,,farmers ,,of ,,forty ,,centuries      
,,or    ,,permanent ,,agriculture ,,in  
,,china1 ,,korea ,,and ,,japan    ,by   
,f4 ,h4 ,,king1 ,d4 ,sc4    #aiaa       
,,preface            ,by ,,dr4 ,l4 ,h4  
,,bailey4    ,we have not yet gathered  
up the experience of mankind in the     
tilling  of the earth2 yet the tilling  
of the earth is the bottom condition  of
 civilization4 ,if we are to assemble   
all the forces and agencies  that make  
for the final conquest of the planet1 we
 must assuredly  know how it is that all
 the peoples in all the places have met 
the  problem of producing their         
sustenance out of the soil4    ,we have 
had few great agricultural travelers and
 few books that  describe the real and  
significant rural conditions4 ,of       
natural  history travel we have had very
 much2 and of accounts of sights and    
events perhaps we have had too many4    
,there are1 to be sure1 famous  books of
 study and travel in rural regions1 and 
some of them1 as  ,arthur ,young's      

,travels in ,france1 have touched social
 and  political history2 but for the    
most part1 authorship of agricultural   
travel is yet undeveloped4 ,the spirit  
of scientific inquiry must now  be taken
 into this field1 and all earth-conquest
 must be compared  and the results be   
given to the people that work4    ,this 
was the point of view in which ,i read  
,professor ,king's  manuscript4 ,it is  
the writing of a well-trained observer  
who went  forth not to find diversion or
 to depict scenery and common wonders1  
but to study the actual conditions of   
life of agricultural peoples4  ,we in   
,north ,america are wont to think that  
we may instruct all the  world in       
agriculture1 because our agricultural   
wealth is great and  our exports to less
 favored peoples have been heavy2 but   
this wealth  is great because our soil  
is fertile and new1 and in large acreage
  for every person4 ,we have really only
 begun to farm well4 ,the first         
condition of farming is to maintain     

fertility4 ,this condition the  oriental
 peoples have met1 and they have solved 
it in their way4 ,we  may never adopt   
particular methods1 but we can profit   
vastly by  their experience4 ,with the  
increase of personal wants in recent    
time4 the newer countries may never     
reach such density of population  as    
have ,japan and ,china2 but we must     
nevertheless learn the first  lesson in 
the conservation of natural resources1  
which are the  resources of the land4   
,this is the message that ,professor    
,king  brought home from the ,east4     
,this book on agriculture should have   
good effect in establishing             
understanding between the ,west and the 
,east4 ,if there could be such  an      
interchange of courtesies and inquiries 
on these themes as is  suggested by     
,professor ,king1 as well as the        
interchange of athletics  and diplomacy 
and commerce1 the common productive     
people on both  sides should gain much  
that they could use2 and the results in 

amity  should be incalculable4    ,it is
 a misfortune that ,professor ,king     
could not have lived to write  the      
concluding ,message of ,china and ,japan
 to the ,world4 ,it would  have been a  
careful and forceful summary of his     
study of eastern  conditions4 ,at the   
moment when the work was going to the   
printer1 he  was called suddenly to the 
endless journey and his travel here was 
left incomplete4 ,but he bequeathed us a
 new piece of literature1 to  add to his
 standard writings on soils and on the  
applications of  physics and devices to 
agriculture4 ,whatever he touched he    
illuminated4              ,,contents    
,,preface    ,,introduction    ,,first  
,,glimpses ,,of ,,japan    ,,grave      
,,lands ,,of ,,china    ,,to ,,hongkong 
,,and ,,canton    ,,up ,,the            
,,si-,,kiang1 ,,west ,,river    ,,extent
 ,,of ,,canalization ,,and ,,surface    
,,fitting ,,of ,,fields    ,,some       
,,customs ,,of ,,the ,,common ,,people  
,,the ,,fuel ,,problem1 ,,building ,,and

 ,,textile ,,materials    ,,tramps      
,,afield    ,,the ,,utilization ,,of    
,,waste    ,,in ,,the ,,shantung        
,,province    ,,orientals ,,crowd ,,both
 ,,time ,,and ,,space    ,,rice         
,,culture ,,in ,,the ,,orient    ,,silk 
,,culture    ,,the ,,tea ,,industry     
,,about ,,tientsin    ,,manchuria ,,and 
,,korea    ,,return ,,to ,,japan        
,,introduction            ,a word of    
introduction is needed to place the     
reader at the best  view point from     
which to consider what is said in the   
following  pages regarding the          
agricultural practices and customs of   
,china1  ,korea and ,japan4 ,it should  
be borne in mind that the great factors 
which today characterize1 dominate and  
determine the agricultural  and other   
industrial operations of western nations
 were physical  impossibilities to them 
one hundred years ago1 and until then   
had  been so to all people4    ,it      
should be observed1 too1 that the       
,united ,states as yet is a  nation of  

but few people widely scattered over a  
broad virgin land  with more than twenty
 acres to the support of every man1     
woman and  child1 while the people whose
 practices are to be considered are     
toiling in fields tilled more than three
 thousand years and who have  scarcely  
more than two acres per capita199 more  
than one-half of  which is uncultivable 
mountain land4    99,footnote3 ,this    
figure was wrongly stated in the first  
edition as  one acre1 owing to a mistake
 in confusing the area of cultivated    
land with total area4    ,again1 the    
great movement of cargoes of feeding    
stuffs and mineral  fertilizers to      
western ,europe and to the eastern      
,united ,states began  less than a      
century ago and has never been possible 
as a means of  maintaining soil         
fertility in ,china1 ,korea or ,japan1  
nor can it be  continued indefinitely in
 either ,europe or ,america4 ,these     
importations are for the time making    
tolerable the waste of plant  food      

materials through our modern systems of 
sewage disposal and  other faulty       
practices2 but the ,mongolian races have
 held all such  wastes1 both urban and  
rural1 and many others which we ignore1 
sacred to agriculture1 applying them to 
their fields4    ,we are to consider    
some of the practices of a virile race  
of some  five hundred millions of people
 who have an unimpaired inheritance     
moving with the momentum acquired       
through four thousand years2 a  people  
morally and intellectually strong1      
mechanically capable1 who  are awakening
 to a utilization of all the            
possibilities which  science and        
invention during recent years have      
brought to western  nations2 and a      
people who have long dearly loved peace 
but who can  and will fight in self     
defense if compelled to do so4    ,we   
had long desired to stand face to face  
with ,chinese and ,japanese  farmers2 to
 walk through their fields and to learn 
by seeing some of  their methods1       

