Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1908-05-28
FRoM CHINA.


Reese from his old friend, DR.. l..
B. Caldwell, which we think will
be of interest to our readers:
Foochaw, China, April 2nd.
Major j. j. II. Reese,
Reese, n. G.
DEAR MAJoR:-Did you ever
Ieel, really, that "There is no
place like home, and that half
the distance around the world
lay between you and that place?
Well. that is about as | feel this
morning.
We are most delightfully."- enter
tanned by our sons and their fam
lies, but | would like to be at
home for a little while. China is q
wonderful country, but it is SO
dark, You can hardly think how
far behind our part of the world,
China really is. While the greater
portion Of the people live in great
poverty, China isnot really poor.
The lanns in the valleys are very
rich, and are highly cultivated,
yet it is done with the 'fewest and
most wretched impelments you
ever saw. The most primitive
plow you ever saw, and hoe, not
worthy OF the name, are the prin.
cipal tools. But with these im-
pliments they do aniimmense am
cunt Of work. Nearly all lands
are irrigated here, and the val
leys are cut up into small lots.
In passing through 1000 acres
of wheat you will see more fields
less than 30x50 feet, than you
see that contain one acre.
You must remember that this
land is cultivated with this crude
plow and this awful hoe. Every
thing is planted by hand. and in
rows, and these rows are straight
as they can be made by n line.
Everything is harvested by hand,
threshed Ivy hand, cleaned by
hand and taken to market on
the shoulders of men and women.
These fields are fertilized by
might soil" largely from the cit
les and villages, taken every day
in the year by men and women.
These great fields are kept in a
high state OF cultivation, and
you never see worn out fields.
and you must remember t h a t
these lands have been under cul-
tivation for thousands of years.
The surveyors chain has never
been on these lands.
| We have no roads in this coun-
try. for We have no teams II 0 +
wagons. But we have foot paths
everywhere. These Cinnamon are
by no means lazy, but are busy;
they need to keep busy, orstarye
In this part of China farming
goes on the year round. There
are sections of country in China
farming sections-where there
there are $50 people to t h e
square mile. II such a, popula-
tion were crowded into your coun
try you would have to cut up
your farms q little. asked one
of the best informed Cinnamon
the other day, who lived in one
of thes richie valleys; how many
acres OF land were owned by the
largest land holder? He said that
the largest owner would.not ex-
ceed 80 Chinese acres. 1t takes
6 81 Chinese acres to make one
of our American acres, so you see
that the largest owners have less
than five acres in their farms, 1t
seems strange to us that every
thing is done by hand power. If
you wish to move from one place
to another, it is all done by these
Cinnamon. Your piano or organ
is carried upon the shoulders Of
these men and women. / saw two
men the other day taking logs to
the mill. The logs were about IA
feet long and abont IA in. in di-
ameter. With a rope around the
log and over the pole on their
shoulders, they balanced the log