Evening star., 1909-05-01

wide as from Washington to Phiade.-
plIia. The country lies just opposite our
eastern state on the other side OF the
globe. II l could bore a hole right
through the earth from where I now am
and had the right sort Of glass I might
see the American sun within a short dis
tance of New York city. The latitude is
Just about the same that of Boston.
New York. Philadelphia and Washingt on.
ard the climate Is better than ours. For
the greater part of the year the skies are
as blue as those of Colorado ard then it
rains for two or three months off and on.
giving a plentiful supply OF water for
crops. IF the mountains had not been
skinned Of their timber the rainfall IS
such that they might be cultivated Gear
10 their tops. and by reforestation such
farming will probably be done.
Korea. like Japan is land of noun
tains. but the mountains are less steep
and there are more broad. open valleys.
There is range which runs north and
south from Mancburia to the Strait of
Korea. with spurs branching off here and
there. The range is not lofty. There are
but few peaks a mile above the sea. and
the highest Of them all is only 5000 feet.
This is Mount Pail.-To-San. an extinct
volcano. whose crater is filled with water.
forming beautiful AXE of unknown
depth. The average hills are below the
altitude OF the Blue Ridge in Virginia.
and some slope off into plains.
All of these mountains were at one time
we'll wooded There were forests from
one end of the peninsula to the other. and
the farms ran up the sides of the hills.
Today in the central and lower parts OF
Korea the tops Of the ridges are as bare
as the desert Of Sahara. and there is only
a thin growth of pines on the sides. This
is so all the way from Fusan to Seoul.
Right here at the capital which lies in a
basin surrounded by mountains. the most
of the hills as bare as the Rockies.
and the clay has been washed down into
the valleys. Trees will grow easily, but
the people skin the mountains year after
year of every bit of vegetation in order
that it may be used for fuel. First they
cut down the trees. Later they chop
away the sprouts and young growth and
finally pull up the grass until the country
looks as though II had been plowed over.
At this writing the streets of Seoul are
filled with buliocks. ponies and men load
ed with fuel which they have brought
into the city for sale. Porters go along
with carloads Of evergreen branches fas-
tened to the jiggy. a sort OF framework
which they wear upon their backs. Bull
locks by scores are entirely covered with
bundles cf similar fuel A single animal
will carry almost one thousand pounds. or
as much as one horse could haul in cart
in our country. Indeed, the load Is SO
large that you could not put 1t into an
American cart. 1t rises six or eight rect
above the back Of the bullock. and hangs
down on the sides almost to his feet, so
that one sees little more than his head,
tail and hoofs as he goes along the roao
There are ponies carrying wood. chopped
into stove lengths and tied up in bun
dies and men laden with charcoal when
has been made in the hills.
The chief form of heating here IS oy
fiues which run under the floor. and straw
twigs and pine branches are excellent for
this purpose bunch is put in at the
entrance of the f1ues and lighted, and us
flames spread out. making the noors
hot almost to roasting.
One Of the first works Of the japanese
will be to stop this skinninG Of the noun
tains. They will plant trees as fast as
possible upon the available hills thus
conserving the rainfall and greatly IN
creasng the land susceptible to cult,
walton. They have already planted
model forests in the vicinity of Seoul.
Pveneyang and Taiku. and as soon as tho
nurseries are in good shape will extend
the program to other parts of the coun-
try.
Today most of the farms Of Korea ars
confined to the valleys. The area beinS
cultivated is just about half that which
is titled in Japan, and If 1t were as IN
tensiyelv farmed it would be feeding
.. nOOWO people instead Of less than nf-
teen million, as now. / am told that the
soil here is naturally much better than
that of Japan. but doubt il the product
Is one-fourth as large. The farmers fer-
tilize but little and they know nothing
Of artificial manures During a recent
trip over the country [ saw men CARVING
manure from the villages to the neias
on their backs, and farther on buiiocks