New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-31
A LAND OF TINY FARMS.
HOW THE TEEMING MILLIONS OF JAPAN
ARE FED AND CLOTHED
Toxic, December &c.


means of subsistence has not Yet been solved in
Japan. temporary if not a permanent relief
Is promised in the attempt of the Government
10 encourage emigration 10 foreign countries
Already thousands have settled in the Hawaiian
and other islands of the Pacific. Japan is 50
cut up by mountain ranges and almost impassable
cliffs that only about peeIghth of the who e. is
suitable for cultivation The country is 81 small
and the population great that the wonder is
that the people have managed TO exist at all
But to the fact that they have lived and thrivcl
their enormous numbers bear testimony. The
b2h cultivation of the land the vegetarian diet
of the people, together with the remarkable
staying power" of the race have made the
matter of existence comparatively easy in ages
past But Notwithstanding the power of resistance
which is Characteristic of the people there must
he limit 10 their endurance. The rapid increase
Of the population, together with the drain upon
the resources of the country, would surely in a
few years have resulted in nothing less than n
contest with scarcity if not an actual fight
against famine. But for the present, at least the
calamity has been aVerted by the emigration of
thousands of coolies, which has proven the best
thing, not only for Japan and the emigIans them
selves, hut for the new countries. The decrease
of population in the Pacific Islands makes it int
possible to obtain necessary and efficient labor
at home and the recruiting of the industrial forces
by the energetic and skilled japanese agricultural
laborers is Just what is needed Large companies
are emigrating nearly every month under
tract to remain from three to five years. Owing
to the demand for labor and the efficiency of the
japanese, the terms of the contract particularly
easy. The expenses of the voyage both ways
are generally paid, and the cmigrant has the
privilege of returning AT the end Of the first
year if dissatisfied He receives better wages and
Ii hon
home. Other countries have responded to Japan,
and Just how great the exodus will become within
the next few years may depend largely upon the
inducements offered.
To an outsider il would seem eXpedent for the
Government to bring the island of Yeso under
cultivation The great drawback is the climate,
which is much colder than that of the rest of the
Empire. japanese dwellings not built to with
stand severe cold. and the natives have made no
attempt TO make change III the old forms of
dwelling structures
The land under cultivation in Japan is about
100000 acres, upon the product of which
Al, 900 600 must ne fed. 1t is unnecessary 10 add
that the farms small. The average farm is
from TO three acres, and ten-acrc plot is
considered a large farm. SO many things are
done on the dminutivc scale in Japan. Space
utilizing and territory saving has been reduced 10
a fine art. After surveying the japanese fields and
gardens it is easy to understand how dwariing IN
horticulture originated in this country.
The method, so long regarded by other nations as
a secret, resorted 10 as matter of eXpcdencN.
if not of necessity for the limited space would not
otherwise have permitted variety of growthS
If the physical aspect of country affects the In
teectual life of the people, then the ncarness
of view of everything in Japan may be one in
fuencng element that tends to eradicate the range
of perspective in the mental vision. At any rate. we
find in Japan people who particuarize rather thah
eeneraIize and who dwell with infinite nicely
upon the details and minutiae of everything they
contemplate undertake. from the writing Of
poem to the planting of a field. That extreme
cleverness and manual skill is the expression Of
certain intellectual traits that fall in the same
CATEGORY and help to prove the theory.
Farming is not regarded by the japanese In the
light of a science, subject to the iuctuating modi-
fcations of new improvements, but art
whose scope was measured and whose limitations
were conceded long ago. The methods Of cult
vation the succession OF crops, and even the kind
of machinery used, the same they were
nearly 1900 years ago. In spite of the agrcul-
tural limitations, no country in the world pro-
duces so much per acre as Japan. The limit of
cultivation was reached long ago, hut by jul
dicous Use of fertilizers, and a skill in farming
that amounts almost TO genius, the same average
yield is obtanable year after year.
The land is well suited TO irrigation, and the
water which is regarded impure by fastdlons
Europeans is abundant Most of the land is
made up Of plains whose surface is well drained.
being washed by the water falling upon the hills
and ranges from the back The numerous rivers
and water courses which cross the plains on their
way 10 the sea are utilized for purposes of irri-
CATION. The water is drawn to high elevations
from which il overflows the land In channels.
In April the crops are in iourishing condition,
and wheat barley, rape and corn form the princ
pal part. All the fields are planted with a mathe-
NAUTICAL precision for the element of accuracy
enters into the art Of the farmer, and the fields
must be pleasing in appearance. The cereals are
astonishingly regular in position and growth. And
even the ears of appear in line as they come
out The cereals, whether planted in single or
double rows grow in clusters Of several stems.
each cluster being exactly in line that the
eve detects no irregularities whatever. Seed Is
TOO valuable TO waste and only rice is scattered
broadcast Four or five grains Of corn are planted
together upon ridges equal distances apart, and
generally in rows. The intervening space IL utll-
lied for growing beans, which planted that
they can get space and light without injury 10
the other crops. Land is valuable that no
space is allowed for grass-pots and it ID curious
thing that no weeds are 10 he in any of the
cultivated plots in Japan Every inch Of ground
must be put to the most profitable use, and seed
borne by the current dropped by bird stands
little show of growing to maturity. So thoroughly
have the japanese got the mastery Of these pests
That the soil il entirely free from every trace Of
them The climate and the warm, humid atmOs-
phcre are particularly favorable TO the growth Of
rsts and other parasitic torms but they have also
entirely disappeared from the fields Of Japan. \
few narrow paths made in the fields where