appliances and practices which centuries
 of stress  and experience have led     
these oldest farmers in the world to    
adopt4  ,we desired to learn how it is  
possible1 after twenty and perhaps      
thirty or even forty centuries1 for     
their soils to be made to  produce      
sufficiently for the maintenance of such
 dense populations  as are living now in
 these three countries4 ,we have now had
 this  opportunity and almost every day 
we were instructed1 surprised and       
amazed at the conditions and practices  
which confronted us whichever  way we   
turned2 instructed in the ways and      
extent to which these  nations for      
centuries have been and are conserving  
and utilizing  their natural resources1 
surprised at the magnitude of the       
returns  they are getting from their    
fields1 and amazed at the amount of     
efficient human labor cheerfully given  
for a daily wage of five  cents and     
their food1 or for fifteen cents1       
,united ,states currency1  without food4

    ,the three main islands of ,japan in
 #aijg had a population of  #df1igg1jjc 
maintained on #bj1jjj square miles of   
cultivated field4  ,this is at the rate 
of more than three people to each acre1 
and of  #b1cdi to each square mile2 and 
yet the total agricultural imports  into
 ,japan in #aijg exceeded the           
agricultural exports by less than  one  
dollar per capita4 ,if the cultivated   
land of ,holland is  estimated at but   
one-third of her total area1 the density
 of her  population in #aije was1 on    
this basis1 less than one-third that of 
,japan in her three main islands4 ,at   
the same time ,japan is feeding  #fi    
horses and #ef cattle1 nearly all       
laboring animals1 to each square  mile  
of cultivated field1 while we were      
feeding in #aijj but #cj  horses and    
mules per same area1 these being our    
laboring animals4    ,as coarse food    
transformers ,japan was maintaining     
#af1ejj1jjj  domestic fowl1 #hbe per    
square mile1 but only one for almost    

three of  her people4 ,we were          
maintaining1 in #aijj1 #bej1fjj1jjj     
poultry1 but  only #chg per square mile 
of cultivated field and yet more than   
three  for each person4 ,japan's coarse 
food transformers in the form of  swine1
 goats and sheep aggregated but #ac to  
the square mile and  provided but one of
 these units for each #ahj of her people
 while in  the ,united ,states in #aijj 
there were being maintained1 as         
transformers of grass and coarse grain  
into meat and milk1 #ie  cattle1 #ii    
sheep and #gb swine per each square mile
 of improved  farms4 ,in this reckoning 
each of the cattle should be counted as 
the  equivalent of perhaps five of the  
sheep and swine1 for the  transforming  
power of the dairy cow is high4 ,on this
 basis we are  maintaining at the rate  
of more than #fdf of the ,japanese units
 per  square mile1 and more than five of
 these to every man1 woman and  child1  
instead of one to every #ahj of the     
population1 as is the case  in ,japan4  

,correspondingly accurate statistics are
 not accessible for ,china but  in the  
,shantung province we talked with a     
farmer having #ab in his  family and who
 kept one donkey1 one cow1 both         
exclusively laboring  animals1 and two  
pigs on #b4e acres of cultivated land   
where he grew  wheat1 millet1 sweet     
potatoes and beans4 ,here is a density  
of  population equal to #c1jgb people1  
#bef donkeys1 #bef cattle and #eab      
swine per square mile4 ,in another      
instance where the holding was one  and 
two-thirds acres the farmer had #aj in  
his family and was  maintaining one     
donkey and one pig1 giving to this farm 
land a  maintenance capacity of #c1hdj  
people1 #chd donkeys and #chd pigs to   
the square mile1 or #bdj people1 #bd    
donkeys and #bd pigs to one of our      
forty-acre farms which our farmers      
regard too small for a single  family4  
,the average of seven ,chinese holdings 
which we visited and  where we obtained 
similar data indicates a maintenance    

capacity for  those lands of #a1ghc     
people1 #bab cattle or donkeys and #cii 
swine1--#a1iie consumers and #cii rough 
food transformers per square  mile of   
farm land4 ,these statements for ,china 
represent strictly  rural populations4  
,the rural population of the ,united    
,states in #aijj  was placed at the rate
 of #fa per square mile of improved farm
 land  and there were #cj horses and    
mules4 ,in ,japan the rural population  
had a density in #aijg of #a1ibb per    
square mile1 and of horses and  cattle  
together #abe4    ,the population of the
 large island of ,chungming in the mouth
 of the  ,yangtse river1 having an area 
of #bgj square miles1 possessed1        
according to the official census of     
#aijb1 a density of #c1gjj per  square  
mile and yet there was but one large    
city on the island1  hence the          
population is largely rural4    ,it     
could not be other than a matter of the 
highest industrial1  educational and    
social importance to all nations if     

there might be  brought to them a full  
and accurate account of all those       
conditions  which have made it possible 
for such dense populations to be        
maintained so largely upon the products 
of ,chinese1 ,korean and  ,japanese     
soils4 ,many of the steps1 phases and   
practices through  which this evolution 
has passed are irrevocably buried in the
 past  but such remarkable maintenance  
efficiency attained centuries ago  and  
projected into the present with little  
apparent decadence merits  the most     
profound study and the time is fully    
ripe when it should be  made4 ,living as
 we are in the morning of a century of  
transition  from isolated to            
cosmopolitan national life when profound
  readjustments1 industrial1 educational
 and social1 must result1 such  an      
investigation cannot be made too soon4  
,it is high time for each  nation to    
study the others and by mutual agreement
 and co-operative  effort1 the results  
of such studies should become available 

to all  concerned1 made so in the spirit
 that each should become coordinate  and
 mutually helpful component factors in  
the world's progress4    ,one very      
appropriate and immensely helpful means 
for attacking this  problem1 and which  
should prove mutually helpful to citizen
 and  state1 would be for the higher    
educational institutions of all         
nations1 instead of exchanging          
courtesies through their baseball       
teams1 to send select bodies of their   
best students under competent           
leadership and by international         
agreement1 both east and west1          
organizing therefrom investigating      
bodies each containing components  of   
the eastern and western civilization and
 whose purpose it should  be to study   
specifically set problems4 ,such a      
movement well  conceived and directed1  
manned by the most capable young men1   
should  create an international         
acquaintance and spread broadcast a body
 of  important knowledge which would    

