The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1900-12-28
THE FOOD
OF CHINA
Where and How 1t Is
Supplied.
AMERICAN FLOUR LIKED
Big Chance for Our Corn in the
flowery Kingdom Says
Frank Carpenter.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
SHANGHAI, Dec. 10.-Every farmer
in the United States has personal in
terest in the Chinese situation. China
will eventually be one of the biggest
markets for our cereals, and the time is
ripe for pushing our wheat and corn
to the front. There Is already de-
mand for them at the ports, and If the
merchants had them in hand they
might be shipped in quantities into the
interior this winter. The northern
part Of the empire is now on the verge
'of a famine. Some of the provinces
have had short crops for several years.
The farms of Shantung raised almost
nothing in 1899 and the wants Of the
people have had much to do with TO-
menting the Boxer uprising. Chihli is
in a bad way. The Peiho valley has
been devastated, the lands about Pc
king are laid waste, hundreds of viii
lagos have been destroyed and hun
dreds of thousands of people have left
their fields, either to serve In or follow
the army. This destitution exists
Throughout a large part of northern
China. 1t is only in some sections that
the people have enough laid up for the
winter, and when the cold weather
comes on the suffering will be intense.
The Chinese rely chiefly on food and
clothing to keep themselves warm.
Such an extravaganza as fuel to in
crease ones bodily heat is unknown
The houses are not warmed, and the
| cold of nature will be doubled by the
lack of food to resist 1t.
| CHINA'S FOOD SUPPLY
Few people realize the enormous
amount of food it takes to supply the
lChinese. There are, about four hundred
lmillion active stomachs trotting about
INSIDE these yellow skins, and each of
Them cries for meals three times a
)day. The general opinion at home is
THAT they are kept quiet on rats and
irice. This is mistake. Rats are such
poor eating that only the lowest of the
people touch them and rice costs so
much that it's consumption is largely
confined to the rice raising regions of
south and central China. Most of the
northern Chinese cannot afford rice.
They live upo nmillet, corn, barley.
beans, peas and sorghum seeds. They
/ raise some wheat eating the bran as
5 we'll as the meal They know just how
much 1t takes to sustain life and they
2 are anxious to get the best and cheap
est food that the world can supply.
e AMERICAN FLOUR IN CHINA.
The most of our flour which comes to
!; China costs too much for common con-
4 sumption. 1t is being eaten, however,
: by the well-to-do, and thousands of
s sacks of 1t are consumed as a coating
Z for sweet cakes. We shipped fully
= twice as much last year as we did in
1895. and in 1898 the total amount was
SO, ,000, 900 pounds. We are increasing
: our shipments now to the garrisons OF
. foreign troops stationed in German
English and Russian China, and the
. soldiers now at Tien Tsin, Picking and
in Shantung and Manchuria will re-
: quire tens of thousands Hof additiona
. sacks.
, From the importing houses here
have learned how the flour is brought
:. across the Pacific. 1t is put up in clotf
:, sacks of fifty pounds each, and thu.
:. retailed over the country. The whea
, is ground in the mills Of California Ant
!. Oregon The -four Is carried over th'
- ocean to Shanghai for a freight rate o
= 81 per ton.
When it reaches here a wholesal
|, : price Of cents and upward silver, 4
70 put on it. and this is materially In
creased by the freight to the interior
This makes it a luxury to most people
Indeed. the cakes which were former
.ly made of wheat -four are now mad
of rice flour and only varnished owe
with wheat flour. Such cakes are 70
sale on almost every street corner
They are of the size and shape Of a
= apple dumping and look not unlik
! one. They are boiled, and 1t is as boil
\ ed food that most of our flour whic
comes to China is eaten. The Chimes
do not know what bread is. There
but little pastry or cakes. Biscuits ar
not seen, and such things as coffee an
rolls are never eaten outside the house
-, of the foreigners.
.u ,., The American -four is far superior
=, that made by the Chinese. The CHI
~ ~ nese flour has a dark yellow color. an
eis eis for this reason the people do not liz
~ ~ it in cakes.
HOW THEY MAKE FLOUR.
tie On the farms of the interior tn
Is wheat Is ground between stones. wnic
,ly are turned about by the women o! u
re- family In all the small towns thel
to are little flour mills. / visited one
as these the other day. 1t was moved
m two water buffaloes, each wearfr
alv wooden cups as big as saucer ov'
ire his ewes to blind him as he draggs
taro,nd the mill stones. The ston
no were of the size of the largest ca
of wheel. They rested one on the top
of the other and the grain was pour
through a sort of a box-lke funnel in
f., a hole in the top stone, the flour hoN
of ing out at the bottom. In the sar
IN room two half naked Chinese were bol
ide ing the meal, shaking the bolting clio
,n- by rolling back and forth a log to whi
the it was attached. They kept the clio
moving by hopping up and down up
cox pegs driven into the log.
Iic- Such mills are the roller patent pro
ink ess of -four grinding in interior Chi
lis -------------
CONTINUED on popa Cl