Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/26

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Village Life in Korea.

few left to care for the place, and they seemed to take very little interest in any part of the religious ceremony.

This great range of mountains is very near the coast, so that there is a very narrow strip of land between it and the sea. In fact, at many places the mountains extend down and jut out into the sea, so that the traveler along the coast is compelled to turn inland for a few miles in order to cross over them. This belt of land is very fertile, and sustains many farming villages, besides many that are given up to fishing and salt-making for a livelihood. In these mountains there is much fine timber and a great variety of wild flowers, which I shall not attempt to describe. This is the home of the bautiful azalea, which is found in many colors from deep orange to almost snow white, and in such abundance that one can hardly get out of sight of them. Along this shore red and white roses grow wild in the most extravagant manner, in many places covering the ground and filling the air with their sweet perfume. I fancy that they would be a source of considerable revenue to the people if they were only put into the markets of the world where perfumery is manufactured.

As to the other mountains of the country, they are scattered everywhere just as if they had been sifted out of a great pepperbox, all over the face of the peninsula, each falling wherever it might without regard to its neighbor. Mr. GifFord, in his "Everyday Life in Korea," says: "These mountains are chiefly composed of gneiss, various schists, and granite, which