Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-10-27
prsnnEr EVENING NEWS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER a7 1900.

yarn. II seemed to me that there were
acres OF them. and was told that they
represented hundreds Of thousands OF
dollars In actual value. a gang OF
wUrkmen was busy packing up the
goods and labelling them for shipment.
and other gangs were carrying them IN
and out Of the gO-downs In other
places they We're unloading cotton from
the boats, and as ! came To the mill ]
saw men wheeling great bales through
the streets on wheel bauows. The
bales Were strapped on each side Of the
barrow rising up so high as Co almost
hide the man who was pushing H.
THE COTTON FIELDS OF CHINA
was surprised 90 find that most OF.
the cotton used here n grown in China,
Ii Is cultivated in uatciSs NO different
places along the Nongtsn and 10 the
south. I ann told 60 can. be raised all
along the Yanefse kiaub and even
as Jar north az Tlen Tsin
The chief cotton fields OF the present
are south of Shanghai sr1ttmg the
country Tor about one hundred miles
back 1f the soacoast The plantations
range from % fourth oi an acre 20 ave
acres iu size.
The seed rs s1wn broadcast. and the
plants come up far moro ihlckly than
they do with us Nh.y are .hinned OUT
and Uar.fui.. Na.IUI being houd With
q Ions. slender hHp The cotton is
PLANTED too ihrkIy n is almost as
thi.t us small grain 500 fll'l, thIt tha
stalks rarely grow tu "a height of mote
than three feet The hoIIs are SO
small th.t 90 takes forty lU atty of
them 60 make % pound ot seed cotton.
and they DO not average more han six
tou stalk 10 DIS believed with better
cultivation end more careful planting
that China might produce % better cot
ton and a greater quantity
Picking cotton Is largely done by wo-
men and girls who go from place 20
place WORKING FOR their neighbors. In
some parts of China the poor people
claim the right t0 pick any cotton that
is ripe inter the FIRST frost. At this
time most ot the crop has been gath
cred but there are some bolls which
have not yet opened There Is a recu-
lar day fixed by the village or district
on which this picking may begin and
after that the poor turn out and go
for an The cotton In sight Some OF
the women walk miles 90 reach q region
where tho picking is good sleeping at
night 90 the fields or Boz the Outhousos
until they can gather what is left.
WEAVE AT HOME.
The bulk of the cottons now used I'm
China are manufactured at home We
are shipping more every year and Eng
land. India and Germany are drumming
the trade. All the imports, however.
do not begin 10 touch the enormous
market The Chinese are clad In cot
tons. only the rich car afford % wear
silk, and OF the four houndred millions
az least three hundred and dfty millions
can AFFORD nothing else. ! have seen u
estimated that the Chlnaman on the ay-
erage uses al least twenty yards Of cot
ton year Now, there are four hum
dred million Chinese. and according 20
this the empire demands at least eight
billion yards Of this material annually.
Eight billion yards Is tWenty-four bill
lion feet II Is enough at 5000 feet 20
the mile 20 make "a strip four million
miles long, enough 10 reach 100 times
around the world, and as each strip
would be three feet wide II would car
pet roadway three times as wide as
Pennsylvania avenue around the globe
OF this amount ffteen-siXteenths IS
woven In little houses by Chinese Voc
men. Much Of II ls made by the peo-
pie who raise the cotton. the ginning
spinning and weaving being done with
hand machines. The cloth II very coarse
but closely woven. Much Of Il is made
only thirteen inches wide, In pieces
about seven yards lor,T In the pity Of
Foochow about four million pieces are
manufactured In this way.
AMERICAN CoTTONs IN CHINA.
have had a chat with Consul Cen
eral Goodnow about the Increase I'm the