The Opelousas courier., 1893-07-29
HOW SOMEFARMERS WORK.
DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE UNITED
STATES CONSULAR REPORTS.
The Deca ying Chinese Tea Grower
Bermudan Agriculturists - How
Pests Have Been Imported.

p4NECIO wv N0 VI uAA pIC
"A tea growers in the province
~ of Annoy, including Formosa,
q are poor men who have to
borrow money to raise and move their
crops. They obtain the needful money
from pagan usurers and merchants and
from Christian tea exporters. It makes
little difference to whom they apply,
as each charges ten per cent. per month
on the loan and takes the land and
growing crop as collateral security, i'm
posi1S the condition that he shall have
the first choice of buying the new leaf
at the market rates. All of the cred
itors combine to rig the market at the
opening of. the tea season and the
grower is skinned.
In the Chinese lists of princes to
whom presents of tea were sent by the
monarchs of the Flowery Kingdom, are
many whose identity would otherwise
be lost to history. From the same
ancient writings many curious facts
are thus obtainable. Among other
things it appears that Korea was at one
time a formidable power, military and
naval; that the Japanese at long inter
walls changed from peaceable neighbors
into marauders and freebooters; that
Manipur, Assam, Burmah, Tong-Quin
at various epochs were strongly bel
ligerent communities in the far East
that Cambodia and Cochin China were
p%opulous, rich and warlike civiliza-
tions, where now the tiger prowls and
the serpent glides; that the island OF
Ceylon was the seat of brilliant and
brave dynasties which followed one
another like the waves on the shore,
and that at times the Tartan nomads
who live to the north, northwest and
west of Asia, were gathered into great
armies and Nations by Temerlanes and
Zenghis Khans unknown to later fame.
The process Of decay under Tartar
rule is measured by the fact that PRk-
ing the present, and Marking the
ancient capital of China, are scarcely
half as large as they were an hundred
years ago.
Annoy teas are on the downward
path, now exportede to the extent OF
so, 900 half chests There formerly $780,
600 were exported. This tremendous
change is due, United States Consul
Bedloe regrets to say, almost entirely
to dishonesty andrapacity on the part
of the traae, native and foreign, and
especially the European trading
houses. At one time the Annoy teas
were excellent, and the tea districts
correspondingly prosperous. AS the
tea planters came into debt to the
usurers and merchants, they were SO
placed that they lost interest in their
calling. To-day no tea drinker in
China knowingly uses Annoy tea. In
the earlier days Formosa did a bust.
ness of $4,000 to so, 900 half chests
per annum, when Annoy was doing
400, 600. Now the figures are exactly
reversed.
In the Paso del Norte consular dis
trict the agricultural implements in
use are either of latest American inven.
ton and manufacture, or else the
ancient straight stick for a plow, the
sickle for reaping and the fail and
winnowing for separating. These two
extremes in farming methods are found
side by side. American plows, mowers,
reapers, threshers. ETC., are in use
by some who farm on a larger scale,
while others who farm a few acres hold
to ancient means and methods.
Every man in Bermuda who has an
acre of ground to plant has a horse,
and the only implements that can be
used in most places are the hoe, fork
and spade. The patches are very small
and a horse is quite useless. In this
little island of twenty-six miles long
and some places only one and a half
miles wide, there are 745 horses. The
grass grown there has very little
nourishment in it. The steamships
that ply between Bermuda, New York
and Halifax are laden with cargoes
each trip, and two-thirds of these
cargoes is feed for horses.
The island was clear OF insect pest
until some time in 1858 or 1859. A
vessel was brought there in distress
a cargo of oranges which were
sold at auction. The fruit was carried
all over the island, and in afewmonths
after their fourishing trees were GOV.
cred with an insect which gave the trees
the appearance of being whitewashed.
Now you hardly see an orange tree,
This insect was the "cottony scale"
bug, afterward imported from Aus
tralia into California, where it threat
ened the extirpation of the orange,
locust, and many other trees
and some shrubs, both fruit bearing
and ornamental. The bug was ex-
terminated by importing from Aus
tralia it's natural enemy, a variety of
the t'lady bug"
Another insect was introduced to
in peaches, the island at that
being stocked with a delicious
This insect was a small white
maggot in the peach which destroyed
al the peaches on the island. The
naggot turned into a very small bug.
It has attacked other fruit, mangces,
etc. As the fruit fell to the
no one took the trouble to de-
the eggs, and thus the pest in
creased to its present dimensions.
Spiral snails, too, are picked up by the
United States Yice-Consul
.eye reports them in some places de.
everything in the shape OF
V~egetation.
To pillow q field adjoining the
American legation at Teheran, contain.
ng q little more than al acre o ground,
equired the arduous labor of two oxen
nd one man q whole day on level