Paoting Fu, the capital of the Metropolitan province is about equi-distant from both 'Nientsin and Peking, being something over 100 miles, or three days' journey by cart These are the three most important cities of the northern part of the Empire, The surrounding codutry is equal for purposes of cultivation to any in the proving prob sufficiently high to escape the liability of bly. The soil is generally good, it much of the province tp inundation, exoapt in seasons of extraordinary rainfall and then it almost immediately disappears to the lower levels, The mountains at distinctly visible. to the west and nort west, being distant about 30 or 40 miles-the foot hills are in fact only about a dozen miles away., es are thickly scattered about, decreasing in number as the foot hills ale approached, and the svi) becomes less amenable to the husbandman's care. The productions correspond to those vi other parts of the province—wheat, barley, maize, varieties of millet and pulse, peanuts, cotton, and the ordinary vegetables, cab-age (pait'sai), onions, garlic, chives, radishes, carrots, sweet-potatoes, turnips, and a sort of yam called shan yue (mountain medicine). The cultivation of the poppy has not increased as rapidly the immediate vicinity of the provinei capital as in some other parts of the pro-
Paoting Fu does not appear to be noted for the manufacture or production of any specialty. We learn, however, that a movement is on foot having for its object the cultivation of the silk worm and the manufacture of silk. This is said to be under the patronage of the Lady Li, The city is situated at the head of flat-bottomed-boat navigation, and is on the direct line of travel to Hwailu, the entrance ing to Taiyuan Fu, the During the early summer, so little water in the upper part of the narrow stream, that only the smaller class of boats reach the city, and that through a series of rude looks, which by damming and holding the. water, enable them to make the imbtexmediate stages. A few years ago a canal, was dag a long distance towards the.north,.to- into duce a larger supply off water,. bub when opened for use, €! engineering was surprised to find the water flowing the wrong way, andit has been useless, It is rumoured
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.