the Malay Peninsula is the lemur, which in some respects

FAUNA

C.burji^''^fi\fi

Tapir.

1. Palaearctic. 2. Oriental. 3. Ethiopian. 4. Australian.
Asia : Zoological Provinces. (After Sclater.)

30 POPULATION

resembles a small monkey, and is elsewhere found only in Africa, and
there chiefly in Madagascar.

Many varieties of oxen, deer, antelopes, and sheep, occur in this pro-
vince, and some of the most useful animals of draught are the Indian
buffaloes and humped cattle. The region is also very rich in birds and
reptiles, possessing, among many varieties of snakes, the dreaded cobra.

The Ethiopian Province. — Arabia, which is the only part of Asia
that falls within this area, has a fauna which resembles that of the Sahara,
and is characterized by such large animals as the lion, the one-humped
camel, and many kinds of antelopes.

The Australian Province. — The division between this province
and the Oriental was first determined by the naturalist Wallace, who con-
sidered it should be drawn between the Isles of Bali and Lombok, east
of Java, and between Borneo and Celebes further north. Since then
some zoologists, as Sclater, have shifted this line to the east of Celebes.
As a matter of fact, the fauna along the border belt is naturally
somewhat mixed, and those mammals which are most typical of the
Australian province nowhere occur on the islands geographically included
in Asia.

POPULATION.

The distribution of population is conditioned by the following circum-
stances :

1. Climate. — A comparison between the map on p. 31, showing the
density of population, and that on p. 23, giving the annual rainfall, will
indicate how closely the former reflects the influence of the latter. About
eleven-twelfths of the total population of the continent is concentrated
in the Monsoon area, which enjoys not only a good rainfall, but also high
summer temperatures. Both the cold deserts of the north and the dry
deserts of the interior are only sparsely populated, and mainly by nomadic
tribes. Some regions of inadequate rainfall can, however, be rendered
habitable by means of irrigation ; and this accounts for the number of
towns in Mesopotamia, East and West Turkistan, and Persia. In these
parts population could be increased by improved irrigation works ; but
still a limit is fixed to the possible density of population by the limited
supply of water available for irrigation.

2. Relief of the Land. — This affects the population directly,
as rendering some parts less accessible than others, and indirectly, as

POPULATION

1. Less than one person per square mile.

2. 1-50.

3. 50-100.

4. Over 100.

Asia: Density of Population.
influencing climate. The Asiatic plateaux, therefore, are naturally less
populous than the plains.

3. Fertility of Soil. — The most fertile portions of the continent
are the plains of China, North India, and Mesopotamia. Here the fine
sediment brought down, and constantly renewed and redistributed by
the rivers and rain, is easy to work, and yields good returns wherever an
adequate water-supply is available. The volcanic soil of many of the
eastern and south-eastern islands and the basalt of the Deccan are also
very fertile ; while another area of great fertility exists around the Upper
Yenisei, but is as yet little developed.

4. Mineral Wealth. — Manufacturing industry has not yet ad-
vanced sufficiently in Asia for the coal-fields that exist in China and India
to be the seats of dense population as they are in Europe ; but there are
signs that this may be the case in the future in some districts. In Southern
Siberia the occurrence of gold and other minerals has given rise to several
mining stations, round which small towns have sprung up.

5. Means of Communication. — Population tends to collect
along the great highroads of commerce — waterways, railways, roads, and

32 BACE

caravan routes ; and towns generally arise where several routes converge,
or where one method of locomotion has to be changed for another, as at a
port. The construction of the Siberian Railway has already greatly pro-
moted the development of Southern Siberia, and the projected railway
through Mesopotamia might do much to open up that region also
(see p. 49).

RACE.

The primary racial divisions into which the inhabitants of the
world have been grouped are : (1) The Caucasic ; (2) the Mongolian, of
which the American Indian is thought by most ethnologists to be a
branch ; (3) the Negro. These are sometimes popularly called (1) the
white, (2) yellow and red, and (3) black races, according to the colour of
the skin of a large number of the members of each division ; but really
there exist so many variations in colour that it would be impossible to
classify on this basis alone, and other characteristics have to be considered.
The problem is also complicated by the fact that in some cases inter-
marriage has taken place so freely as to efface the distinctive racial traits ;
while in others long residence in different environments seems to have
modified the striking features of th.e main stock.

The Caucasic Races. — These possess the following characteristics :

(1) A fair skin — especially in the case of the northern races, for those of
southern regions are much more olive in hue, and some are even brown.

(2) Straight-set eyes, as contrasted with the oblique eyes of the Asiatic
Mongolian races, and of varying hue — blue, grey, brown, and black.

(3) An abundance of hair, often long and wavy, and varying in colour
from yellow to red, brown, or black. The men have generally beards —
another point of contrast with the Mongolian races, among whom these
are rare, while they are only sparse in the Negro group.

To the Caucasic stock belong most of the inhabitants of Europe, of
Africa north of the Sahara, and of Western Asia. The chief subdivisions
found in Asia may be classified as follows : (1) The Georgians of the
Caucasian region, who were- supposed by some ethnologists so well to
represent the most typical features of the primary stock that the name
' Caucasic ' was given to this group of races. (2) The Semitic races of
Arabia and Syria. (3) The Armenians and Kurds of Eastern Asia Minor,
the Iranians of Persia, the Afghans and natives of Baluchistan. (4) The

RACE

Hindus of North India, who speak an Aryan language. Those speaking a
Dravidian language in the south are of doubtful origin. (5) The Slavonic
peoples who have spread from Russia over parts
of Southern Siberia and Russian Turkistan.
(6) A few British in India and French in Indo-
China — for the most part only temporary offi-
cials in those countries.

The Mongolian Races. — To these belong
about two-thirds of the total population of Asia.
They can be classified as follows : (1) The
Northern Mongolians, or Mongolo-Tatar, includ-
ing— (a) The tribes inhabiting northern Si-
beria, who are akin to the Lapps of Europe.
(6) Many tribes of Southern Siberia and Tur-
kistan, as well as the Ottoman Turks, (c) The
Japanese and Koreans, {d) The Manchus, who
dwell in Manchuria, but are also found as the
ruHng class in China, a country they invaded
about 250 years ago. (e) The Mongols proper,
whose native home is MongoHa, but who
have frequently invaded other areas in past

times. It has already been pointed out how the continuity of the grass-
lands of Southern Siberia and Russia made expansion easy along this
route for a nation of horsemen. Hence the Mongols were able to invade
South Russia in the thirteenth century and occupy it for 250 years.
The relative sterility of the Mongolian plateau also provoked invasion of
the richer outlying plains. The Great Wall of China was built about
200 years B.C. as a protection against these hordes; but later they
entered the country, and were only expelled in the fifteenth century.
In the sixteenth century they entered India and founded the Mogul
Empire.

(2) The Southern Mongolians, who include the inhabitants of (a) Tibet,
(6) China proper, (c) Indo-China, {d) Burma and the Himalayan slopes in
India.

(3) The Oceanic Mongolians, who form the bulk of the inhabitants of
(a) the Malay Peninsula, (6) the East Indies and Formosa. In these races
the usual Mongolian traits of yellowish hue, oblique eyes, and prominent
cheek-bones are less pronounced than in the other divisions.

A Chinese Boy.

34 BACE

The Negro Races. — These mainly consist of the inhabitants of
Africa south of the Sahara, and of the natives of Australia. There exists,
however, a branch of this race, called Negrito, comprising various tribes
of a primitive type, some of which are found in small numbers in Asia as
well as Africa. The chief characteristics of the Negritoes are small stature,
dark-brown hue, and wavy or tufty black hair. A few of these are found
in (1) the Malay Peninsula, (2) the Andaman Isles, (3) some parts of the
East Indies.

Negroid characteristics have been detected by some ethnologists in
the Dravidians of southern India and Ceylon, but the origin and extent of
this element are uncertain matters.

QUESTIONS ON THE GENERAL GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA.

1. Draw a section across Asia along the meridian of 90° E.

2. Compare the configuration of Europe and Asia.

3. Criticize the statement, ' A volcano is a burning mountain.' Describe a typical

explosive eruption.

4. Draw a diagram showing the direction of the ranges that radiate — (1) from

Armenia ; (2) from the Pamirs.
6. Describe the constructive work of rivers, and give Asiatic examples.

6. What large areas in Asia are. (1) generally, (2) always, inaccessible by navigable

waterways from the ocean ? Can any Asiatic rivers be used as routes
between different countries ?

7. In what parts of Asia is there greatest, and in what parts least, difference between

summer and winter as regards (a) light, (&) temperature ? Give reasons for
your answer.

8. Describe and account for the different types of climate which occur in Asia

along the parallel of 32° N.

9. What do you understand by a ' continental climate ' ? Name any Asiatic islands

that have the characteristics of a continental climate, and explain how this
happens.

10. What parts of Asia receive the bulk of their rainfall in winter, and why ?

11. Describe and explain the climate of the following : Urga, Cherra Punji, Ver-

khoyansk, Smyrna, Leh, Tokyo, Tomsk (see pp. 122, 123).

12. A man travels across Asia from south to north along the meridian of 90° E.

Describe and account for the differences in vegetation he would notice in the
course of his journey.

13. Describe and explain the distribution of (1) the date-palm, (2) the coco-nut-

palm in Asia. State the value of these trees to man.

14. Name various commodities of economic value obtained from the sap or the

resin of different trees found in Asia, and state the dist icts where they are
procured.

15. When is wheat harvested in Northern India, Asia Minor, and Siberia respectively ?

What climatic conditions limit the range of its profitable growth ?

QUESTIONS ON ASIA

Great Wall of China.

16. State various vegetable fibres used in textile industries which are cultivated in

Asia, and give their distribution.

17. What animals are used as beasts of burden in different parts of Asia ? To what

extent is the distribution of these animals cUmatic ?

18. What Asiatic districts are noted for the production of wool and hair suited for

textile industries ?

19. In what parts of Asia are (1) milk and milk products, (2) fish, staple articles of

diet ? Where is the population largely flesh-eating, and where largely
vegetarian ?

20. Discuss the distribution of population in non-monsoonal Asia, and state, with

reasons, where you think the density of population could be materially
increased.

21. Contrast the following with regard to (1) total population, (2) area, (3) density

of population per square mile — the United Kingdom, Siberia, and the
Japanese Empire.

22. To what extent is Tropical Asia under European control ?

23. Account for the fact that population in Asia is less concentrated in large towns

than in Western Europe.

24. In what parts of Asia is life still to a great extent nomadic ?

3—2

ASIATIC RUSSIA,

Asiatic Russia embraces more than one-third of the total area of the continent.
From a consideration of the structure, it falls into the following regions : (1) The
Tundra, or low barren wastes that skirt the Arctic Ocean. (2) The rest of Siberia
•east of the Yenisei, which possesses a diversified and mainly elevated surface.
{3) The plain of Western Siberia, which is drained to the Arctic Ocean. (4) The plain
of Turkistan with its upland girdle, which is an area of inland drainage. (5) The
diversified region of Trans -Caucasia, which, though politically attached to Europe,
seems naturally to form part of Asia. The structural contrast between Eastern and
Western Siberia is partly overshadowed by the continuity of the forest-belt, which
extends over the middle portion of Western Siberia and over nearly all Eastern
Siberia, south of the Tundra.

THE TUNDRA.

Though this region is hilly in places, the average elevation is low,
and this, combined with the frequent flooding of the rivers which cross
it (see p. 41), has converted large tracts into swamps dotted with lakes,
and has encouraged a prolific growth of mosses. Some of the swamps
are overgrown with reeds, or thickets of short willows ; while elsewhere
bog moss, reindeer moss, and lichens form a thick, uneven covering
over large areas. In places where the soil is slightly drier there are
forests of dwarf birches, which only attain a height of about a yard, and
of such plants as crowberry, cranberry, and whortleberry. Large trees
are confined to the sand-banks which flank the rivers, and there larch,
willow, and alder occur. In summer the region is gay with many
Alpine flowers, but for most of the year the ground is frozen and buried
under snow. Even in summer the soil only thaws to the depth of a
foot or two, and cultivation is, of course, impossible.

Ages ago the Tundra must have had a much warmer climate, for the
mammoth roamed over these plains, and his tusks, preserved in the ice,
still furnish an article of commerce. At present, though the region is
rich in fish, and birds and insects abound during the sumimer, the only
important animals are the reindeer, polar bear, small Arctic fox, and
various rodents. The reindeer has been domesticated, and forms the
chief wealth of the tribes who inhabit this region. It is able to subsist
on reindeer moss, and in winter removes with its hoof the covering of
snow that buries the moss. The animal furnishes the inhabitants with
meat and clothing, besides drawing the sleighs which are the only means
of conveyance. Even its horns, bones, and tendons are useful in this
destitute region for the construction of implements.

ASIATIC BUSSIA

^VV- n'^ny

MVdVr

BS THE TUN DBA

The inhabitants comprise various tribes of Mongolian race, as
the Ostyaks and Samoyads. Not only the poorer classes, who are only
hunters and fishers, but even the richer, who are also herders of reindeer
;and own dogs, are obliged to live a nomadic life. Game and reindeer moss
are soon exhausted in a given area, and have to be sought elsewhere ;
while the cold forces the tribes to wander southwards in winter, and the
mosquitoes induce many to seek high regions in late summer. The
usual dwelling-place is a movable tent formed of birch-bark or skins
stretched over a framework of poles, with a hole at the top to serve as
a chimney. Furniture consists of beds made of skin and dried moss,
mats, and a few weapons and utensils, while reindeer-skin provides the
material for clothing.

Food consists chiefly of reindeer-flesh and fish, which is fresh in summer
and dried in winter. Sugar, tea, and a kind of brandy, are obtained from
traders in exchange for skins and furs. These are chiefly the skins of
animals hunted in the outer fringe of the southern forest-belt ; but the
seals caught on the Arctic shores supply not only skins, but train-oil.
The fur-coated seals are found only in the small isles in the Bering Sea,
most of which belong to the United States.

THE SIBERIAN FOREST.

This forest is on the whole ^monotonous in aspect ; for, though the
trees vary with latitude and soil, wide areas are dominated by the same
species, and, despite the glory of the autumn tints, the general impression
is one of gloom. In the north the prevailing trees are spruces, firs, pines,
and larches, with aspens here and there ; while the river-valleys are
clothed with willows. Towards the Tundra the trees dwindle in height
and diminish in density, and many are coated with damp moss and
lichen. Further south poplars and birches prevail ; while throughout
the whole area there is a considerable undergrowth of berry-bearing
shrubs. The forest is most easily penetrated in winter, when the
numerous swamps are frozen, and the irregularities of the surface covered
with a thick layer of snow that can be traversed on snow-shoes. Even
then progress is difficult, on account of the numerous fallen branches and
trunks of decayed trees.

Wide areas of the forest are sometimes devastated by fire ; but man
has cut down little more than is required for local use, and no important

THE TUN DBA

Or TmC

I UNIVERSITY

40 E AS TEEN SIBEBIA

lumber trade exists as yet. The chief present value of the forests lies in
the shelter they afford to game and fur-bearing animals. These include
the stag, elk, wolf, fox, bear, lynx, squirrel, hare, martin, ermine, and
sable, as well as grouse, plover, and wild swans. The most valuable
furs are those of the black and silver fox, sable, and ermine.

There are no inhabitants in the interior of the forests, but on its
edges live Mongolian tribes of similar race to those of the Tundra. These
live in log-huts, and here the men leave their families when they go
off in winter for long hunting and trapping expeditions into the forest.

EASTERN SIBERIA.

This consists, south of the Tundra, of an elevated region bordered
by the Stanovoi Mountains on the east, and rising in the south to the
highlands around Lake Baikal. The greater part of the surface is
covered by the forests already described, and is drained by the Amur,
Lena, and eastern tributaries of the Yenisei.

The Amur, which is called Argun in its upper course, rises in Mon-
golia, and, like its tributary the Shilka, is navigable nearly to the point
at which it is crossed by the Siberian Railway. In its lower course it is
navigated by sea-going vessels, but its mouth is closed by ice for half
the year, and is obstructed by a bar. The Amur forms the frontier
between Siberia and Manchuria, bounding the latter on the north and
west, while its tributary, the Usuri, continues the boundary on the east.
This tributary is navigable, and its course is followed by a railway
which, on account of the northward direction of the Lower Amur, conveys
much of the trade of that river south to the port of YladiYOstok. This
is one terminus of the Siberian Railway, and is a fortified naval station.

Some gold is mined at various places in the basin of the Amur, and a
little coal on the island of Sakhalin. This island is almost forest-
covered. The southern half of it belongs to Japan, the rest is used for
convict settlements by the Russians.

The Lena rises close to Lake Baikal, and after a circuitous course
flows across an immense delta into the Arctic Ocean. It is from three
to twelve miles wide in its lower course, and is studded with islands.
The right bank is flanked by a continuous mountain wall, and the whole
of its course is through forests till the Tundra is reached.

Yakutsk stands on a frozen alluvial flat on the west bank of the Lena
at its great bend. The town consists chiefly of small dilapidated houses,
a few official residences, and a prison. It is a centre of the fur trade.

EASTERN SIBERIA

*aii^r-'-i*.?rt^''-' r-

Siberian Peasants.

The Yenisei rises in Mongolia, and enters the Arctic Ocean by a
long estuary after a remarkably straight course. It is navigable from
above Krasnoyarsk, where it is crossed by the Siberian Railway, and
averages a few miles in width throughout most of its lower course. This
width is greatly increased at times of flood, when the river resembles a
vast lake. Unfortunately, the northerly gales at this season generally
render navigation dangerous, and the mouth is rarely free from ice for
more than the months of July and August, and sometimes for less.

