In the course of a whole month, the period of our residence here, I have not seen a person bathe, although beaches abound every where: the Cochin-Chinese appear to have an utter aversion to cleanliness, and one would be apt to infer that they all had a touch of the hydrophobia, from their aversion to water. From the highly flourishing appearance of the land, the immense number of fishing and coasting boats constantly employed, it would be reasonable to conclude that great quantities of sugar, coffee, cotton and fish were exported, and that provisions of all kinds could be had in abundance; but such is not the fact: from one to three small miserable junks, from the island of Hainan, visit here annually, bringing coarse tea and some paper, and take in return, ground-nut-oil, a small quantity of wax, and some colambac, here called kinam; being a resinous aromatic concretion, and generally said to be taken from the heart of the aloe wood. Sapan wood is occasionally to be bought. The terrace culture is resorted to, in raising upland rice. In fact, not enough rice is raised for the use of the inhabitants, and they are obliged to import part of this necessary article of food from Nhiatrang, and other parts of the kingdom. Their mode of freeing rice from the husk, is by means of a long beam having a pestle at one extremity; the beam plays on a pivot secured between two parallel upright posts, a large mortar being firmly fixed in the ground; the beam is elevated by the operator placing his foot upon the other end; this is a primitive, and a very slow method of freeing the husk from the kernel, and it causes it to be much broken. Indian corn appears to thrive well, but they obtain but a scanty supply: if more attention was paid to agriculture, and a less number of people were employed in fishing, exports to a large amount might be made within a few years; they import rice and tea, when they might raise both in abundance, as well as coffee.