INDO-CHIN 
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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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