All the tributaries of this river rise to the east of its course, and the
Angara forms the outlet of Lake Baikal. This lake occupies two
long parallel troughs of extraordinary depth, and has a mean breadth of
about thirty-five miles. It is regularly crossed by steamers in summer,
but is subject to storms and fogs. From January to May it is frozen,
and can only be crossed by sledges. The water is fresh, and the salmon
fisheries are important. Rapids occur on the Angara where it leaves
the lake in a series of picturesque gorges, and Irkutsk stands at the

42 WESTERN SIBEBIA

head of navigation. This town is the capital of Eastern Siberia, and
an important trading-centre, which has gained much benefit from the
opening of the Siberian Railway. East of Lake Baikal is Kiakhta,
where the caravan route from China enters Siberia, but its trade is less
important than formerly. The Trans-Baikal region is noted for gold.

WESTERN SIBERIA.

This is a great plain drained by the Ob and its tributaries. Like
the other Siberian rivers, the Ob is navigable for most of its course, and
is very wide, especially at times of flood. Its chief tributary is the
Irtish, which rises in the Altai Mountains and passes through the
important Dzungarian Gap. On the Irtish stand Omsk, where the
river is crossed by the Siberian line, and Tobolsk, where it is joined
by the Tobol tributary. The latter town is unhealthy, owing to the
proximity of the marshes, though the official buildings, including the
Governor's house, cathedral, and prison, are on the top of a cliff.

The capital and best-built town of Western Siberia is Tomsk,
which stands on the Tom tributary of the Ob, some distance north of
the point where the former is crossed by the Siberian line, with which
the town is connected. Tomsk first became important when gold was
discovered in the neighbourhood, and is still a depot for the gold mined
in the Altai Mountains. Silver and lead also are worked in these
mountains, and there is a large coal-field in the basin of the Tom ; but
the coal is of inferior quality. Tomsk possesses a University, and is
becoming an agricultural centre.

Some of the most fertile areas in Siberia lie south of Krasnoyarsk,
but difficulties in the way of transport have hindered their development.
Those parts of Western Siberia which have been opened up to Western
markets by the Siberian Railway are being brought rapidly under culti-
vation. Wheat, the chief crop, suffers occasionally from the inadequate
supply of rain, which falls mainly in early summer ; but it generally does
well. Rye, oats, and potatoes are also grown, and cattle are reared on
the grasslands, which still occupy most of South-West Siberia, and form
part of the Steppes.

THE STEPPES.

The term ' Steppe ' is a Russian word applied to all treeless, yet not
desert, districts, and therefore covers a fair variety of scenery, although

THE STEPPES 43

over large areas the landscape may be monotonous. The prevailing
aspect is that of grassy, undulating plains, or broad valleys hemmed in
by hills, and watered by meagre streams which flow into salt lakes.
These lakes are often surrounded by a girdle of salt-coated soil, and in
some districts all the hollows are filled up with salt produced by the
evaporation of sheets of water no longer existing.

In such saline regions vegetation is limited to a few low bushes ; but
elsewhere grass predominates, varied by reeds and rushes in the marshes,
while flowers abound in the spring. At that season there is a regular
succession of tulips, lilies, forget-me-nots, honeysuckle, vetches, and
other flowers, which sometimes colour the Steppe to the horizon. These,
however, soon wither under the summer sun, and even the grass is burnt
to a grey-yellow hue before the autunm. During the winter the whole
region is buried under snow and swept by fierce snow hurricanes. The
snow begins melting in April ; and this moisture, together with the early
summer rains and warmth, accounts for the rapid growth of the grass
and flowers at this season.

The inhabitants of the Steppes belong to many different
tribes — as the Kirghiz of South-West Siberia, and the Kalmucks — but
all are of Mongolian stock and lead very similar lives. Life is dependent
on the rearing of herds of camels, horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and
is therefore perforce nomadic from May to November, in order that the
animals may obtain sufiicient nourishment. The different tribes wander
over definite areas recognized as their special preserves ; but all seek the
higher districts in the middle of summer, in order to avoid the heat and
insect pests of the plains, and return to lower levels for the winter.

During the summer, the dwelling-place is a tent made of expanding
lattice-work, and covered with felt manufactured from wool. These
tents can be easily taken down, folded up, and carried on the backs of
camels. They are furnished with carpets, rugs, and domestic utensils
which, being made of leather, escape breakage in transport. In winter,
when a settled life is necessary, huts are constructed of reeds and plaited
willows for the men, and shelters for the animals, which are fed on hay
stored for the purpose.

The usual clothing of the Steppe-dweller consists of a long fur or sheep-
skin coat, wide trousers, a girdle, a fur cap, and high leather boots. The
flocks furnish also the staple articles of diet — flesh, butter, and milk, both
fresh and fermented. Cereals and tea also are obtained from travelling
merchants.

44 WE8TEBN TUBKISTAN

SIBERIAN TRADE.

Trade in Siberia is handicapped by a deficiency of facilities for trans-
port. As has been pointed out, the rivers are navigable for the greater
part of their courses, and the Yenisei and Ob are united by a canal ;
but these waterways either lead northwards to nearly uninhabited
regions and ice-bound shores, or pass through districts of very similar
products, where there is no necessity for exchange.

The Siberian Kailway is the main artery of trade ; but this is only a
single line most of the way, and, until branches are constructed, serves
only a narrow belt of country. Trains run from Moscow to Vladivostok,
and accomplish the distance of 5,390 miles in 381 hours.

The chief exports from Siberia are : cereals, mainly wheat, animals
and animal products, and minerals.

WESTERN TURKISTAN.

This consists partly of a plain, which merges on the north into the
plain of South-West Siberia, and partly of a series of elevated regions.
The latter rise on the south to the mountains of Khorassan and the
Hindu Kush, and on the east to the Pamirs and Tian Shan Range, and
include the low plateaux of Lake Balkhash on the east, and of Ust-Urt on
the west.

The climate of the plain is continental in temperature, and is marked
by deficient rainfall. Most of the south and west consists of a sandy
desert, where vegetation is confined to a few prickly plants, save where
oases occur. The region is occasionally desolated by terrible dust-
storms, and the sand is encroaching on districts where cultivation was
formerly possible. Many towns, too, of importance long ago, have been
buried. In the east the soil is clayey, but still barren ; while on the north
stretch barren Steppe and saline wastes, dotted with numberless lakes
and crossed by small streams, that disappear in the ground or lose their
waters by evaporation. Nevertheless, fair numbers of camels, horses,
cattle, and sheep are reared by the Kirghiz and other tribes.

The plain is drained to the Sea of Aral, which, like Lake Bal-
khash, is brackish, but full of fish, and formerly of greater extent than
now. It is studded with isles, and very shallow — on the south-east little
more than a flooded swamp. Two large rivers, which owe their origin

WESTEBN TUBKISTAN

Kirghiz Encampment.

to the snows and glaciers of the Tian Shan, enter this lake — the Syr
and the Amu. Both are rapid and deep in their upper courses,
and bring down a large quantity of silt in May and June, when the
snows are melting on the mountains. As they proceed across the desert,
they diminish in volume, partly because their waters are diverted for
irrigation or lost by evaporation, and partly because they send off
branches, which disappear in the sand. Both rivers are navigable for
shallow craft throughout most of their courses, though sand-shoals are
numerous, and the Syr is frozen in winter.

The banks of the Lower Syr consist of reed-covered swamps, and its
vast marshy delta is the home of many wolves, wild boars, and deer, as
well as of swarms of mosquitoes. Its upper valley is known as the
Fergana, and here, by means of careful irrigation, a great deal of
cotton is grown, as well as maize, wheat, flax, tobacco, the mulberry for
the silkworm, and such fruits as grapes, apples, peaches, etc. These
crops suffer occasionally from swarms of locusts, but otherwise prosper
on the rich black soil of the district. This soil also occupies the Valley
of the IH, which flows into Lake Balkhash.

The towns of Kokand and Tashkent owe their existence to the Syr,

46 WE8TEBN TUBKISTAN

though the latter is at some distance from the main stream. Kokand
is a market for the flocks and animal products of the Steppes. Tash-
kent is the largest town in Asiatic Russia, excluding Trans- Caucasia,
and capital of Western Turkistan. The streets are wide, and the flat-
roofed houses are surrounded by gardens. The inhabitants manufacture
cotton, metal, and leather goods. From Tashkent a caravan route, now
followed by a railway, runs north of the Sjrr to Orenburg on the Ural ;
while the town is connected, by a line running southwards, with the
Trans-Caspian line, which terminates just beyond Kokand.

The Trans-Caspian line gains much from the supplies of
naphtha found near the shores of the Caspian, and used as fuel. The
tendency of wind-blown sand to obstruct the track is a serious menace to
traffic, but is held in partial check by screens of low shrubs planted along
the line. West of Kokand the line passes through Samarkand, Bokhara,
and Merv, towns on irrigated oases, which have had eventful histories
in the past. Samarkand taps the upper course of the same river that
ceases in the oasis of Bokhara, and so tends to profit by the water-
supply at the expense of the latter. The town is surrounded by a high
wall, and possesses a fine citadel, now used as barracks.

Bokhara is also enclosed by a wall, in which there are twelve
gates. It contains a large number of mosques, and has important
bazaars filled with local produce and manufactures — e.g., cotton, silk,
rice, sheep-skins, dried fruit, and carpets. Merv has an advantageous
position on a branch-line which has been carried southward towards
Herat in Afghanistan. North of Merv lies Khiva, on an oasis created
by water from the Amu. Cotton and silk are produced here, but the
place is less important than formerly. The rulers of this oasis and that
of Bokhara are partly independent of Russian control.

TRADE OF WESTERN TURKISTAN.

Of the great stream of traffic which, in olden times, flowed between
the oases in this region and those in Eastern Turkistan, crossing high
passes in the intercepting mountains, a remnant still follows this route.
Another route of long-standing importance runs eastward along the
northern base of the Tian Shan, and enters Mongolia by the Dzungarian

^AUFO^^

TEANS-CAUCASIA

Petroleum Wells at Baku.

Gap. Trade, however, is now carried on chiefly with Russia, and by
means of the Trans -Caspian Railway and the line to Orenburg. The chief
exports are live stock, raw cotton, silk, black lambs' wool — i.e., Astrakhan
— and hides.

TRANS-CAUCASIA.

This district includes the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains,
the northern portion of the Armenian plateau (see p. 50), and the valley
between, which is drained by the Kur to the Caspian. The chmate
approaches the continental, but the region gains much from the pro-
tection afiorded by the Caucasus Range on the north, and is well supplied
with rain in the west. Near the Caspian and on the Armenian plateau
the fall is slight ; hence these parts are devoted to rearing flocks. The
lower slopes of the Caucasus are clothed with forests, and tea is cultivated
in some parts with fair success. Cotton, tobacco, various cereals, the
vine, and other Mediterranean fruits, are cultivated in the Caucasian
valleys, as well as in that of the Kur.

The whole area is remarkably rich in minerals. Coal, iron, and

48 TBANS- CA UCA SI A

manganese, which is used in making steel and glass, are found near the
Black Sea. Copper occurs in the east, and rock-salt has long been mined
near Erivan. Still more important are the vast supplies of petroleum
obtained from wells at Baku on the Caspian. A large quantity of
this is conveyed by rail and in pipes to Batum and Poti for exportation.
Both these places have large factories for defining the oil, and the latter
has a good harbour.

Tiflis, the capital of Trans-Caucasia, lies in the Kur Valley, on
the railway between Poti and Baku, and commands the famous road
over the Dariel Pass (see p. 5). The town exhibits a curious variety
of European and Asiatic features, and has a mixed population, composed
of Kussians, Georgians, Armenians, and Persians. Various nomadic
tribes dwell on the Armenian plateau besides the Armenians, who lead
a settled life (see p. 52). The chief Russian town is Erivan, whither
routes converge from Asia Minor and Persia.

QUESTIONS ON ASIATIC RUSSIA.

1. Describe the frontier of Asiatic Russia, and the extent to which it corresponds

with physical features.

2. What difficulties hinder the Russian Empire from becoming a maritime Power ?

3. Draw a sketch-map of the Siberian Railway. State what goods will be exported

from the districts it traverses, what goods imported by it to these parts, and
what goods may pass over it from foreign lands as transit traffic to Europe.

4. Contrast the life of a Steppe-dweller with that of a stock -rearer in the United

Kingdom.

5. What do you know of the Russian exile system ?

6. By what routes does the Russian Empire trade with the Chinese Empire ? What

are the chief goods imported by these routes ?

7. To what extent can the Russian Empire, on account of its size and the variety of

its products, be self-supporting ?

8. What advantages may an area which is naturally arid, but can be irrigated, have

over one possessing a fair rainfall ?

9. State the uses of petroleum, and mention products of economic value that are

obtained from it.

TURKEY IN ASIA.

This consists of (1) the plateau of Asia Minor ; (2) part of the plateau of Armenia ;
(3) the diversified plateau of Syria ; (4) the plain of Mesopotamia ; (5) certain coastal
districts of the Arabian Peninsula.

TURKEY IN ASIA

ASIA MINOR AND ARMENIA.

Asia Minor is a plateau flanked by the Pontic Range on the
north, the Anti-Taurus on the east, and the Taurus on the south. The
western coast is fringed with islands, and much indented, the sequence
•of inlet and promontory reflecting the east to west direction of range
and valley behind. Armenia is a higher plateau to the east,
which culminates in Mount Ararat. This is an extinct volcano, and
volcanic rocks predominate in the east and centre of Asia Minor ; but
elsewhere the prevailing rock is limestone.

The Euphrates, Tigris, and Kur, with its tributary the Aras, which
forms the boundary between Persia and Trans-Caucasia, rise on the
Armenian Plateau. The Aras drains a large lake in Russian territory ;
and two other large lakes, without outlets, stand, one on the Persian,
and the other on the Turkish, portion of the plateau. There are also
several lakes in Asia Minor, some containing saline and some fresh water.
The porous nature of the limestone in Asia Minor has caused some rivers
to disappear underground ; while the ranges which bound the plateau
have forced others to cut deep gorges through them in order to reach
the sea. These ranges also cut off rain from the interior of the plateau ;
and thus the rivers, being shallow in their upper courses and rapid in
their lower, are useless for navigation.

Cultivation is possible on the plateau where irrigation can be
employed ; but most of Asia Minor consists of poor grassland,
on which herds of sheep and goats are reared. The wool of the
former furnishes the material for Turkish rugs and carpets, while the
• Angora breed of goats supplies mohair. Wheat and barley are culti-
vated in places, but the raisins, cotton, opium, figs, tobacco, and olives,,
which are exported, come chiefly from the western valleys. Other
exports are valonia-^a species of acorn-cup used in tanning — and silk,
which is produced near the Sea of Marmora and manufactured at
Brusa.

The seaward slopes of the Pontic Range are densely covered with
deciduous trees, such as oak, beech, ash, and walnut, besides being
planted with groves of peach, apricot, plum, mulberry, pomegranate,
etc. The southern slopes of the Taurus also are well wooded ; but here
the trees are mainly conifers, from which turpentine is obtained.

ASIA MINOB

Turkey in Asia : Political and Economic.

Population is densest in the western portion of Asia Minor and on
the isles of the coast, where sponge-fishing is an important industry.
The chief town is Smyrna, which possesses a fine natural harbour,
and is the focus of three railways running into the interior, one of which
is very short; while another joins the Baghdad line (see p. 49)
from Skutari, which has been constructed to a point somewhat beyond
Eregh, and is projected as far as Adana, Mosul, Baghdad, and the Persian
Gulf. There is a branch from this line to Angora. The line is projected
to pass west of the Cilician Gates, a deep gorge which has served
for long centuries as the route across the Taurus Mountains.

The chief port on the Black Sea is Trebizond, from which an
important route runs east to Erzerum. To the latter town routes
converge both from Persia and the south, so that it has become an
important centre both commercially and strategically.

4—2

52 SYBIA

Various races dwell in Asia Minor ; but the Mohammedan Turks,
who form the present ruling class, have done little to improve the country,
and are in a backward social condition. The majority live by agricul-
ture and cattle -rearing, and dwell in scattered villages built of sun-
dried bricks. On the west coast, Greeks are in the majority and have
monopolized the higher professions, and largely control the trade of
Smyrna. These are members of the Greek (Christian) Church. The
inhabitants of Eastern Asia Minor and Armenia are, for the most part,
Armenians and Kurds. The Armenians are an intelligent Christian
people, who have proved very successful in agriculture and trade, but
have suffered much persecution from the Kurds, who are Mohammedans
and of warlike nature. The chief occupation of the Kurds is breeding
horses and goats, and their life is nomadic.

SYRIA.

This consists chiefly of a plateau, which nearly reaches the Mediterranean in the
north, but on the south of the promontory formed by Mount Carmel leaves a coastal
plain. The plateau is divided into an eastern and western portion by the deep
^ valley followed by the Orontes in the north and the Jordan in the south. North
of the Jordan , this valley is flanked by the Lebanon Mountains on the west, and the
Anti-Lebanon range, which terminates in Mount Hermon, on the east. South-
west of the Sea of Galilee is the fertile though boggy plain of Esdraelon, which
extends to the Bay of Acre, and thus cuts the western plateau in two. On account
of their great historical importance, the following regions into which the country is
naturally divided deserve special consideration.

The Northern Seaboard, which was inhabited by the Phoeni-
cians in ancient times. This seaboard is diversified by rocky promontories
formed of spurs from the Lebanon Range lying behind, and these, by
rendering land communication difficult along the coast, explain the slight
political cohesion of the Phoenician cities that arose here. The two
most noted of these cities were Tyre and Sidon. Sidon was situated
on one of the promontories, where three reefs provided shelter for a
harbour ; and Tyre was founded for purposes of security on an island
since united with the mainland.

The inhabitants of these and other Phoenician cities grew wheat in
the valleys and cultivated olives on the hill -slopes. They also cut
down many of the forests which covered the mountains — notably the
cedars of Lebanon — for use in shipbuilding, and as an article of com-

SYBIA

Palestine : Orographical. (After the Diagram Co.)

merce. In time the Phoenicians became expert seamen, making long
voyages even into the' Atlantic in search of raw materials for the industries
they pursued, and planting colonies along the shores of the Mediter-
ranean. They were skilled metal-workers, and sought for copper, tin,
silver, and lead ; while their textile industry was rendered more valuable
by the purple dye obtained from two sorts of shell-fish.

