The Osceola times., 1880-01-10
CHINESE COMMERCE
The carsssstIe. Of Trade In China

s<fk s1Nr. Opiurl aA-t tDttD1-1s ted 1A4l
zilk, constitute in the estimation o. most
people the sum total Of the foreign
trade with China. To such generallzers
ships bills Of lading are unknuwn docu-
ments; they do not know, apparently
that eoitons and opium do not supply ali
Cinnamon seak from foreigners, and that
the laboriny classes Of the empire are
not all employed in culiiyating tea and
manufacturing silk There articles are
all only the big fish which come to the
traders net, and when they fail, there
are plenty Of smaller fry 10 supply their
place. The Chinese boast themselves Of
being a civilized people, but though
their philosophy is creditabie. they are
unable 10 provide their seanstre7ses
with any but tine clumsiest Of needles,
and though they can calculate eclipses
with commendable accuracy, they have
failed 10 contrive anything better than
flint and steel wherewith 10 light the
wicks floating in oil which serve them
for lamp-. These imperfe tons In the
domestic economy Of the people being
universal and ever present. caused the
appearance of box Of Bryant d May's
matches or q packet Of kirby's needles
TO ke received with expressions Of pleas
ure which would make excellent models
for the conversational advertisement
row the fashion. One ean imagine hoE
enthusiastic among purchasers OF the
1913 gross OF matches imported into
Tientsin alone last year wonId dilate on
the ease with which they are now able
T. light their evening lamps, and how
the female owners Of the 212s millions
Of needles which we're fellow-yoyagers
with the matches, would clatter over the
excellences Of the foreign manufactures.
But many other things 60 10 China be-
sides needles and matches. RhinOceros
horns, iigers' bones, and deer and Bni-
fslo sinews are imported for the benefit
VI timid and sick Cinnamon, who seek
by swallowing decOc ions made from
these promising substances 10 acquire
some Of the oourarge Of their original own
ers. And there is no lack Of enthusiasm
among Chinese gourmcnts FOR the succu-
lent beche-de-mer, which the shallow
water Of the islands Of the Pacific Ocean
yield at their demand, OF for the birds
nests which lend such gluiinOus charm
to their favorite soup. No other swal-
lows in the world bus those which build
their nests In caves on the sca-clih4 Of
Java and Bornee are able ~ produce
these last most precious delicacles.
Ncwly-forned nests or nests IN which
eggs are freshly laid are most priced, and
these have to 20 through a process Of
cleansing before they are dncd and
despatched for the China market, where
however. If in prime condition, they re-
ward their capiOrs at the rate OF 3Gs, per
pound. Among more materially minded
purchasers, window glass, watches, dyes,
paint, and other sundries, find ready
sale; and peacocEs' and kingiishers
feathers are eagerly bought up to adOrn
the hats Of mandarins whom the En-
peror delights TO honor, and the head
dresses Of fashionable ladies.
In return for these and other imports,
China sends into the outer world medi-
cines OF far greater value than those
she accepts from II, though she has evil
IDENTITY some customers who are fond OF
rare remedies, and who look with a
strange faith 10 lily flowers, ginseng,
and lotus-nuts for relief from some OF
the ills which flesh Is heir to. Even
from the disease-bcgotten root known as
China-roOt, which grows from the roots
extract cure for diseases as
unreal "a the remedy employed to dispel
them. Another export due TO an un'
healthy condition aggravated by an un-
congenial climate, il the white wax OF
Sze-cbucn. In the Keen-chang district
Of that province there grows in abund'
ancc the Liguarum luciduai, an ever.
green tree With painted ovate leaves
on the twigs of which myriads Of insects
spread themselves like brownish film
in the spring Of each year. Presently
the surface of the twig becomes en-
crusted with a white waxy substance
secreted by the insects, and II increases
In quantity until the latter part of Au'
gust, when the twigs are cut off and
boiled in water. During this process
the wax. rising to the surface
Ii skinned off, and Is ther
melted and allowed to cool in deeI
pans. by one Of those curious accidents
which have done so much TO increase
the knowledge Of mankind, II was dis
covered that by Transporting the insect'
bred In keen-chang to the less congenia
climate Of Kea-ting Fu, the amount o.
wax produced was vastly increased. Nc
people more readily discern a CONNER.
cial advantage than the Chinese, and
this singular effect Of removing the
insects TO a climate so uncongcnial as to
prevent their breeding was eagerly taken
advantage Of by szc-chuen traders. Tray-
elers by night on the highroad between
Kecn-chsng and Kca-ting Flu may meet
IN the spring Of the year hundreds OF
wax merchants, each carrying his load
of female insects, big with young, on
their way 10 their wax farms in Kea.
ting Fo. The journey Is rough and long
andA fortnight's sun would prccipitate
the Matching, which should take place
amer the females have been attached to
ne trees. 10 the unscientifc eyes Of
Cinnamon the round. pea-like female
appears 10 be nothing more than an egg
and this belief is the more cxcusable
since the birth Of the young is the signal
for the death Of the parent. Six or sew
en- of these prolific mothers are wrapped
In palm leaf and tied 10 branch ol
the Lgystrun, lrcidum. In few dayr
swarms Of infinitc.imally small insect
creep forth and cluster ON the twigs ol
the tree, where they ftillill their mission
and perish with its accomplishment in
the boiling pot each August. Baron
Kichthofcn considers the value OF the
annual crop 10 be on an average upwards
Of E6J0 600; and during last year there
was exported from the one port Of Hank
row upwards OF 81, 600 pounds worth
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