The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-06-19
FARMING IN CHINA.
A PRIMITIVE SYSTEM OF CULTL
, WAITING THE SOIL.
The Elnperor's Annual Visit to the
Temple of Agriculture-Care In
CuItivation-The Rude Imple-
ments-The Principal Crops.

Cultivation-The Rude Imple-
ments-The 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
stituting ceremonies tending to ennoble
the occupation of the farmer. Every
year the Emperor makes his annual visit,
at the vernal equinox, to the temple OF
agriculture, and after plowing with his
own hands few furrows, offers sacrifices
atthe four altars 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 'frst
fashioned timber into plows and 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.
ciples Of rotation of crops, adaptation OF
soil to particular grains, and an extremely
primitive knowledge of agricultural i'm
plements. The fields are treated like i'm
mense gardens; they are subject to the
most constant and watchful care, both at
planting and during the growth of the
grain; the crop is gathered by hand with
the utmost completeness, so that not
straw, leaf, or scarcely even root is al
lowed to remain. In threshing, the grain
is spread out on smooth clay floor in the
open air, and then threshed with fails,
or by rolling a stone roller drawn by
donkey over it to detach the grain. The
chaff is removed by tossing the grain into
the air in slight breeze, the kernels of
grain falling straight to the ground, the
chaff and dust being blown aside. The
two most characteristic features of Chi
nese agriculture are the use of fertilizers
and the system of irri rigation. The fer
tilizers are gathered from all conceivable
sources-earth from canals, rivers and
city streets, hair from BARRIERS shops, ex-
ploded frecrackers, sweepings 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 in irrigation; where there is run
ming water, it is directed in channels
banked with clay, which are divided and
sub-divided 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
'plow, hoe, harrow, rake and stone roller:
The first is simply broad blade fastened
to o rough handle, which never cuts a
furrow more than six inches deep, and
frequently only two or three; it is drawn
'by teams of the most miscellaneous de-
scription-horses, donkeys, mules, oxen
and human beings, for it is nothing un-
usual to see man or boy harnessed with
one or two other of the animals drawing
the same plow. The price of foreign
plows would deter all but 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, sesa-
mum, hemp, rice, cotton and tobacco.
Wheat is planted in two crops, know as
the autumn and spring wheat, the former
being the better in quantity and quality.
It is planted not later than the beginning
of October, and is harvested in the sum-
mer solstice. The seed is not sown broad
cast; it is carefully sown in burrows
about eighteen inches apart, leaving
room for hoeing, and when the
crop is partly grown some
vegetable crop is planted in the inter
vening space. About 130 pounds of
seed to the English acre are sown, and
the Chinese farmers say the ground
should be damp. Spring wheat Is only
sown when, through unfavorable causes,
the ground is not ready for the autumn
crop. It is sown not later than April 5,
and ripens at the same time as the autumn
wheat. Both crops are used exclusively
for making -four. 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 tea, as 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 a comparison of the
Weld 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.. DENLY, that, in pro-
portion to the quantity of seed sown, the
farmer of North China gets a larger re-
turn than the average in the United
States, because of the careful system of
planting, harvesting and threshing, which
leaves no room for any loss. This involves,
of course, much extra labor. The system
of growing two crops in the same
ground at the same time, while advan-
tageous in some respects, probably leads
to q deterioration in the quality OF both,
if not in the quantity. China is csseati-
ally treelcss country, a circumstance
which doubtless has much to do with
the foods and droughts which affiict it.
If it were not for the countless ceme-
terins. 11lanted with pines and cedarS,