The Phoenicians held a favourable position between the early civilized
nations of Mesopotamia — i.e., Assyria and Babylon — and Egypt; for

54 8YBIA

trade was forced northwards to cross the S)rrian desert where it is
narrow.

Tyre especially reaped the advantage, as it could be reached from
Damascus by a route south of the Anti-Lebanon and Lebanon Ranges
(see p. 51). It was, in fact, with the decline of these other nations that
Phoenician trade and power dwindled ; though Tjrre suffered many
vicissitudes before its final decay. .

To-day the chief port on the coast is Beirut, which stands in a
fertile tract of land, and is connected by rail with Damascus. Further
north is Alexandretta, the outlet of Aleppo, and further south Haifa, on
the Bay of Acre, from which a railway has been constructed to pass
through the plain of Esdraelon and across the Jordan to join the line
between Damascus and Hauran (see p. 51).

The Maritime Plain is composed of recent deposits, and
mainly of sand, which is brought by a current from the mouth of the
Nile and is rapidly encroaching inland. Formerly the Forest of Sharon
occupied the northern portion of the plain ; but trees are now few, save
for groves of oranges and palms, and vegetation consists chiefly of grass
near the cliffs and sand-hills, and of wheat inland.

The coast-line is singularly regular, and the mouths of all the shallow
rivers which cross the plain are obstructed by bars. Hence there are no
natural harbours, and the best port — Jaffa — can still be approached only
in small boats across a belt of surf. The town is noted for its export of
oranges, and is now united by rail with Jerusalem. Although the plain
is difficult of access by sea, it is easily entered from Egypt on the south,
or from the north by valley -routes east of Mount Carmel. It formed,
therefore, in ancient days a highroad for both armies and caravans
between Egypt on the one hand, and Phoenicia, Assyria, and Babylon
on the other.

The Western Plateau south of Mount Carmel.

* Bring up man and the animals on the scene, and you see those landscapes
described by Old Testament writers exactly as you will see them to-day — the
valleys covered with corn, the pastures above clothed with flocks, shepherds and
husbandmen calling to each other through the morning air, the narrow, high-banked
hill-roads brimming with sheep, the long and stately camel trains, the herds of wild
cattle — " Bulls of Bashan have compassed me about." You see the villages by
day, with the children coming forth to meet the traveller ; the villages by night
without a light, when you stumble on them in the darkness and all the dogs begin
barking.' — G. A. Smith.

This plateau extends from the plain of Esdraelon to the hilly desert
country south of Bir es Seb'a (Beersheba), a distance of about ninety
miles, and averages about thirty miles in width between the maritime
plain and the Valley of Jordan. The northern portion, which formed
most of the ancient province of Samaria, is more accessible than the
southern, which was called Judaea. The latter has generally been
approached from the coastal plain by one or other of the valleys, which
form natural routes inland ; and the railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem
utilizes one of these valleys for part of its course. The upper courses of
the rivers are dry torrent-beds for most of the year ; and, save for a few
pools, the inhabitants of the plateau are dependent on wells and cisterns
for their water-supply.

The plateau is composed of limestone, and, owing to the porous
nature of this rock, the somewhat scanty rainfall, the neglect of the
ancient terraces built on the hill-sides to keep the soil from being washed
away, and the destruction of timber, which had the same effect, it is
now mainly a stony moorland. Here and there are tracts of pasture and
fields of corn, but fertility is chiefly confined to the valleys, where olives,
figs, and the vine are cultivated.

The capital of Palestine — Jerusalem — has a central and fairly
secure position on the spurs of some hills, but possesses no other natural
advantages. It is a walled city, somewhat smaller than Oxford., and is
divided into separate quarters for the Christian, Jewish, Moslem, and
Armenian inhabitants. The great Mosque of Omar is said to occupy the
site of Solomon's Temple, and the city is yearly visited by numerous
pilgrims and tourists, drawn thither by its sacred associations.

The Valley of the Jordan. — This valley is of extraordinary
depth, especially in the south, where the bottom of the Dead Sea is nearly
half, and the surface about a quarter, of a mile below sea -level. The
word Jordan means ' rusher,' and the river is a rapid, muddy torrent,
of no use for navigation, and shallow enough to be forded at some points.
It derives its waters from Mount Hermon, and is liable to flood in April,
when the snows are melting. After passing through the Sea of Galilee,
a fresh -water lake abounding in fish, it flows in a sinuous course at the
bottom of a trench in the floor of the valley. On account of the hot
atmosphere in this valley, vegetation is rank, especially near the river-
banks ; and the region has long been frequented by wild beasts. It is
too unhealthy for habitation, and the only town existing there in ancient

56 SYEIA

times was Jericho, which flourished amid groves of palms, but is now
reduced to a few mud-huts.

The Dead Sea is so salt that no fish can live in it, and its shores
are salt swamps, beds of gravel, or barren cliffs. No vegetation thrives
in the district, and even drift-wood is stripped of bark and coated with
salt. Some petroleum and sulphur springs exist in the locality, and in
places the rocks are of volcanic origin.

The Eastern Plateau. — This forms fair pasture-land in the west
for the flocks of the Arabs ; but as the rainfall diminishes eastward, so
the pastures fade away into the Syrian Desert. The prevailing limestone
is overlaid in the district of Hauran, east of the Upper Jordan, by
fertile volcanic basalt, which has rendered this area noted for wheat.
This wheat can reach the coast by the railway to Damascus and
Beirut, but large quantities also are borne by camel caravan across the
Jordan to the plain of Esdraelon — the route of the recently constructed
railway.

Damascus, the capital of Syria, stands at the western edge of the
desert, amid fields and orchards irrigated by the waters of the Barada —
i.e., the ancient Abana. It is connected by rail with Beirut, and has
often enjoyed temporary importance on account of its position as a
natural route from Mesopotamia to the coast (see p. 49). It is also
on the pilgrim route southward to Mecca, which is now followed by the
railway for a considerable distance (see p. 49).

THE PLAIN OF MESOPOTAMIA.

The word ' Mesopotamia ' means ' between the rivers ' — i.e., the
Tigris and Euphrates ; but the plain is now considered to include all
'' the land between the Armenian mountains on the north, the ranges
which border the plateau of Persia on the east, and the wall of cliffs
which flanks the desert plateau on the west. The northern portion of
this area, which corresponds roughly with the ancient kingdom of Assyria,
has a more diversified surface than the southern, which was occupied
by Chaldsea and Babylonia. The southern is composed of alluvial de-
posits, mainly clay, and the land is so low and flat that fever swamps
are found wherever drainage canals are lacking. The river delta is a vast
morass.

The climate is so dry that cultivation depends entirely on irrigation.

SYRIA

58 MESOPOTAMIA

but where this is available the yield is good. In former times much of
the area was devoted to agriculture, but the Turks have allowed the old
irrigation works to decay, so that most of the district consists of hard-
baked clay, affording scanty pasturage in places for the flocks of the
nomadic Kurds and Arabs. Close to the rivers, where annual floods
allow of easy irrigation, fields of maize, wheat, tobacco, and cotton
are cultivated, and date-groves are numerous between Baghdad and
Basra.

The area is deficient in minerals ; and from earliest times the clay has
been used for making the bricks with which all the cities are built, as
stone is lacking. The chief places are situated on the banks of the
rivers.

Mosul stands at the head of navigation on the Tigris, on an elevated
site above the level of the river-floods, but to which the waters can be
easily led to irrigate the surrounding district. It is a natural centre for
routes from Persia, the Black Sea, and Mediterranean, and a bridge partly
built of stone, partly composed of boats, crosses the Tigris at this point.
Close to it, but on the opposite bank, is the site of the ancient city of
Nineveh, now in ruins.

Baghdad was built in the eighth century on the Tigris, where that
river approaches so near the Euphrates that they may be united by
canals suited for irrigation as well as navigation. In the ninth century
Baghdad became one of the chief cities of the Mohammedan Arabs,
called Saracens, and a great centre of trade under Harun-al-Kashid — the
Caliph rendered immortal by the ' Arabian Nights.' It derives con-
siderable advantage from the fact that a tributary which enters the
Tigris near this spot defines a valley-route leading across the Zagros
Mountains to Persia. The city has gradually dwindled since the irriga-
tion works were neglected, but still extends to both banks of the river,
which are connected by a bridge of boats. In appearance it resembles
many other Mohammedan cities, with its flat-roofed houses built of yellow
brick, its mosques and minarets, its bazaars or open shops, and its
cosmopolitan population. Though river steamers can reach this point,
the corumonest kind of boat is still the little round coracle made of reeds
and covered with pitch, which is of very ancient origin.

A little south of Baghdad, and on both banks of the Euphrates,
once stood the famous city of Babylon, of which only the ruins now
remain. Like Baghdad, it possessed this advantage — that water for

MESOPOTAMIA

60 MESOPOTAMIA

irrigation could be led by canals from both rivers. When Nebuchad-
nezzar rebuilt it and made it his capital, he had the Euphrates bridged at
this point. Basra lies in a marshy, malarious district, but is the natural
port of the region ; and ocean vessels can ascend the Shat-el-Arab to this
point.

The Euphrates is of little use for navigation, mainly on account of
artificial obstructions ; and, though some trade is carried on by the
Tigris, traffic is at present mainly dependent on caravans. Of the
caravan routes, the most important are those which follow the course
of the Tigris or Euphrates, and then turn westwards to the coast, where
the Syrian Desert is sufficiently narrow to be crossed with ease. One
route leads from Mosul due west to Aleppo and Alexandretta, thus passing
north of the desert. Another follows the Euphrates to a ford near the
site of the ancient city of Carchemish in latitude 35°, and then turns
south-west, passing by a series of oases and the ruins of Palmyra — the
Tadmor of a still earlier epoch. These routes may in time be superseded
by the Baghdad Railway, which might do much to increase the prosperity
of the district.

ARABIA.

This is a tableland which is highest in the south-east (Oman), the south-west
(Yemen), and the centre (Nejd). It is crossed by a few ranges, and slopes north-
eastwards towards the plain of Mesopotamia. In structure and climate it resembles
North Africa, from which it is separated by the Red Sea, rather than the Plateau of
Iran, from which it is divided by the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Its elevation,
desert character, and harbourless coast have forced traffic to pass round rather
than through it, hence the importance of the routes up the Persian Gulf and Red
Sea. The latter has been especially important since the construction of the Suez
Canal completed an ocean route between the Mediterranean and x4rabian Seas.
This canal is about 100 statute miles in length and 27 feet deep, but is at present wide
enough only at certain places for two vessels to pass. The entrance to the Red Sea
at the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb is guarded by the British, who hold Aden and the
Isle of Perim, while the Island of Ormuz, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, now
belongs to Persia. Arabia falls into the following natural regions : (1) A series of
coastal belts ; (2) the deserts of the tableland ; (3) the higher and more diversified
central highlands called Nejd. The coastal belts along the Red Sea and north part
of the Persian Gulf belong politically to Turkey ; while the peninsula of Sinai forms
part of Egypt, and is thus under Erglish control, though acknowledging Turkish
suzerainty. The rest of the country, save the British Protectorate of Aden, is
governed by various Arab chiefs.

SOUTH-WEST ASIA

QUESTIONS ON SOUTH-WEST ASIA.

1. Describe the Levant coast, and state the
causes of the rise and decHne during his-
toric times of various ports along it.

2. Trace the routes of (1) Alexander the Great
from the Dardanelles into Egypt; (2) the
first Crusaders from Constantinople to
Jerusalem ; and show how they were in-
fluenced by geographical facts.

What difficulties will be experienced in con-
tinuing the Baghdad line to the Persian
Gulf ? What goods, if any, might utilize
this line when completed, instead of pass-
ing through the Suez Canal ?

The desert is sometimes compared with an
ocean, the oases with islands, the towns
on its margins with ports, and the camel
with a ship. To what extent is the com-
parison good from a commercial point of

Camel Caravan and Date-Palms.

62 ABABIA

THE COASTAL REGIONS.

The Western Coastal Belt. — The greater portion of this is
excessively sterile, and the sandy shore is backed by rocky ranges, only
here and there relieved by a few palm-trees and prickly shrubs. Off the
coast lie numerous coral reefs, which render navigation dangerous ; and
the one port of the region — Jedda — owes its existence to its proximity
to Mecca, the birthplace of Mohammed, which is yearly visited by
numbers of his followers, Medina, which lies amid date-palms in
an oasis rather further north, and contains Mohammed's tomb, is also
much frequented by pilgrims.

The province of Yemen in the south is more mountainous, and
thus the higher slopes receive in autumn a fair rainfall, which is care-
fully utilized for irrigation. The hills here have been terraced to a great
height ; and coffee and vegetables and such fruits as grapes, figs,
peaches, and pears, besides dates, are produced. Coffee thrives well, as
it requires to be grown on hill-slopes where drainage is possible, and needs
a damp, warm atmosphere. Here a mist rises from the coast every
morning, which not only moistens the air, but prevents the heat of the
sun being too excessive. The shrubs grow to about 15 to 18 feet high,
flower in March, and yield three crops of berries in the year. The coffee
was originally exported at Mocha, but now chiefly goes out from the road-
stead of Hodeida.

The Southern Coastal Belt. — Most of this is a desolate region,
backed by barren mountains ; and cultivation is restricted to a few water-
courses, of which the chief, near the middle of its length, attains a fair
size. From of old the region has been noted for frankincense, myrrh,
and gum — all resins from different kinds of trees ; but population is
sparse, and the area has not been fully explored.

The town of Aden, situated in the British Protectorate of that name,
which is under the government of the presidency of Bombay, stands on
a bare rock, part of the crater of an extinct volcano. It suffers from
an unhealthy, sultry chmate, and rain only falls at intervals of a year or
two, when it is stored in huge rock-hewn reservoirs. Water is also
carried into the town as well as being obtained by condensation of steam
from salt water. On account of its position and good natural harbour,
the town has become an important fortified coaHng-station, and, being
a free port, has also a large entrepot trade. Politically attached to Aden

ABABIA 63

are Perim Isle, which is fortified, the Kurin Muria Isles, and Sokotra. The
last exports aloes (from which a drug is manufactured), dates, and gum.

The Eastern Coastal Belt. — The mountainous area of Oman,
like Yemen, receives a fair rainfall in autumn, so that it is partly clad
with forests. The lower slopes are cultivated, and the district has a good
natural harbour at Maskat, but the town is unhealthy.

North of Oman the coastal belt is unproductive ; but in the Persian
Gulf are the Bahrein Isles, whose inhabitants are engaged in pearl-
fishing, though the sharks that infest the gulf render diving dangerous.
These isles are under British protection.

THE ARABIAN DESERTS.

The whole of the interior of Arabia suffers from drou-ght, and also
from great changes of temperature. Frost is not unknown at night ;
while by day the absence of vegetation increases the absorption of heat
by the ground, and consequently the amount of heat radiated from it.
These changes of temperature affect the rocks, for with cold they contract,
and with heat expand, and the result is a tendency to crack and disin-
tegrate. Any pieces of rock thus split off are blown along by the wind,
and not only carve, scratch, and polish the rocks with which they come
in contact, but are themselves in time reduced to sand.

In some places this process has gone further than in others, and thus,
while the desert in the northern part of Arabia consists largely of gravel
and flint, that farther south is of sand. Even the sand-deserts vary, not
only in colour, but in surface, according as the action of the wind forms
sand-dunes or scoops out hollows. North of Nejd the sand over a large
tract is of a brilliant red hue ; but in some other parts it is yellow or white.

There are no permanent streams on the tableland, and only a few
wadis, or channels, occasionally supplied with water after rain, but
never with enough to reach the sea. There are, however, springs which
create oases, where date-palms, cereals, and pulses can be cultivated :
and water can be obtained in many places by sinking wells. Even in the
most arid regions some thorny plants will thrive ; and most parts, after
a slight fall of rain, are covered for a season with grass.

On this vegetation the wild ostrich and gazelle exist ; and the Arabs,
though forced to live a nomadic life, are able to rear flocks of camels,
horses, sheep, and goats. These ArabSj who are often called Beduins,
are excellent horsemen, and possess little save their flocks, tents, cotton

64 ARABIA

clothes, and characteristic long spears. The privations of their life have
tempted some tribes to become the raiders of the caravans and of the
more settled population in the oases.

These caravans are simply companies of traders or pilgrims, who,
for purposes of safety, cross the desert together under the guidance of
men. who know the tracks along which water can be found at sufficiently
frequent intervals. The camel is invariably employed for long desert
journeys, as it is able to subsist on the prickly desert shrubs, and to live,
even in summer, for five or six days without water. A camel can carry
a load of 350 to 450 pounds, and its pace is about five or six miles an
hour ; but a large caravan rarely averages more than half this rate.

One of the dangers in crossing the sandy deserts is the possible occur-
rence of the Simoom. This is a storm caused, like a cyclone, by a
current of hot air, which, rising, creates a draught, and thus sets up an
inward, circular swirl of air. This raises the sand, and the air becomes
so stifling and poisonous that animals and men are sometimes suffocated
thereby.

The most important caravan routes lead to Mecca : one of these
passes from Damascus southwards, and is gradually being supplanted
by a railway ; and the other from Baghdad south-westward.

NEJD.

This is the central highland region, where the rainfall is sufficient to
convert some of the upper tracts into good pastures, so that it has long
been noted for its camels, horses, and white asses. In the valleys are
many scattered, cultivated oases producing dates and millet, and sup-
porting a fair population. The inhabitants live in walled villages
composed of houses built of yellow sun-dried bricks, or huts of mud,
and are very poor. Their very existence is sometimes threatened by
prolonged drought, pests of locusts, or the blackmailing of the desert
tribes.

THE TRADE OF ARABIA.

This is largely dependent on the pilgrims, for whose support supplies
have to be imported ; but the value of the total trade is small for so
large an area. The chief exports in order of value are : (1) Camels, sheep,
hair, and wool ; (2) copper ; (3) dates ; (4) horses ; and the chief imports
are : Cotton goods, sugar, hardware, and a few weapons. Slavery is

THE PLATEAU OF IB AN 65

still a recognized institution in the country, and negroes are brought
from East Africa for this purpose. The countries with which Arabia
chiefly trades are Turkey, Egypt, Persia, and the United Kingdom.

