Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1857-07-10

General John Browning. has been pub
liShed in the Journal of the Statistical
Society. We make the following extracts
from this important and interesting doc
tlment, which were published in July
1855: -'1#-
THE FISHING POPULATION. 80,
- The multitudes OF persons who, 1--we. by
the fisheries in China. afford evidepce
not only that the land is cultivated ia
the greatest possible extent, but that it is
suficientto' supply the necessities Of thc
orert1oWiuE population. Tor agriculture is
held dus big ghshUner'ins sOhina, and :he hus>
bandmau stands next in rank 10 The sage
or literary man iu-the social hiei archy.
1tshas been supposed thatsnearly a tJnlh
of the population derive their means of
support from the fisheries. Hundreds ot
thousands OF boats crowd the whole Coast
Of CGinaWzesonetlmes acting in communi
tles,zaud sometimes .indept udent and inso
lated. There is no species of craft bv
which a fish can be invei5led, which is
not PracticGd with sucdess in Chinn-ev.
cry variety OF net,. from tie vast seine,
embracing miIes'totke small hand tillet
in the care of a child. Fishing by night
and fishing by day, 6sbing in moonlight,
by torchlight and in utter darkness-6sh-
ing in boats Of all siges.-6shing by those
who are stationary on the rock by the
seaside, and by those who are absent for
weeks on the widest of seas-ishing by
cOrmorant.. hshlng by divers. fishing
with lines. With baskets. by every imagi.
nAbe decoy aud DEVICE. There is no rlv
er which is not staked TO assist the fisher
man in his craft. There is no lake, no
pond which is not crowded with fish. A
piece Of water is nearly us valuable as IL
field of fertile land. At day break every
city is crowded with sellers Of live fish,
who carry their commodity in buckets Of
water, saving all they do not sell to be
returned to the pond or kept for another
days service. And the lakes and ponds
Of China not ouly supply large provisions
OF tish-they produce considerable guam
ties Of edible roots and seeds. which are
largely consumed by the people. Among
these the esculent arum the water chest
nut (Scirpus tubOrOsus) aud the lotus
'(nslum6ium) are the most remarkable.
THE WATER POPULATION.
The enormous river population OF Chi
ma, who live only in boats. who were
born and educated in boats. who marry,
rear their families, and d;e-who. in a
word. begin and end their existence on
the water. and never have or dream Of
any shelter other than the roof, and who
seldom tread except on the deck or board
OF their sampans-Shows to what extent
their land is crowded, and how mad
eQuate it is to maintain the cumbers Of
the soil. In the city of Canton alone it
is estimated that 100000 persons dwell
upon the surface Of the river; the boats,
sometimes twenty or thirty deep. cover
some miles. and have their wants suppl
ed by ambuIatory statesmen. who wend
their way through every accessible pas.
sage. OF this vast population. some dwell
in decorated river boats used for every
purpose Of license and feslivity-Gor thea.
treS-for concsrtS-ior feasts- for gam.
bling-for lust-for solitary and social
recTeatioHs, some crafts are empl 'yed in
conveying goods for passengers. and are
in a state OF constant activity others are
moored and their owners engaged as SER
wants or laborers on shore. Indeed their
pursuits are nearly as various as the land
PoPulat.ou. The immense variety Of boats
which are found in Chinese waters. has
never been adequately described. Some
are of enormous size and are used as
magazines for salt or rice; others have
all domestic accommodations and are EN-
plOyed for the transfer OF whole families,
wilh-alEa Ih6iE..t Observation-Disclosures
accommodations froP, one. place to an,
o:her--some called ,centiPedes, from
from their being supposed to have loo
rowers, convey withsextraordinary rapid
isy the more valued csrgQes from the ip:
ward houses, to the foreign shipping in
the ports-all these frpmI theI huge and
cumbrous lpnks, which remind rone to
Noah'st ark and neutrality-suspicious. the
Eudest and coarsest CONSTRUCTIONS. of The
Temotest ages, to the fragile aplanks upon
whIch'a "a soIisaryS,lsperi hangs upon out:
skirts OF society-boats OF, every form siapd
applied 70 every purpose--exhibltfan in,
csIculabie eamount fof popu latioh; which
may beicalled amphibious, If not aquatic.
Not only Iare land and water crowded
with Chinese9 but. many dwell on arti6-
ciaI islands = which float upon the lakes
islands with. gardens and houses raised
upon theiralters which the occupiers have
bound, togetHsF, and on which they cul-
tivate what issneedful; ;,for. the supply of
tlte's daily wants. They, have their poul-
try aud their Vegetables. for use. their
flowers snditheir scrolls for ornaments
their household gods for protection and
u'Pr -sasH ,1u11H, s 2 taoaa4- ,9stst
TUE ,CHIERsEaAs AGRIoULTURIsTS.
H.. n