China is densely peopled. It contains about one-fourth of all the inhabitants of the world. For want of room on the land, several millions live on boats moored in the rivers and harbors. These boats are arranged like houses on a street.
A Chinese home; a barber plaiting a man's hair; a woman washing clothes.
4. Occupations and Productions.—Most of the people are farmers. Every foot of ground, even on the steep hillsides, is carefully cultivated. Canals are dug from the rivers to water the land. Immense quantities of tea, cotton, sugar, and rice are raised. Rice is the chief food of the people. Most of their clothes are made of cotton.
China supplies the world with much of its tea. The tea-plant is a shrub with a bright glossy leaf and a pretty white flower. The leaves are what we call tea. They are picked by hand, and dried over a charcoal fire.
The mulberry-tree is extensively cultivated. Some of the plantations are so large that it takes two or three days to travel through them.
The bamboo is as useful to the Chinese as the palm is to the Indians of South America. With it they build bouses and boats, make furniture, baskets, water pipes, and all sorts of useful articles. The young shoots are used as food. They are cooked and eaten like asparagus.
A Chinese family at dinner.
Many of the people are fishermen. They some
STUDIES ON THE RELIEF MAP.
Highland and Lowlands.—Trace the great highland ridges on the relief map. In which directions do they extend? Find the names of three of these ridges on the political map. Find the southern extremity of India, and trace directly north of it. First, you pass a region of light gray color. What name is given to this? (Elevated plains or plateaus are colored light gray.) First you come to a broad valley. What is its name? What lies north of this valley? Crossing the high mountain ridge you find a great central plateau region. Trace this north-west until you come to the eastern extremity of the continent. What name is given to this extremity? Trace the northern border of the continent. What kind of surface do you find here? Find the great peninsula in the southwest. What kind of surface does it have? All the continents that we have studied so tar have had great plains in the interior. Compare them with Asia. Where are the great plains found in Asia?
Coast Line.—Put your finger on the northeastern extremity of Asia. Trace southward. What peninsula do you find? What great group of islands? Is this coast line regular or irregular? Name some of the inlets on this coast. What peninsula west of the great group of islands? Find the southeastern extremity of Asia. What name is given to the long neck of land found there? Trace two other peninsulas in the south. Which one is farther south? In which zone does the northern coast lie? The water of this coast and the mouths of the rivers are frozen during nine months of the year.
Rivers and Lakes.—In what part of Asia are lakes found? Some of these are salt. Can you tell which ones? Can you tell why they are salt? What seems to be the largest lake in the northern part? Find three great rivers rising in the central highlands and flowing south. Find three flowing north. Find three flowing east. Notice that nearly all rivers flow from the center of the continent toward the coast. Why is this? Which of the lakes have rivers flowing into them? Find two rivers in the western part that unite.
Plants and Animals.—Trace the tropical regions of Asia. Can you tell some plants and animals that are found in this region? Find the great desert regions of Asia. What animals are found here? What can you tell of plant life in these regions? Trace the cold belt, of Asia. What plants are found in the southern half of this belt? In the northern half? Find the temperate belt of Asia. What countries are in this belt? What can you tell of the plants and animals of this belt?