THE PLATEAU OF IRAN.

This plateau is shut in by the Caspian Sea, the plain of Turan, the plain of the
Indus, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the plain of Mesopotamia. From all
these the interior of the plateau is separated by a mountainous girdle, which is so
broad on the west as to occupy half of Persia. The area falls therefore, into the
following natural regions : (1) The western highlands ; (2) the northern and eastern
ranges ; (3) the interior plateau. To these may be added (4) the narrow coastal
strips along the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. Politically the area is divided between
Persia, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan.

THE COASTAL STRIPS.

The Persian Gulf Littoral. — This suffers from a dry, hot,
unhealthy climate, and the soil produces only a few date-palms, save
in the fertile strip round the head of the Persian Gulf. Here is the
marshy delta of the Shat-el-Arab — the united Tigris and Euphrates —
which, at the Persian port of Mohammera, receives the Karun through
an artificial channel. The Karun is navigable for some distance, and
is connected by a difficult caravan route with Ispahan.

The chief Persian port is Bushire, which stands on a sandy ridge
cut off by a saline swamp from the mainland. The harbour is little
more than a roadstead accessible for sea-going vessels of moderate size,
and the town is very unhealthy. Like all Persian ports, it is at a dis-
advantage, owing to difficulties in communicating with the plateau,
there being only an indifferent route from it to Shiraz. The third Persian
port — Bender Abbas — is a mere roadstead on the Strait of Ormuz, from
which a caravan route leads to Kerman. It stands opposite the little
island of Ormuz, which was formerly a great depot for Eastern trade,
but is now nearly deserted. Some pearl-fishing is carried on in the Gulf.

The Southern Littoral from the Strait of Ormuz to the
mouth of the Indus has a singularly regular coast-line, and is backed by
parallel ranges which rise steeply to the plateau. Here and there the
generally craggy coast is broken by the mouths of short rivers descending
from the plateau, or by a strip of sand ; but there are no ports of any size,
and little vegetation.

66 PERSIA

THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS.

These are composed of many ranges, all running from north-west to
south-east, and grouped in two parallel belts, with a broad, elevated
valley between. The eastern ranges cease east of a line drawn through
Teheran, Yezd, and Kerman, and beyond this lie the deserts of the
plateau. The western ranges are known in the north as the Zagros
Mountains, and further south flank the littoral of the Persian Gulf.

The prevailing rock is porous limestone, which engulfs many of the
rivers, and is the cause in places of a subterranean system of drainage.
This natural phenomenon has been imitated in some cases by the inhabi-
tants, who, for purposes of irrigation, have led water from springs long
distances by underground channels, so that none may be lost by evapora-
tion en route.

All cultivation depends on irrigation ; for the rainfall is scanty, and,
as in the Mediterranean region, falls mainly in winter. Forests are limited
to the moister western slopes, and elsewhere trees are rare, save for the
orchards of olives, oranges, apricots, etc., that surround the towns and
villages. The vine and mulberry are also cultivated, and wheat, barley,
tobacco, and opium grown on irrigated areas. Here and there rich
pastures occur, and Persia is noted for its horses, and the wool and hair
of its camels, sheep, lambs, and goats. The prevailing scenery is, how-
ever, that of a poor steppe-land ; and the sharp contrast between this
and the luxuriant vegetation of the few well-watered districts largely
explains the high place accorded by poets to the charms of the latter.

Most of the population of Persia lies in this western region. Teheran
— the capital — stands near the foot of Mount Demavend, with the draw-
back of an unhealthy climate, especially in summer. From it routes
diverge to all the chief towns in the country : (1) North-westward to
Tabriz, which stands on the road to Erivan and Trebizond. A branch
from the route to Tabriz lea,ds to Kesht (see p. 67). (2) Southward to
Ispahan and Shiraz, both centres of trade in fertile districts, and con-
nected respectively with Mohammera and Bushire. Shiraz has long been
noted for its rose-gardens and wine. (3) South-westward to Yezd, famous
for silks ; and Kerman, where shawls and carpets are manufactured,
and from which a road descends to Bender Abbas. (4) Eastward to the
sacred city of Meshed. All these routes are suited merely for caravans,
and often are in bad repair. No railway exists in Persia, save one a
few miles in length near Teheran.

PEBSIA

Distant View of Mount Demavend, Persia.

THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN RANGES.

The Northern Ranges consist of the Elburz Mountaijis, the
Khorassan Mountains, the Koh-i-Baba, and the Hindu Kush. The
Elburz Range culminates in the beautiful peak of Mount Demavend.

This is a quiescent volcano, but sulphurous fumes are still exhaled from
the crater, and the cone is formed largely of rock-sulphur. The northern
slopes of the range descend steeply to the Caspian, and obtain a fair
rainfall from north-west winds. They are clad with forests, while cotton,
silk, sugar, rice, and tobacco are cultivated in the lower valleys. Resht
is a great collecting depot for the silk, and has a port on the Caspian at
Enzeli.

The Khorassan Mountains are chiefly devoted to pasturage, and
shawls and carpets from the wool thus produced are manufactured at
Meshed. This is a holy city, containing the tomb of a noted saint,
which is yearly visited by numerous pilgrims. It stands near the end of
the Heri-Kud River, which rises in the Koh-i-Baba, and, after creating a

5—2

68 AFGHANISTAN

broad, fertile valley among the mountains of North-West Afghanistan,
gradually dwindles away. The fertility of this valley, which is noted
for its wheat, grapes, and horses, has tempted frequent invasion, espe-
-cially as the chief town in it — Herat — lies at a natural focus of routes
from Meshed, Kandahar, and Merv, and not far from the railway running
to the last. The place is therefore strongly fortified. It manufactures
silk goods and carpets.

The Koh-i-Baba is a detached portion of the Hindu Kush, separated
by the Bamian Pass from the main lofty range that leads on to the
Pamirs. This pass once formed an important commercial route between
the plain of Western Turkistan and India, but is now little used. The
route is continued eastward along the valley of the Kabul, on which river
stands Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and by the Khaibar Pass
to Peshawar (see p. 94).

The Eastern Ranges consist of the Sulaiman and the Hala Moun-
tains, which run south of the Khaibar Pass to the coast. Between
them is a valley which, with the Bolan Pass, forms a route from India
to Quetta, and is now followed by a railway. Quetta lies in the British
province of Baluchistan, and is a highly fortified military station.

THE HEART OF THE PLATEAU.

This is everywhere arid, but its surface is diversified by depressions,
of which the two largest and most northern are the Great Salt Desert
and the Seistan lowland. The Salt Desert is composed partly of
sandy soil strongly impregnated with salt, partly of blocks of solid salt,
and partly of swamps. The region is practically uninhabited.

The Seistan depression is traversed by the Helmand and other
rivers, which terminate in shallow pools and reedy marshes. The soil
is sandy, but, with irrigation, cultivation is possible, and cereals and fruits
are grown to perfection around Kandahar. This town is enclosed by
a high mud wall, and is chiefly important from its central position between
Herat, Kabul, and Quetta.

Throughout the plateau of Iran transport depends mainly on camel
caravans, and the volume of trade is relatively small. The chief exports
of Persia in order of value are : Fruits, fish, opium, carpets, silk and silk
cocoons, rice, hides, raw wool and woollens, and raw cotton and cottons.

TIBET

Photo hy] [F. E. Shawe.

Sheep carrying Grain.

THE PLATEAU OF TIBET.

This lofty plateau lies between the Kuen Lun and the Himalayas, which converge
towards the Pamirs on the west. On the east the plateau broadens out, and is
flanked by many ranges, which, turning southward, separate the gorges of the
upper Hwangho, Yangtse, Mekong, and Salwin. Besides these rivers which rise on
the plateau, there are the Indus and Sanpo — the upper course of the Brahmaputra — ■
which have their sources close together, but flow in opposite directions, and finally
break through the Himalayas — the one at the western and the other at the eastern
extremity in unnavigable gorges.

Tibet is thus naturally difficult of access, and this isolation has caused little to
be known of the interior till quite recent times, and has enabled the inhabitants,
while owning allegiance to China, to be practically very independent. Exploration
has also been handicapped by the barren nature of a large portion of the country, by
the continental climate and excessively cold winters, by the rarefied atmosphere due
to altitude, which even affects the breathing of some travellers, and by the opposi-
tion of the inhabitants. The interior of the country is deficient in rainfall, for the
ranges on the south and east cut it off from the wet summer monsoons, and in winter
the winds blow outwards.

Tibet falls roughly into two natural regions, the larger consisting of the northern
plateau, and the other composed of the valleys in the south.

The Northern Plateau. — This is traversed by a few chains of
rounded hills, which separate broad valleys occupied by numerous lakes
and wadis. It is at best a poor pasture-land, but has a rich native fauna,
including antelopes, yaks, wild sheep, bears, wolves, jackals, etc. The
musk deer, from which the valuable musk scent is obtained, is also found
here as well as on the Himalayas. Most of the region is uninhabited,
but towards the south there are nomadic Tibetans, who tend herds of
yaks, ponies, sheep and goats.

70 TIBET

The yak here takes the place that the reindeer fills in the Tundra
Tegion ; for it has similar powers of enduring cold and subsisting on scant
vegetation, while it supplies the natives with milk, flesh, and hair, which
is woven to form the black material used for tent-coverings. The animal
is also very sure-footed, and therefore especially suited to serve as a beast
of burden across the mountains encircling the plateau, though ponies,
sheep, and even goats, also are used for this purpose. Most of the inhabi-
tants are clad in long sheep-skin coats, and subsist on oatmeal porridge,
mutton, butter, and tea. A few find employment in obtaining salt from
the shores of the lakes, and borax, which is used among other purposes
in manufacturing enamel, glazes for pottery, and some sorts of glass.
Some gold and silver are mined in the west.

The Southern Valleys. — These, on account of their depth, and
hence relative warmth, are the most fertile part of the country, and oats,
pulses, and even fruit-trees, are cultivated. A settled life is therefore
possible, and the bulk of the population of Tibet is concentrated in the
valleys of the Sanpo and its tributaries. Some of the natives are engaged
in agriculture, some in metal-work and weaving ; but a large proportion
are lamas — i.e., priests of the Buddhist faith, which is the predominant
religion in the country.

Buddhism is founded on the philosophical and religious teaching
of a 'man called Buddha, who dwelt in the plain of the Ganges in the fifth
century. In the main, this religion has degenerated in Tibet into what
is, practically, the worship of relics or images of Buddha, and the
mechanical performance of many rites and ceremonies. The lamas lead a
celibate life, dwelling in monasteries, and supported by the rest of the
population, though some also earn money by trading. The chief lama
dwells in a magnificent palace on the summit of a hill a short distance
from Lhasa, amid a number of monasteries.

Lhasa itself, the capital of Tibet, lies on the north side of the valley
of a small tributary of the Sanpo. It is the natural focus of the trade of
the country, importing brick-tea and cotton goods from China, animals
and animal products from Mongolia, and silks, rice, indigo, sugar, and
spice from India. The chief route into China runs due east of Lhasa to
the province of Sechwan, and the routes into India either by difficult
passes over the Himalayas, or westward via the Indus Valley (see p. 95).
All transport is by pack-animals or human porterage. The chief
exports in order of value are : Silver, gold, salt, wool, woollen manufac-
tures, furs, drugs, and musk.

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72 EASTERN TUBKI8TAN

THE PLATE.IU OF EASTERN TURKISTAN.

This is another of the Chinese dependencies, and lies between the Tian
Shan Mountains on the north, the Kuen Lun on the south, and the
Pamirs on the west. Though of considerable altitude, the area is only
half as high as the plateau of Tibet, and forms the basin of the Tarim.
The banks of this river are fringed with poplars, willows, and tamarisks,
and the saline swamps of Lob Nor, in which it terminates, are covered
with reeds, which form the home of many water-fowl and wild animals.

The region has a continental climate, and is very deficient in rain ;
the tributaries of the Tarim deriving their waters from the snows and
glaciers of the encircling mountains. When these rivers descend to the
plateau, their waters can be turned to good use for irrigation ; so a
series of green oases marks the northern base of the Kuen Lun and
the southern of the Tian Shan, contrasting sharply with the expanse of
brown, shifting dust and sand elsewhere, and defining the two great
trade routes of the country. These meet at Kashgar, a walled town
that has become an important trading centre, which stands in the midst
of a rich oasis, and commands routes by the Terek and other passes
across the Pamirs to Western Turkistan.

Two other important places, on oases on the southern route, are
Yarkand, a, great market for live stock and wool, and Khotan,
where silk and leather are manufactured. South of Khotan the Kuen
Lun are rich in gold, and south of Yarkand in jade — an ornamental
stone which was a very important article of trade in the Middle Ages,
and is still in request in China and Japan.

THE PLATEAU OF MONGOLIA.

This falls into two natural regions : (1) The Desert of Gobi, which occupies most
of Mongolia, and extends into Eastern Turkistan ; (2) the low plateau of Dzungaria.
Politically it forms part of the Chinese. Empire.

The Desert of Gobi. — This is a high, arid region ; but, though
much of it is a sandy waste in the west, and gravel or barren rock in the
east, there are grassy tracts where large flocks of camels, horses, and sheep
are reared. It forms a great natural obstacle to trade between China and
Siberia, but is crossed by a few regular caravan routes. One of these
leads from Peking to Urga for Kiakhta and Irkutsk, and others to
Dzungaria.

MONGOLIA

[From " The World's Commercial P roducts.'

Coolies carrying Brick-tea to Tibet. (See p. 84.)

Dzungaria occupies the gap between the Tian Shan and the
Altai Mountains, and is important on account of the routes that pass
through it. One of these leads via the Upper Irtish to Western Siberia,
and another skirts the northern base of the Tian Shan to Western
Turkistan. The valleys of the numerous short rivers which traverse
this region and terminate in lakes and swamps, as well as that of the
Upper Irtish, form good pasture-lands ; and many of the ranges are clad
with forests.

The inhabitants of Mongolia are engaged chiefly in stock-rearing
or in caravan* traffic, and hence nearly all are nomadic. They are
Buddhist in religion, and a very large monastery exists at Urga, where
the chief priest dwells. The chief exports of the country are live
stock, hides, salt, and soda.

THE PLAIN OF MANCHURIA.

This forms the largest and most important part of the Chinese
dependency, Manchuria, which is bounded on the north by the Amur
River — called in its upper course the Argun — and its tributary, the
Usuri. The whole of this frontier waterway is navigable, save when
frozen in winter, as are also the rivers which drain most of this region —
i.e., the Sungari to Kirin, and the Nonni to Tsitsihar.

Though the plain lies in the monsoon area, the seaward ranges cut
it off almost completely from the influence of oceanic winds, and the
temperature is continental and the rainfall slight. The land is, however,
fertile, and yields good crops of millet, wheat, beans, hemp, and ginseng,
which is cultivated for the sake of a drug obtained from the root, and
highly valued in China. Some gold is mined by the Government in the
Lower Sungari basin, and the eastern mountains are rich in coal and
iron, though these, as yet, are little developed. The ranges are also clad
with forests, which form the home of numerous wild animals, including
the tiger, lynx, leopard, bear, sable, etc. The skins of some of these
are of high commercial value.

The plain is crossed from north-west to south-east by the Siberian
Railway to Vladivostok via Tsitsihar and Kharbin. From the latter a
branch runs southward through Mukden — the capital of the country —
to Port Arthur, a great naval station, which was captured by the
Japanese from the Russians in 1905, and is now leased by them from China.
The line to Port Arthur is connected with Niuchwang, and continued
south-westward to Peking. Niuchivang is a treaty port — i.e., a port
which, by treaty, has been declared open to foreign trade — but is obliged
to utilize an outport on account of its diminishing depth, and, more-
over, is frozen in winter.

The inhabitants of Manchuria invaded North China in the
seventeenth century, and established there the Manchu Dynasty, which
still exists. In Manchuria itself, however, the native population has
been largely supplanted by Chinese immigrants, who now form the bulk
of the population.

KOREA.

This is a mountainous peninsula traversed by a range which lies
nearer the east than the west coast. The rainfall occurs in summer, and
is heavy on the eastern slopes of the mountains, which are densely clad
with forests. The most fertile areas lie near the west coast, where rice,
millet, beans, hemp, cotton, and ginseng, are cultivated. A good deal of
gold is mined in the north.

Wild-fowl abound in the coastal districts, and the seas are rich in
fish; but violent high- tides render navigation difficult along the west
coast, and the only good eastern port is Fusan. This is now connected
with the port of Chemulpo on the west by a railway, which passes through
Seoul, the capital of the country. The river on which Seoul stands is
navigable with difficulty to that point.

Korea, though nominally independent since the Chinese- Japanese
war, is practically under Japanese influence, and many Japanese have
settled there in recent times. The chief exports in order of value
are : Pulses, ginseng, rice, and hides.

QUESTIONS ON PERSIA AND CENTRAL ASIA.

1. By a recent treaty the Russian sphere of enterprise in Persia lies north of a line

drawn from the meeting -place of the frontiers of Afghanistan, Turkistan and
Persia to Yezd, and on near Ispahan and Kermanshah to the western
frontier. The British sphere lies south-east of a line through Bender Abbas,
Kerman, and Birjand, and the rest of the country is neutral. Compare the
political and economic value of these areas (see map in the " Statesman's
Year Book," 1908).

2. Compare and contrast life in the deserts of Arabia, Mongolia, and the Tundra.

3. Give an account of Afghanistan, and explain the extent to which it may be

regarded as a Buffer State.

4. What facts have led to the suggestion that a change of climate has taken place

in the Tarim basin during historic times ?

5. What minerals of economic value are often found in arid regions ?

CHINA.

