The Raymer enterprise., 1922-01-26

eius in seventy.sixth Generation.
abundant yield Of wheat. corn, rice.
millet, arrowroot, vegetables and fruit.
The northern plains, however, are
valueless from an agricultural stand.
point because the land Is saturated
with salt.
Harvest Wax With Worms
One Of the novel "crops" Of this
province is an odd variety Of wax
harvested from the wax tree with the
aid Of armies Of wax worms, which are
sent forth to forage, much as the silk
worm forces are martialed for attack
on mulberry leaves. After summers
depredations on the wax trees the
worms exude a substance which when
melted forms wax. After the little
haryesters have paid their wax tribute
the Chinese collect them and place
them indoors where they are stall.
fed" until the following spring. when
the process Is repeated.
silk culture Is one Of the most i'm.
portant Industries OF Shantung. One
Of the varieties Of fibre produced IL
pongee. or Chi-fu silk. obtained from
worms that are fed on the leaves Of
dwarfed oaks. These oak spinners are
not always treated with the same con-
sideration accorded the wax worms.
for, when the pongee cocoon Is finished,
the worm often finds Its way to the
table Of wealthy native, where II Is
highly priced as delicacy.
Still another rather important In.
dustry of Shantung affects from far
across the sea. the peace Of mind Of
modern American maids with unruly
tresses. The women of Shantung
young and old busy themselves tying
into form the fllmy nets of hair that
make well-groomed colffures possible
on blustery spring days on Fifth ave
nue.. or when the lake winds swoop
down on Michigan boulevard. Hun
uiNus Va tuuuSdhhs VI thtse airy Ihuiiu'
factures. large in numbers but few In
pounds, are shipped to America an.
nually.
Birthplace Of confucIus.
Shantung will ever hold place Of
supreme affection In the hearts Of
Cinnamon, for II was In this province
that one Of the worlds greatest moral
teachers. the famous sage, Confuclus.
was born. Even more important--in
ancestor-reverIng China -ConfucIus is
buried In Shantung. This was also
the native province Of Mencius, one
Of Confncius' most distinguished fol.
lowers.
The tomb of Confuclus near Chowfu
is the object Of pilgrimage to many
but strangely enough II is not nearly
as great drawing card as is Tai
Shan. the highest Of China's five
sacred mountains, which Is also In holy
Shantung. end not far from Chowfu.
AT Tai Shan one finds what might be
called holy mountaineering" de luxe.
Up the peak. which Is 5000 feet high,
has been constructed broad paved
path with stone steps wherever the
declivity Is steep, and In the spring
this highway is thronged with as many
as 10000 pilgrims day. On the cliffs
which the climber passes precepts are
carved, constituting huge religious
bill boards" BY the wayslde at inter.
walls are temples where offerings to
the priests are made convenient.
Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian
shrines are intermingled, though the
mountain itself has been considered a
sacred place since before the latter
two cults came into existence. At the
very crest Of the holy mount are
three temples Of the three faiths.
Twentieth century communication Of
a sort was opened to the sacred places
Of Shantung when the Tien-Tsin-
Pukow railway was completed in 1912.
But 1t was only Of sort. One express
train week to Puk0w sufficed for su.
perior travel, but no arrangements
were made for taking care Of religious
tourists.
One still goes to the home Of Con.
fucius as one would have gone In the
Middle Ages. Express trains do not
pause at Chowfu station SS miles
south Of Tsl.nan, unless great oficials
are aboard. and wish to alight there.
By special stipulation Of Duke Kung,
descendant Of Confucius and head Of
the clan. the railroad passed six miles
from the city. and there are NJ ads-
quate accommodations fss larGe nm
bers Of traveller.