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332 ANAM.
plentiful; also, the cocoa-nut and other palms, and
an inferior sort of tea-plant; but the chief article of
cultivation is rice. The grape does not come to maturity.
There are neither sheep nor asses, nor hares,
but deer of all kinds, goats, hogs, and poultry abound.
The horses are a contemptible breed. The buffalo is
used for agricultural purposes. The rhinoceros is oc-
casionally discovered, and elephants are very numerous;
also tigers, some diminutive bears, and monkeys of
every description. The mountainous parts are much
infested with rats, and the whole country swarms with
vermin, reptiles, and insects, venomous and harmless.
The population of Tongkin is said to be much
greater than in any other part of the Anamese empire,
notwithstanding that it suffered so severely during the
civil wars. Recent accounts (but little dependence
can be placed on them) carry the computation as high
as eighteen millions, while that of Cochin China is stated
by the missionaries at only six millions. It is, however,
unquestionably, the most populous and the richest
province of the empire. Owing to the redundant
population, vast numbers labour under the most extreme
indigence; and it is computed, that one-tenth
of the inhabitants of Lower Tongkin live constantly
on the water. The mountains bordering on China,
called Kaubang, are inhabited by the Quan-to, an
ancient race, (as the name imports,) who regard themselves
as the original possessors of the country, and
consider the Anamese as intruders. Their language is
said to be essentially different from the Anam, (called
Juan by the Siamese and Malays,) which appears to be
an original monosyllabical language.*
* The Anamese employ several sounds, in particular b, d, and
r, which are'incapable of being pronounced by a Chinese.