Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1860-06-15

and half or three feet long. These pods
are quite slender, being about the thickness
Of a wheat-straw, and containing at intervals
lof about three inches small round beam
There is two varieties Of this bean; one is
| very brittle and tender, the other has tough
fibre or "string." The Chinese use them
| in soups. s--,--s. ........- .......3 .-a ..-5
OF squashes, they have great variety,
both in size and appearance-big sqlashes,
little squashcs, warty, wrinklod, crooked,
fiat, round, squashcs with necks and tails,
and squashcs minus ditto. Some kinds are
to make soup of, others only used to flavor
soups--some eaten boiled, and others baked.
Of the kalc, that occupying the largest
space in all Chinese gardens is large plant
somewhat resembling our pie-plant in size
and the shape Of the leaf. This plant John,'
calls cabbage; though it never forms a
"hcad," and is unlike the genuine cabbage
in nearly everything except in the color Of
the leaves OF this species of kalc or cab
bagc, the Chinese are very fond; and the
gardner has supply in his grounds nearly
the whole year round. The Chinese vegeta-
bic peddler always carries this plant; he has
it green and fresh pluckcd from the garden,
also steamed or wiltcd, and rolled up in balls
Of an oblong shape and tied with string
In street in the Chinese part Of town one
is sure to see moro or less trade doing in this
wilted cabbage. Chinese women so wad-
ding along daintily twirling ball of this
stuff on one finger you see it in the shop
windows and everywhere. s
Besides the vegetables mentioned there is
great number of singular looking plants of
which did not even learn the use
A Chinese gardner has but few tools and
those of the most simple description; but he
is, perhaps, much better off in this country
in this respect than at home; for here he has
the advantage of Yankee implements. His
ground here is generally broken up with a
spade, which is the common practice among
small cultivators in China though in the
South part Of that country in tilling the rice
lands they use buffaloes to draw through the
ground rude kind of a plow, and in the
North, according to the statements of Mr..
Hue, French missionary who travelled
through the greater part of China, woman
sometimes draws the plough while the hus-
band holds on to the handles.
AS for manuring land, the Chinese are
perfectly well aware of the utility of that op-
Grafton and take great pains to gather up all
manner Of refuse, which they will carry
sometimes for a long distance in large bas-
kets slung at either end of a bamboo polc.-
They also appreciate the fertilizing proper
ties of burnt bones, and have seen them
with large baskets of this substance, coarse
ly powdered, applying it as top dressing to
various garden plants. In this country it is
useless to attempt gardening without irriga-
ting, but this isjust what " john has always
been used to back yonder," and though he
may miss the bamboo of his native land for
supplying tubes to lead the water to his gar
den, he has thousand expedients for sccu-
ring the needed supply, as canvass hose, wat
er-wheels, wooden troughs, bitches, dams
etc; and if no other way is left he lashcs a
barrel to either end Of pole and so carries
it on his shoulders. They sometimes use
wheel for raising water from streams for irri-
eating and mining, which is quite cheap,
simple and efficient: Suppose water is want
cd on piece of ground twenty feet higher
than the surface of the water in stream; a
wheel Of that height is built and placed in
the stream; this wheel is kept continually
revolving by the force of the current against
its numerous broad paddles, while around its
periphery are fastened number of buckets
which dip up the water and pour it into a
flumc leading to the garden. Thus water
wheels are often exceedingly simple in con-
struction, being merely slight contrivance
with arms and paddles, to which is fitted q
wooden circle on which is nailed number
of old oyster cans yet in the course of a
day they viii raise a great deal Of water -
There are many places in the Western States
where this wheel would be valuable; as by
means Of this simple machine, which runs
day and night without any care or expense
till worn out. Water could be raised and car
ried for miles, thus cheaply supplying towns,
farms etc. s7 s
Besides the pains taken by the Chinese in
irrigating, they are very diligent in hoeing
and pulling out weeds; not a weed is allow
cd to stand within the enclosure. Some Of
these weeds John," himself cats, others he
boils up with pumpkins and feeds to his pig,
for he is fond of pork as well as !" lica," (ricc)
and always keeps pig or two. A China
man loves his garden; he is to be seen at
work in it carly and late and often pitches .
tent in one corner of it and makes his home
there. At certain times he turns on the wa
ter, then goes about his garden to see that
his plants are all getting the proper supply;
for by means Of numerous small bitches and
trenches he carries water into every row Of
vegetables and to each plant Here he shuts
off the stream, and there increases the