INDO-CHIN
AILIPPINE
ISLANDS
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INDO-CHINA AND East InDIES: POoLITICAL AND ECONOMIC.
INDO-CHINA.
Tyıs area, excluding the Malay Peninsula, consists of the following natural
regions: (1) The northern highlands and a sories of ranges which separate the
valleys of the Songkoi, Mekong, Menam, Salwin, and Irawadi ; (2) the lower valleys
of these rivers, their deltas, and the coastal plains. On account of their fertility
these lowlands support most of the inhabitants of the area ; and since communication
between them is diffieult, they have generally formed separate political units, "Those
in the east now belong to France, and those in the west to Britain, while the central
portion constitutes the independent kingdom of Siam.
The Northern Highlands.— These mountains and the gorges
between. them are clad with forests, which are not yet fully explored, and
form the home of such wild animals as elephants, bears, rhinoceros,
buffaloes, and monkeys. "The elephants are captured and used as beasts
of burden, especially in hauling timber to the rivers, down which it can
be floated for export. The most valuable timber is _teak, for which
Burm- - uoted. Various useful products are obtained from the forests,
ES I“ yrenaration from the juice of a tree that is used in tanning
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