This is a very compact mass of land of roughly circular shape, which
protrudes into the Pacific on the east, and ascends on the north and west
to the plateaux of Mongolia and Tibet. From the latter it is, to a large
extent, cut off by a series of ranges and deep gorges running north and
south ; but the exposed nature of the northern frontier led to the con-

76 NOBTHEBN CHINA

struction of the Great Wall about 200 b.c. This wall runs from
Peking about 1,600 miles westwards, but only coincides with the political
frontier after crossing the Hwang-ho. Near Peking it is built of massive
blocks of granite, and varies from 25 to 40 feet in height. It is wide
enough at the top for a carriage-road, and is flanked by towers at frequent
intervals. Further west, however, it sinks to a mere mud rampart, and
in places has fallen completely into ruins. Its course was apparently
planned irrespective of physical features, for it has to climb many ranges
and cross many deep ravines.

The southern boundary of China mainly follows the watershed, and
the wild, mountainous nature of the country when the coast is left behind,
the deep gorges of the Upper Salwin and Mekong, and the prevalence of
dense forests, preclude all danger of invasion. In fact, everywhere,
although the actual frontier of China is determined by artificial lines, the
physical features are such as to cut off the country in a marked degree
from intercourse by land with other nations, and this partly accounts
for the conservative characteristics of the inhabitants.

From a consideration of the relief of the country China falls into the following
areas : (1) The Northern Highlands ; (2) the Great Plain, which extends south to
Hangchow Bay ; (3) the Western Highlands ; (4) the Basin of Sechwan ; (5) the
Plain of the Middle Yangtse ; (6) the S:uthern Highlands; (7) the Valley of the
Si-kiang and south-east coastal plain. Of these regions numbers (1) and (2) are
crossed by the Hwang-ho, and (3), (4), (5), and (2) by the Yangtse.

NORTHERN CHINA.

The Hivang-ho rises in Tibet, and has a general eastward trend,
save for the noticeable northern bend in its middle course, which defines
three sides of a square, the fourth being supplied by its tributary the
Wei. The river is swift, broad, shallow, and obstructed by many shoals
throughout the greater part of its course, while when it forms the western
boundary of Shansi it passes through a narrow rocky gorge. Its name,
which means Yellow Kiver, is due to the colour imparted to it by the
yellow loess soil over which it flows, and which forms the sediment
brought down. This sediment so raises the bed of the river in its lowej/
course that the floods to which it is subject would inundate vast regions
were it not for artificial embankment. As it is, the river has caused so
much damage as to be called ' China's Sorrow,' and has frequently altered
its lower course, so as sometimes to flow into the Gulf of Pechili, and

NORTHEBN CHINA

1. Under 600. 2. 600-3,000. 3. 3,000-6,000. 4. Over 6,000. Height in feet.
The Far East : Orographical. (After the Diagram Co.)

sometimes into the Yellow Sea. Willows and shrubs have been planted
for considerable distances along the river- side, in order to preserve the
banks from rapid denudation ; but on account of the danger of floods
there are no large towns near the river in its lower course.

The Northern Highlands lie north of the Tsin-ling Kange,
which is practically a continuation of the Kuenlun, and forms, unfortu-
nately, a barrier between the Wei tributary of the Hwang-ho and the
Han tributary of the Yangtse. In spite of the somewhat bleak climate
of these highlands, a fairly dense population is able to support itself by
cultivating the fertile loess soil. This yellowish-brown deposit has
been carried by wind and water in the course of centuries from the interior
of Asia, and has not only covered much of the Great Plain, but the valleys
and slopes of this north-western area. In some cases it extends to a

78 NORTHEBN CHINA

height of several thousand feet, and terraces have been constructed to
prevent its being washed away by the rains. Owing to a tendency to
vertical cleavage, it often forms steep precipices, and, being soft, is
traversed by deep ravines carved out by watercourses. Even the roads
are sunk, by the action of traffic, so far below the level of the sur-
rounding country that caves are sometimes scooped out of the banks to
form human habitations. Such a country is peculiarly difficult to
traverse ; while the advantages of fertility and ease of working possessed
by the loess are somewhat counterbalanced by its porous nature, which
renders irrigation necessary in most parts. In order to secure this on
the hill-slopes, water has to be raised in stages by water-wheels, which
are worked both by men and buffaloes, and then streams can be led
down from field to field as required.

The staple crops of the north are wheat, barley, millet, maize, pulses,
and in some parts cotton and tobacco. When silk is produced, the
worms are fed on the leaves of a kind of oak-tree. Coal and iron are found
in the southern province of Shansi, the coal-fields being of vast extent
and including both the hard anthracite and the soft bituminous coal.
The measures occur, too, near the surface, so that mining is easy ; but
the difficulty of transporting the coal to the districts where it is most
required has prevented a great development of mining up to the present.
Potter's clay, also, is found on this field, and salt in the south-west of
Shansi.

The chief route through the highlands follows the Wei Valley, passing
the large town of Singan, and crosses the Hwang-ho at Lanchou, a
place noted for tobacco. This route is continued westward into the
Tarim basin, and north-westward to the Dzungarian Gap.

The Great Plain. — This is flanked by the plateaux of Mongolia
and Shansi on the north and west, while on the south-west it is separated
from the middle plain of the Yangtse by the Mu-ling Range. South-east
of the Yangtse another range forms the boundary to Hangchow Bay.
The coast is broken by the mountainous peninsula of Shantung, but isj
elsewhere low, sandy, and remarkably regular, the only important open-
ing being the mouth of the Yangtse. Except for the mountains ofl
Shantung, the surface is uniformly low, and the coastal belt south of thatj
peninsula is studded with lakes.

The soil is partly loess and partly alluvial silt brought down by the]
rivers. The most important of these rivers are the Yangtse, which can]

CHINA

80 NOB THE BN CHINA

be navigated by ocean vessels to Hankow ; the Hwang-ho, which has
already been shown to be of slight commercial value ; and the Pei-ho.
The last is navigable for small boats to a point opposite the site of Peking,
and for coasting steamers to its port — Tientsin — save when it is frozen
in winter. From Tientsin the Imperial Canal runs southward for
700 miles to Hangchow. This was made many centuries ago, and
though the southern half is still much used, the northern has fallen out
of repair in many places.

The climate of the plain is extreme, even near the coast, and further
inland is rendered severe by the prevalence of cold, dry winds from the
interior in winter. The rains come with the summer south-east monsoon,
and would be generally sufficient. for agriculture were it not for the porous
nature of the soil. As it is, the region is pitted with wells from which,
as well as from the rivers, water can be obtained for irrigation. Agricul-
ture is everywhere the staple occupation, and is carrried on with the
minute personal care that we are only accustomed to bestow on gardens.
The crops are those mentioned above, silk being especially important in
Shantung. Large numbers of fish are obtained from the sea, rivers
and lakes, and form an important article of diet throughout China.
The plain is deficient in minerals, but coal is mined in Shantung, and to
the north-east of Tientsin.

Although the plain is one of the most densely populated areas in the
world, there are comparatively few towns in it of exceptional size, the
most important being Peking and Tientsin in the north, and Shanghai
and Hangchow in the south.

Peking, the capital of the country, stands in the centre of a sandy
plain, and is the focus of the following routes : (1) Up the Pei-ho ; the
town stands north of the river. (2) From Manchuria along the coast
and via Tientsin, a route now followed by a railway. (3) From Siberia
by the caravan route that passes Urga and traverses the Mongolian
desert. (4) From the valley of the Wei and along the base of the Shansi
plateau. (5) From Hankow northwards by the recently constructed
railway. (6) From Hangchow via the Imperial Canal.

Peking is composed of two portions — a square enclosure to the north,
which is the Manchu city, and a rectangular area to the south, which is
the Chinese city. Both are surrounded by high, massive walls pierced by
gates which are surmounted by towers. Within the Manchu city are the
Imperial palaces and many magnificent temples. Some of these temples

NOBTHEBN CHINA

Stereogi'aph Copyright.] ^L...i^. ..^^d and Underwood

Camel Caravan in Legation Street, Peking.

are Buddhist, but some belong to the followers of Confucius, a philo-
sopher who lived 550-478 b.c. These are the two prevailing religions
observed in China, but the latter is merely a moral code and a species of
ancestor- worship. In spite of the glory of these temples and palaces,
and the wide, straight thoroughfares which cross one another at right
angles, the city has a somewhat mean and dilapidated appearance.

Shanghai stands at the mouth of a small tributary, which enters the
estuary of the Yangtse on its south side. It forms the port, not only of
the basin of the Yangtse, but of much of the Great Plain, owing to the
absence of other ports on the shores of the Yellow Sea. The harbour,
however, is not deep enough for the largest ocean vessels, and the site is
low and unhealthy. Its chief exports are silk, raw cotton, and tea, and
there are silk and cotton manufactures in the town. It has a large
entrepot trade ; i.e., many goods imported here from different countries
are exported again in the same condition. This is due to its large foreign
trade and a position which qualifies it for a collecting and distributing

82 MIDDLE CHINA

centre. It is now connected by rail to Nanking. Hangchow manu-
factures a good deal of silk, as well as some cotton ; but its harbour is
only accessible for quite ^mall vessels, and it suffers from the strong tidal
bores in the bay.

MIDDLE CHINA.

The Yangtse rises on the plateau of Tibet, and at first flows south-
ward. Later it changes its course to an easterly direction, but this is
varied by three marked bends towards the north. It is connected with
the two large lakes of Tungting and Poyang and many small ones, which
to some extent regulate its flow, although the volume of the river varies
considerably with the season, and floods sometimes occur. The river
forms a magnificent waterway, being navigable for large ocean vessels to
Hankow, and for smaller sea- vessels to Ichang — nearly 1,000 miles from
its mouth. Above Ichang the river passes through a gorge, and for the
next 400 miles navigation is impeded by rapids. Many shallow boats
are, however, annually hauled past them, and once or twice a small
steamer has made the ascent successfully. The Yangtse has many large
tributaries, but those of most commercial importance are the Han,
which is a fine navigable river, and the tributaries which cross the
Sechwan basin and are useful for irrigation, as well as being navigable
in their lower courses.

The Western Highlands. — These form a belt of parallel ranges
and gorges which extend over Western Sechwan and Yunnan. The area
is drained by the Upper Salwin and Mekong, as well as by the Yangtse
and its first large, left-bank tributary. The mountains are clad with
forests, and wheat, maize, tobacco, and opium, are produced in the lower
areas. Opium is the dried juice obtained from the seed-vessel of a kind
of poppy, an annual that grows about 2 to 4 feet high, and bears
a white or purple flower. From opium are manufactured such narcotic
medicines as laudanum and morphia, and the substance is also smoked
by many of the Chinese, but with such harmful results that an attempt
is being made to restrict its production and to reduce the amount yearly
imported from India.

The province of Yunnan is very rich in iron, tin, gold, and precio
stones, as well as in copper, which also occurs in South-West SechwanJ
Thus, many people find employment in mining, smelting, and metal
industries ; but still the area is less densely populated than most

bal
partfl

MIDDLE CHINA

S'd

A Water Buffalo ploughing a Eice-Field in China.

The men raise water by turning the wheel with their feet, and thus flood the field.

of China. Communication in all directions is difficult, but some trade
passes southward to Tongking, Siam, and Burma, and one route goes due
westward from Sechwan to Lhasa in Tibet.

The Basin of Sechwan. — This is an elevated region, though lower
than the surrounding land, and on the east it slopes down to the plain
of the Middle Yangtse. It lies almost entirely north of the Yangtse,
and is crossed by a series of parallel tributaries separated by ridges,
which render communication east and west somewhat difficult. The
area is sometimes known as the Red Basin on account of its fertile red
soil, which enables cultivation to be carried on even high up on the
mountain slopes. The climate is hot and rainy in summer, and warm and
misty in winter ; but irrigation is required for most crops, and especially
for rice.

Rice is generally grown under water, and sometimes in fields that
have been soaked with water for months before the grain is sown. In
Sechwan the tributaries of the Yangtse east and west of Chengtu are split
up into endless channels, from which water can be led as required into

6—2

84 MIDDLE CHINA

the embanked fields. Rice is sometimes grown at a considerable height,
but it is more economical to utilize low lands that can be easily flooded.
After the rice is reaped, it has to be separated from the husk, and un-
husked rice is known as paddy throughout the East. Other crops grown
in this area besides the ordinary cereals and pulses are tea, sugar, opium,
and mulberries for silk.

The tea - shrub grows best on hill-slopes which allow of good
drainage, and prefers a light, rich soil with a good supply of vegetable
mould. Though the plant can stand severe frost, it does best in a warm
climate, and requires most moisture in summer. It takes three to five
years for the shrub to come into full bearing ; and as there is a good deal
of manual labour connected with picking the leaves at least three times
a year, and their preparation for sale, it is only profitably grown where
labour is cheap. Some processes in the preparation, as rolling the leaves,
can be done by machinery, and this is gradually being introduced into
the country. A good deal of inferior tea, composed of coarse leaves and
twigs, after being sun-dried, is moistened with rice-water and compressed
into the form of bricks. This brick-tea is largely manufactured in
Sechwan for sale in Tibet, whither it is conveyed by yaks, mules, and
porters. Some of these porters carry as much as 80 pounds, and yet
walk fourteen miles a day along a route necessitating constant ascents and
descents ; while others cover six or seven miles a day with a load of
200 pounds, supported by a frame on the back. (See p. 73.)

The sugar-cane requires a rich soil, but demands little attention ;
for though the canes, which attain a height of 10 to 15 feet, have yearly
to be cut to get the sugar, the roots continue to send up fresh shoots for
about thirty years. As these shoots become less productive, however, in
course of time, in many parts the canes are replanted every few years.
After the canes are cut, and crushed to extract the juice, they are used
as fuel ; while the juice is boiled and treated so that part crystallizes as
sugar and part flows away as molasses.

Besides agriculture, silk-weaving and straw-plaiting are important
occupations ; and mining is another, for the area is rich in coal, iron, and
salt. Population is everywhere dense, and the capital of Sechwan —
Chengtu — is fortunate in its position in the middle of an extraordinarily
fertile region. The great drawback to trade i^ the difficulty in the way
of communication, the best outlet being by the Yangtse through the
river-port of Chungking.

MIDDLE CHINA

Hankow.

The Plain of the Middle Yangtse. — This is a fertile, low,
alluvial plain studded with lakes, and liable to be partly flooded whenever
the melting of the snows on the western highlands or the summer rains
cause the river to rise higher than usual. The chief products are cereals,
silk, cotton, china grass, and tea, while cattle are reared in the north.

The cotton-plant is generally grown as an annual from seed,
which is sown in the spring, and is seldom allowed to grow over 3 feet
high. It requires a good deal of moisture and heat, though not an excess
of either. During the autumn, the balls of fluffy cotton-wool which lie
within the seed-vessels are picked ; but before the raw cotton can be
used it has to be separated from the seeds it envelops. Oil can be
extracted from these seeds, and the refuse, pressed into cakes, forms
good cattle fodder or can be used as manure. As most of the Chinese
wear cotton garments, which are padded for winter use, there is a large
home market for the cotton industry, which is being gradually developed
by the introduction of machinery.

China grass is a species of nettle, from which a strong fibre is
produced, suitable for the manufacture of summer clothing. Important

86 SOUTHERN CHINA

deposits of kaolin, or china clay, formed of decomposed granite, occur
east of Poyang, and have given rise to large porcelain works.

Hankow is the great trade centre of this plain, and is one of a
group of three large towns at the confluence of the Han and the northern
bend of the Yangtse. It thus benefits by water routes leading south-
east, south-west, and north-west, and is accessible for ocean vessels.
It is also on the railway to Peking, which it is projected to carry on to
Canton, and is the centre of a fertile, densely populated area. Its chief
trade is in tea and silk, and brick-tea is largely manufactured for export
to Tibet and Siberia.

SOUTHERN CHINA.

The Southern Highlands. — The east-to-west direction of the
chief ranges of this region hinders communication between the Yangtse
and Si-kiang ; but the railway which is projected between Hankow and
Canton will liave the advantage of following two transverse valleys, and
about its mid-point of passing through a rich coal-field.

These highlands were originally thickly clad with trees, but the trees
are being rapidly cut down. Some forest products, however, are still
important, as camphor, which is the hardened sap of a tree ; and
cinnamon, which is the bark of the twigs of another ; while the inner
bark of the mulberry-tree is used for making paper. Perhaps the most
valuable vegetable product of the Monsoon region is the bamboo,
which is used in the construction of innumerable articles. The leaves
are also utilized for thatch and matting, and the young shoots cooked
for food.

The Si-kiang rises in the highlands of Yunnan, and has a fairly
direct course eastward to its mouth, where it forms a large delta. The
branch of the Si-kiang which passes to the north of this delta is known
as the Canton Eiver. The Si-kiang is somewhat impeded by rapids,
but still forms a useful waterway.

The Valley of the Si-kiang and coastal plain enjoy warm
winters and hot, moist summers. Besides producing tea and silk, the
region is well suited for rice and sugar. Large quantities of fish are
caught in the river and sea, and coral, tortoiseshell, and salt are obtained
along the coast. There are several good ports, but by far the most
noteworthy are Canton and Victoria on Hong-Kong.

SOUTHERN CHINA

Canton is situated so as to profit not only by the proximity of
the Si-kiang, but by that of rivers^from the north and east, which flow
into the Canton estuary.
It has thus become a great
trade centre for the fertile
area around, although its
port is not deep enough for
large ocean vessels. The |.
Canton Kiver is crowded
with boats and rafts, and
quite a large population
resides thus afloat, and
even such occupations as
rearing poultry are pur-
sued. The town is sur-

Environs of Canton.

rounded by a high wall, r^.^^ territory enclosed by the dotted line has been leased
and has a picturesque *o *^® United Kingdom,

appearance, but is rendered unhealthy by its narrow and dirty streets.
Metal-work, stone-work, and other industries are carried on, but the
place is mainly a great depot for collecting and exporting tea and silk.

Hong-Kong is an island at the mouth of the Si-kiang, which, with
a peninsula on the mainland opposite, belong to the United Kingdom.
The chief town — Victoria — has a magnificent harbour, and is a naval as
well as commercial station. It carries on a large entrepot trade with
Britain, China, India, and Australia, The town of Macao, which also
lies at the mouth of the Si-kiang, belongs to Portugal, but has an
indifferent port. The large island of Hainan produces timber, but is
unhealthy, and the coasts are subject to typhoons.

