In Persia, the most remarkable feature is the want of forests and rivers. There are many desert places, although some spots are exceedingly fertile. During the summer months the climate is hot, and the country is subject to a hot wind called the Samiel, which is so poisonous that animals and travellers are killed by it, unless they perceive its approach, and fall to the ground until it has passed.
Hindostan, or India within the Ganges, is nearly as large as the United States, and must therefore embrace many varieties of soil and climate. The productions are rice, cotton, oranges, lemons, figs, pomegranates, sugar cane, opium, indigo, and tobacco. Horses, sheep, elephants, and the royal tiger, and almost all kinds of ferocious animals, are found here, except the lion. A great part of this country is under the dominion of the British East India Company.
Calcutta is the largest city, and is supposed to contain 650,000 inhabitants, a great many of whom are Europeans. It carries on an extensive commerce with all parts of the world.
The Birman Empire, Malaya, Siam, Tannasserim, and Anam, have commonly been comprehended under the general name of India beyond the Ganges; and the country is little known, except on the coast. In this country, owing to the influence of heat and moisture, the soil is exceedingly fertile. The productions are nearly the same as those of Hindostan.
China is celebrated for its immense population, for the ingenuity of its numerous manufacturers, for its many canals, for the great antiquity of its laws, and for its reserve and jealousy of the people of other nations. The chief productions are cotton, rice, and tea; and all the necessaries of life are cultivated. Tea and China ware are the principal exports.
Canton is the chief city, and is the port where American and English vessels are admitted to trade.
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