Omaha daily bee., 1888-07-29
CELESTIAL AGRICULTURE,
How the Chinese Farmer Raises and
Handles His CrOp.

Handles His Crop.
WASHINGTON, July 26--ISpecial to Tul
BEE. Charles DENLY, United States min.
lister to China, has sent a communication to
the department of state, under date of April
%, last, about agriculture in north China,
which contains some observations which will
be of special interest to the farmers of this
country, if not to evesy reader. In the course
of his dispatch Mr.. DENLY says:
SIN threshing grain the Chinese spread il
out on Il smooth clay floor in the open dir,
there being such u threshing floor adjoining
every farm house, and either by threshing
with fails or by rolling a stone roller, drawn
by a donkey, over it detach tho grain. The
chaif is removed by tossing the grain into
the air in a slight breeze, the kernels of gram
falling straight to the ground, the chaff and
dust being blown aside. 3at
The two most characteristic features of
Chinese agriculture are the use of manure
and the systems of irrigation. Manure Is
gathered from all conceivable sources. In
the cities the night-soil deposited ON the
sides of streets and alleys is gathered by men
and boys in buckets and mixed with clay,
dried in the sun and sold to farmers. On
country roads boys, and often girls aud
women. are seen ut places where large num-
bers of pack horses, camels and mules pass,
gathering into baskets the material which Is
afterwards, with such beneficial effects,
spread upon their fields. Earth from the
canals, rivers, and city streets is also carted
away for the same purpose. Other sub
stances are diligently collected, as hair from
barber shops, exploded tre-crackers, and
sweepings from the streets lime and plaster
from kitchens and old buildings, SCOT, bones,
fish and animal remains. The quantity OF
these fertilizers used and the Importance the
Chinese attach to them are proved by the
number of people whose livelihood is gained
in their collection.
SIN irripofinn hig land tho fnrplnr rraas
many devices. Where running water Is at
hand he turns it to advantage by directing II
over his fields IN large channels, banked in
with clay, and subdivided into smaller and
smaller streamlets, until every part of the
ground has been reached. If no running
water is found, wells are dug and water
drawn up by hand and poured into the
bitches, which are subdivided into numerous
smaller ones. Holes are dug in which rain
water accumulates, which is baled out when
needed. The raising of this water is in most
cases, especially in the vicinity of Picking,
done very laboriously by hand. Windmills,
of which there is not one around Picking IT
anywhere in China), might be used for this
purpose with great increase of efficiency and
saving of human labor.
Chinese agricultural implements are of the
rudest character. They are chiefly the pillow,
the hoe, the harrow, the rake and the stone
roller. The plow is simply a broad blade
fastened to a rough handle, guided by man
and drawn by teams of the most miscellane-
GUS inscription. IL GUS II IuTTOW never more
than six inches deep and frequently only
two or three. The teams are made up Of
horses, ~donkeys, mules, bullocks and hu.
man beings, it being not unusual to see q
man or boy and any one or more of the ami
mails above named drawing the same plow.
Chinese farmers measure the depth of the
burrows by the fingers, and frequently
speak of blowing only two or three fingers.
The reason of this seems to lie in the diff
Guilty Of making a deeper furrow with their
plows, and not because they are unaware Of
the advantage Of it. The hoe is o much more
effective tool and it IS with this that they
work berwesa the burrows OF grain aftcr II
has sprouted. .a.a5or
"Foreign agricultural implements, cspec.
tally plows, might he introduced with good
effect among the Chinese, except that the
price would deter all but very few FROM buy.
ing them. A Chinese plow can BIZ bought for
the equivalent OF two or three Mexican dol,
lars, and smaller tools III proportion. There
arc no great stores devoted to the sale OF az.
ricultural implements with US, they being
made by hand, either by a neighDoring black
smith or by the farmer himself, as occasion
demands.
THE principal crops in the vicinity OF
Picking, besides the fruits and vegetables, OF
which they are almost all that are found In
western countries, are wheat, barley, buck
wheat, numerous varieties OF millet, beans,
Indian corn, sesamuln, hemp, rice, cotton and
some tobacco.
"Both spring and autumn wheat are used
exclusively 1Or Tue DlaflulucLurt OF Hour.
being ground by mills worked by hand, horse
or donkey power, or, rarely, by water power.
"Both upland and wet rice are grown in
the vicinity of Picking, the former producing
the inferior grain. The subject of REQ eul,
ture has always ranked with the manufuc.
ture of silk and the growth OF tea as the
three most characteristic pursuits Of the
population Of China. They have been the
themes OF many books and treatises both by
foreigners aud natives. Chinese cmp ,rora
| and ennrecs ps baVn nftpu intnrnxta1 tha.n-
selves in these pursuits, and have done all
they could to assist and encourage the people
in following them.
"a comparison of the YIELD of the fields Of
, China with that OF American farms would
be interesting, il IL could be accurately made.
The difference between the styles OF plant
ing makes this difficult, # not impossible, the
grain IN America being sown BROADCAST or
drilled, whilo in China all cereals are care.
fully planted in burrows, wide dis.
tances apart. The absence OF nny
statistics as to the average product
per acre, such as arc found in the United
States, make this comparison much more
difficult, the products, as given above, bong
the yield OF good land for a good year. 1t Is
probable, however, that, IN proportion to the
quantity OF seed sown, tho farmer Of north
China gets a larger return than the average
return in America. This would be the nu-
tural result of his careful system Of planting.
harvesting and throshing, involving no ioss
whatever. The saving in America Is effected
Dy using drills instead OF sowing broadcast 10
an index OF the probably greater gain ON the
Chinese method. This is not to say, how
ever, that tho grain Is sufficient to compen.
safe for the great extra labor. ttet 1s
"The Chinese systom OF growing two crops
on the same ground at the same time. while
advantageous in some respects, can not be re-.
garded with approval, II is probable that Z
deterioration results In the quality OF both.
il not in the quantity Of the yield. = 81
"China is essentially a ~treeless country,
Importations OF wood come chiefly from the
United States, the Spanish Islands, Hainnn.
and Formosa. Were IL not for the Countless
cemeteries In China, trees would be rarolJ
seen. These cemeteries. are planted will
pines and cedars, and dot the Landscapes viii
agreeable effect.n