a group consisting of about 36 islands in the North Pacific Ocean, between Japan and Formosa. They lie between N. Lat. 24. and 28. 40, and E. Long. 127. and 129. They are small and insignificant, with the exception of Great Loo-Choo, which extends about 60 miles in an N.E. direction, and has an average breadth of about 10 or 12 miles. This island is entirely encircled by coral reefs, which, however, do not appear above water. Along its centre runs a chain of hills, covered for the most part by forests of pine, and broken at intervals by abrupt crags that bear seeming traces of volcanic action. Their slopes in many parts are covered with terraced gardens and fields of grain, and are watered by streams led in artificial channels. The valleys are well watered, fruitful, and covered with a luxuriant vegetation. The villages are almost completely hidden among groves of bananas, bamboos, banyans, and pines. Rows of trees overarch the roads, line the streets of the chief towns, and form a screen in front of the houses. There are large rich fields of rice, intermingled with crops of sugar-cane, wheat, millet, sweet potatoes, plums, oranges, cotton, and tobacco. The principal surface-rock is argillaceous, and is intersected at intervals by peculiar ridges of limestone. The disintegration of the former rock forms the chief ingredient of the rich alluvial soil which is most prevalent in the island. Situate within the range of the trade-winds, Loo-Choo has in general a mild climate. The domestic animals are,—geese, ducks, fowls, pigs, goats, a small species of black ox, and a nimble and hardy breed of horses. Wild boars abound in the extensive forests. A striking trait in the zoology of the island is the scarcity of birds in the woods.

The dress, customs, but especially the language, of the Loo-Chooans indicate a Japanese origin. Suspicious of strangers, they are, nevertheless, gentle and hospitable. They are diminutive in stature, and in complexion resemble the Chinese. They have dark eyes and black hair, plaited into a knot on the crown of the head; and the character of the hair-pin determines the sex as well as the rank of the weaver. The women wear single and the men double hair-pins. Among the higher classes, these articles are made of gold or silver; among the lower, of brass, lead, or pewter. The highest grade of society includes the spies and officers of the government, and also the mechanics and small merchants. Immediately below them are the literary class, who pass the most of their time in smoking tobacco and drinking tea, and are supported by the subordinate rank of field-labourers. The meanest order are the public slaves, possessing no personal freedom and no civil rights. Subjected from mere infancy to perpetual toil, closely watched by spies, and prevented from all intercourse with strangers, the lower classes are spiritless, uncomplaining drudges, subsisting upon two-tenths of the produce they reap from the soil. In the same slavish labour the women also are engaged. The Loo-Chooans of one village seldom intermarry with those of another. Their dead are treated with great respect; and their capacious tombs, built of white limestone, appear at a distance like cottages chequering the hill-sides. The huts are generally placed in the middle of well-cultivated gardens. Their floors, covered with thick mats, are used both for sitting and sleeping. A great part of the industrial population are engaged in weaving the grass-cloth that forms the ordinary garment, and in turning wooden implements and covering them with lacquer. There are also manufactured tobacco, sugar, and small quantities of salt. Saki, a strong intoxicating liquor, is distilled from rice. All the processes of agriculture, and especially that of irrigation, are carried on with great success. The entire trade of the island is with Japan, and consists chiefly of sugar, saki, and grass-cloth. Napakiang, situate in the S. part of the island, is the chief port. The government of Loo-Choo seems to consist of an oligarchy of literati subject to Japan. Learning is limited to a knowledge of the Chinese character and the Confucian classics, and the principal means of disseminating it is home education. A few regular schools, however, are scattered over the island, and at Napakiang there is an advanced seminary. The Loo-Chooans have no native literature. Their religion is a hybrid between Confucianism and Buddhism. Concerning the history of the island nothing certain is known, but tradition reports that it was once subject to three distinct sovereigns.