West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1900-09-27
OUR PARIS LETTER.
The Wonderful Exhibit Of The
Empire Of the Rising Sun
Some Interesting Information About
Japan and Her People.

rIoW our Regular Correspondent.
Paris, France, September Is, 1900.
The japanese agricultural exhibit
attracts attention not only on ac-
count of its novelty, but also be-
cause of the development in this
line, as in so many other directions,
of this remarkable Eastern people.
"The wonderful Transformation of
the Empire of the Rising Sun has
offered an example, without pre-
cedent in the history of nations, of
a people passing in less than thirty
years from the most feudal of gov.
ernments, to Democratic and
parliamentary forms from a
civilization rusty with age to one
closely resembling our own'-says
a French writer, in a recently pub
lished book on Japan. His OBJ
servation is as true of the agricultural
institutions as of the other changes
impressed upon the social organiza-
ton of Japan since 1868. A visitor
can easily trace the revolution in
economic conditions of agriculture
by examining, in the hall on the
Champ de Mars, the maps, photo
graphs, papers, diagrams, etc.,
which accompany the collection of
Japanese products. The working
people have especially benefited
of recent years, having acquired
the right to own the soil, which
for eighteen centuries had been the
property of the Imperial govern
ment or of feudal seigneurs.
japan is composed, as is well
known, of a considerable number
of islands of more or less import
ance, scattered from the South in
a north westerly direction. Noun
tains cover the country and almost
touch the shores everywhere plains
are rarely found and are OF small
extent. The soil is not very pro-
ductlve, and it is necessary to use
all of the sewage Of the towns and
cities for fertilizing purposes. The
total size of the land is a little less
than that of France, or about the
same as the State of California.
This supports population Of over
40, 900, 900, the native inhabitants
forming about forty-three and a
quarter millions of this number.
The people are essentially agricul-
tural and rice is the chief product
Of the soil. Counting the number
of acres under cultivation, and the
number Of inhabitants, it is found
that each family has on an average
3 acres from which to draw susten.
ance. Evidently, Japan is a country
Of small farms, and is not adapted
to the use OF large agricultural
machinery. The population, also,
IS so dense that hand labor is yer,
cheap. Workmen's wages are about
SIS per year, women earning abour
half that amount.
There is very little live stock ir
Japan, the use Of meat and milk b,
the natives being extremely rare
There are now $780, 900 horses ir
the country, Jrz5,ooo head o
cattle, 100, 900 pigs, 10000 goat
and 1900 sheep. The goyernmen
is endeayoring TO extend the use o
the horse in agriculture, in order
/ perhaps that the army may have
better source of supply The hors
is small animal, but his emplo,
ment for agricultural purpose
would be even cheaper than han,
labor Oxen are also utilized to
small extent; the japanese o.
weighs $50 pounds he can dray
800 pounds twelve miles a day.
Besides rice, wheat, barley
potatoes, cotton, tea, indigo, sugar
cane, camphor ETC., are cultivate,