Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1890-01-10
Life on a Penny a Day

TIE Ghiaess are pFt-9mioDntiy anomi-
Cal, > hetler i, b il iicaiiing tBo number ct
wsuts or il g; ;jnsting foices in surb Il nal-
ner as to make little .epfcse n good deal
Tle universal dist uousisis OF rice, keaas
mAlst, gaiden vegetables aad f,h, With
little gaaat on bgn festivals Whoieaome
fooG j.. npuaaGuce scay 90 supQsied ri ass
thar Deovy day icF each grul ct:S; eFeo
In femins times thousands of persona lave
kenl aiiv" Tor months Oh Il taifGeInl day
each. FMS implies the exirtence Of bign
degree Of culinary SKILL in the Chinese.
TDeir modes Of preparing food aEe thorough
and various. There is no waste; everything
Ia made TO do as much duty as possible.
81 ha: is left is the yeriest ttihe. Tbs phys
icn! condition OF the Chinese dog or Cal, which
hae to live on the lesvipgs of The iamily,
Shove this. Tney are clearly kept on sa,-
vation allowances
TIE Chinese are not extremely fes!itioua
in regard to food ali ID Gsh that comes to
their net, aud most thogs come there sooner
or later Certain disturbances ofthe human
organization, due 70 eating diseased meat,
arc v ell recognized among tho people, tut
il ia considered better to eat the meat, the
cheapness of which ia certain, aud run the
risk OF the consequences, which are lot
quite certain than to buy dear meat even
with tho assurance OF 10 evil results. In
deed the meat OF animals which have disd
OF ordinary ailments is rather deater than
that OF those which have in an epidemic
7uca as pleuro pneumonia.
Another example of careful, calculating
economy is be construction Of the cooking
pots and Soiers, the bottoms Of which are
rs thin as possible that the contents may
hoil all the sooner, for fuel is scarce and
dear, and consists generally Of nothing but
the stalks and roots of the crops, which
make rapid blaze and disappear. The
business cf gathering fuel is committed 10
children for one who can do nothing else,
can at least pick up straws and leaves and
weeds. In autumn and winter vast
army of fuel gstherors spread over the land.
BOYS ascend trees and beat them with clubs
10 shake all the leaves ; the very straWs get
no tit1e 10 chow which way the vino blows
before they are annexed by some collector.
Similarly professional manure collectors
saarm over all the roads Of the country.
Chinese women carry this minute economy
into their dresses. Nothing comes amiss to
them If 1t is rot used in one place it is in
another, where 1t appears &c thing Of beau
tv. Foregn residents who give their cast
off clothes to Chinese may be assured the ca
reer Of usefulness of these garments is at last
about 10 commence. Cbnese wheel
5arrows squeak for want of few drops of
ell, but 10 people who have no nerves the
equsak is cheaper tbeu the oil. Similarly
dirt is cheaper than hot water, aud SC, es
rule, the people do not wash. The motto.
Cheaper than dirt" which The soap dealer
puts in his windows. could not be made in
tsllieible to the Chinese. TO them the
average foreigners are merely soap. .wasters.
Scarcely any tool can be got ready made,
it is SO much cheaper to buy the parts cad
pu. them together for yourself, and as a.
most everybody takes this view. ready made
tools are not 10 be got. Two rooms are
dimly lighted with single lamp deity
placed 10 u hole iu the dividing wall. Chi
nese, 10 fact, seem to be capable OF doing
anything by means Of almost nothing. They
| will givs you au iron foundry on minute
scale of completeness ia a back yard and
will make, in an hour, q cookiog range, a
strong and perfect draught, out Of pile Of
mud bricks. lasting iudeiaitely, operating
perfectly and costing nothing. The old
woman who, in her last moments, hobbled
az nearly az possible to the family grave
ward in order to die SO as TO avoid the OK
pense of coffin bearers, was Chinese. Min
ueqpOIiS Journal