The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-04-25

iaucy. III Nnlna III Is III It's QOtaEc.
Probably the majority Of the people Of
the United States never saw an rri
gated field larger than domestic gar
den. In China every part of the
country that can be watcrcd by the
crude methods available is artiiically
supplied with water SO thoroughly
is the value Of irrigation for agricul-
ture understood by the Chinese that
land is multiplied in value by from
two to five by til, simple fact that it
can be irrigated when so desired.
Probably one reason why the Mongo
lians appreciate the value of irrigated
lands is the fact that their chief cereal
is rice, and rice, or paddy" fields,
as they are commonly called. must be
covered with from one to three inches
of water from planting time until har-
vest. Evaporation in these scmitropi-
cal countries is very rapid, and the
water must be supplied regularly and
in large quantities. But all the crops
are more or less irrigated wherever
possible. Wheat is sown in rows and
an irrigated ditch six inches deep runs
the length of the field every three or
four feet. Sweet potatoes, beans,
peanuts, sugar cane, tobacco and that
archdestroyer Of the Chinese nation,
the poppy, are all cultivated in the
same way.
In irrigation, as in everything else,
the Chinese seem to have early learn
ed it's value and developed it practical
ly to certain degree Of efficiency and
then stopped. They have made no
improvements in this line for thous-
and years, just as they have stood
still in every other art Of civilization.
Wherever possible, water running
down hill is utilized and spread out
upon the fields. The hillsidps, and
even the mountains, are terraccd, and
the little streams running down their
sides arc utilized from their very
source. This terracing of all sloping
ground is one Of the features Of Chi
nese agriculture that strikes the trav-
eler as most curious. Every field is
level, no matter how steep the slope.
This is necessary in order to hold the
water; and even where the ground is
not irrigated the fields are all made
level artifcially, if not so naturally.
This is one of the many evidences of
the skill Of the Chinese farmer.
Every field looks like garden.
After getting down into the valley
the stream is larger, and it is utilized
upon correspondingly larger scale.
A crude dam is thrown across it, and
portion u the water is diverted into
ditch from one to four feet wide and
half as deep, and the fields below upon
that side Of the stream are irrigated
from it. A little distance belew an
other partial dam will divert water in
to similar ditch upon tho opposite
side. The water thus diverted to the
fields runs over them and off into the
stream again, except what is lost by
evaporation and absorption. This
process is continued as long as possi-
BILE, but finally the stream becomes
lower than the banks, and artificial
methods Of lifting the water must be
resorted to.
The treadmill pump is the most
generally used machine, and q very
efficient one is, though it cannot be
classed among the labor-saving ma
chimes Of the wo..d. I. is au endless
chain of wooden links, each link hav-
ing four r-cornered disk in the middle
that FITS close to the sides of the long
boxlike pump, which is from eight to
sixteen feet long and six to ten inches
wide. The pump has bottom board,
but no lid. It is placed in stream,
canal or pond, leaning upon the bank
at an angle Of about 45 degrees. 1t is
worked by foot-power, from one to
four men or womcn standing at the
top Of the windlass, leaning upon
horizontal bar and stepping from one
round spoke to tho other. Water is
raised rapidly and in large quantities
by this process, but it can only be
lifted from six to ten feet at time.
1t is not uncommon to see two work
ing, lifting the same water in sections.
This requires at least eight persons,
and the expense would seem prohibi
tive in any country except China. A
network Of canals spreads over the
level plains of China, everywhere, and
in South China, at least, this tread
mill pump is used almost exclusively
to lift the water from them to the
fields a1onc tho low honL Rrt <boeo