The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-11-03
CHINA TAKES up
WALNUT GROWING
Its Cultivation and Sale the Main
Support of Hundreds of
Villages.
.491 WORTH SENT HERE
George e. Young Of Shanghai Says
the Chinese viii Soon Be Com
petitors in Textiies-Taks In
terest in Their LandA

New York.-Following the importA
ton of walnuts to China by the early
missionaries the Chinese developed
this industry so carefully hat 1t ha
now reached tremendous proportions
according to George f. Young OF
Shanghai, China, who has been in the
Orient ten years. Mr.. Young saiC
that the Chinese are growing more and
more interested in their lands and con.
siderable development will be seen dur
ing the next few years.
THE cultivation and sale of the
walnut, which was first brought to
China by the American missionaries,
now supports hundreds of Chinese
villages said Mr.. Young. THE
methods of preparing the nuts for mar
ket are most primitive, but as labor
is cheap they are able to send them
to this country and compete favor
ably with the domestic market. For
the American market they use only
the highest grade nuts. They select
the bright cOlored and shiny nuts and
they are bleached, sorted and packed
according to grade. Those of specked
and inferior shells are cracked and
the meat is packed for confectionery
purposes. This cracking is now done
by hand because the only walnut
cracking machine Is owned and oper-
ated with greatest secrecy by walnut
growers in this country.
Chinese Waste Nothing.
.sThe economical bent of the Chinese
Is given full play in the walnut grow,
ing industry. They utilize every par
ticle Of the product. When the crop
is gathered the husks are beaten off
the nuts and are buried in wet earth
to rot FOR fertilizer. The nuts are
delivered to the ports through vari-
GUS agencies, the original grower get
ting an insignificant part of the price
realized for them.
1.-The Manchurian walnut has a hard
err she'll than the product of this u
fry. The shells of the inferior ap-
pearing walnuts, which are cracked be-
fore shipment, are used for fuel, and
on account of the large proportion
of oil they contain they make an ex-
celIent fuel. The Manchurian wal
nut commands a special advantage In
the confectionery making trade be-
cause Of superior flavor and texture
of the meat.
'This spring the price quoted to
American importers for delivery at
San francisco was as high as % to
81 cents, including cost, insurance and
freight. with the transpscific shipping
rate at $3.50 per ton. The quota
tions are now around % cents. The
whole nuts are shipped in 1OO-pound
bags Of burlap which are made In
India. The walnut meat is very care
wrapped in paper and packed In
wooden boxes to keep out moisture,
which is likely to produce mold. In
the United States the walnuts are
placed in cold storage. which preserves
their freshness, preventing drying, and
the crop which we ship the last OF
June does not get Oh the market here
until some months later"
Handicapped by Superstition.
Mr.. Young pointed out that accord
ing to the last issued bulletin of the
Of Commerce for May,
1920. 10,121,SS1 pounds of walnuts
to the United States. from China
IA the IL months ended with May, and
heir value was S1,SS7, 491. He says
hat the Chinese are still greatly
handicapped by their old superstitions.
After the age-old practice Of having
III streets and passages irregular so
hat the evil spirits cannot md their
way, they are laying out their farms
n patchwork order. making, the roads
ather difficult for anyone not famil-
with the locality. rs3 1 feeffFH
'sThere is a large and growing mar
.et in China for every Kind Of ma
hinery,' said Mr.. Young. This is
artIcularIy true OF ma hinery used in
textile industry. The. Chinese are
DING to- be competitors OF the whole
in textiles. When q, Chinaman
cures out anything and decides to
dept 1t nsMs5businass he Is not con
efbjt to stop there. He is buying MA
hinery HOW for every process in which
Z has learned 1fs advantages,
.aTbe Chinese Fave 10 Gsuns agaIns
he Americans, but, of course, their
aired Tor the Qgapansae grows worse.
.mer1cans ii business In China are
disappointed with the classY.6 Of men
rom this country who have rushed
1T, the oriental field in the belief
bat great postwar profits fte there
hey are the cheapest sort Of traders
nd they are not Y Intelligent, in
usfnesGn- aefgfts,