News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-08-22
CHlNA'S CLIMATE.
lPelSinis Hot and Humid Summers and
Cold Winters-The Food Supply,


ditlons are concerned, is TO be feared
for the American troops now ordered
for service in China. Men who have
lived long in China even say that a
winter in Prkin il quite as healthiul
as winter in Nv York. Broadly
speaking, the difference of climate be-
tween northern and southern China
is Just as great and may be fairly
compared with that of the northern
and southern parts of our country.
The summer weather at Shanghi and
Hong Kong is supposed to be un'
heal Chiul, but in the latter city most
of the Foreigners live on an elevation
called The Peak" aud escape the
worst effects. 1t is, however, into
northern China that our troops are
being sent.
According to New Yorker, who re-
Gently came back from Pekin, 1.-THE
climate there is chiefly remarkable
for the wide diff renee between sum-
mer and winter temperatures. The
summer is very hot and the almost
constant rains makes the air in,utfer.
ably humii. Il is a healthy enough
climat in spite Of this, if precautions
are taken. BubO tic plague, trvers
aud cholera are by no means the ever
p esent dangers reports would seem
To Indicate. In fact, the Foreigners
in general pay little attention to
them. They are confined almost en-
tirly to the Chinese. The worst
mouth of the year is August, when
tht' rains are almost constant.
- inter begins as early as Novem-
Der |, and there is no climate on
earth finer than a Chinese winter. A
man exhausted by the summer
mouths is braced up completely, ard
is very soon in splendid condition for
another year. 1t is very cold, to be
sure, but the drvuess of the air-the
same dryness Minneapolis men tell
you about-keeps you from feeling
the cold. Even TOR men fresh from
the tropics the OILY precaution neces
sary is to lay il d good supply of
winter cl)thes, and | see that our
commissary depal tnent expects to
have these on tie ground before o.
tober /. Most E rOpeaus get vacci-
mated, too, for there is smallpox
among the natives IN winter. Eff ,rts
to stamp out the disease have heen
fruitless on account of the way the
natives store their winter clothes
With the return of warm wea her all
the turs and woOlens are piled to
gether in pawn.shOps or public store
rooms, v here any injection there may
be is distributed in the most I'll CtiVe
manner possible. If our soldiers
bring clothing with them, and do not
rely on native flrs, there is no dan
ger.
"As rail wav communicative is at
an end it is likely that our regiments
will be tied up for the winter in or
around Pekin or Ten sin. 1t all de-
ponds upon the natives whether that
stay is one of the pleasantest expDri
ences ia the soldiers lives or h veri-
table nightmare. The little snow
that falls evaporates quickly without
melting and leaves the ground in fine
condition for horseback riding, and
plenty of ponies are to be had. The
river, and often flooded land on eth
er side, freezes smoothly, leaving a
fine surface for skating. One winter
we had good ice boating us we'll.
"The food supply is problem
which may present some difficulty. In
the past Invading armies have always
been able to obtain food somehow,
even when cut off from their base OF
supplies. Ia the TAPPING rebellion
and in the Japan-China war it was
found repeatedly that the hostile
troops could easily buy all the sup
plies they wanted from the unpatriot
ic and mercenary natives. In one
case remember Japanese force was
hemmed in by Chinese on every side.
With any other enemy, as people said
at the time, they would have inevlta-
bly been starved out. As matter
or fact, however, all through the siege
they got supplies regularly and fired
pretty we'll Y may ha safer to de-
pend entirely on the regular commits
sariat, with base of supplies at one
of the open ports.
"t'irst on the list of native Irpvj.
sions is Of course rice. d ties arr al
so a staple. THIN there are great
many sorts of dried and preserved
foods. Ia spite OF the col winter,
fresh grapes OF a small, sweet variety
can b. obtained all the year around
They are picked III the fall and burled
in peculiar kind OF sand, from which
they can be dug six m onths later with
the bloom still on. Ia summer there
are many otter fruits, among them
the finest pears you ever tasted. OI
vegetable food, in short, there is d
great plenty.
"There is a great deal Of game
about Pekin and Ten-Tsin-.Ni lid geese,
ducks, teal aud snipe. II has been
suggested, OF Ikingly, either, that
one Of the deep seated grievances oI
the mort hern Chinese is du4 to the
great M her Of accidents which have
happened to ChinHmpn through tht
promiscuOua hunti0g and shO"'iDg
of the Foreigners New York Even
ing Post.
The gu cErr you stop "a 2onlh or