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Hamilton’s account of the east indies. 511

5 s called bohea: and I have heard others fay, that fome grounds will produce nonebut fine tea, and others again none but coarfe ; but they all agreed in drying the boheaon hot plates.

On the fkirts of the mountains they plant their mulberry-trees for their filk-worms 7and cut them down at two years growth, becaufe the infeft delights moll in atender leaf.

There are many ufeful trees in China that bear no fruit. Some bear beans ; but ofthofe I have feen in India, at Surat , and Bengal. One fort they have that provokes fleep,by laying fome of the leaves in the bed near the patient. The iron-wood tree is com-modious for making anchors for fhipping. It is prodigioufly ftrong and hard, and hasnatural gravity enough to fink it to the bottom of the fea.

On the mountains of Zenfi, near the famous wall that divides China from Tartray,grows abundance of that valuable root rhubarb, whofe ufe is fo well known in Europe .The root genfing grows alfo in woods there, and when the natives go in queft of it, tofind it, they are forced to go in the night feafon,. with torches in their hands, for fear ofbeing aifaulted by the wild inhabitants of the woods, fuch as lions, tigers, leopards,rhinocerofes, &c. of the brutal kind, befides dangerous reptiles, as ferpents and fnakes,which all flee from fire. I have heard of ferpents thirty feet long, and five in circum-ference, which lurk all day in their dens, and come out in the nights, to prey on ani-mals that lay fecurely in theirs.

This root genfing, when dried, is like a little carrot, of a light yellow colour, and,about midway down, it branches in two, which makes the Chinefe call it the man-herb.It has a fweetifh tafte, but, being much chewed, it feems bitterilh. It is cut in fhreds,and drunk with tea, and then it is efteemed a very great reftorative of the animal fpirits.It is exceeding hot in quality, and therefore to be avoided by thofe of ftrong conftitu-tions. It is excellent in confumptions, and, for its feveral good qualities, is fold at agreat price, fome at three times its weight in filver; but, after it is a year old, it goesoff at a Hulling per ounce, becaufe it is difficult to keep the worm out of it. Radix-china, or China-root grows in many parts of China , but the ifland of Aynam yields thebeft.

The Emperor ’s revenues, by report, amount to 180,000,000 of tayels, out of whichhe maintains fifty caloes or privy-councillors, at 100,000 tayels yearly. The princesof the blood are honoured with the government of provinces, and are allowed, out ofthe royal treafury, from 500,000 to 1,000,000 tayels yearly. He has fourteen provinces,wherein he maintains 80,000 foldiers in each, and each foldier is allowed io tayelsper annum in filver, and a catty of rice, and an ounce of fait per day, which are de-livered monthly out of the Emperor’s granaries. In a word, I look on China to be thericheft and beft governed empire in the world. And fo having given the beft accountI can of it, I fteer my courfe to the fouthward among the Philippine illands, whofe de-fcriptions I take by report.

Chap. LIV. — Gives fome Account of the Ijlands of Mindanoa, Luconia, Formofa, andJapan , with fome remarkable Occurrences that have happened on them .

MINDANOA is both the. fouthernmoft and eaftemmoft of all the Philippines . Ithas little or no commerce with ftrangers, and I never heard of any European fhip that '

went to it fince Captain Swan called there in his way from Panama to India , when CaptainDampier was with him, who, no doubt, has given a good account of it in his travels:

and