develop as the young men mature and     
contribute immensely toward world peace 
and world progress4 ,if some  broad plan
 of international effort such as is here
 suggested were  organized the expense  
of maintenance might well be met by     
diverting  so much as is needful from   
the large sums set aside for the        
expansion of navies for such steps as   
these1 taken in the interests  of world 
uplift and world peace1 could not fail  
to be more  efficacious and less        
expensive than increase in fighting     
equipment4  ,it would cultivate the     
spirit of pulling together and of a     
square  deal rather than one of holding 
aloof and of striving to gain           
unneighborly advantage4    ,many factors
 and conditions conspire to give to the 
farms and  farmers of the ,far ,east    
their high maintenance efficiency and   
some  of these may be succinctly stated4
 ,the portions of ,china1 ,korea and    
,japan where dense populations have     
developed and are being  maintained     

occupy exceptionally favorable          
geographic positions so  far as these   
influence agricultural production4      
,canton in the south  of ,china has the 
latitude of ,havana1 ,cuba1 while       
,mukden in  ,manchuria1 and northern    
,honshu in ,japan are only as far north 
as ,new  ,york city1 ,chicago and       
northern ,california4 ,the ,united      
,states lies  mainly between #ej degrees
 and #cj degrees of latitude while these
  three countries lie between #dj       
degrees and #bj degrees1 some seven     
hundred miles further south4 ,this      
difference of position1 giving  them    
longer seasons1 has made it possible for
 them to devise systems  of agriculture 
whereby they grow two1 three and even   
four crops on  the same piece of ground 
each year4 ,in southern ,china1 in      
,formosa  and in parts of ,japan two    
crops of rice are grown2 in the         
,chekiang  province there may be a crop 
of rape1 of wheat or barley or of       
windsor beans or clover which is        

followed in midsummer by another of     
cotton or of rice4 ,in the ,shantung    
province wheat or barley in the  winter 
and spring may be followed in summer by 
large or small  millet1 sweet potatoes1 
soy beans or peanuts4 ,at ,tientsin1 #ci
 deg  north1 in the latitude of         
,cincinnati1 ,indianapolis1 and         
,springfield1  ,illinois1 we talked with
 a farmer who followed his crop of wheat
 on  his small holding with one of      
onions and the onions with cabbage1     
realizing from the three crops at the   
rate of #afc1 gold1 per acre2  and with 
another who planted ,irish potatoes at  
the earliest  opportunity in the spring1
 marketing them when small1 and         
following  these with radishes1 the     
radishes with cabbage1 realizing from   
the  three crops at the rate of #bjc per
 acre4    ,nearly #ejj1jjj1jjj people   
are being maintained1 chiefly upon the  
products of an area smaller than the    
improved farm lands of the  ,united     
,states4 ,complete a square on the lines

 drawn from ,chicago  southward to the  
,gulf and westward across ,kansas1 and  
there will be  enclosed an area greater 
than the cultivated fields of ,china1   
,korea  and ,japan and from which five  
times our present population are fed4   
,the rainfall in these countries is not 
only larger than that even in  our      
,atlantic and ,gulf states1 but it falls
 more exclusively during  the summer    
season when its efficiency in crop      
production may be  highest4 ,south      
,china has a rainfall of some #hj inches
 with little of  it during the winter1  
while in our southern states the        
rainfall is  nearer #fj inches with less
 than one-half of it between ,june and  
,september4 ,along a line drawn from    
,lake ,superior through central  ,texas 
the yearly precipitation is about #cj   
inches but only #af inches  of this     
falls during the months ,may to         
,september2 while in the  ,shantung     
province1 ,china1 with an annual        
rainfall of little more  than #bd       

inches1 #ag of these fall during the    
months designated and  most of this in  
,july and ,august4 ,when it is stated   
that under the  best tillage and with no
 loss of water through percolation1 most
 of  our agricultural crops require #cjj
 to #fjj tons of water for each ton  of 
dry substance brought to maturity1 it   
can be readily understood  that the     
right amount of available moisture1     
coming at the proper  time1 must be one 
of the prime factors of a high          
maintenance  capacity for any soil1 and 
hence that in the ,far ,east1 with their
  intensive methods1 it is possible to  
make their soils yield large  returns4  
,the selection of rice and of the       
millets as the great staple food  crops 
of these three nations1 and the systems 
of agriculture they  have evolved to    
realize the most from them1 are to us   
remarkable and  indicate a grasp of     
essentials and principles which may well
 cause  western nations to pause and    
reflect4    ,notwithstanding the large  

and favorable rainfall of these         
countries1  each of the nations have    
selected the one crop which permits them
 to  utilize not only practically the   
entire amount of rain which falls  upon 
their fields1 but in addition enormous  
volumes of the run-off  from adjacent   
uncultivable mountain country4 ,wherever
 paddy fields  are practicable there    
rice is grown4 ,in the three main       
islands of  ,japan #ef per cent of the  
cultivated fields1 #aa1jjj square miles1
 is  laid out for rice growing and is   
maintained under water from             
transplanting to near harvest time1     
after which the land is allowed  to dry1
 to be devoted to dry land crops during 
the balance of the  year1 where the     
season permits4    ,to anyone who       
studies the agricultural methods of the 
,far ,east in  the field it is evident  
that these people1 centuries ago1 came  
to  appreciate the value of water in    
crop production as no other nations     
have4 ,they have adapted conditions to  

crops and crops to conditions  until    
with rice they have a cereal which      
permits the most intense  fertilization 
and at the same time the ensuring of    
maximum yields  against both drought and
 flood4 ,with the practice of western   
nations  in all humid climates1 no      
matter how completely and highly we     
fertilize1 in more years than not yields
 are reduced by a deficiency  or an     
excess of water4    ,it is difficult to 
convey1 by word or map1 an adequate     
conception of  the magnitude of the     
systems of canalization which contribute
  primarily to rice culture4 ,a         
conservative estimate would place the   
miles of canals in ,china at fully      
#bjj1jjj and there are probably  more   
miles of canal in ,china1 ,korea and    
,japan than there are miles  of railroad
 in the ,united ,states4 ,china alone   
has as many acres in  rice each year as 
the ,united ,states has in wheat and her
 annual  product is more than double and
 probably threefold our annual wheat    

