Cambodia

Cambodia, or Camboja, a French dependency in Indo-China, is bounded on the north by Siam, on the east by Anam, on the south by French Cochin-China, and on the west by the Gulf of Siam, along which it extends for 200 miles. Covering an area of over 30,000 square miles, its surface is for the most part flat, consisting of alluvial plains, which in the rainy season become submerged. The chief river is the Mekhong, and lake the Bien-Hoa. The principal product is rice, which is grown in large quantities. Cattle are also abundantly reared, and gold and precious stones found. Among its fauna are the elephant, bear, tiger, rhinoceros, panther, etc., and large quantities of wading birds. The chief town is Pnom-Penh. Cambodia is a kingdom of great antiquity, and its ruins show a greatness that it does not now possess. Its area, too, was formerly larger than now, but had been encroached on by Siamese and Anamites to such an extent that Cambodia became practically a Siamese province, until in 1864 the French re-established its freedom and took it under their own protection.