Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 95 (Color Image)

0095	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. Iv.]

VALUABLE FORESTS. 69

sion of ranges and outlying spurs it is of course

difficult to build roads and railways. The

hilly portions of Manchuria for a long time

after the plain country had become settled

were inhabited by independent tribes, and

when in years to come railways are con-

structed, these tracts which form unfortunately

the greater portion of the country will always

remain behind the rest. Yet it must not

be imagined that the hilly tracts of Manchuria

are comparable to those of the Indian frontier

or of the Caucasus. They are much more like

Wales, or the Highlands of Scotland. And

this drawback in the country is in part made

up for by the fertility of the valleys, and the

richness of the forests which everywhere clothe

the mountain sides. There are thousands of

square miles of the most valuable timber forest,

not only of pine but of hard woods, like oak

and elm and walnut. These forests, situated

on large rivers upon which their timber may be

easily floated to the coast, may be reckoned as

a capital of millions of pounds in the wealth of

the country, and will one day make Manchuria

famous.

But Manchuria is not all hills, and the plain

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