crop1 and yet the whole of the rice area
 produces at least one and  sometimes   
two other crops each year4    ,the      
selection of the quick-maturing1        
drought-resisting millets as  the great 
staple food crops to be grown wherever  
water is not  available for irrigation1 
and the almost universal planting in    
hills  or drills1 permitting            
intertillage1 thus adopting centuries   
ago the  utilization of earth mulches in
 conserving soil moisture1 has  enabled 
these people to secure maximum returns  
in seasons of drought  and where the    
rainfall is small4 ,the millets thrive  
in the hot  summer climates2 they       
survive when the available soil moisture
 is  reduced to a low limit1 and they   
grow vigorously when the heavy  rains   
come4 ,thus we find in the ,far ,east1  
with more rainfall and a  better        
distribution of it than occurs in the   
,united ,states1 and with  warmer1      
longer seasons1 that these people have  
with rare wisdom  combined both         

irrigation and dry farming methods to an
 extent and  with an intensity far      
beyond anything our people have ever    
dreamed1  in order that they might      
maintain their dense populations4       
,notwithstanding the fact that in each  
of these countries the soils  are       
naturally more than ordinarily deep1    
inherently fertile and  enduring1       
judicious and rational methods of       
fertilization are  everywhere practiced2
 but not until recent years1 and only in
 ,japan1  have mineral commercial       
fertilizers been used4 ,for centuries1  
however1 all cultivated lands1 including
 adjacent hill and mountain  sides1 the 
canals1 streams and the sea have been   
made to contribute  what they could     
toward the fertilization of cultivated  
fields and  these contributions in the  
aggregate have been large4 ,in ,china1  
in  ,korea and in ,japan all but the    
inaccessible portions of their vast     
extent of mountain and hill lands have  
long been taxed to their full  capacity 

for fuel1 lumber and herbage for green  
manure and compost  material2 and the   
ash of practically all of the fuel and  
of all of  the lumber used at home finds
 its way ultimately to the fields as    
fertilizer4    ,in ,china enormous      
quantities of canal mud are applied to  
the fields1  sometimes at the rate of   
even #gj and more tons per acre4 ,so1   
too1  where there are no canals1 both   
soil and subsoil are carried into  the  
villages and there between the intervals
 when needed they are1  at the expense  
of great labor1 composted with organic  
refuse and  often afterwards dried and  
pulverized before being carried back and
  used on the fields as home-made       
fertilizers4 ,manure of all kinds1      
human and animal1 is religiously saved  
and applied to the fields in  a manner  
which secures an efficiency far above   
our own practices4  ,statistics obtained
 through the ,bureau of ,agriculture1   
,japan1 place  the amount of human waste
 in that country in #aijh at #bc1iej1bie

  tons1 or #a4ge tons per acre of her   
cultivated land4 ,the  ,international   
,concession of the city of ,shanghai1 in
 #aijh1 sold to a  ,chinese contractor  
the privilege of entering residences and
 public  places early in the morning of 
each day in the year and removing the   
night soil1 receiving therefor more than
 #ca1jjj1 gold1 for #gh1jjj  tons of    
waste4 ,all of this we not only throw   
away but expend much  larger sums in    
doing so4    ,japan's production of     
fertilizing material1 regularly prepared
 and  applied to the land annually1     
amounts to more than #d4e tons per acre 
of cultivated field exclusive of the    
commercial fertilizers  purchased4      
,between ,shanhaikwan and ,mukden in    
,manchuria we passed1 on  ,june #ahth1  
thousands of tons of the dry highly     
nitrified compost  soil recently carried
 into the fields and laid down in piles 
where  it was waiting to be fed to the  
crops4    ,it was not until #ahhh1 and  
then after a prolonged war of more than 

thirty years1 generaled by the best     
scientists of all ,europe1 that  it was 
finally conceded as demonstrated that   
leguminous plants  acting as hosts for  
lower organisms living on their roots   
are  largely responsible for the        
maintenance of soil nitrogen1 drawing it
  directly from the air to which it is  
returned through the processes  of      
decay4 ,but centuries of practice had   
taught the ,far ,east farmers  that the 
culture and use of these crops are      
essential to enduring  fertility1 and so
 in each of the three countries the     
growing of  legumes in rotation with    
other crops very extensively for the    
express purpose of fertilizing the soil 
is one of their old1 fixed  practices4  
,just before1 or immediately after the  
rice crop is harvested1 fields  are     
often sowed to clover 7,astragalus      
sinicus7 which is allowed to  grow until
 near the next transplanting time when  
it is either turned  under directly1 or 
more often stacked along the canals and 

saturated  while doing so with soft mud 
dipped from the bottom of the canal4    
,after fermenting twenty or thirty days 
it is applied to the field4  ,and so it 
is literally true that these old world  
farmers whom we  regard as ignorant1    
perhaps because they do not ride sulky  
plows as  we do1 have long included     
legumes in their crop rotation1         
regarding  them as indispensable4       
,time is a function of every life       
process as it is of every physical1     
chemical and mental reaction4 ,the      
husbandman is an industrial  biologist  
and as such is compelled to shape his   
operations so as to  conform with the   
time requirements of his crops4 ,the    
oriental farmer  is a time economizer   
beyond all others4 ,he utilizes the     
first and  last minute and all that are 
between4 ,the foreigner accuses the     
,chinaman of being always long on time1 
never in a fret1 never in a  hurry4     
,this is quite true and made possible   
for the reason that they  are a people  

who definitely set their faces toward   
the future and  lead time by the        
forelock4 ,they have long realized that 
much time is  required to transform     
organic matter into forms available for 
plant  food and although they are the   
heaviest users in the world1 the        
largest portion of this organic matter  
is predigested with soil or  subsoil    
before it is applied to their fields1   
and at an enormous  cost of human time  
and labor1 but it practically lengthens 
their  growing season and enables them  
to adopt a system of multiple  cropping 
which would not otherwise be possible4  
,by planting in hills  and rows with    
intertillage it is very common to see   
three crops  growing upon the same field
 at one time1 but in different stages of
  maturity1 one nearly ready to harvest 
one just coming up1 and the  other at   
the stage when it is drawing most       
heavily upon the soil4 ,by  such        
practice1 with heavy fertilization1 and 
by supplemental  irrigation when        