TRADE OF CHINA.

This is hampered by insufiicient means of transport, though the
difficulty is gradually being met by the construction of railways. At
present, apart from the few railways that exist and the river and canal
traffic, goods are either conveyed in small carts and wheelbarrows, or
by baggage animals — mainly camels in the north — and by porters.
The foreign trade is small in proportion to the size and resources of the
country, and is carried on only through certain treaty ports. These are,
however, numerous ; and as manufacturing industries develop and

88 JAPAN

means of transport improve, there is no doubt the trade will be greatly
increased. Chinese prejudice with regard to foreign trade is also breaking
down, and foreigners are learning that Chinese merchants are not only-
industrious, capable business men, but thoroughly reliable and honest,
despite the corruption that exists in the government of the country.
(For commercial statistics, see p. 127.)

THE JAPANESE ISLES.

' When people ask me, " What is Japan like ?" I always tell them it is the willow-
pattern plate, only more so. When we first steamed into Nagasaki Harbour I had
great difficulty not to scream with delight as I recognized the little hills with dark-
green tufts, the pagodas, funny boats, and many other things with which I had been
familiar since childhood. Again, Japanese children are exactly like the dolls we
know so well, and I never could help laughing at the sight of a troop of these funny
little people with their gay garments, fringes of thick black hair, and almond-shaped
eyes, pattering along to school on their tiny wooden clogs, with large paper umbrellas
firmly clasped in their hands.' — E. Colquhoun.

The Japanese Isles separate the shallow seas ^ Okhotsk, Japan, and
Yellow — from the deep waters of the Pacific, which are particularly deep
east of the Kurile Isles and North Hondo. Their arrangement has already
been traced to the continuity of the belts of folding that created their
mountainous axes (see p. 12). From Yezo one range can be traced
passing through Sakhalin, and another through the Kurile Isles and
Kamchatka. In North Hondo, ranges run north and south, while the
configuration of South Hondo, Shikoku, and Kiushiu reflects the presence
of two ranges running north-east to south-west, and separated by the
Inland Sea. Further south a range can be traced through the Luchu
Isles and Formosa. Many of these mountains are volcanic, and hot
springs and earthquakes are characteristic of the region (see p. 12).

The climate exhibits the alternation of warm, rainy summers
and cold winters, due to the monsoons ; and the temperature, though
less continental in character than on the mainland, has a wider range
than might be anticipated from the insular nature of the area. It is
on the average colder than the latitude, judged by a European standard,
would suggest.

As the islands extend over many degrees of latitude, the climate naturally varies
considerably in different parts, and on a climatic basis they are best grouped in the
following manner: (1) The northern isles — i.e., the Kurile Isles and Yezo; (2)
Northern Hondo, including the whole of the west coastal belt ; (3) South-Eastern
Hondo, Shikoku, and Kiushiu ; (4) the Lu-chu Isles and Formosa.

JAPAN

Photo]

KiCE Culture in Japan.

[T. Enami.

The Northern Isles. — Here are great extremes of temperature,
and during the long winter the isles are covered with snow. On account
of dangerous currents, prevalent fogs, and ice-drifts brought south in
winter by the Arctic current, navigation is difficult along the coasts.
Sea-fishing is, however, a staple industry, and salmon are caught in the
short rivers and edible seaweed collected along the shores.

The mountains are clad with forests of oak, elm, birch, etc., and at
one time were the home of many fur-bearing animals now hunted nearly
to extinction. A few cereals are raised, and Yezo is rich in coal and
sulphur. Population is sparse, but temporarily increased during the
fishing season by immigrants from Hondo. The majority of the in-
habitants are Japanese, but on Yezo there still exist some remnant of
a race called Ainu, who are thought to belong to the Caucasian group,
and are remarkable for their hairy appearance. The chief town in Yezo
is Hakodate, which has an excellent harbour.

Northern and Western Hondo. — Here, too, the climate is ex-
treme, owing to the north-west winds of winter, which bring some snow

JAPAN

and rain to the west coast ; while in summer this region is partly cut off
from the moderating influence of the monsoon by the mountains to the

south-east. Communication
with the mainland is hin-
dered by the stormy nature
of the Sea of Japan, and in
winter is interrupted on ac-
count of the dangerous surf
along the coast. The only
western port — Niigata —
has, moreover, a bad bar at
the mouth of the harbour.
It is therefore through the
peninsula of Korea farther
south that Japan has been
brought most closely in
touch with the mainland,
though even the Straits of
Korea are over a hundred
miles across.

The mountains of Cen-
tral Hondo greatly hinder
communication between the
though a few railways have
been carried across. They also narrowly restrict the areas available
for cultivation, and render the rivers too rapid, and their channels
too choked with the boulders and silt brought down, to be of much use
for navigation. Floods are of constant occurrence, and at times work
great destruction ; but some of the rivers are of value as sources of
water-power. This power has greatly increased in importance since men
have been able to convert it into electrical power, which can be easily
conveyed and utilized as required. The chief value of the mountains lies
in the forests which clothe them, composed of cedars, pines, maples,
bamboos, camphor and lacquer trees. The last-mentioned yields the
lacquer used in the adornment of many Japanese wares ; while the
abundance of timber has led to the erection of paper-mills and match-
factories. The match industry has naturally been encouraged by the
local supplies of sulphur ; and the occurrence of kaolin and of copper

Photo^ A Bamboo Forest. i^- Enami

The jinrickshaw is drawn by a coolie.

east and west coasts of the island

JAPAN

[Keystone View Co.

Gathering Tea near Kyoto.

in Central Hondo has given rise to the manufacture of porcelain and
metal goods.

All the Japanese isles are deficient in domestic animals, on account of
the limited amount of pasture-land, and hence suffer from lack of meat,
wool, leather, and dairy produce. Agriculture is restricted chiefly to the
valleys and narrow coastal plains, but by dint of careful spade cultiva-
tion the yield is good. The soil in many parts is naturally fertile, and is
well manured, for which purpose dried fish is largely used. The chief
productions of the north are wheat, barley, rice, beans, and mulberries
grown for the silkworm.

South-E astern Hondo, Shikoku, and Kiushiu. — These areas
enjoy dry, cool winters and hot, wet summers. The shores are washed
by the warm Kuro-shiwo, which raises the temperature of winds sweeping
over it. The vegetation is luxuriant, and the beauty of the flowering
trees, shrubs, and plants is proverbial. These include cherry and other
orchard trees, wistaria, camellia, azalea, hydrangea, chrysanthemum

U'2 JAl'AN

iris, etc. Tlic lowlands arc often dcxolcd lo rice, in summer and wheat
in wini(M', while Mic slii|)l<' < ro|> «>! ihr jiill .Ic.prs i^; (cm. Silk is widely
produced, and Home cotton i.s <;rowu, but not lU'aiJ) cnougii to HU])i)ly th(
cotton industry.

This industry is carried on chiefly at Ozaka and other towns ii
tli(^ fertile plain iliat borders ilie northern shore of ihe Inland Sea
Here the nalnrally dense population makes lahonr <liea|>, and afTords
good marlvel. As ()zak;i ha:, hut a, poor harhoiir, il i l,ii<'<l\ .Mx.d \>y
Ihc poll of Kobe. Coal occurs in north-weat Kiushin, and can I
<Misily shipped from Moji in the north, and from the (excellent harbour o:
Nagasaki further south. 'I\) (he north of Ozaka lies Kyoto, th'
old ( apiial of the country, where stand the palace of former Mikados an(
imin.KMr; r.iiddhi ( temples. All tho towns along the coastal belt of th
Inland Sea. aic connected b\' a. railway, which runs northward to Tokyi
and Yokohama.. Tokyo, Ihc capital of tiie country, is favourabl;
situated in the middle ..I i mall In tile plain, and carries on many artisti
industries. It has, however, a snuill port, so most commerce passei
throu,i?h the fine harboui- of Yokohama.

Formosa |)o . .e.; a (ro})ical climaie and vegetation. A larg
part of the island is mountainous, and covereil with forests, which yiel
an important crop of camphor. The other chief crops are rice, tei
Hweet potatoes, and sugar. The natives of tiie easlern portion of th
island arc of [\Iala\ slock, aiu! litile civilized; those of Ihc west arc
Chinc.-<" «>iij;iii. The eoast.s are daii,i;(TOUS for na\ t_i;at ion, and the Onl

fair harbour is at Kihinc, near which some ooal is worked.
(For commercial statistics re Japan, s(>t> p. 12S.)

QUESTIONS ON CHINA AND JAPAN.

1. Give an aooount of the waterways of China and their oommeroial value.

2. How do you aooount for {\\e fact that, though ooal was used as fuel eonturios a|

in (^hinjt. nnd Uio country possesses some of the richest fields in the worii^

tlu ivi iii\. (uitput is still so small ?
8. Nanu> distruts in which you think (hat (I) wooUon, (2) iron industries might

(lovt^ioptHl on a hvrge scale in ('l\ina. (5ive reaaoUKS for your answer.
4, ('(MXiMt ihc ,iii\eui\t t«f labeui' re(|uii'eil in I'rewing riet* anil wheat. Whi<

\ i.M . ilu- ;Mi'.ii('r .nuiMini (>l leoil |)or acre V
.. Pi.>ii.. ilu- ul.nix,' .nl\ .mi,i:M- . >.f the Uniteil Simi.-s aiul I'nited Kingdom

I'Diupel M leu lor I'iiimvse li'julr.

JAPAN

^'f^w.

f<il»te'«JS-*""»®^'

Photo]

[Bdl.

Tbmplb at Kyoto.

0. Contrast the oonditions required for the production of oono and beet sugar, and
state the chief districts in which tlu> forinor is tniltivjilod in Asia and tho h\ttor
in Europe.

7. Compare and contrast tho climate of Japan with that of (1) tlie United Kingdom

(2) China.

8. Name Japanese industries wiudi i,ii;m1\ owe ilu-n- mi|uMi:inc.' lo ilic mtistif

genius of the poO])l(\ S(al(> iUo ^H^»ll^^•^^s liom whuh (lu^ law iiialorials lor

these industries nn- (Ici-immI.

0. To what extent an < llu- .ondithMis l'.i\.Mir.il>If for the .Towtli ol a silU industry
similar to those rr» |u 1 1 <',! I\.ra ioHdh nulnsirs . Ill wlial iv.-.|.<ris will the trade
in these commodities ditfer ?

INDIA.

India, excluding Further India, fails into ilie following natural regions: (1) Tho
northern ranges ; (2) tho northern plains ; (3) the southern tabiehmd ; (4) the east
coast plain.

Politically it is divided into (I) certain British Ih'ovinoea under the direct control
of tho British Crown, which is it«|»r(-s<Mii<>(l in Imlia. 1>\ a Cm.iiioi (u-iicral, or
Viceroy. The chief ]>rovinc(\s an r.(ii!al, la d m r..ii;al A nn. Uombay,
Madras, the I'linr.i i'i,.\iiuc.. ili.- I'lnijai', ihr \.M 111 \\ ( :.i I'VontitM- ri-DNlnoe,
tho Central ri>.\iii«c, I'-niisli I'.aln. In .lan, and A. am. iMinuaiu hurdler India
i« anothci- prov met' o\ \\]\s tvpc ('.') ('.aiam \aii\c Si a Uvs governed by Native
Princes, who, Iio\v(u<m', ha\tMio power lo make war with lortngnor Indian States,

94 INDIA

and are expected in essential matters to follow the advice of a resident British
official. The chief States are Kashmir, Haidarabad, Mysore, Baluchistan, Rajpu-
tana, and Central India, of which the two last comprise many minor States.
(3) The independent States of Nepal and Bhutan.

THE NORTHERN RANGES.

' Ridge behind ridge, higher and higher, tier above tier, with ribs of rock and
crests of snow and deep -lying valleys of ice-bound splendour.' — Sir Martin
Conway.

' Thickets of bamboo, with graceful light-green foliage, beautify the lower valleys.
Higher up the grey ilex, mountain oaks, cedars, drooping silver firs, pines, chest nust,
walnuts, and maples, not to mention a hundred trees of lower growth hung with
bridal veils of clematis in spring, and festooned with crimson Virginia creepers in
autumn, form, with patches of white medlar blossom, a brilliant contrast to masses
of scarlet and pink rhododendron.'— Sir W. Hunter.

The plateaux which flank India on the north and north-west end in a
series of lofty ranges descending with steep slopes to the plains of the
Indus and Ganges. On the east these turn southwards and traverse the
Indo-China peninsula.

The chief ranges which appear to radiate from the Pamirs in
the north are : (1) The Hindu Kush, which is separated from the
Koh-i-Baba Range in Afghanistan by the Bamian Pass, leading from
the Kabul Valley to that of the Upper Amu. South of the Kabul Valley
is the noted Khaibar Pass — a defile over thirty miles long, through
which a road has been constructed ; but the railway has not advanced
much beyond the military station of Pesha^war, which guards this .
route. (2) The Sulaiman Range, which lies between the Khaibar PassB
and a westward bend in the plateau of Baluchistan, forming a natural
route followed by the railway from the Indus Valley to Quetta. (3) The
Hala Mountains, which extend as an unbroken wall nearly to the coast.
(4) The Karakorum Range forms the northern boundary of the Upper
Indus Valley, and can only be crossed by very difficult, high passes — the
chief being the Karakorum Pass, on the route northwards from Leh to
the Tarim basin. This pass is over 18,000 feet high — i.e., about three and
a half miles. (5) The Himalayas are a series of parallel ranges,
extending for a distance of about 1,500 miles between the southward
bends of the Indus and Brahmaputra Rivers. Their average height is
over three miles, while some of the peaks are over five. Mount Everest

1. Under 600. 2. 600-1,500. 3. 1,500-6,000. 4. Over 6,C00. Height in feet.
India : Orographical. (After the Diagram Co.)

(29,000 feet) is considered the highest. The great width also of this
mountainous belt has made traffic across it difficult. The chief routes
lie across high passes leading northward through Bhutan or from
Darjiling. There is also a road which follows the Sutlej River,
which breaks across the range and is overlooked by the hUl-station of
Simla. Goods are carried across by means of yaks, ponies, and even
goats and sheep, while human porterage is employed to some extent.
The value of the total commerce thus carried on is necessarily very
small.

The temperature varies with the altitude and aspect, the snow-
line being at a height of about 16,000 or 17,000 feet on the southern
slopes of the Himalayas, and lower on the northern. The snow-fields
give rise to great glaciers, which form the source of mighty rivers.

96 THE NOBTHEBN MANGES

These rivers, in their upper courses, are wild torrents flowing at the
bottom of deep, rocky gorges. They are 'practically unnavigable, but
are sometimes crossed by the natives on primitive rafts supported by
inflated goat-skins. Transit is easiest in winter, when the streams
are frozen.

Here and there, where a valley opens out, or a tributary stream has
deposited sediment at its confluence and created an alluvial fan, there
is sufficient soil for cultivation and settlement. Elsewhere, agriculture
has to depend on the artificial terracing of the mountain-side — a laborious
process where walls have to be built and soil carried uphill to a height of
several thousand feet. The streams are used largely for irrigation on the
slopes of the ranges which flank the Indus plain. The chief crops grown
on the terraces and in the high valleys are wheat, millet, pulses, and such
fruit-trees as apricot, peach, walnut, and mulberry.

The rainfall is heaviest on the southern slopes of the Eastern Hima-
layas. The lower portions of these are densely clad with forests, the
deodar and sal being important timber-trees ; while in front of the foot-
hills lies the fever-breeding jungle called the Terai — the abode of many
wild beasts. A little rubber is collected from the forests in Assam, and
tea is cultivated in forest clearings on the mountain slopes in the
same district, as well as near the health stations of Darjiling and
Simla.

Between the forests and the snow-line are pastures on which cattle,
sheep, and goats are reared in summer. The hair of the Tibet goat,
reared in Kashmir, has long made that region noted for its shawls.

Population is sparse, and chiefly distributed in small villages of
mud-built huts. Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, in the far-famed
vale of that name, stands on the Jehlam, in the midst of a fertile area
occupying the basin of an ancient lake. The climate is delightful, and
the scenery most picturesque. The Jehlam, which is here crossed by a
bridge, is suitable for boating for some distance.

Most of the hill tribes consist of men of small stature but of strong
physique, and endowed with industry and courage. In the past, lack of
food has sometimes tempted them to raid the lowlands, and their daring,
combined with the natural advantages of their mountain home, has
made them formidable enemies on these occasions.

THE NOBTHEBN PLAINS

# % '■ '

-m^^'

l-l^\

> m

»«4

By tlie courtesy of] [' TUe Jiubler Journal.

Indiarubber-Treb {Ficus ElasHca).

Notice the chisel-cuts, out of which the juice flows and is collected in the cups
l)laced to catch it.

THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

' The plains of the United Provinces rise in gentle undulations away from the
river banks, dotted with mud villages and adorned with noble trees. The villages
cluster thickly, and the brown masses of mud buildings, flat-roofed, cool and scrupu-
lously clean, are chequered by the purple shadows of the trees under which the

98 TBE NOBTHEBN PLAINS

village folk gather in the cool of the evening to gossip and discuss the food prices of
the nearest bazaar. Stretching from village to village, and linking together the
country communities, runs the great white road, with long avenues of trees giving
welcome shade to the creaking bullock-carts, and to the white dust-powdered figure
of the wayfarer. Beyond the road and the villages, reaching to the level horizon,
are the fields of the peasants, ripe with harvests of millet, sugar, wheat, or Indian
corn in the autumn, or stretching away empty in brown folds under the yellow
heat haze of early summer. This is what may be seen over thousands of
square miles through a great space of North India.' — Sir T. Holdich,

' A constant succession of pictures is afforded by the reaches of the river, busy
with traffic ; the boats with their great sails ; the coco-nuts and other palms, huge
figs, tamarinds and mangoes, bamboos and plantains ; the villag:s with tanks green
with slime and water-lilies ; the delicate forms of men and women in scanty but
graceful costume — these, and a thousand picturesque details, make TiJengal one of
the most beautiful countries in India.' — Sir John Strachey.

