and in the north, when the full force of winds which sweep across two continents - is felt, the thermometer, according to the French missionaries, falls, as I have already mentioned, to more than 40° below zero Fahrenheit. The summers are warm, but not hot, the maximum temperature being from 90° to 95° Fahrenheit. The springs are said to be very beautiful, and the autumns are crisp and bright. The rainfall, judging from our experiences, must be considerable, and the country receives the full benefit in that respect of its proximity to the ocean.
Of the mineral products of the country it is impossible for me to give an accurate account, but we met with a coalmine, an iron-smelting furnace, and a small silver-mine within twenty miles of each other, and gold is found in many parts of the country. In what quantity these minerals are obtainable I am unable to say. The country must be thoroughly explored by some competent mineralogist before even an approximate estimate can be given.
The vegetable production includes, besides timber (fir, oak, elm, and walnut), wheat, beans, hemp, poppy, tobacco, and rice. The people cultivate the land with great industry, and, assisted by nature, extract the most plentiful crops from it. Large quantities of beans and bean oil are brought down to the coast for exportation to other parts of China.
Of the people some account has already been given. Mr. Taylor Meadows, a former consul at Newchwang, and Mr. James calculate the population at from twenty to twenty-three millions ; but of these not one million are real Manchus, and the remainder are Chinese immigrants. Manchuria is therefore populated by Chinamen, and not by Manchus. These Chinese colonists, like Chinese everywhere, are hard-working and industrious, and the country flourishes and develops in spite of the bad administration and of the brigandage so rife in all parts, and especially in the north. The people are well housed,
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