needful1 the soil is made to do full    
duty throughout  the growing season4    
,then1 notwithstanding the enormous     
acreage of rice planted each year  in   
these countries1 it is all set in hills 
and every spear is  transplanted4 ,doing
 this1 they save in many ways except in 
the  matter of human labor1 which is the
 one thing they have in excess4  ,by    
thoroughly preparing the seed bed1      
fertilizing highly and giving  the most 
careful attention1 they are able to grow
 on one acre1  during #cj to #ej days1  
enough plants to occupy ten acres and in
 the  mean time on the other nine acres 
crops are maturing1 being  harvested and
 the fields being fitted to receive the 
rice when it is  ready for              
transplanting1 and in effect this       
interval of time is  added to their     
growing season4    ,silk culture is a   
great and1 in some ways1 one of the most
  remarkable industries of the ,orient4 
,remarkable for its magnitude2  for     
having had its birthplace apparently in 

oldest ,china at least  #bgjj years ,b4 
,c42 for having been laid on the        
domestication of a  wild insect of the  
woods2 and for having lived through more
 than  #djjj years1 expanding until a   
million-dollar cargo of the product  has
 been laid down on our western coast and
 rushed by special fast  express to the 
cast for the ,christmas trade4    ,a low
 estimate of ,china's production of raw 
silk would be  #abj1jjj1jjj pounds      
annually1 and this with the output of   
,japan1  ,korea and a small area of     
southern ,manchuria1 would probably     
exceed  #aej1jjj1jjj pounds annually1   
representing a total value of perhaps   
#gjj1jjj1jjj1 quite equaling in value   
the wheat crop of the ,united  ,states1 
but produced on less than one-eighth the
 area of our wheat  fields4    ,the     
cultivation of tea in ,china and ,japan 
is another of the great  industries of  
these nations1 taking rank with that of 
sericulture if  not above it in the     
important part it plays in the welfare  

of the  people4 ,there is little reason 
to doubt that this industry has its     
foundation in the need of something to  
render boiled water palatable  for      
drinking purposes4 ,the drinking of     
boiled water is universally  adopted in 
these countries as an individually      
available and  thoroughly efficient     
safeguard against that class of deadly  
disease  germs which thus far it has    
been impossible to exclude from the     
drinking water of any densely peopled   
country4    ,judged by the success of   
the most thorough sanitary measures thus
  far instituted1 and taking into       
consideration the inherent  difficulties
 which must increase enormously with    
increasing  populations1 it appears     
inevitable that modern methods must     
ultimately fail in sanitary efficiency  
and that absolute safety can  be secured
 only in some manner having the         
equivalent effect of  boiling drinking  
water1 long ago adopted by the          
,mongolian races4    ,in the year #aijg 

,japan had #abd1dhb acres of land in tea
 plantations1  producing #fj1hgg1ige    
pounds of cured tea4 ,in ,china the     
volume  annually produced is much larger
 than that of ,japan1 #dj1jjj1jjj       
pounds going annually to ,tibet alone   
from the ,szechwan province and  the    
direct export to foreign countries was1 
in #aije1 #agf1jbg1bee  pounds1 and in  
#aijf it was #ahj1bga1jjj1 so that their
 annual export  must exceed #bjj1jjj1jjj
 pounds with a total annual output more 
than  double this amount of cured tea4  
,but above any other factor1 and perhaps
 greater than all of them  combined in  
contributing to the high maintenance    
efficiency attained  in these countries 
must be placed the standard of living to
 which  the industrial classes have been
 compelled to adjust themselves1        
combined with their remarkable industry 
and with the most intense  economy they 
practice along every line of effort and 
of living4    ,almost every foot of land
 is made to contribute material for     

food1  fuel or fabric4 ,everything which
 can be made edible serves as food  for 
man or domestic animals4 ,whatever      
cannot be eaten or worn is  used for    
fuel4 ,the wastes of the body1 of fuel  
and of fabric worn  beyond other use are
 taken back to the field2 before doing  
so they  are housed against waste from  
weather1 compounded with intelligence   
and forethought and patiently labored   
with through one1 three or  even six    
months1 to bring them into the most     
efficient form to serve  as manure for  
the soil or as feed for the crop4 ,it   
seems to be a  golden rule with these   
industrial classes1 or if not golden1   
then an  inviolable one1 that whenever  
an extra hour or day of labor can       
promise even a little larger return then
 that shall be given1 and  neither a    
rainy day nor the hottest sunshine shall
 be permitted to  cancel the obligation 
or defer its execution4              ,i 
,,first ,,glimpses ,,of ,,japan         
,we left the ,united ,states from       

,seattle for ,shanghai1 ,china1 sailing 
by the northern route1 at one ,p4 ,m4   
,february second1 reaching  ,yokohama   
,february #aith and ,shanghai1 ,march   
#ast4 ,it was our aim  throughout the   
journey to keep in close contact with   
the field and  crop problems and to     
converse personally1 through            
interpreters or  otherwise1 with the    
farmers1 gardeners and fruit growers    
themselves2  and we have taken pains in 
many cases to visit the same fields or  
the same region two1 three or more times
 at different intervals  during the     
season in order to observe different    
phases of the same  cultural or         
fertilization methods as these changed  
or varied with  the season4    ,our     
first near view of ,japan came in the   
early morning of ,february  #aith when  
passing some three miles off the point  
where the ,pacific  passenger steamer   
,dakota was beached and wrecked in broad
 daylight  without loss of life two     
years ago4 ,the high rounded hills were 

clothed neither in the dense dark forest
 green of ,washington and  ,vancouver1  
left sixteen days before1 nor yet in the
 brilliant  emerald such as ,ireland's  
hills in ,june fling in unparalleled    
greeting to passengers surfeited with   
the dull grey of the rolling  ocean4    
,this lack of strong forest growth and  
even of shrubs and  heavy herbage on    
hills covered with deep soil1 neither   
cultivated  nor suffering from serious  
erosion1 yet surrounded by favorable    
climatic conditions1 was our first great
 surprise4    ,to the southward around  
the point1 after turning northward into 
the  deep bay1 similar conditions       
prevailed1 and at ten o'clock we stood  
off ,uraga where ,commodore ,perry      
anchored on ,july #hth1 #ahec1 bearing  
to the ,shogun ,president ,fillmore's   
letter which opened the doors of  ,japan
 to the commerce of the world and1 it is
 to be hoped brought to  her people1    
with their habits of frugality and      
industry so indelibly  fixed by         