The plain of the Indus is separated from that of the Ganges by a
slightly elevated tract of land that rises in the south to the Aravalli Hills.
Both plains are remarkable for their flat, monotonous aspects and the
fine nature of the alluvial deposits of which they are composed. It is
rare that even a pebble of any size is found on these plains.

Climate. — The temperature is high, especially in late spring and
summer, and the diurnal and seasonal range is great. In the ' cool
season ' — i.e., from November to February — the climate is healthy and
pleasant. The winds are deflected from their natural directions by the
trend of the Ganges Valley, which acts as a sort of flue. In winter,
when the north-east trade-wind prevails over the peninsula and Indian
Ocean, a north-west wind sweeps across the Punjab and brings it a slight
rainfall. In summer, when the south-west Monsoon prevails over the
Deccan, a southerly moisture-laden wind crosses the Bay of Bengal, and
turns as a south-east wind up the Ganges Valley towards the area of low
pressure in Baluchistan. This wind is cooled as it rises in front of the
mountains of Assam and the Himalayas, and a copious rainfall results
on the mountain slopes and over the Lower Ganges basin. As the wind
travels westward, the rainfall diminishes, and is scanty in the Punjab.
As the south-west Monsoon does not blow strongly north of the peninsula
of Gujarat, the Indus basin is deficient in rainfall, and irrigation is
necessary for cultivation.

The importance of the northern plains is mainly due to the great
rivers — the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra — that supply them with
soil, water, and means of transport.

INDIA

1. Areas composed of archtean crystalline rocks. 2. Areas of primary and secondary sedi-
mentary rocks, 3. Areas of basalt. 4. Lowlands of recent rocks and alluvial formations.

India : Geological.

THE PLAIN OF THE INDUS.

The Indus. — This rises on the north of the Himalayas, and, after
its mountainous career through Kashmir, turns abruptly south-westward
and enters the Indian Ocean after a course of about 1,800 miles. Near
its mouth the river divides into distributaries, which form intricate
channels across its reed-covered delta, fringed with mangrove swamps.
The Indus is navigable up to the gorges that extend to the confluence o{
the Kabul tributary ; but, owing to the shifting sand-shoals in its bed,
navigation is difficult and of very slight commercial importance. Of the
five tributaries which give the name of Punjab — i.e., land of five
rivers — to the area they traverse, the most important are the Sutlej and
the Jehlam, both of which are navigable for considerable distances. The
volume of water in the Indus varies considerably ; and its surplus waters.

7—2

100 THE NOBTHERN PLAINS

when it floods after the melting of the snows, are run ofi into canals
and used for irrigation. Perennial irrigation canals have been con-
structed.

Two crops are generally grown every year in India, and sometimes off
the same piece of land ; but this is very exhausting to soil not renewed by
annual flooding. The lack of manure in many parts of India is a serious
drawback. The chief crops grown in winter and reaped in spring in
the Punjab are wheat, barley, and pulses — mainly chick-peas. Millet
and indigo are grown during the summer and harvested in autumn.
There are few trees in the region besides the tamarisks along the river-
banks and some fruit-trees in orchards. Salt is mined in the Salt Hill
between the Jehlam and Indus.

The grasslands, which occupy large tracts in Northern Rajputana
and Sind — i.e., Northern Bombay — are used for rearing horses, cattle,
and other live stock, for which the saline properties of the soil make
these districts very suitable. Bullocks or buffaloes are used every-
where in India as animals for draught, and there is therefore a great
demand for them.

These grasslands fade into the Desert of Thar, which is a sandy
region crossed by dunes formed by the action of the wind, and shifting
according to its prevailing direction. The same desert conditions exist
over Cutch and the Rann of that name, which in the dry season is a flat
saline waste, and in the rainy season, when, moreover, the south-west
wind blows the sea-water inland, a shallow sea. Salt is obtained here
by evaporation.

Population is dense in the Northern Punjab, and wherever there are
means of constant irrigation. Elsewhere over the plain of the Indus it
is scanty, and large areas are uninhabited. Lahore, the capital of this
province, is on the great route now followed by a railway from Peshawar
to Delhi on the Junma, which connection partly explains the fact that
Delhi is politically included in the Punjab, though it naturally belongs
to the Ganges basin. Lahore is also connected with the Ganges by a
railway, which, before turning south-eastwards, passes Amritsar — a
town which manufactures shawls and is noted as the headquarters of
the rehgious sect called Sikhs. Unlike the majority of the inhabitants
of this area, who "are Mohammedans, the Sikhs have adopted a purified
form of Hinduism. Many of the men have found employment as soldiers
in the native army on account of their fine physique and bravery.

THE NOBTHEBN PLAINS

101

l.onjitude So* E trom Greenwich

'^'5"'>N/sfefe4Vi^^^^.L?!f

Archipelago y

C Nicobar
IsUncis

50-= Dondra Ha.

India : Physical and Political.

A fourth railway from Lahore leads southward to Karachi, the
natural port for the Punjab products, and which possesses an excellent
harbour.

THE PLAIN OF THE GANGES.

The Ganges has a course of about 1,500 miles, and is navigable
almost from the base of the Himalayas. Its chief tributary is the
Jumna, and the district between these two rivers is intersected by canals
supplied with water drawn from their upper courses. Some of these
canals are used for navigation as well as irrigation. Many wells also have
been sunk in the United Provinces for the sake of irrigation ; but the
heavier rainfall of Bengal renders irrigation less necessary there.

102 THE NOBTHERN PLAINS

The chief winter crops of the United Provinces and Western Bengal
are wheat, barley, maize, pulses, and flax grown for linseed-oil. The
summer crops are sugar, indigo, rice, tobacco, and opium. A good
deal of sugar is obtained from a species of palm as well as from
the sugar-cane. Patna is a great collecting centre for rice and
opium.

Eastern Bengal is mainly devoted to growing rice and jute, the latter
thriving on the sand-banks of the rivers, which are yearly flooded. Jute
is an annual sown in spring and cut when about 11 feet high. The stems
are then submerged in water for at least three weeks, after which the
bark can be removed and the fibre separated by mashing and beating-
The fibre is used for making sackcloth, and also in the manufacture of
carpets and various textiles. It was formerly nearly all exported to
Dundee, but now much is used in factories in and near Calcutta. The
sacks made there are in great demand on account of the export of cereals
from India.

The large delta created by the Ganges and Brahmaputra is a marshy
region overgrown with forests of bamboo, coco-nut palms, plantains,
and tropical creepers. Its name — Sundarban — in fact, means ' forest.'
The delta is intersected by shifting distributaries in which crocodiles
abound, while tigers and other wild animals frequent the jungles. In
spite of these drawbacks and the unhealthy climate, the region was
formerly densely populated, and has still a fairly large population,
mainly subsisting on rice, which can be easily cultivated there.

The fertility of the Ganges basin has caused the whole to be thickly
populated, but has also tempted invasion. Prior to the British con-
quest, the most noteworthy invasions in historic times were those of the
Mohammedan Mongols, who founded the Mogul Empire in the sixteenth
century ; and although the Hindus are now numerically predominant in
this area, the Mohammedans still count as a very important factor in
social and political life. Both Delhi and Agra were capitals of the
Mogul Empire at different times ; and to this fact are due the numerous
mosques and mighty palaces and tombs which adorn them. The Indian
Mutiny of 1857, which chiefly affected the towns of Lucknow — capital
of the United Provinces — Caivnpur and Delhi, led to the final suppres-
sion of the Mogul Dynasty, and the transference of the government of
India from the East India Company to the Crown.

To the Hindus the Ganges is a sacred river, and especially sacred is

THE NOBTHEBN PLAINS

103

The Taj Mahal, Agra.

[Keystone View Co.

This forms the tomb of the wife of a Mogul Emperor— Shah Jehan — by whom
it was erected in 1719.

the point of confluence of the Jumna and Ganges at Allahabad* — ' the
abode of God ' — as well as the city of Benares, with its ghats or steps
leading down to the river, and frequented by pilgrims anxious to bathe
in the purifying water. Both cities are diversified by numerous temples
dedicated to various Hindu gods, the worship of whom is controlled by
the priests called Brahmins. Both towns are also railway junctions,
and the chief industries are metal-work and other handicrafts, in which
the natives show much artistic skill. As a rule, in India occupations
are hereditary — i.e., the son follows his father's trade — and all employed
in the same industry form a caste, or class forbidden by custom to eat
or intermarry with those of other castes. It follows that there is an
endless number of castes, with their resulting restrictions, to which natives
must conform or suffer social penalties ; but this system is gradually
breaking down.

* The Hindu name of this city is Prayag.

104 THE NORTHEBN PLAINS

Although there are many large towns in the Ganges basin, the great
majority of the natives, here as elsewhere in India, live in scattered vil-
lages, Qomposed of huts of mud or matting, according to the resources of
the district, and depend on agriculture for their living. The products
of this district are forced to find an outlet on the coast, and hence has
arisen Calcutta, the capital and chief port of the country, in spite of
its trying climate and the difficulty of navigating the Hugli, encumbered
as it is with shifting shoals. The town has at least one advantage in
the proximity of the coal-fields in the Hugli basin — the most productive
in India — which has encouraged its jute industry. The Government
retires to Simla during the hot season.

The Basin of the Brahmaputra. — This river rises not far from
the Indus, but flows in an opposite direction, and breaks through the
Himalayas by a series of inaccessible gorges. From the point where it
enters Assam to its mouth, it is a broad, navigable sheet of water studded
with islands. On account of the heavy rainfall, irrigation is not needed
in Assam, and the annual floods renew the soil on which rice and oil-seeds
are grown. Much of the area between the river and the tree-clad ranges
to the north and south, where tea is cultivated, is a grassy jungle ; and
the region as a whole is sparsely populated.

THE SOUTHERN TABLELAND.

This occupies the greater portion of the Deccan — i.e., peninsular
India — and slopes gradually towards the east. The surface is diversified
by highland areas separated by generally wide valleys, and is bounded
on the east and west by ridges which, viewed from the coastal plains
below, appear as ranges, and have been called the Eastern and Western
Ghats. Of these, only the YTestern Ghats are of important continuity
and altitude, and they form a serious barrier to communication between
the western coast and interior, and are very impressive with their steep-
sided cliffs and massive flat- topped mountains.

In the north the tableland rises to the Satpura and Yindhya
Ranges, and has an offshoot in the Aravalli Hills. In the south it
terminates in the group of rounded, grass-covered mountains known as
the Nilgiri Hills. To the south of these hills, and north of a range that
continues the direction of the Western Ghats to the extreme south of the
peninsula, occurs the depression called the Palghat Gap. This forms

THE NORTHERN PLAINS

105

106 THE SOUTHEBN TABLELAND

a natural route between the east and west coast-plains, and is followed
by the railway from Madras to Calicut.

On account of the eastward slope of the land, the chief rivers flow
into the Bay of Bengal — i.e., the Mahanadi, Godaveri, Kistna, and
Cauvery. These are of very slight use for navigation, on account of the
variation in the volume of their water, the torrential nature of their
upper courses, and the rapids that occur where they descend in deep
gorges from the tableland to the coast plain. The north-eastern part of
this region is traversed by the Narbada and Tapti. The Narbada,
after passing Jabalpur, is navigable for some distance, and passes through
the picturesque ravine known as the Marble Rocks. Further west it
becomes unnavigable to a point near the head of its wide but shallow
estuary. Its lower valley is also of little use as a route, on account of the
wild forests clothing the country east of the fertile flats around the
Gulf of Cambay. The Tapti is not navigable, but its valley forms a
better route to the interior, and Surat, at its mouth, has a fair artificial
harbour. All the west coast ports, however, save Bombay and the
Portuguese settlement of Goa, which has two harbours, are difficult of
access during the south-west Monsoon season.

Climate. — The temperature of the plateau is moderated by altitude
and by its exposure to ocean winds in summer. The south-west Mon-
soon, forced to rise in front of the Western Ghats, deposits an excessive
rainfall on their seaward slopes, and therefore often fails to bring an
adequate supply to the central regions of the peninsula. In winter the
north-east trade-wind blows as a dry wind over most of the Deccan, but
brings a fair rainfall to the Coromandel coast-plain. Unfortunately,
even when the total annual fall is fairly heavy, it sometimes occurs in
the form of a few torrential downpours, which do great damage and are
separated by long periods of drought that cause terrible famines. Irriga-
tion is therefore necessary in most parts ; and where the plateau is com-
posed of archaean crystalline rock, this is sometimes secured by construct-
ing dams across the upper courses of the rivers, and so converting these
into reservoirs. (See map on p. 99.)

Those areas which are covered with the black soil due to the decom-
position of basaltic rocks do not, however, stand in such need of irriga-
tion ; for this soil, owing to its clayey nature, is able to retain moisture
for a long time. It is extremely fertile, and especially suited for growing
cotton, on account of the lime it contains. Millet, oil-seeds, and wheat

THE SOUTHERN TABLELAND

107

Photo]

Pepper Plantation.

[G. R. Lambert and Co.

are also cultivated. The port of this region is Bombay, a place that
has grown considerably since it has been connected by two railways with
the interior. The town is situated on an island, has a large, safe harbour,
and manufactures cotton goods. It
is on the black soil that the best
forests of teak occur, but many of
these have been ruthlessly cut down
or destroyed by fire. Teak is rather
hard, and has the advantage of re-
sisting the attacks of various insects
which ruin so many kinds of woods
in hot countries. Elsewhere the chief
timber trees are sal and sandal-
wood, the latter being confined to
the south ; and the prevailing crops
are different species of millet. Small
crops of tea and coffee are grown
on the Nilgiri and southern ranges,
and pepper along the Malabar coast.

The mineral wealth of the plateau has not been fully developed;

Environs of Bombay.

108 THE SOUTHEBN TABLELAND

both coal and iron occur, but separately, and the latter in widely scattered
deposits. Gold is mined in Mysore.

The chief towns of the Deccan are now linked together by railways —
e.g., Poona, an important military station and manufacturing town on
the line from Bombay to Madras ; and the walled city of Haidarabad
capital of the Native State of that name.

THE EAST COASTAL PLAIN.

This tract of low, mainly alluvial land everywhere presents very similar
features ; but while the northern portion has its rainfall mainly in summer,
that of the southern is mainly in early winter. The regularity of the coast-
line is broken by the deltas of the rivers, which have been irrigated by
canals, and by a series of shallow lagoons that are characteristic also
of the south-west coast. A salt-water canal runs parallel to the east
coast from the delta of the Godaveri to a point south of Madras.

The coast is fringed with coco-nut palms, and rice is the staple crop,
though millet and indigo are also important. The port of Madras owes
its importance to its fertile, populous hinterland, and an artificial
harbour has only been constructed at great expense. The Madras
Observatory gives the standard time to India.

The people of Southern India are the earliest inhabitants of India
of whom we have record, and appear to have been pushed southwards by
invasions from the north. They are more darkly coloured than the
northern races, and, instead of speaking an Aryan language, speak
different languages belonging to a group called Dravidian. Most of
the inhabitants adopt the Hindu rehgion, but in so vast an area there
are naturally great differences, not only in the religious behefs, but in the
customs, character, and appearance of the people.

(For commercial statistics of India, see p. 128.)

CEYLON.

' The brown -thatched huts, groups of gaily-clai natives, animals ani birds, add
life to a scene that biffles description. Garlands and creepers festooned from tree
to tree ; huge banyans stretching in archways completely over the road, with stems
all overgrown with ferns, orchids, and other parasitic plants ; here and there a

CEYLON

109

Photo]

[G. R. Lambert and Co., Singapore.

Coco-nut Plantation.

blaze of the flame-coloured gloriosa, climbing lilies, an undergrowth of exquisite
ferns of infinite variety, all crowned by slender palms 90 or 100 feet high — it is
vain to attempt a description of such a scene." — H. W. Cane.

This island is separated from India by the Palk Strait, which is too
shallow for large vessels to navigate ; and by the Gulf of Manaar, where
some pearl-fishing is still carried on. The island is low in the north, but
rises steeply towards the centre in the south. The prevailing scenery
is extremely picturesque ; and, in spite of the. more southern latitude,
the climate is less trying than on the mainland, on account of exposure to
ocean winds. These winds bring moisture from the north-east to the
east coast in early winter, and from the south-west to the west coast in
summer.

Forests cover a large part of the island, and coco-nut palms fringe the

OF THE

110

CEYLON

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RAILWAYS

India: Economic.

shores. Not only are the coco-nuts exported in a atnural condition,
but the dried kernels, called copra, and the extracted coco-nut oil are
also articles of trade. The fibre of the husks also is exported for the
manufacture of ropes and matting, and mats are locally made from the
palm-leaves. Tea has nearly supplanted the coffee plantations, which suc-
cumbed to blight some years ago ; and cacao and rubber plantations are
increasing on the lower slopes. Cinchona trees are cultivated both
as shade trees for young tea and cacao plants, and on account of the
quinine obtained from their bark — the best medicine for the malarial
fever so rife throughout much of India. Other important vegetable
products are cinnamon, rice from the lowlands', and the nuts of the
areca or betel palm, which are used for chewing in the East. The island

CEYLON

111

Photo] [S. H. Reynolds.

Figure of Buddha at Amarapura, near Mandalay, Burma.

is rich in graphite (plumbago), and some precious stones are still found,
though the trade in them has diminished.

The inhabitants are Buddhists, and the ruins of mighty Buddhist
temples in the north bear witness to the time when that district was more
densely populated than it is now. The capital of the island is Colombo,
which has a good harbour and is the usual port of call for ocean vessels.
Trincomali also has a good harbour, but its position is not so well suited
for trade. The chief exports of Ceylon in order of value are : Tea,
coco-nut products, plumbago, cacao, and areca-nuts.

112

INDO-CHINA

ILIPPINE
ISLANDS

Indo-China and East Indies : Political and Economic.

INDO-CHINA.

