. Scottish geographical magazine. , to the accompaniment of incense-burning and the solemn sacrificeof a pig and a goat, at the time of the Ching-ming or Clear BrightPeriod—the equivalent of our Easter—admits the waters of the Min intothe eastern irrigation system. The accompanying photograph shows thebarrier which is run diagonally across the Inside or East Channel. 402 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. This channel, which is in the foreground, was quite dry at the time, thewater of the Min being about 6 feet above the level of its bed at the timethe barrier was removed. The removal of the barr
. Scottish geographical magazine. , to the accompaniment of incense-burning and the solemn sacrificeof a pig and a goat, at the time of the Ching-ming or Clear BrightPeriod—the equivalent of our Easter—admits the waters of the Min intothe eastern irrigation system. The accompanying photograph shows thebarrier which is run diagonally across the Inside or East Channel. 402 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. This channel, which is in the foreground, was quite dry at the time, thewater of the Min being about 6 feet above the level of its bed at the timethe barrier was removed. The removal of the barrier was accomplishedsimply by pulling up the tripod-shaped stakes, formed of rough treestems, which hold the dam of plaited bamboo mats in mats are faced with a wall of loose river boulders and earth, thewhole extremely simple and inexpensive, yet thoroughly efficient. Thephoto shows the first opening made. During the day a gang of coolies,without any superintendence, gradually removed the whole of the barrier,. Removal of barrage on one of the channels of the Min—the first opening piling the poles and the mats on the bank ready for use when the barrageis once more replaced in the autumn, after the termination of the summerfreshets, when the river has fallen to a manageable level. There aremany similar barriers lower down and in different sections of the plateau,by which the water is admitted to the several parts of this intricatesystem of irrigation at stated intervals. One, at Mei-chou, about sixtymiles lower down, where the river has already acquired considerablevolume, and is navigable by large junks, is carried, partly across a seriesof sandbanks, a length of 3h miles. This barrier likewise crosses the sideirrigation main channel diagonally. On our journey up from Chentu to Kwan-hien, a distance of 40 THE IRRIGATION OF THE CHENTU PLATEAU. 403 miles, on the 25th March, the rivers and irrigation channels of theeastern system, through which we travelled,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectgeography, bookyear18
