The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-06-09
AoRIcuIrURC IN CHINA.


An interesting report OF Chinese
agriculture has been recently pub
lished by the Washington Depart
ment of Agriculture. The system OF
culture is said TO be very primitive,
but is conducted with the greatest
care and closest attention. Thus the
productiveness OF the soil is main
tained, and the vast population is
supported without difficulty.
The two most characteristic fea-
lures Of Chinese agriculture. and to
which its success is mainly due, are
manure and the system Of irrigation,
Manures are gathered from every
available source. Many devices are
used for irrigation. Where there are
no running streams water is labori-
ously raised by hand from wells and
cisterns.
The agricultural implements are
few in number and Of the rudest
character. They are chiefly the
plough, the hoe, the harrow, the
rake and the stone roller. A COM
plete outfit for farming, including q
water buffalo or donkey, may be
bought for 500 or less. The prin-
cipal crops are wheat, rice, beans,
millet, sesamum, Indian corn, cotton,
tobacco, poppy, barley and buck
wheat. Large areas are devoted to
the growth Of mulberry trees for silk
worm culture. All cereals are care
fully planted in burrows, wide dis
tances apart and hand cultivated.
The yield is larger than the average
in this country.
The condition OF the farmers, in
comparison with other classes, is one
of reasonable comfort. The land
holdings vary greatly in different
provinces. In the southern provin-
ces, where the land is most fertile,
the farms are small, averaging not
more than two acres. One-sixth OF
an acre supports one person, and five
acres is desirable farm, while it is
a wealthy owner who can boast OF
seven acres. notwithstanding the
greater fertility of the soil in the
south, the condition of the people is
not equal to that of the north, where
the land is less fertile and the farms
are larger. There are farms here of
400 and 500 acres cultivated by fami-
lies of unusual numbers, some having
as many as POO members living and
working together in peace and pros
perity.
The wages paid farm laborers vary
considerably in the different provin-
ces, running from 81 to $50 per an
mum. with food and lodging. 1t is
possible for farm laborer, commen-
cling with nothing, to acquire n COM
potency for the support of himself
and wife-two-thirds of an acre Of
land and the necessary farming outfit
in twenty-six years.
In theory the land is the property
of the State, and is held by the pro-
prictors on condition of payment OF
taxes. Practically, however, land is
held and conveyed like other prop
erty. Agrarian questions troubled
China centuries ago, and most OF the
proposed remedies have been tried
without success. Several hundred
years ago an attempt was made to
improve the condition of agriculture
by loaninc farmers the money Of the
State at per cent. interest. The
scheme was disastrous failure.
The report concludes by remarking
on the peace and contentment of the
agricultural classes, due to the
equality of the citizens before the
law. The system OF selecting officials
by competition by rendering the son
of the humblest agricultural laborer
eligible to the highest Offices is
directly responsible for this state OF
contentment, and it is this which SO
largely contributes to the stability OF
the Government.