This area, excluding the Malay Peninsula, consists of the following natural
regions : (1) The northern highlands and a series of ranges which separate the
valleys of the Songkoi, Mekong, Menam, Salwin, and Irawadi ; (2) the lower valleys
of these rivers, their deltas, and the coastal plains. On account of their fertihty
these lowlands support most of the inhabitants of the area ; and since communication
between them is difficult, they have generally formed separate political units. Those
in the east now belong to France, and those in the west to Britain, while the central
portion constitutes the independent kingdom of Si am.

The Northern Highlands. — These mountains and the gorges
between them are clad with forests, which are not yet fully explored, and
form the home of such wild animals as elephants, bears, rhinoceros,
buffaloes, and monkeys. The elephants are captured and used as beasts
of burden, especially in hauling timber to the rivers, down which it can
be floated for export. The most valuable timber is teak, for which
Burma is noted. Various useful products are obtained from the forests,
as cutch, a preparation from the juice of a tree that is used in tanning
and dyeing.

INDO-CHINA 113

The area is rich in rubies, which are chiefly mined in Upper Burma,
as well as in sapphires, gold, and jade. Petroleum occurs in the Valley
of the Irawadi, and coal is worked in Upper Burma and North-East
Tongking. On account of the wild nature of the country, the district
where Tongking, Siam, and Burma adjoin is almost independent, and
constitutes the Shan States.

The Loivlands. — The great rivers of Indo-China are much impeded
by rapids, the best waterway being the Irawadi, which is navigable for
some distance north of Mandalay. Boats can ascend the Songkoi to the
Chinese frontier, and the Mekong nearly to the point where it forms the

An Elephant hauling Teak Logs.

boundary of Siam. All the rivers are loaded with sediment, with which
they have built great deltas, and are subject to floods at the season
of the south-west Monsoon.

These floods are utilized in growing rice, which is the chief export
of the area, and forms with fish the main diet of the inhabitants. The
fish are not only caught in the sea, but also in the rivers and lakes, espe-
cially in the great Lake of Cambodia, which is connected with the Mekong
and extends into Siam. Much of the fish is preserved with salt, obtained
by evaporation from inland saline swamps and from lagoons round the
coast. In many parts the coasts are fringed with mangroves, forests of
bamboo and palms.

114 INDO-CHINA

The majority of the inhabitants of Indo-China belong to the Mongolian
family, and the prevailing religion is Buddhism. On account of the
swampy nature of the lowlands and danger from floods and wild animals,
the native houses are raised on piles. They are sometimes built of
timber, but generally constructed of bamboo poles covered and thatched
with palm-leaf matting. The following are the political divisions of the
area, and the chief towns :

French Indo-China embraces Tongking, Anam, Cochin China, and
Cambodia. Tongking occupies the basin of the Songkoi, and its chief
town — Hanoi — is the capital of the whole of French Indo-China. The
town is well built, but its harbour is only accessible to small sea-vessels.
From it railways have been constructed for some distance along the Valley
of the Songkoi, as well as north-eastward towards China and southward
along the coastal plain.

Anam embraces the east coastal strip and a mountainous hinter-
land. Unlike the rest of Indo-China, the rain, brought by the north-east
trade-wind, falls here mainly in winter, and this is less favourable to agri-
culture. The coast towns also suffer from the force of this wind in winter,
and occasionally from typhoons ; so that navigation is at all times
dangerous, and the chief town — Hue — is but a poor port. Cochin
China mainly consists of the delta of the Mekong. The capital —
Saigon — has a good harbour, and is connected with the Mekong by a
navigable channel and a railway.

Siam is partly composed of the valley of the Menam, and partly
of a low and rather arid plateau to the east. The capital — Bangkok —
stands on the Menam, but, owing to a bar at the mouth of the river,
is only accessible to small vessels. A railway has been built from the
coast to Bangkok, and for some distance eastward.

Burma includes the basins of the Salwin and Irawadi. The capital
— Mandalay — can be reached from the coast by boat up the Irawadi,
or by a railway, which also extends some distance farther north. At
Mandalay there is a large walled enclosure containing the old Burmese
royal palace, now utilized as a British fort ; and on a hill behind the town
stands an enormous Buddhist temple with 700 pagodas. The beautiful
carving on these palaces and temples demonstrates the artistic genius
of the Burmese.

The only important port of Burma is Rangoon, which is accessible
at high-tide to large ocean vessels. It is situated on an inlet, which is

IN DO -CHIN A

115

A Group of Shrines, Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Eangoon.

connected by a navigable channel with the Irawadi, but only at times of
flood. The city consists of several well-built Government offices and
private houses, as well as numerous native bamboo huts. Behind it
stretches the forest, and about a mile away, on a slight elevation, stands
the magnificent Shwe Dagon pagoda, which is yearly visited by many
pilgrims. It comprises several temples containing gigantic images of
Buddha.

The chief exports of Burma are rice and teak, others being rubber,
petroleum, gold, jade, and rubies.

S-2

116

THE MALAY PENINSULA

King's LANDixa-i'LACE, Menam Piiver, Bangkok.

THE MALAY PENINSULA AND EAST INDIES.

This peninsula is joined to Indo-China by the low Isthmus of Kra,

which it has sometimes been proposed to cut through with a ship-canal.
It is separated from Sumatra by the Strait of Malacca, and along the Malay
coast of this channel are situated the British Straits Settlements.
These consist of Province Wellesley, Malacca, and the islands of Singa-
pore, Penang, and Labuan. The isle of Penang is rich in tin, and
has a good harbour ; but Malacca has declined in importance on account
of the silting-up of its port. The peninsula is divided into many States,
of which the southern are under British protection and the northern are
claimed by Siam.

Most of the East Indies belong to the Dutch, the chief being Sumatra,
Java, Celebes, the Moluccas, and most of Borneo. The northern portion
of the last, comprising Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo, is British.
The Philippines belong to the United'States.

THE EAST INDIES

117

Javan Rhinoceros.

[Keystone View Co.

Husking Eice in Luzon, one of the Philippines.

118 THE EAST INDIES

The mountain systems of this region have determined in a marked
degree the arrangement and shapes of the islands. One range forms the
backbone of the Malay Peninsula, while another traverses Sumatra,
Java, and the isles to the east. From Luzon, the largest of the Philip-
pines, parallel chains run southwards through a belt of smaller islands,
and reappear in Mindanao. In Borneo, Celebes, and the largest of the
Moluccas, ranges radiate from a centre, and in the last two cases form
the backbones of peninsulas, and in the first are separated by plains.
A-ctive volcanoes exist in most of the islands save Borneo, which rises from
a submarine plateau ; and this fact seems to point to a former connection
with the mainland of Asia. This plateau, or continental shelf, descends
rapidly east of Java and Celebes, the descent roughly corresponding with
the line drawn by the naturalist Sclater to indicate where the change
from Asiatic to Australian fauna occurs. West of this line tigers, rhino-
ceroses, elephants, tapirs, and monkeys, are found, but not to the east.

Climate. — The temperature is reduced in most parts by elevation,
and moderated by oceanic winds. All regions experience a fairly heavy
rainfall, which is excessive on the western slopes of Sumatra. The
seasonal distribution of the rainfall depends on the position of the area
with regard to the equator, and its exposure to north-easterly or south-
westerly winds (see pp. 23 and 24). Terrible typhoons sometimes occur
near the Philippines, when the winds are changing in the equinoctial
seasons.

Combined heat and moisture have produced a prolific vegetation
everywhere, and dense tropical forests abound. Some of the most
valuable forest products are gutta-percha — the hardened juice of a tree ;
pepper — the berries of a widespread, climbing plant ; cloves — the flower-
buds. of a shrub grown in the Moluccas; nutmeg and mace — the kernel
and its dried covering respectively of the fruit of another shrub common
in the Moluccas ; and rattans — the canes of a species of palm, used in
wicker-work, and grown largely in Borneo. Besides these, the coco-nut
palm flourishes everywhere, and another species of palm is easily culti-
vated, from the pith of which sago is prepared.

Of all the East Indies, Java is the most productive — and hence most
densely populated — on account of its fertile volcanic and alluvial soil.
Its staple crops are coffee, tea. sugar, and cinchona. In Sumatra and
Borneo the chief crops are coffee, tobacco, and pepper ; and in the Philip-
pines, Manila hemp — a fibre obtained from the leaf-stalks of a plantain —

THE EAST INDIES

119

Malay Houses.

sugar, copra, tobacco, and cigars. A small, quantity of coal is produced
in the British island of Labuan, which is a coaling-station and possesses
a good harbour. Tin is mined in large quantities in the granite rocks
that are found in the Malay Peninsula, and in the Dutch isles of Banks
and Billton.

The inhabitants of this region are mainly Malays — i.e., a race of Mon-
golian origin — and profess the Mohammedan faith. The chief commercial
centres are Singapore, Batavia, and Manila. Singapore has a magni-
ficent harbour, and, on account of its position at the point of convergence
of natural ocean routes, has a large entrepot trade. It is also an impor-
tant coaling-station. Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies,
has a good harbour, and commands the route through the Sunda Strait,
Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is the best port in the north, and
an improved harbour is being constructed.

120

QUESTIONS ON INDIA

Nutmegs.

QUESTIONS ON INDIA, INDOCHINA, AND THE EAST INDIES.

1. Contrast the climate of the following pairs of Indian towns, and explain the

differences : (1) Karachi and Calcutta ; (2) Lahore and Simla ; (3) Bombay
and Madras.

2. Correlate the systems of irrigation adopted in different parts of India with the

geological structure of the country.

3. Discuss the causes of famines in India, and describe the means taken to prevent

their occurrence or mitigate the suffering they occasion.

4. Mention any manufacturing industries carried on in India, and the advantages

they enjoy.
6. What are the respective hinterlands of Karachi, Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras ?
Explain the great trade carried on by these ports and state the chief exports
from each.

6. Describe the distribution of forests in India. What do you consider the work of

the Indian Department of Forestry ?

7. Where are tea, coffee, and cacao grown within the Indian Empire ? Compare

and contrast the conditions for their cultivation.

QUESTIONS ON THE EAST INDIES

121

Photo]

Lambert and Co., Singapore.

Sago Plantation.

8. How do you account for the sparse population of most of Indo-China compared

with that of other Monsoon regions ?

9. State the probable exports from Singapore. What effect do you think a canal

through the Isthmus of Kra might have on its trade ?
10. Contrast the type of trade carried on between Europe and the East Indies in
the seventeenth century and that now in vogue. Give reasons for the
change.

122

CLIMATIC STATISTICS

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Rainfall in inches, March, April, May . .
Rainfall in inches, June, July, August
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Mean annual rainfall in inches

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Rainfall in inches, March, April, May. .
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CLIMATIC STATISTICS

123

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124 ABEA AND POPULATION OF CHIEF COUNTBIES IN ASIA

ABE A AND POPULATION OF THE CHIEF COUNTEIES

IN ASIA.

Area in

Population of

Population 0

Year of Census.

Country.

1,000 Square

Country in

Largest City.

City in

Miles.

Thousands.

1906

Siberia*

4,787

6,741

Tomskt

Steppes

711

2,797

—

Turkistan and Trans-

Caspian Provinces . . ;

614

6,144

Tashkent

155

Trans-Caucasia . . . .

6,114

Baku J

179

Total Asiatic Kussia

6,207

21,796

—

A recent esti-

Asia Minor and Armenia

265

11,559

Smyrna

201

mate

Syria

115

3,675

Damascus

250

Mesopotamia

Turkish Arabian Pro-

143

1,398

Baghdad

145

vinces . .

170

1,050

Mecca

Total Asiatic Turkey . .

693

17,682

—

An estimate

Arabian Province of

Oman

800

Maskat

A recent esti-

Persia

628

9,500

Teheran

280

mate

An estimate

Afghanistan

250

5,000

Kabul

140

China Proper

1,532

407,253

Canton^

900

Manchuria

364

16,000

Mukden

150

Mongolia

1,368

2.600

Urga

Tibet

463

6,500

Lhasa

15-20

Chinese Turkistan

550

1,200

Kashgar

Total Chinese Empire . .

4,277

433,553

—

Korea

10,000

Seoul

196

1903

The Japanese Empire . .

161

49,655

Tokyoll

1,818

1901

The Indian Empire

1,767

294,361

Calcuttall

1,026

?»

Ceylon

3,578

Colombo

158

An estimate

Siam

212

6,687

Bangkok

400-600

1901

French Indo-China

256

18,230

Hanoi

150

1900

Java

29,746

Batavia

116

Total Dutch East Indies

736

36,000

—

1903

The Philippines . .

128

7,635

Manila

220

* Almost 16 per cent, of the total population of Siberia belong to the Mongolo-Tatar race, and
the rest to the Caucasic. Nearly 5 per cent, of the population are exiles from Russia.

t Irkutsk, 61,000. % Tiflis, 159,000.

§ Singan and Siangtan are doubtfully credited with a million each ; Tientsin from 750,000
to 900,000 ; Chengtu, 800.000 ; Peking, 700,000 ; Chungking, 700,000 ; Shanghai, 650,000.

11 Ozaka, 996,000. If Bombay, 776,000 ; Madras, 509,000.

COMMERCE

125

PRODUCTION OF WHEAT IN MILLION BUSHELS

Average amnial yield for 1901, 1902, 1903.
300 400 500 600

100

200

United \
States/

Russia
France

India

Austria-)
Hungary/

China
India
Java

Japan

PRODUCTION OF RICE IN MILLION CWTS.

Average annual yield for recent years.
100 200 300 400 500

■ I . i ■ I ■ I ■ I

PRODUCTION OF CANE-SUGAR :

Value of the average annual yield for 1901, 1902, in million pounds.
0 2.4 6 8 10 12 14 16

India | i L_i » ■ I ■ i ■ I . i ■ I » I

Java

United \

States/

Cuba

Hawaii \

Isles J

India
China
Ceylon

PRODUCTION OF TEA :

Value of the average annual yield for 1901, 1902, 1903, in million pounds.
0 1 2 3 4 .5

I . I . I . < . I .

Java

PRODUCTION OF COFFEE:

Value of the average annual yield for 1900, 1901, 1902, in million pounds.
0 4 S 1*?, 16 ?0

Brazil

Colombia

Java

The statistics on which these diagrams are based have been taken from ' Bartholomew's
Atlas of the World's Conmierce,' which students would do well to consult for further
information.

126

COMMERCE

PRODUCTION OF COTTON :

Value of the average annual yield for 1901, 1902, 1903, in million pounds.
0 20 40 60 80

I ■ I I I ■ I ■

United States
India
Egypt
China

China

Japan

Italy

Turkey in Asia

France

PRODUCTION OF SILK IN MILLION POUNDS :

Average annual yield for 1903, 1904.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Dutch East Indies

Ceylon

^traits Settlements

Philippines

EXPORT OF COPRA :

Value of annual export in thousand pounds.
0 200 400 600 800 1000

. I . I ■ ' ■ ' ■ '

United States

India

Russia

Argentina

PRODUCTION OF OIL-SEEDS IN MILLION CWTS. :

Average annual yield for three recent years.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

■ I ■ 1 ' « ■ I ■ ' ■ i ■

PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO :

Value of average annual yield for 1900, 1901, 1902, in million pounds.
0 2 4 6 8 10

United States

India

Cuba

Russia

Dutch East Indies

COMMERCE

127

PRODUCTION OF CINCHONA, IN MILLION POUNDS, IN 1903 :

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Java
India

South \

America/

Ceylon

I I I

I . I

Straits \

Settlements/

Banka and\

BillitonJ

Bolivia

PRODUCTION OF TIN, IN THOUSAND TONS, IN 1904

0 10 20 30 40 50

t I I

Australia
England I

I t I

J i_L

United State

Russia

Dutch \
East Indies/

PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM :

Value of average annual yield for 1902, 1903, 1904, in million pounds.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

J I I i I I ! \ I I I I I ' ■ ' ' I

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.

CHINA.

Principal Imports in 190G.

Value in

Million

£..

Value in
Principal Exports in 1900, j Million

i *•

Cotton goods

Opium

Sugar

Metals

Oil

Kice

Coal and coke

24
5
5

2
2

Silk (raw and manufactured)

Tea

Raw cotton

Beans

Hides, skins, and furs

Straw braid

11
4
2
2
1
1

Total value

Principdl Counteies of Origin in 1906.

Value in
Million

Principal Destinations in 1906.

Value in
Million

i Hong-Kong 26

; United Kingdom . . . . 13

Japan 10

; United States . . . . 7

' India 5

Hong Kong

Japan
United States

France

United Kingdom

13
5
3
3
2

128

COMMEECIAL STATISTICS— eo^tiunefZ.

JAPAN.

! Principal Imports in 1905.

Value in
Million Principal Exports in 1903.

Value in
Million

£.

Eaw cotton

Rice . .

Iron-work . . . ,
Woollen manufactures

Machinery

Sugar. .

5
3

3
2

Raw silk and silk waste
Cotton yarn and manufac-
tures

Matches

Silk manufactures . .

Camphor

Coal

5
2
1
1
1

Total value in 1906

Total value in 1906 . .

Principal Countries of Origin in 1906.

Value in
Million

£.

Principal Destinations in 1906.

Value in

Million

£.

United Kingdom
United States
India . .

China

Germany

10
7
6
6
4

United States
France

China

Hong-Kong

United Kingdom

12
4
3
3
2

INDIA.

Principal Impoits in 1907.

Value in
Million

£.

Principal Exports in 1907.

Value in
Million

£.

Cotton manufactures
Metals and hardware
Machinery and railway plant
Sugar. .

Oils

Provisions

Silk (raw and manufactured)
Chemicals

Apparel

Woollen goods

7
6
2
2

1
1
1
1

Jute (raw and manufactured)
Cotton (raw and manufactured)

Rice

Hides

Oil-seeds

Tea

Opium

Wheat

Lac

Raw wool

Total value

108

Total value

121

Principal Countries of Origin in 1907.

Value in
Million

Principal Destinations in 1907.

Value in
Million

£.

United Kingdom

Germany . . . . . .

Belgium

Austria-Hungary

Japan. . . . , . . .^

48
4
3
2

United Kingdom

Germany

China. .

United States

France

31
18
12
10

OF THE

VOLUMES BY J. B. REYNOLDS, B.A.

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(2)

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(3)

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(4)

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