centuries of inheritance1 better        
opportunities for  development along    
those higher lines destined to make life
 still  more worth living4    ,as the   
,tosa ,maru drew alongside the pier at  
,yokohama it was raining  hard and this 
had attired an army after the manner of 
,robinson  ,crusoe1 dressed as seen in  
,fig4 #a1 ready to carry you and yours  
to  the ,customs house and beyond for   
one1 two1 three or five cents4  ,strong 
was the contrast when the journey was   
reversed and we  descended the gang     
plank at ,seattle1 where no one sought  
the  opportunity of moving baggage4     
,through the kindness of ,captain       
,harrison of the ,tosa ,maru in calling 
an interpreter by wireless to meet the  
steamer1 it was possible to  utilize the
 entire interval of stop in ,yokohama to
 the best  advantage in the fields and  
gardens spread over the eighteen miles  
of plain extending to ,tokyo1 traversed 
by both electric tram and  railway      
lines1 each running many trains making  

frequent stops2 so  that this           
wonderfully fertile and highly tilled   
district could be  readily and easily   
reached at almost any point4    ,we had 
left home in a memorable storm of snow1 
sleet and rain which  cut out of service
 telegraph and telephone lines over a   
large part  of the ,united ,states2 we  
had sighted the ,aleutian ,islands1     
seeing  and feeling nothing on the way  
which could suggest a warm soil and     
green fields1 hence our surprise was    
great to find the jinricksha  men with  
bare feet and legs naked to the thighs1 
and greater still  when we found1 before
 we were outside the city limits1 that  
the  electric tram was running between  
fields and gardens green with  wheat1   
barley1 onions1 carrots1 cabbage and    
other vegetables4 ,we  were rushing     
through the ,orient with everything     
outside the car so  strange and         
different from home that the shock came 
like a bolt of  lightning out of a clear
 sky4    ,in the car every man except   

myself and one other was smoking tobacco
  and that other was inhaling camphor   
through an ivory mouthpiece  resembling 
a cigar holder closed at the end4       
,several women1 tiring  of sitting      
foreign style1 slipped off--,i cannot   
say out of--their  shoes and sat facing 
the windows1 with toes crossed behind   
them on  the seat4 ,the streets were    
muddy from the rain and everybody       
,japanese was on rainy-day wooden shoes1
 the soles carried three to  four inches
 above the ground by two cross blocks1  
in the manner seen  in ,fig4 #b4 ,a     
mother1 with baby on her back and a     
daughter of sixteen  years came into the
 car4 ,notwithstanding her high shoes   
the mother  had dipped one toe into the 
mud4 ,seated1 she slipped her foot off4 
,without evident instructions the pretty
 black-eyed1 glossy-haired1  red-lipped 
lass1 with cheeks made rosy1 picked up  
the shoe1 withdrew  a piece of white    
tissue paper from the great pocket in   
her sleeve1  deftly cleaned the         

otherwise spotless white cloth sock and 
then the  shoe1 threw the paper on the  
floor1 looked to see that her fingers   
were not soiled1 then set the shoe at   
her mother's foot1 which found  its     
place without effort or glance4         
,everything here was strange and the    
scenes shifted with the speed of  the   
wildest dream4 ,now it was driving piles
 for the foundation of a  bridge4 ,a    
tripod of poles was erected above the   
pile and from it  hung a pulley4 ,over  
the pulley passed a rope from the       
driving weight  and from its end at the 
pulley ten cords extended to the ground4
 ,in  a circle at the foot of the tripod
 stood ten agile ,japanese women4  ,they
 were the hoisting engine4 ,they chanted
 in perfect rhythm1  hauled and stepped1
 dropped the weight and hoisted again1  
making up  for heavier hammer and higher
 drop by more blows per minute4 ,when we
  reached ,shanghai we saw the pile     
driver being worked from above4         
,fourteen ,chinese men stood upon a     

raised staging1 each with a  separate   
cord passing direct from the hand to the
 weight below4 ,a  concerted1           
half-musical chant1 modulated to relieve
 monotony1 kept  all hands together4    
,what did the operation of this machine 
cost8  ,thirteen cents1 gold1 per man   
per day1 which covered fuel and         
lubricant1 both automatically served4   
,two additional men managed the  piles1 
two directed the hammer1 eighteen manned
 the outfit4 ,two  dollars and          
thirty-four cents per day covered fuel1 
superintendence  and repairs4 ,there was
 almost no capital invested in          
machinery4 ,men  were plenty and to     
spare4 ,rice was the fuel1 cooked       
without salt1  boiled stiff1 reinforced 
with a hit of pork or fish1 appetized   
with  salted cabbage or turnip and      
perhaps two or three of forty and more  
other vegetable relishes4 ,and are these
 men strong and happy8 ,they  certainly 
were strong4 ,they are steadily         
increasing their millions1  and as one  

stood and watched them at their work    
their faces were  often wreathed in     
smiles and wore what seemed a look of   
satisfaction  and contentment4    ,among
 the most common sights on our rides    
from ,yokohama to ,tokyo1  both within  
the city and along the roads leading to 
the fields1  starting early in the      
morning1 were the loads of night soil   
carried  on the shoulders of men and on 
the backs of animals1 but most  commonly
 on strong carts drawn by men1 bearing  
six to ten tightly  covered wooden      
containers holding forty1 sixty or more 
pounds each4  ,strange as it may seem1  
there are not today and apparently never
  have been1 even in the largest and    
oldest cities of ,japan1 ,china or      
,korea1 anything corresponding to the   
hydraulic systems of sewage  disposal   
used now by western nations4 ,provision 
is made for the  removal of storm waters
 but when ,i asked my interpreter if it 
was  not the custom of the city during  
the winter months to discharge its      

night soil into the sea1 as a quicker   
and cheaper mode of disposal1  his reply
 came quick and sharp1 ,no1 that would  
be waste4 ,we throw  nothing away4 ,it  
is worth too much money4 ,in such public
 places as  rail way stations provision 
is made for saving1 not for wasting1 and
  even along the country roads screens  
invite the traveler to stop1  primarily 
for profit to the owner more than for   
personal  convenience4    ,between      
,yokohama and ,tokyo along the electric 
car line and not far  distant from the  
seashore1 there were to be seen in      
,february very  many long1 fence-high   
screens extending east and west1        
strongly  inclined to the north1 and    
built out of rice straw1 closely tied   
together and supported on bamboo poles  
carried upon posts of wood  set in the  
ground4 ,these screens1 set in parallel 
series of five to  ten or more in number
 and several hundred feet long1 were    
used for  the purpose of drying         
varieties of delicate seaweed1 these    

