On the Trans-Baikal line nearly all the grading is ready and the rails are laid for 550 versts (366 miles) from Strietensk and 70 versts (46 miles) from Muisoff; the total length of this section of the railway is a little over 1,000 versts, or 666 miles. Thus, it is expected that by June of next year this section of the line will be in operation. Ten thousand workmen and convicts are working at the Chinese section of the line, which it is expected will be completed in three years.

RESOURCES OF ASIATIC RUSSIA.

I may add

Siberia and the Amur lands are rich beyond belief. Their 13,400,000 square kilometers (5,213,956 square miles) are inhabited by only 4,000,000 souls. In recent years, however, the number of immigrants (400,000 last year) has been equaled only by the tide which poured into the United States in the past. This vast territory, long looked upon as a barren waste, is destined to be one of the world's richest and most productive sections. In northern France, wheat ripens in 137 days; in Siberia, in 107. Even heavy night frosts do not injure the young seed. Under such conditions, the possibilities of agriculture are practically unlimited. that oats require, in Siberia and in the Amur country, only 96 days, and in the regions of the Yenisei only 107. The frost period lasts. only 97 days in the Irkutsk country. Transbaikalia lies entirely within the agricultural regions; so, too, almost the entire territory traversed by the Amur as far north as it runs. Efforts are being made to obtain along the Amur at least 300,000 square kilometers (115,835 square miles) for the higher forms of northern agriculture. Climatically, the best of northern Asia's territory, for planting purposes, is the Usuri country, which, in spite of its vast tracts of wood and grazing lands, has 195,000 square kilometers (75,292 square miles) of arable ground. The building of the Trans-Siberian Railroad has already added to the Empire's wheat product.

The mineral resources of western Siberia are vast. Between Tomsk and Kooznesk lie 60,000 square kilometers (23,167 square miles) of coal lands which have never been touched. The coal is said to be excellent. In eastern Siberia, with its 280,000 square kilometers (108,112 square miles) of fruitful soil, there are 400 places yielding gold. Rich mineral deposits-graphite, lapus lazuli; iron mines, particularly rich in quality (as high as 60 per cent); hard and soft coals, i. e., black and brown coals-await hands willing to work for them. To-day, thousands of colonists are hurrying to these promising lands. Russia's output in gold and silver is already very large, and is constantly increasing. Three-fourths of all the silver gathered in Russia is obtained in the Altai Mountains. Exclusive of the Ural gold fields, there are 851 places in the Empire where gold is found.

The ores are

Notwithstanding the number of places in which iron is located, there are only four large establishments for its production. rich-38 to 60 per cent of raw iron.

The industries of Siberia are in their infancy; still, they are growing and are bound to grow, so rich are the rewards promised. Chemical, sugar, and paper mills have been put up in several places and are paying well. Even Manchuria, a province so vast that it might make an empire, is looking to Russia for its future development. The wealth of this province, like that of Siberia and all eastern Russia, is ripe for harvesting. The traffic in Siberia and eastern Russia is increasing faster than even the advocates of the great Trans-Siberian road anticipated. The Ob, one of the world's big rivers, emptying through the Gulf of Ob into the Arctic Ocean, has 102 steamers and 200 tugs running already. On the Yenisei, 10 steamers carry the mails regularly. The mouths of both these rivers were visited last summer by English and Russian ships. This proves the practicability of connecting eastern and western Siberia with Europe by water. The mouth of the Ob is to be deepened and wharves are to be built. On the coast of the Usuri country there is regular postal communication between Nicolaiev, Vladivostock, and intervening places, as well as connection with Japanese ports and Port Arthur. From Odessa and St. Petersburg to various Asiatic ports runs the so-called volunteer fleet, established in 1878. It has 14 steamers with 115,500 tons displacement. In war they can be armed; in peace they carry freight, travelers, immigrants, and troops.

Siberia and the Amur country possess advantages very similar to those of North America, Australia, and parts of Africa. The great gain to Russia at present, in developing Siberia, is the guaranty that her harvests will come nearer to supplying her wheat needs.

CHEMNITZ, July 31, 1899.

J. C. MONAGHAN,

Consul.

TRADE REGULATIONS AT TALIENWAN: NEW

SIBERIAN CITY.

Ambassador Tower transmits from St. Petersburg, under date of August 23, 1899, translation of a decree issued by the Emperor on July 30 (as published in the St. Petersburg Journal of August 4-16) in regard to the regulation of commerce at Talienwan, as follows:

To the Minister of Finance:

Our Empire, which comprises immense territories in Europe and in Asia, has been summoned by Divine Providence to contribute toward the friendly intercourse of the people of the Occident with those of the Orient. In attaining this historical

object, we have had the friendly cooperation of the Emperor of China, who has ceded to us the use of the port of Talienwan and of Port Arthur and has opened to us through his possessions an outlet for the great line of railway from Siberia to the Yellow Sea. Thanks to this wise decision of the Government of His Majesty the Bogdokhan, the extreme limits of the two continents of the Old World will soon be united by a continuous line of rails which will secure to all nations the incalculable advantages of easy communication and will bring new regions into the general development of trade.

In our constant solicitude for this undertaking of such general usefulness, we have carefully considered what a position of the greatest importance the starting point of this line-Talienwan-will occupy when the road has been constructed. As we declared at the time of its occupation that this port should be open to the commercial fleets of all nations, we have now decided to begin the erection near to it of a city, which we shall call "Dalny."

