Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1866-11-29
AGRIC ULT UR E,
From the Rural New Yorker:
JAPANESE HUSBANDRY.

JAfANkSE HUSBANDkf.
The Japanese Empis stretches from the solb |
TO the +6th d, gree ofnorth latitude. The aver |
age temperature aud distribution Of heat con- |
betw cen those OIL Upper Italy and GENITAL Ger.
many. A solitary tropical palm, not fully de-
veloPsd, grows By the side OF the Northern pine;
rice, and cotton along with buckwheat aud bar
ley. Everywhere on the chains Of hills which
cover the whole country, like an irregular hne
network, the pise predouinates. 10 the valleys
the burning South holds sway, covering the
ground with rich vegetation OF rice, Gotten,
yams, aud sweet potatoes. The land 10 OF vo.-
canic origin, and the entire surface belongs TO
the tuia and the diuvian formation. The sell
on the hills 10 an extremely fue, yet not over
fat, brown clay; In the valleys itgenerally con-
ssts OF black. loose, deep garden mold. An
impermeable stratum ofclay probably underlles
this surface crust. a multitude Of springs are
| everywhere at hand, which are used for irriea-
ting the fields.
The sole Oh jsc, Of the Japanese farmer IL the
production OF vegetable food and vegetable e.
Der for clothing. The religious belief Of the
two great sects Of the Empire forbids the eating
of hesh, and Of everything which is derived
from animals, The dense pspul ition and lin
tied area Of homestsads makes the maintaining
OF cattle for labor superfuous. Complicated
machinery 10 also unnecessary, OILY the simple
implements Of han labor being requiredi The
size OF the farms varies from two TO Eve acres /,
and the sub division Of these by diiches aud
drains renders the use Of any beasts OF burden
iiupracticlble. Tue only manure producer
therefore, 10 man, and the most perfec and ex-
tensive arrangements exist for saving not only
what 10 made on the farm, but also collecting
that OF all the cities aud towns. Not particle
is lost; even the travellers along the public
highways contribute TO enricbing the fields.
10 respect to saving all the tertiliiing male
rial which the consumption OF all the produce
Of the land creates, the Japanese are far ahead
of Europeans And the wonderful fertility Of
their SOIL and the dense population which 1t
supports with out any aid from foreign countries
the proofs OF the periectuess of their system,
Their coil has been cultiv a.sd for thousands oil
years, and II appears to lie as little exhaust ed
as the virgin fields Of our own prairies. Aud
the system which produces these results 10 Sim
ply the returning Of all the manure resulting
from the consump tion of the produce of the soil
TO the soil again This Is a result which Europe
with her boosted science has not yet been able
to attain; her cities and towns are draining the
life blood Of the land
! The Japanese farmer endsavors to turn biz
manure to accoult as quickly as possible. HI
prepares composts, but simply concentrates
materials without the aid OF animals. Chan
3 chopped straw, sxorement gathered 10 the high.
i potatoes; in short, all the oifal Of the farm 1:
y mixed with little mold, shoveled into pyra
= midal heap, moistened and covered with straw
: hatch. Occasionally these are turned with th'
q shovel sometimes where straw 10 plenty 1t Il
burnt in order to reduce 1t quickly. The ia
II pan ,ae does no: care for azotised matter, Blu
n strives to destroy all organic substances la hi
manure before using 1t. He also manures 10 NJ
u other way than by dressing, and az muc
n as possible applies it In the liquid form.
crop ID never cultivated without manuring, bu
q no more is spilled than lie requisite to the ful
e development of that crop; there 10 no anxet,
e TO enrich the soil tor the future. A full retur
% simply, 10 demanded for each sowing. Their
10 are seldom any extravagant yields obtained
y but what eminently distinguishes their sgri
% cultursis the certainty and uniform nifty OF thei
E, crops for au almost incslculsble period.
Rotation of crops, deep and thorough ,illag,
and cutivaiing In drills, are cardihal principle
l. with the Japanese husbsndmsn. He neve
!. thinks the soil needs rest, II, only, the prope
supply Of manure 10 at hand. All crops al
4 grown ia drills, and as an illustration Of th
; culture the following description OF . field ma
4 be taken. II 10 the middle Of October and th
field has nothing but buokwhsat 90 1t; this
planted In rows TIVE feet apart In the spriu
the intervening spaces had been Gown with tu
6 nip radishes which have been gathered, Thei
4 iacant spaces are now titled with the hoe
- the grsatsst depth attainsble with that mp
80 Dsnt Fresh Garth is drawn up from the mit
&; die towards the grain. In the furrow tht
n. formed rape 10 sown and manured. By Il
4 | time the rape 10 one or tive inches high th
buckwheat ia ont The rows where Is stood a.
then dug up, msuured, and sown with WHAT
a. Sheat or turnips. Thus crop follows crop
the year round. But If there 10 q deficiency
MANURE the intervening rows are allowed TO |
n idle until quantity has been collected 4
IN them. In short, the Japanese farmer has e
10 tablished proper balance between the Gre
is and manure, expenditure and income, and thu
ne with the and Of thorough tillage, maintains IL
Nv tact the productive power of the soil, which
ne all that can be reasonably attempted by al
q rational husbandman.