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ANAM. 331
the tropical fruits are produced in great abundance.
The inundated lands generally produce two crops of
rice, one of which is reaped in April, the other in May,
besides which there is the mountain rice. Maize,
millet, several kinds of beans, and pompions are also
raised; and wax, honey, ivory, gold dust, and aguilawood
are brought down by the mountaineers. The
islands abound in the edible nests of
swallow (hirundo esculentd), which are
the salangan
in so much
request among the epicures of China. The Cochin
Chinese have a small breed of horses; also, mules,
asses, goats, and plenty of poultry.
The chain of mountains which encircles Cochin
China, reaches so nearly to the Tongkin Gulf, on the
northern frontier, as to leave only a narrow defile,
which, during the separation of the two kingdoms,
was closed by a strong wall. Another ridge, extend-
ing eastward, separates Tongkin into two unequal
divisions, (the northern being considerably the larger,)
and a prolongation of the same ridge is said to separate
Laos from Lactho. Another lateral branch of
the same plateau separates Tongkin from China. The
passes are here also closed with walls, one side of which
is guarded by Chinese soldiers, and the other by Tongkinese.
This frontier is represented as almost impenetrable.
The mountains are very lofty, and rise into
sharp peaks. The soil is sandy, gypseous, and ferru-
ginous That of the plains is in general rich, light,
and marshy, watered by numberless streams, and of
boundless fertility. The productions are nearly the
same as those of Cochin China.* Mulberry-trees are
* Mr. Crawford says that Tongkin is the only part of the em-
pire which furnishes the metals. The iron of Tongkin, he says,
supplies the whole kingdom, except Saigon, which is furnished by
Siam. Gold and silver mines are also found here.
PART II.
U