_But, nevertheless climatic conditions have favoured Lanchow in one special respect—the tobacco grown here is reckoned the best flavoured and most desirable in all China. And gradually a whole system of tobacco manufacture has grown up around the city. The interest of this industry is that it is purely Chinese and run on native lines entirely. The Lanchow place-name "Five Springs" can be seen hanging on the signboards of shops in Shansi or Hupeh, in Kiangsu_or Szechuan, in the motto "Five Springs (Lanchow) Water-tobacco,"" which often can be seen alongside of others referring to "Shao Hsing" or "Feng siang Wines." Further the exigencies of transport have brought about a means of getting the tobacco down country which is unequalled perhaps in its interest and to it I must presently refer.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.