Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-02-14


 sHEw no JOE grate, and that is tho way he cut the Cor dian knot of his perplexity. He landed in | San Francisco with large amount of | money and soon afterward turned up in | New York and became n regular habitue | of the fantan dens and other establish | ments in Mott street where gambling was | then carried on without restraint. He sat up late one night at the Mott street Monte Carlo and dropped every dollar ho had. Though doomed to repeated diSappoint ments he borrowed money from his friends and kept on gambling and hoping in the Micawber idea that something would turn up" He soon learned that the something to turn up should be his shirt sleeves for honest, earnest work, the only lottery that could bring prize with out disappointment, the only investment in which gamblers could not have the best of him. The dying words of the English comedian, Jeremy Rogers, The little raf1le is over," had much philosophy in them for Shew when he found himself penni- less. A fatalist, like all his race, he did not despair, however. Shew smiled in the faco of unkind fortune and looked around for some means to make n fortune and go back to China and snap his finger in the face of his eldest brother.
 One day in the spring of 1884 it oc- cured to him that while his fellow countrymen in Mott street favored veg etables of common use in this country they purchased several varieties of their own peculiar cultivation and were de- pendent on the Pacific slope for the unpro- nounceable greens and other edible deli cacies of their native land. 'Why not ra ise them in Astoria, on Long Island, near New York city, and get rich!" asked Shew Ho Joe. Shcw got the address of florist in Astoria who had few acres of glcbe to rent on n hill and surrounded with trees and shrubberiCs
 The land was fenced off into several lit tie gardens, and the florist consented to rent Shew half an acre oi the ground and wait for his rental until the first crop was marketable. Shew next hunted up a Chi neSe tea merchant in Mott street, who lent him the whcrewithal to send to China for seed and to purchase provisions until his crop was planted. The next thing Shew did was to erect q shanty in which to sleep while it was too dark 10 be a-woEk ing He gathered together 9 number of old scartlings and stray boards and got an Astoria carpenter to nail them together in tho shape of hut. This being accom- plishcd, the intrepid son of tho mandarin set to work to be Chinese farmer.
 Cash on Delivery.
 Shew Ho Joc prospercd from the start There was such demand for his vegeta- bles that he could hardly mako change fast enough for his customers, and the gourmets of Mott street were so intoxicat- ed with delight over the new order of things that they did not always notice whether they got tho right amount of .1 on the ''one price" motto, and before he was two years in Astoria the faINe of his relishcs had spread su far that he was un- ablo to fill the orders for garden truck. At the end of the third year Lue Wah entered the field as an aSpirant for agricultural honors and rented an adjoining farm. Two years later Yu Lee, Yung Gee, Tschin Gnu Lick and Yum Yoh started rival farms across the way and built number of little hutS which served tho double pur- poses uf barns and dwelling houses. Shew Ho Joo had now amassed a snug fortune. He cared nothing for competition. He had a prosperous and growing circle of pa irons, who found as much enjoyment in his relishes as the Melican man from his potpourri of mixtures which bring with them the attending evils of dyspepsia and indigestion. Three years ago he sold out his interest in the farm to Yu Leo and re- turned to China.
 Tho Chinese farms have varied attrac- tions both for the student of entomology and tho bCtanist. Four crops are raised ev- cry year. The tillage is most thorough. All farm labor Is performed by hand. 4 blow is never used, and labor saving ma chimes are unknown. The Chinese farm- CTS work from dark to dark. Eight o'clock Is their breakfast hour. Fifteen minutes are usually devoted to this meal They work again until l o'clock, when they take half an hour of for dinner. Then they go back to their hoes and work until 1t is too dark to distinguish objects. This is tho everyday life of this strange people. When His New Year Comes. The Chinese farmer throws aside all his cares and responsibilities at least once a year-on New Years day. The Chinese New Years day took place Fch s. Some keep 1t up for a week and somo for a month or moro. This may be said to be | the greatest of all Chinese celebrations both at home and abroad, and while 1t lasts only unbounded pleasure Is sought | after and indulged in. When New Years day arrived, the Chinese farmers scOrn- | fully laid aside their hoes, and like true Cauoasians masticated turkey. duck ard other edible delicaoios These bucolic art. | ists do not use strong liquors. If they ge. quarter or 50 cents, they spend it for opium. For 50 cents they can have at | least ten good smokes, which are eQuiva, lent In effect to ten big drinks of whisky. The farmers, however, are dropping this | practice gradually, as those who use the drug to any extent become weak, pale aud | lazy.
 | John Chinaman Is a great believer in irrigation. There Is a pump on each Oi | the farms which is used almost incessant | ly in watering the crops.
 Tho irrigation pump Is in the center oi the field, and big long india rubber hoSS | extends to tho circumference of the farm This is sometimes seen lying coiled among the plants like hugo python. Whenever rain does not come. John attaches thS l nozzle of this hose to the water supply and for hours at time pours a steady stream of water on tho plants. On another por ton of the farm stands a liquid manuzS tank where the fertilizing ingredients be | ing held in solution are by the same proc
 ess distributed over the soil. Every graiT
 of seed sown is handled separately and de
 posited in holes made by tho hand. WheT
 the seed Is planted. John heaps the ferti
 lizers on top. He grows his cucumbers
 squashcs and other vegetables upside dowI
 and trains his vines on poles which ar'
 arched toward each other on the hills |
 is a treat never to be forgotten to sec |
 Chinese farmer lying on his back bcncatl
 the arbors shipping off the fruit with [ pair efshears. Strange ns this method O