Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-09

Of millions Of dollars he had never met
with a defaulting Chinaman.
Since this statement was made the bank
has been defrauded by Chinese cashier.
In general. however. the statement Is cor
rect.
Furnishing Mnlefactors.
The penalties Of the law are often very
severe and the Chinese frequently take the
punishment into their own hands. All along
the Grand canal and the Yangtse you may
see at the villages here and there boats cut
In half and placed upon ends. I asked what
these were. and was told that they were
the boats Of thieves or pirates who had
been caught stealing. The criminals had
had their heads cut OF, and their boats
we're thus set up as a warning to others.
In Shanghai ! saw dozen men with great
boards four feet square and Weighing as
much as forty pounds each fastened about
their necks &c that they could not move
their hands to their faces. nor brush of the
Mes They were thieves. In Wuhu there is
beggar who goes about on the stumps Of
his legs, which have been cut of just below
the knees. He was caught several times
stealing, and this was the penalty Of his
crime. In some parts of the empire a man
Is punished with death at his third convic-
ton OF theft and pirates are always behead-
ed. Law and order are. however well pre-
served. and. believe, that human life and
property are as safe here as they are in
America.
A large part of the farming Of this region
Is done by irrigation, and the water rights
OF the Chinese are as full Of complications
as are those Of Colorado. Still there are
few troubles among the farmers. and with
no fences to mark the lines of their prop
erty they work away In peace and quiet
generation after generation. 1t is wonder
ful how we'll they work and how much they
get off the land. Three crops a year Is by
no means uncommon. and If any sign Of a
failure of crop IL seen the seed for another
crop is straightway sown. 1t Is wonderful
how small the farms are. There are thou
sands Of holdings in China which are less
than an acre. and some are even as small
as the tenth of an acre. It is estimated
that an acre Of land will In the better parts
of the empire support a family of six, and a
volume could be written on Chinese agri-
culture. The use of fertilizers Is universal,
and, though there are practically no horses
and few cattle, there is no land which Is so
well fed. Everything is saved. Thousands
OF men do nothing else but gather UP bits
or fertilizing matter and sell them. The
refuse of a rich family will bring more than
that OF poor one, and the Stops of the fol-
eiSn part of Shanghai are farmed out an
nually for sum which gives the city the
est of its educational fund Potato peel
ings. the parings Of finger nails, the shaw
ings of the head and ruined houses form
parts Of the fertilizing material and this is
Usually put together In such liquid form
that not bit of II is wasted. The manure
Is kept In great watts, and the farm is water
60 ike garden. Each plat gets its daily
food and drink. A dipper full from the vat
Is put into each bucket of water, and the
mixture Is poured In at the roots Of the
plants All throughout this part Of China
such fertilization goes on. and from twenty
to thirty dollars year Is sometimes spent
Upon an acre of land
Crude Implements.
The tools used are crude In the extreme
see men working in the fields near here
with long-Eandled hoes These have four
teeth OF the same length as those of
pitchfork and each tooth or tine is about
an inch in width. They also use grubbing
hoes or mattocks and they have a sort of
spade with a cross piece Of wood two
riches above where the iron plate Of the
spade begins.
They push the spade down into the ground
by pressing the bare foot against this cross
bar instead Of on the iron itself, as we do
Their plowS scratch the earth and are not
much better than those used In Egypt
These are pulled by water bufralos. the