being  spread out in the manner shown in
 ,fig4 #c4    ,the seaweed is first     
spread upon separate ten by twelve inch 
straw  mats1 forming a thin layer seven 
by eight inches4 ,these mats are  held  
by means of wooden skewers forced       
through the body of the  screen1        
exposing the seaweed to the direct      
sunshine4 ,after becoming  dry the      
rectangles of seaweed are piled in      
bundles an inch thick1  cut once in two1
 forming packages four by seven inches1 
which are  neatly tied and thus exposed 
for sale as soup stock and for other    
purposes4 ,to obtain this seaweed from  
the ocean small shrubs and the  limbs of
 trees are set up in the bottom of      
shallow water1 as seen in  ,fig4 #d4 ,to
 these limbs the seaweeds become        
attached1 grow to  maturity and are then
 gathered by hand4 ,by this method of   
culture  large amounts of important food
 stuff are grown for the support of  the
 people on areas otherwise wholly       
unproductive4    ,another rural feature1

 best shown by photograph taken in      
,february1  is the method of training   
pear orchards in ,japan1 with their     
limbs  tied down upon horizontal        
over-bead trellises at a height under   
which a man can readily walk erect and  
easily reach the fruit with  the hand   
while standing upon the ground4 ,pear   
orchards thus form  arbors of greater or
 less size1 the trees being set in      
quincunx  order about twelve feet apart 
in and between the rows4 ,bamboo poles  
are used overhead and these carried on  
posts of the same material  #a4e to #b4e
 inches in diameter1 to which they are  
tied4 ,such a pear  orchard is shown in 
,fig4 #e4    ,the limbs of the pear     
trees are trained strictly in one plane1
 tying  them down and pruning out those 
not desired4 ,as a result the ground    
beneath is completely shaded and every  
pear is within reach1 which  is a great 
convenience when it becomes desirable to
 protect the  fruit from insects1 by    
tying paper bags over every pear as seen

 in  ,figs4 #f and #g4 ,the orchard     
ground is kept free from weeds and not  
infrequently is covered with a layer of 
rice or other straw1  extensively used  
in ,japan as a ground cover with various
 crops and  when so used is carefully   
laid in handfuls from bundles1 the      
straws  being kept parallel as when     
harvested4    ,to one from a country of 
#afj-;acre farms1 with roads four rods  
wide2  of cities with broad streets and 
residences with green lawns and  ample  
back yards2 and where the cemeteries are
 large and beautiful  parks1 the first  
days of travel in these old countries   
force the  over-crowding upon the       
attention as nothing else can4 ,one     
feels that  the cities are greatly      
over-crowded with houses and shops1 and 
these  with people and wares2 that the  
country is over-crowded with fields  and
 the fields with crops2 and that in     
,japan the over-crowding is  greatest of
 all in the cemeteries1 gravestones     
almost touching and  markers for        

families literally in bundles at a      
grave1 while round  about there may be  
no free country whatever1 dwellings1    
gardens or  rice paddies contesting the 
tiny allotted areas too closely to leave
  even foot-paths between4    ,unless   
recently modified through foreign       
influence the streets of  villages and  
cities are narrow1 as seen in ,fig4 #h1 
where however the  street is unusually  
broad4 ,this is a village in the ,hakone
 district  on a beautiful lake of the   
same name1 where stands an ,imperial    
summer palace1 seen near the center of  
the view on a hill across the  lake4    
,the roofs of the houses here are       
typical of the neat1 careful  thatching 
with rice straw1 very generally adopted 
in place of tile  for the country       
villages throughout much of ,japan4 ,the
 shops and  stores1 open full width     
directly upon the street1 are filled to 
overflowing1 as seen in ,fig4 #i and in 
,fig4 #bb4    ,in the canalized regions 
of ,china the country villages crowd    

both  banks of a canal1 as is the case  
in ,fig4 #aj4 ,here1 too1 often is a    
single street and it very narrow1 very  
crowded and very busy4 ,stone  steps    
lead from the houses down into the water
 where clothing1  vegetables1 rice and  
what not are conveniently washed4 ,in   
this  particular village two rows of    
houses stand on one side of the canal   
separated by a very narrow street1 and a
 single row on the other4  ,between the 
bridge where the camera was exposed and 
one barely  discernible in the          
background1 crossing the canal a third  
of a mile  distant1 we counted upon one 
side1 walking along the narrow street1  
eighty houses each with its family1     
usually of three generations and  often 
of four4 ,thus in the narrow strip1 #aed
 feet broad1 including  #af feet of     
street and #cj feet of canal1 with its  
three lines of  houses4 lived no less   
than #bdj families and more than #abjj  
and  probably nearer #bjjj people4      
,when we turn to the crowding of fields 

in the country nothing except  seeing   
can tell so forcibly the fact as such   
landscapes as those of  ,figs4 #aa1 #ab 
and #ac1 one in ,japan1 one in ,korea   
and one in ,china1  not far from        
,nanking1 looking from the hills across 
the fields to  the broad ,yangtse kiang1
 barely discernible as a band of light  
along  the horizon4    ,the average area
 of the rice field in ,japan is less    
than five square  rods and that of her  
upland fields only about twenty4 ,in the
 case of  the rice fields the small size
 is necessitated partly by the          
requirement of holding water on the     
sloping sides of the valley1 as  seen in
 ,fig4 #aa4 ,these small areas do not   
represent the amount of  land worked by 
one family1 the average for ,japan being
 more nearly  #b4e acres4 ,but the lands
 worked by one family are seldom        
contiguous1  they may even be widely    
scattered and very often rented4    ,the
 people generally live in villages1     
going often considerable  distances to  

their work4 ,recognizing the great      
disadvantage of  scattered holdings     
broken into such small areas1 the       
,japanese  ,government has passed laws  
for the adjustment of farm lands which  
have been in force since #aijj4 ,it     
provides for the exchange of  lands2 for
 changing boundaries2 for changing or   
abolishing roads1  embankments1 ridges  
or canals and for alterations in        
irrigation and  drainage which would    
ensure larger areas with channels and   
roads  straightened1 made less numerous 
and less wasteful of time1 labor  and   
land4 ,up to #aijg ,japan had issued    
permits for the readjustment  of over   
#bdj1jjj acres1 and ,fig4 #ad is a      
landscape in one of these  readjusted   
districts4 ,to provide capable experts  
for planning and  supervising these     
changes the ,government in #aije        
intrusted the  training of men to the   
higher agricultural school belonging to 
the  ,dai ,nippon ,agricultural         
,association and since #aijf the        

