The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-07-29
A-GRIcuLrURE IN CHINA.


Minister Denby Make. Note OF the Celestial
Farmer aud His Methods.
Special 10 the Indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, July 2s-Charles Dsnby,
United States minister to China, has sen, a eom-
municstion to the Department Of State under
date Of April % last about agriculture in north
China, which contains some obssrvations whisA,
will be Of special interest 10 the farmers Of Tits
country. IL not TO every reader. In The course
Of his dispatch, Mr.. DENLY says
SIN thresning grain the Chsaess spread ~ out
on a smooth clay floor 10 the opsn air, their be-
ing such . threshing floor adjoining every farm
house, and either by threshing with falls or by
rolling Q stone-roller, drawn by 9 donkey, over
il, detseh the grain. The chat il removed by
tossing the grain into the air In . slieht breeze
ths kernels Of grain falling straight 10 the
ground, the chat aud dust bsing blown sside
'Tne two most characteristic features of
Chinese agriculture are the use Of manure and tho
systems OF irrigation. Manure Is gathered from
ell conceivable sources. In the eities the night
soil deposited on the side OF the streets and alleys
10 gathered by men and boys IN buckets aud
mixed with clay. dried in the sun, a1d sold TO
farmers. On country roads boys. and often girls
and women, are seen At places where large num-.
bers Of pack-horses. eamels and mules pass.
gathering into baskets the material which Al 10 aft
erward, with such beneficial effects. spread upon
their felds- Earth from The canals. rivers
and city streets Is also carted away for the sAme
purpose. Other substances are diligently col
lected. a. hair from bsrbershops. exploded fro
crackers, and sweepines from the streets. lima
and plaster from kitchens ana old buildings.
SCOT, boaes, fsh, and animal remaspA The
quantity Of these fertilizers used and the i'm
portancs the Chinese attach 10 them are proved
by the number of people whose livelihood ~
gained in their collection
"In irrigating his lAad the farmer uses many
devices. Where running wsier 10 ~ hand he,
turns it 70 advantage by directing 10 over his
fields In large chAnnels. banked with clay, and
undivided into smaller and smaller steamlsts.
until every part Of the ground has been reached,
II no running water 10 found. wells are dug and
water drawn up by hand and poured into The
main bitches, which are subdividsd into numsr-
ous smaller ones. Holes are dug In which rain
water accumulstes, which Is baled out when
needed. The raising Of this water 10 IN moss
cases. espss Ally in the vicinity 1T Psking. done
+ cry laborously by hand. Wind-mills, Of which
China, might be used for this purpose With
great Increase Oh sfhcisncy and saving Of human
labor.
'4Chinese agricultural implements are Of the
rueest character. They are, chiefly. the pillow.
the hoe, the harrow, IA keke and the stone
roller. The pillow 10 simply n bT<ASlade~fs5-'
ened TO q rough handle. guided by s~SdAn aud
drawn by o team Of fhe most miscellaneous
description; it cuts n farrow never mere than
six inches deep. and frequently only two 90
~ hsh1 ~ " ~ " =
donkeye, mules, bulloeks and human beings. %
being not unusual 20 see q man or boy. and any.
one or more OF the animals above named, draw
ing the same plow. Chinese farmers measure
the depth OF the burrows by the fingers. and
frequently speak OF blowing only two or three
fingers deep. The reason Of this seems 60 lie IN
the difficulty OF making q deeper furrow with
their plows. and not because they are unaware
OF the advantage Of IL. The hoe IL q much more
effective tool. aud IL 10 with this that they work
between the burrows OF grain after 10 has
sprouted.
Foreign agricultural implements. espeeiAiiys
plovs, might be introduced with good efece'
among the Chinese. except that the price would
deter all but very few from buying thsm- A.
Chinese pillow can be bought for The equivalents
Of two or three Mexican dollars. and smaiier
tools In proportion. There are no great stores
devoted TO the sale OF agricultural implsmsnts,i
as with us, they being made By hand. either BY
o nsiehboring blacksmith or by the farmer him-
self. az occasion demands.
9Th principal crops in the vicinity Of Psking.
besides the fruits and vegetables. OF which there
are almost all that are found In Western eoun<
tries. are wheat. barley. ~buokvheat numerous.
varieties OF millet. beans, lndian corn, esamun
hemp. rice. cotton. sud some tobacco. Both
spring aud autumn wheat are used exclusively
for the manufacture Of -four. being ground by
mills worked by hand. horse, or eenksy-powsr.
OF. rarely. by water.power. Both upland
and wet rice are crown In the
vicinity Of Peklpg. The former pro-
QuClng an Inferior gram. llo slOloCt VI FG8
culture has always ranked with tue manufact-.
ore Of silk and the growth OF tea ss the three
most characteristics pursuits OF The population
of China. They have been the themes Of many
books and t~reatises by both foreigners and
natives Chinese empefors and empresses
have often interested themselves In these pur-,
suits, and have done al that they could 20 asa
siss aud encourage tie people IN following them
"a comparison Of the yielc Of the hslcs q
China vita that Of American farms would be
interesting II 10 could be accurately made. The
difference betwesn the styles Of planting makes
this difBcult u not impossible. the grAia in,
America being sown broadesst. or drilled, while
In China ell cereals are carefully planted IN far
rows, vide distances apart Ths absence &C
any statistics a. thu average product per acre.
such "a are found IN the United States, makes
this comparison much more difficult. the prod
ueis. ss given above. being the yield %
good land for q good year. IL 10 ,robsble.
however. tha, in proportion to the Quantity
Of seed sown. the farmer OF North China gets q
larger return than the average return IN Ansrf-
e. This would be the natural result Of bis
careful system Of planting. harvesting Gnt
throshing. involving no loss whatever. The sav-
ing In Ameriea effected by using drills instead &C
sowing broadcast 10 an index Of the probably
greater gain on tie Chinese method. This 70
not 20 say. however. that the grain 10 su9eiens
20 compensate for the great extra labor. Tbs
Chinese system OF growing two crops on the
same ground at'the same time, while advanta-
Reous Ia some respects. cannot be regarded With
approval IL 10 probable that . deteDorsnon re-
suits 10 the quality Of both. ~ not In the ouan-
tity OF the yield. China 10 essentially . trselsss
country. Importations Of wood come chiefly
from the United States the spanish ISLANDS
Hsinsn and Formosa Were ~ lot for The
countless cemeteries in China, trees wonld b
rarely seen. These cemeteries ere planted With
pines and eedars, aud dot the lAnGscaps with
agreeable effect