The Brinkley argus., 1912-02-09

- R HOME, as in all civilized coun
 tries, forms the very heart
 and center of the life of China.
 Population being 90 much
 greater there than in any oth' CT country. 1t follows that the average home must occupy very limited guar ters. But the natives of China have learned to make a real abiding place in the smallest possible space. so that a single room with mud floor ana sometimes a low attic overhead. where the children sleep. forms the extent of great numbers of homes among the respectable people of that country
 In any small village or hamlet in central China you will find the one or two streets lined on either sioe with long rows of one-storied builo- ings. with roofs of thatch or tiles There may be half dozen houses under one long roof. but partitions ex- tending the whole width Of the build ing separate them from one another China is full of villages, as the farm CTS group their dwellings close togetn- CT for safety. A square hole halfway up the front wall, covered with light paper or else transparent oyster shells, answers of a window. This. with the front door, which usually stands open. in pleasant weather, admits the hgns and air into the abode. The house itself Is very poorly constructed. as it is made of single layer of adobe bricks piled up on their thin eosss and plastered over on the outside
 There are very few really substan' tial buildings in the whole Of China except an occasional temple. But such are the homes where are born ana reared large families of children ana where parents and grandparents live from one generation to another. Per haps the ancestors of the grandfather have lived in this very spot for hun dreds of years! The house may have been torn down and rebuilt many times, but the sacrednsss of home has never been removed from 1t. It ia very likely. too. that some of these small. ono or two roomed abodes have been the birthplaces of some of ths renowned men of China It fs just hero that class distinction. for which China Is noted. makes break ana does not recognize caste.
 There may be low lean-to at tho back of this dwelling. and in 1t you will see piles of sticks. dried leaves and bundles of cotton stalks. This is the fuel stored up for the winter months and is sufficient to furnish ire for all the cooking in that large fam ily Fuel is scarce in China. and every possible material that cannot be used for anything else is utilized for 1t. You will learn on this visit that of all people on the face os the earth the Chinese take the prize for real practical economy. The stove ia made of few fire bricks so ar. ranged with hole in the top that a large copper pan can be placed direct ,v over the fuel, and very close to It so that not any of the heat Is lost, and the stew, or rice. Is almost h. stantly simmering, and before you are aware the meal is ready for the table. At the table each ones place Is not marked by knives, forks. plates snoons. and so forth. but there is only Q nair of chop-sticks and q small DOT celain spoon for each member of the family A large dish of steaming stew. in which there are plenty of pieces or nork and different kinds of vegetables, is nlace in the middle of each of the souare tables, for there are usually several of these, according to the number of the household. Perhaps some dried fish Is also there, and be- fore the meal is finished each person is supplied with a heaping bowl of steaning rice. This Is held close to tba mouth and is literally pushed into if with the chopsticks. All eat with tbe regularity of clockwork except now and then hand Is reached out to take spoonful of the stew or nibble at the dried fish to make the rice go down better.
 In a corner of the room the visitor wtll see pile of pigskln'covsred boxes ar trunks, which perhaps reach near lv to the ceiling. In these boxes are most carefully folded and radksd away all the best clothing q ven as the treasures and heiriocms et ths family.
 It is in these boxss that all tAe wed, ding outfit of the brtde 0 btpA All the Jewels. and whatever s< vuetA er beauty the family possssg94 sfG fedAt here: these thinss - 0av heGotAt
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