The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-19
JOHN CHINAMAN.
BONE THINGS IN WHICH The
HeA1HEN is PECULIAR.
Incidents and Customs Described by .
Man Who Has Been Therc-How the
Streets Are Kept CIean-A Pointer In
Sanitation.


There is probably no country or people
about whom so many popular misrepre-
sentat;ous exist rs the Chinese. This
sincnlnr state Of things Is due to two
chief causes. In the first place, most
newspaper writers on the subject write
erst iupressions from very superficial
data. and without understanding the sub
iects upon which they write. Then again,
the Chinese themselves in this country
are not disposed 10 lose sleep, whether
they are understood or not. Then many
books have been written by people with
political or other kinds Of axes to grind,
and have given only such facts and inter
pretation Of facts rs tended 10 accomplish
their purposes There are many Incl
dents and customs in the fiowery king
dom which have been ignored in both
books and newspaper articles.
STREET CLEANING PROBLEM
| am asked how the Chinese keep their
cities clean. IL may be that aldermen
might get a hint as to the best solution OF
the street cleaning problem from the prac-
tees OF the "hathen. - The conditions are
SO different there and here rs to render
comparison misleading. III the frat place,
the principal source OF dirt in American
cities il absent from Chinese cities. |
refer To horses, here SO numerous and
such prolific sources of dirt" There are
no horses seen OF Chinese streets drawing
carts or other vehicles. What few horses
are seen are ridden By officials or soldiers.
The government owns all horses. Freight
Il transported by men, either upon their
shoulders or on wheelbarrows. The streets
are not over six to ten feet wide, and the
sidewalk is in the middle OF these narrow
lanes. The stores and shops are open t.
the street liuc on either side, and eacl
shopkceper cleans the street 10 the center
I'm front Of his shop. This is ali the pro
vision for street sweeping. No garbage il
thrown into the streets, and lash barrels
are unknown, hence the chief sources VI
dirt IN our cities are unknown. There are
no underground sewers, and no need fOr
them. Residences are provided with other
means oil ~disp0sing Of fsth than either
dumping or draining into rivers.
Every residence. however humble, is
provided with earthen Jars, or large stone.
ware vaults, into which all otherwise IN
disable refuse is cast, and the contents Il
these family jars" unlike orr 'iamily
lars" l., convertible into cash. No peo-
ple f~ertllize In agriculture 10 such an eX-
tcnt as the Chinese. This creates a ready
market for what we cast in sewers and
pollute our waterways. common street
sign posted over large earthen vessels
sunk in the streets do not warn the Pub
lic' 10 commit no nuisance but re
specially invite the public 10 Pause
here. These peculiar and odoriferous
institutions are owned by men who make
il their lie business to deal in the com
modify which the aforesaid public de-
posts in the r~eceptacles. This is sold at
SO much q measure to farmers, who
carry it to their homes, often many miles
away, where it is put into carthen tanks
or yats 10 fcrment (reader, hold Jour
nosc) until it is required TO f~ertilize grow
Ing cabbages and other truck" This IS
one Of the Characteristic institutions OF
China, and the good results from it are
apparent 10 the yields Of food plants.
Every COW herder carries a basket into
which lie or she gathers UP the ''frag-
ments" which are used rs the city sewer
age for fert.liz!ng purposes.
A UNIQUE SPECTACLE.
As one saunters through q Chinese city,
his ewes are erected with what at first
forms, to say the least, q unique spectacle.
1t i the public patronage OF the dealer IN
sewerage. l. the air pures Well, hardly.
Have you ever observed the uniformly
small nose Of the OTientals in this corn
trye If You have, and will accept my So
luton OF that feature, 1t Is that the smell
ing organ has been exhausted by inhaling
the street odors Of China. One thing can
be said in favor Of thus disposing of the
sewerage Of cities, viz tdoes not pollute
the water. which is more vital to health
than the air. Then the air has greater
self cleansing powers than water, and,
taken on the whole, It IS the better plan
to protect the water than the air from i'm
purities. 1t Is also true that no poison l.
/, 50 malignant as sewer poison, and that i.
unknown in China.
Have you ever figured the commercial
value Of the contents Of our sewers,
which is daily and hourly, like Tennyson's
brook, lowing on f9reger to p0llute OFT
, own Niagara river II so yOu have been
: surprised that some method Of utilizing
! this source OF wealth has not been devised.
! 1t is not my purpose here to dish up fig
, ures or statistics on the value Of an ar
, ticle daily going TO waste, and for which
the soil OF the surrounding country is suf'
-. fering. Under the existing regulations
the Chinese farmer is able to harvest
, three crops from every foot Of ground
every year. In no other way could such
a population be fed. Winter wheat ro-
, tates with either rice or cotton. During
winter, when the wheat is getting is
start, radishes or turnips are grown on the
: : same soil. Thena around the margin OF the
: ground seeded 10 wheat, beans or peas are
: grown. As soon rs the wheat Is harvested 4, il
, rice is 10 succeed it, the ground is irri
gated and planted with rice. If cotton I;
to rotate with the wheat, the seeds are
, planted before the wheat natures, by
: digging between the drills OF wheat, and
!, when the latter Is harvested, the cottor
). plants are well under growth. Then thu
' space between the cotton plants is dus
!. up, aud the succeeding cropis sole tenan.
: When these summer cr9r1ss Ssi.a gathered
wheat H e-rda sown. Not a foot OF sol
h - Iss-- non productive. This state 0
, affairs could not last, but for the ricI
fertilizing methods, and sewerage Is III
q principal and almost exclusive source G
10 fertilizers The ''Denighted tsic) heather