Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-08-02
FARMING I'M CHINA.
a PRIMITIVE SYSTEM OF CuI.TI.
WAITING THE SOIL.
THO Emperor's Annual Visit to tho
Temple of Agricuiturc-Cn Care In
Cultivation-The Rude Imple-
Inents-Thc Principal Crops.

From legendary times down to to-day
the Chinese have been essentially an agri-
cultural people, and their Emperors have
! done all they could to encourage it by in
shutting ceremonies tending to ennoble
the occupation of the farmer. Every
year the Emperor makes his annual visit,
Mt the vernal equinox, to the temple of
agriculture, and after blowing with his
own hands u few burrows, offers sacrifices
at the four affairs of the gods Of heaven,
the gods of earth, the planet Jupiter,
and the Emperor Shen Neng, the
legendary second Emperor, who invented
agriculture in b. G.. 2737, and who "iirst
fashioned timber into plows md taught
the people the art of husbandry." In
spite of its great antiquity, and the great
respect in which it is held agriculture
has not made great progress among the
Chinese. Their system of cultivation is
very careful and marked by attention to
details, but shows Ignorance of the prin-
ciplcs OF rotation of crops, adaptation of
soil to particular grains, and un extremely
primitive knowledge of agricultural im-
plcmcnts. The fields IRE treated like I'M
mensc gardens; they are subject to the
most constant and watchful care, both at
planting and during the growth of tho
grain; the crop is gathered by hand with
the utmost completeness, so that rot Il
straw, leaf, or scarcely even root is al
lowed to remain. In threshing, the grain
is spread out on Il smooth clay floor in the
open air, and then threshcd with fails,
or by rolling stone roller drawn by u
donkey over it TO dctach the grnin. The
chnff is removed by tossing the grain into
the air in II slight breeze, the kernels of
grain falling straight TO the ground the
chaif and dust being blown aside. The
two most characteristic features of Chi
ncsc agriculture arc the use Of fertilizers
and the system of irrigation. Tho fei-
tilizers are gathered from all conceivable
sources-earth from canals, rivers and
city streets, hair from BARRIERS shops, cx-
plodcd iirccrackcrs, sweepngs from the
streets, lime and plaster from Kitchens
and old buildings, SCOT, bones, fish and
animal remains. A large number of per-
sons gain their livelihood by the collec-
ton of these fertilizers. Many devices are
used i'll irrigation; where there is run
ming water, it is directed in channels
banked with clay, which nrc divided and
sub-dividcd so that every part of the
ground is reached. Where there is no
running water, wells are dug and the water
drawn by hand and poured into the main
bitches.
Chinese agricultural implements are of
the rudest character, and are chiefly the
pillow, hoe, harrow, rake and stone roller.
The first is simply broad blade fastened
to rough handle, which never cuts IL
furrow more thnn six inches deep, and
frequently only two or three; it is drawn
by teams of the most miscellaneous de-
scription-horscs, donkcys, mules, oxen
and human beings, for it is nothing I'M
usual to see Il man or boy harncsscd with
one or two other of the animals drawing
the same pillow. The price of foreign
plows would deter all hut few from
buying them. The implements are all
made by hand locally. The principal
crops around Pekin, besides the fruits
and vegetables, are wheat, barley, buck
wheat, millet, beans, Indian corn, scsa.
mum, hemp, rice, cotton and tobacco.
Wheat is planted in two crops, know us
the autumn and spring wheat, the former
being the better in quantity and quality.
1t is planted not later tlnn the beginning
of October, and is harvested in the sum-
mer solsticc. The seed is not sown broad-
cast; it is carefully sown in burrows
about eighteen inches apart, leaving
room for hoeng, and when tho
crop is partly grown some
vegetable crop is planted in the inter-
vcning space. About 100 pounds of
seed 20 the English acre are sown, and
the Chinese farmers say the ground
should be damp. Spring wheat is only
sown when, through unfavorablc causes,
the ground is not ready for the autumn
crop. 1t is sown not later than April 8,
and ripcns ut the same time us the autumn
wheat. Both crops arc used exclusively
for making flour. The various kinds of
millet are grown in enormous quantities
for human and animal food so are beans
and Indian corn. Rice culture, however,
ranks with that of silk and ten, us one of
the three characteristic pursuits of the
Chinese. All three are aided and en-
couraged in every possible way. 1t is
difficult to make comparison of the
yield of Chinese and Western farmers.
owing to the great difference in the
methods employed, and the total absence
OF agricultural statistics in China. But it is
probable, says Mr.. Dcnby, that, in pro-
portion to the quantity Of seed sown, the
farmer OF North China gets larger re-
turn than the average in the United
States, because OF the careful system of
planting, harvesting and thrcshing, whcl,
leaves no room forany loss. This Involves
of course, much extra labor. The system
OF growing two crops in the same
ground at the same time, while advan-
tascous in some respects, probably leads
TO II deterioration in the quality OF both.
ii not in the quantity. China is csscnti-
ally a trccless country, circumstance
which doubtless has much to do with
the floods and droughts which aiflct it,
If it were not for the countless Gene
teries, planted viii, pines and ccdars,
trees would rarely ne seen. The Yellow
River foundations Eayc lately turned at
tention to arboricuturc and afiorcstatior,