Note 60 — Chapter XXVIII
Reading edition
In some of the most barren parts of Tartary, where the people with difficulty obtain the means of subsistence, remarkable care is bestowed upon the cultivation of patches of ground, only a few yards square, upon the side of the most rugged mountains. Æneas Anderson says, "Upon a very high mountain in Tartary, (on the road to the imperial residence,) I discovered patches of cultivated ground in such a position as to appear altogether inaccessible. Presently I observed one of the poor husbandmen employed in digging a small spot near the top of a hill, where, at first sight, it appeared impossible for him to stand, much less to till the ground. I soon noticed that he had a rope fastened round his middle, by which he let himself down from the top, to any part of the precipice where a few square yards of ground gave him encouragement to plant his vegetables. Situated as these spots are, at considerable distances from each other, and considering the daily fatigue and danger of this man's life, it affords an interesting example of Chinese industry, stimulated by necessity."—See Anderson's Embassy of Lord Macartney.