At the same time, in view of the commercial development of the future city, we confer upon it for the whole term during which that territory has been leased to Russia by China, under the agreement dated the 15-27th of March, 1898, the rights of free trade which belong to free ports, upon the following conditions:

I. The right to import and export merchandise of every description free of customs duties is established in the city, in the port, and in the adjacent territory up to a fixed boundary line, which may be changed by the Minister of Finance.

II. The right of free trade thus established shall not affect the tolls for carriage or for anchorage or other taxes of various kinds that usually obtain in seaports. III. Quarantine regulations for the exclusion of contagious diseases shall be applied in full force to ships entering the port.

IV. Merchandise imported into Russia and coming from the territory to which the right of free trade is thus extended shall be examined and shall pay such duties upon entering the limits of the Empire as are provided for by the general laws which govern the importation of foreign goods.

Invoking the blessing of God upon this future undertaking, so truly peaceful, I take upon myself the care of building the new city and its port.

PETERHOF, July 30, 1899.

NICHOLAS.

IRON BEDSTEADS FOR THE ORIENT.

Although statistics show us that American hardware is finding a rapidly increasing market abroad, there has as yet been but little imported into Formosa. The foreign population of the island numbers but some three dozen persons in all, and, of course, their requirements are very slight. American manufacturers must then look to the Japanese and Chinese population for their customers. Unfortunately both Chinese and Japanese carpenters still cling to their very primitive home-made tools. Although the more intelligent among the Japanese people are quick to purchase labor-saving machinery if the expense is not too great and they are convinced work can be done by it cheaper and quicker than by hand, this spirit of enterprise does not apparently extend to the carpenter, or even to the blacksmith and lower-class artisans who live in the interior and feel but little the influence of foreign customs.

I have visited several of the large hardware shops in the city, and with the exception of nails, bolts, screws, locks, hinges, and shovels, I have found no foreign goods.

Although there is but little to be done in hardware, it is my firm belief that a good opportunity exists for the introduction of American iron beds, not only in Formosa, but throughout the East, providing the home manufacturers are willing to make the slight modifications required in producing an acceptable article.

The American iron bed, enameled in white and with brass trimmings, is superior in appearance to the English or continental bed found for sale in the East; and, although in every way equal in strength and firmness, it is manufactured in America at such a low cost that it can be placed on the Eastern market at about half the cost of the European article. The plague of insects is so prevalent in the East, and wood is so easily injured by the excessive damp, that wooden bedsteads find but little favor. The form of bed most suitable for use in tropical countries differs from the present American model in two respects, i. e., the body of the bed must be raised so as to be 2 feet clear of the floor, and the four posts must be extended to a length of 7 feet. A mosquito net is used the year round in most tropical countries, and although an ingenious canopy arrangement, to be suspended from the ceiling, can be obtained in the United. States, the only really satisfactory net is the one supported by the four bed posts, independent of outside fixtures. The four posts

should be connected at the top by light rods, bent at each end into a ring, which can be dropped over a pin which projects from the top of each post and which also affords a hold for the brass knobs which are to be placed on top. This frame forms a support for the mosquito net, which is either fastened to the rods with loops or is drawn over the whole frame. An English or continental double bed of this kind sells in the East for from 40 to 50 yen ($20 to $25).

Although foreign-style beds are but rarely used by Japanese in Japan proper, well-to-do Japanese in Formosa use them quite extensively, as they recognize that in this damp climate it is more. healthful to sleep above the floor than on the "tatami," as is done in Japan. In some of the Government institutions-especially the hospitals, of which there are several large ones in Formosa-foreign iron beds are used exclusively. The largest market, however, would be in supplying the thousands of foreigners who reside in the various foreign settlements throughout the whole East.

TAMSUI, August I, 1899.

JAMES W. DAVIDSON,

Consul.

CAMPHOR MONOPOLY IN FORMOSA.

I inclose a clipping from the Japan Mail of this date, descriptive of the new camphor monopoly established by the Japanese Government in the Island of Formosa.

Regulations were issued by the Formosan Government on the 22d of June. The scale of prices to be paid by the Government for

camphor purchased is shown below.

Kelung and Tamsui have been designated ports for the shipment

of camphor.

YOKOHAMA, July 13, 1899.

JOHN F. GOWEY,
Consul-General.

CAMPHOR MONOPOLY OF FORMOSA.

The Government's scheme for a camphor monopoly in Formosa has now been reduced to working form and embodied in a series of regulations. The Government is to receive from manufacturers all the crude camphor and crude-camphor oil produced in the island, the possession, hypothecation, transfer, or export of all other camphor or camphor oil being interdicted, and the ports of export strictly limited. As to the price paid by the authorities to the manufacturers, it is to be fixed by the governor-general. Manufacturers are required to render to the Government every year a report of the anticipated amount of production, and for failure to do so, or for furnishing a false report, the penalty is a fine of from 10 to 100 yen.* Officials connected with the monopoly are to have the right of visiting and inspecting stills and stores, and of enforcing suitable measures of control. The penalty for selling or exporting camphor independently of the Government is heavy, namely, confiscation of the camphor and a fine of from 50 to 500 yen. Adulteration is punishable by a fine of from 10 to 100 yen, and so is the making of a false declaration or neglecting to make the required declaration.

Simultaneously with the issue of the regulations embodying the monopoly

*The value of the yen is 49.8 cents.