The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-03-27
FARMERS OF
THE ORIENT.
Their Products Compared with
Those Of the United States.
RADICAL CHANGES TO Be MADE.
To Prevent Far Eastern Countries Drawing
- Upon Us For Food Supplies.
NATIVE FILIPINOS AS FARMERS.
They % Not Give as Much Attention 10 The Fro
duOlon Of kihOgsnous Foods as The
japanese, and Are Less Muscular.


OF agriculture TO Japan, China and the
Philippines as an agricultural explorer,
has returned 10 Washington and report
ed To Secretary NIgOn the results OF his
laboTs. lie was Instructed TO inVesti-
gate such products Of the farms, fie!ds
and forests OF those countries as might
be of advantage 10 the agricultural in
dustries OF the United States. Some OF
the observations OF Dr. Knapp relating
To the products of Japan air lady have
been published In preliminary report.
On this branch OF Investigation, how ever,
he has the following additional 10 say:
"All fear OF competition from Japan
along agricultural lines may be dis
missed. ON the contrary, u must be-
come a large consumer of farm products
drawn from the nited states. The ctf-
fusion OF knowledge and the introduction
OF new indus tries In Japan have had the
effect of more than doubling he cost of
labor in the lact 10 yeals ard, in proper
tion, OF stimulating consumption by the
common people. Future progress must
be mainly made Ia the direction of manu-
fecturcs. In such event the food for the
operatives, tie cotton and other hbre
material for the fabrics, the lumber and
iron for the construction OF TIE factories
s~6 much OF the machinery Will be drawn
from the United States.
or the fabrics. cotton and wool alone
have made much progress under the FAC
tory system. and this is owing to the fact
that they were not produced TO any ex-
tent IN the empire and hence no home
system OF Manufacture had been estab-
lished for them.
The principal agricultural products
imported into Japan are wheat, Hour.
sugar, cotton butter, cheese ard meat.
The annual value OF these articles is at
present between $4,000, 0OS and $50, ,000. 600
i'm gold. Under favorable treaty regu-
lations Japan Will import from the United
States nearly all her hour. butter, cheese
and meat. ee-fourths of the raw cot
ton required, and from the Philippines
nearly their entire surplus of the output
OF sugar"
Regarding China the report says: THE
great area the large percent OF fertile
lands and the enormous population of
China stagger the observer on the thres-
hold of investigation. Here. however as
in Japan. radical changes in agricultural
methods or products must be made very
slowly, If at all. because the food supply
cannot be mater.a ally reduced or even
changed with safety. Large areas de-
voted to fibre plants for the promotion
Of manufactures would be a dangerous
invasion OF the acres necessary for the
food supply and must be speedily fol-
lowed by importations from the United
States" Dl, Knapp was deeply i'm
pressed by the alert, Industrious and
fftte 40, ap nf
From China DR.. Knapp proceeded to
the Philippines. Arriving at Manila he
went by rail- as far as San Fernando
passing through the rice section to the
east and north Of Manila on to the sugar
lands TO the north. The yield per acre.
according TO the best authorities, is about
1000 pounds of hulled rice on lands under
rainfall irriga tion solely, and 1000 pounds
on lands artifcially irrigated. This shows
very careless sbandry.
The rich clay soil about San Fernando
is well adapted to sugar cane. In Luzon
the methods OF sugar farming are quite
different from those practised in the
United states while the factories are
the crudest conceivable. The sugar is
drained upon the open kettle plan. The
proprietor furnishes land and factory
and the tenant furnishes seed, does ali
the work In the field. delivers the cane
to the mill and supplies most OF the hands
for making the sugar. The proprietor
receives one-half the sugar and all the
molasses. The tenant i'm theory Is al
lowed the remainder. but i'm practice he
usually receives about two-fifths of the
s.gar. Or Knapp was informed that in
the siand OF Panay, Negros and Cebu
the sugar farms and factories are much
mo.e improved than in Luzon. Sugar
lands produce from 5000 to 5000 pounds
per acre, depending upon the cultivation
and ,ae factory.
The Lililp piuers as farmers, as he OBJ
served. 10 not give as much attention to
the production Of heterogeneous foods as
the japanese. and hence are less muscu-
lar.
Millet. maize sago and indigo do wen
and are ordinarily profitable crops.
Philippine coffee, OF which there for
merry were many plantations. has a
peculiarly rich and pleasant flavor.
Cocoanuts pineapples oranges. bananas.
grapes. nes and many other fruits grow
amOst spontaneously
the Philippine islands abound in valu-
able wood for building. furniture. dye
woods and some yielding costly gums.
According TO the best authority nearly
two-thlrds OF the land Is still public and
passes o. the United states with the tile.
III opened FOR settlement to soldiers many
OF our young men will remain and be-
come permanent settlers. Some asso-
Citations of this kind have already been
oreanized. The price OF improved and
rargcs from 81 to S2C0 per acre 1g0d).
depending upon tho location and valus
of the Improvement
" ports of the observatory at Manila
show that tae AVERAGE rainfall for the
past 30 yeats mas been i5 i-i0ths inches.
The temperature is quite uniform.
averaging dur.rg the past ~ years % de-
grees for Jsnrafy. the coidsst month.
ond ss.S degrees Tor May. the warinest
moath,