■ ployed upon the canal. As few parts of if are entirely level, the ufe of
thefe flood gates, aflifted by others Out through Its banks, is to regulate
the quantity of "water in the canal. ' Some {kill is required to5 be exy
erted, in order to direct the barges through them without accident.
For this purpofe an immenfe oar proje&s from the bow of the vedel*
by which one of the crew conduits her with the' greatell tficety. Men
are alfo Rationed on each pier with fenders, made of {kins fluffed with
hair, to prevent the effect of the veffels ftriking immediately' againft the
Hone, in their quick paffage through the gates.
“ Light bridges of timber are thrown acrofs thófe piers, which are
eafily withdrawn whenever veflels are about tö pafs underneath. The
flood-gates are only opened at certain ftated hours, when all the veffels
collected near them in the* interval pafs through them, on paying a fmall
toll, appropriated- to the purpofe of keeping in repair the flood-gates,
and banks of the canal. The lofs of water ©ccaftoned by the Opening
of the flood-gate is, not very confiderablei the fall at eachMdom being
many inches; and which is foon fupplied by ftreams conduced into the
canal from the adjacent country on both fides. The fall is* however,
fométimes aberfe a foot, or two, when the diftance between the fldöd-
gates is cöüfiderable, or the current rapid. The canal was traced .often
ip the beds of ancient rivers, which it refembled in the irregularity of its
depth, the finuofity of its courfe, and the breadth of-its furface^ whêre
not narrowed by a flopd-g^fte. "Wherever the éirciimftanceè of the ad- -
jacent country admitted the water in the canal to bë maintained in a pro-*
per quantity, without any material deficiency, or excefs, by means of
flukes managed in its fides, for the purpofe qf influx, or difeharge, as
was the cafe farther to the fouthward, few flood-gates were necèfiary to
be conftrudted; nor were there any where met above half a dozen in
a day.”5
The fame author deferibes this eanal as beginning at Lin-fin-choo,
1 where it joins the river Eu-ho, and extending to Han-choo-foo, in an
irregular line of about 500 miles. Where it joins , the Hoan-ho, or
Yellow river, it. is about three quarters of a mile in breadth. From the
1 fubfequent narrative it appears that Du Halde, Le Comte, and other
s Sir G- Staunton, iii, 204.
10 , 1 French
French authors, have been milled when* they fuppofed that the imperial
canal extends From Canton to Pekin, while half, of the courfe is fupplied
by river navigation^ ai^'fmaller ^^ls^analt is fometimc3 interrupted
by mouritaind\is,i1dlMi'^*- In the foufh the' wvSr Kan Kian, which
runs from S. W. to N. E., fupplies a very cotifiderable part of the navigation.
To enumerate thefother canal's of China would hfe'-infriite, as there is
a large canal in' every province, with branches leading to moft of tbe
towns and villages".
The manufactures of China are fo multifarious, as to embrace almoft
Srer-y article' of induftry. The 'inoft noted manufaAure is that of
porcelain ; and iM'lfelldwed in trade by thofe of filk,‘cqt45<n, pap'er, &c.
The porcelain of China,has been celebrated,from remote ages,“- and is
chiefly prepared from a pure white clay called kaolin: while the pe-
tunfi is’.underftood to be a decayed felfpar. Some writers add foap rock,
and gypfum.4 ' The excellentimitations which have appeared in various
countries of Europe, more elegant in the form and painting, have con-
fiderably reduced the value of'the Chinefe manufactory. -
The internal commerce of China is immenfe, but 'the external trade is
"unimportant, conficlering the, vafthefsoTtheerhpire. A feanty in-
tercourfe exifts with Ruflia, and Japan; But the chief export is that of
tea,! "which is fenf to England to the value of about one million yearly
* Phillips, p. 8, feq. give» 3 very erroneous ides of die length of this canal.
* Staunton, iii., goo. ’
I nland N a.
VIGATION.
Manufactures
and
Commerce.