,agricultural  ,college and the         
,kogyokusha have undertaken the same    
task and now  there are men sufficient  
to push the work as rapidly as desired4 
,it may be remembered1 too1 as showing  
how1 along other fundamental  lines1    
,japan is taking effective steps to     
improve the condition of  her people1   
that she already has her ,imperial      
highways extending  from one province to
 another2 her prefectural roads which   
connect  the cities and villages within 
the prefecture2 and those more local    
which serve the farms and villages4     
,each of the three systems of  roads is 
maintained by a specific tax levied for 
the purpose which  is expended under    
proper supervision1 a designated section
 of road  being kept in repair through  
the year by a specially appointed crew1 
as is the practice in railroad          
maintenance4 ,the result is1 ,japan has 
roads maintained in excellent condition1
 always narrow1 sacrificing  the minimum
 of land1 and everywhere without fences4

    ,how the fields are crowded with    
crops and all available land is made  to
 do full duty in these old1 long-tilled 
countries is evident in  ,fig4 #ae where
 even the narrow dividing ridges but a  
foot wide1 which  retain the water on   
the rice paddies1 are bearing a heavy   
crop of  soy beans2 and where may be    
seen the narrow pear orchard standing on
  the very slightest rise of ground1 not
 a foot above the water all  around1    
which could better be left in grading   
the paddies to proper  level4    ,how   
closely the ground itself may be crowded
 with plants is seen in  ,fig4 #af1     
where a young peach orchard1 whose tree 
tops were six feet  through1 planted in 
rows twenty-two feet apart1 had also ten
 rows of  cabbage1 two rows of large    
windsor beans and a row of garden peas4 
,thirteen rows of vegetables in #bb     
feet1 all luxuriant and strong1  and    
note the judgment shown in placing the  
tallest plants1 needing  the most sun1  
in the center between the trees4    ,but

 these old people1 used to crowding and 
to being crowded1 and  long ago capable 
of making four blades of grass grow     
where ,nature  grew but one1 have also  
learned how to double the acreage where 
a  crop needs more elbow than it does   
standing room1 as seen in ,fig4  #ag4   
,this man's garden had an area of but   
#fc by #fh feet and two  square rods of 
this was held sacred to the family grave
 mound1 and  yet his statement of       
yields1 number of crops and prices made 
his  earning #ajj a year on less than   
one-tenth of an acre4    ,his crop of   
cucumbers on less than 4#jf of an acre  
would bring him  #bj4 ,he had already   
sold #e worth of greens and a second    
crop would  follow the cucumbers4 ,he   
had just irrigated his garden from an   
adjoining canal1 using a foot-power     
pump1 and stated that until it  rained  
he would repeat the watering once per   
week4 ,it was his wife  who stood in the
 garden and1 although wearing trousers1 
her dress  showed full regard for       

modesty4    ,but crowding crops more    
closely in the field not only requires  
higher feeding to bring greater returns1
 but also relatively greater  care1     
closer watchfulness in a hundred ways   
and a patience far  beyond ,american    
measure2 and so1 before the crowding of 
the crops in  the field and along with  
it1 there came to these very old farmers
 a  crowding of the grey matter in the  
brain with the evolution of  effective  
texture4 ,this is shown in his fields   
which crowd the  landscape4 ,it is seen 
in the crops which crowd his fields4    
,you see  it in the old man's face1     
,fig4 #ah1 standing opposite his        
compeer1  ,prince ,ching1 ,fig4 #ai1    
each clad in winter dress which is the  
embodiment of conversation1 retaining   
the fires of the body for its  own      
needs1 to release the growth on mountain
 sides for other uses4  ,and when one   
realizes how1 nearly to the extreme     
limits1  conservation along all         
important lines is being practiced as an

  inherited instinct1 there need be no  
surprise when one reflects that  the two
 men1 one as feeder and the other as    
leader1 are standing in  the fore of a  
body of four hundred millions of people 
who have  marched as a nation through   
perhaps forty centuries1 and who now1 in
  the light and great promise of        
unfolding science have their faces  set 
toward a still more hopeful and longer  
future4    ,on ,february #bast the ,tosa
 ,maru left ,yokohama for ,kobe at      
schedule  time on the tick of the watch1
 as she had done from ,seattle4 ,all    
,japanese steamers appear to be moved   
with the promptness of a  railway train4
 ,on reaching ,kobe we transferred to   
the ,yamaguchi ,maru  which sailed the  
following morning1 to shorten the time  
of reaching  ,shanghai4 ,this left but  
an afternoon for a trip into the country
  between ,kobe and ,osaka1 where we    
found1 if possible1 even higher and     
more intensive culture practices than on
 the ,tokyo plain1 there  being less    

land not carrying a winter crop4 ,and   
,fig4 #bj shows how  closely the crops  
crowd the houses and shops4 ,here were  
very many  cement lined cisterns or     
sheltered reservoirs for collecting     
manures  and preparing fertilizers and  
the appearance of both soil and crops   
showed in a marked manner to what       
advantage4 ,we passed a garden of       
nearly an acre entirely devoted to      
,english violets just coming into  full 
bloom4 ,they were grown in long parallel
 east and west beds  about three feet   
wide4 ,on the north edge of each bed was
 erected a  rice-straw screen four feet 
high which inclined to the south1       
overhanging the bed at an angle of some 
thirty-five degrees1 thus  forming a    
sort of bake-oven tent which reflected  
the sun1 broke the  force of the wind   
and checked the loss of heat absorbed by
 the soil4    ,the voyage from ,kobe to 
,moji was made between #aj in the       
morning1  ,february #bdth1 and #e 4#cj  
,p4 ,m4 of ,february #beth over a quiet 

sea  with an enjoyable ride4 ,being     
fogbound during the night gave us the   
whole of ,japan's beautiful ,inland     
,sea1 enchanting beyond measure1 in  all
 its near and distant beauty but which  
no pen1 no brush1 no  camera may        
attempt4 ,only the eye can convey4      
,before reaching harbor  the tide had   
been rising and the strait separating   
,honshu from  ,kyushu island was running
 like a mighty swirling river between   
,moji  and ,shimonoseki1 dangerous to   
attempt in the dark1 so we waited  until
 morning4    ,there was cargo to take on
 board and the steamer must coal4 ,no   
sooner had the anchor dropped and the   
steamer swung into the current  than    
lighters came alongside with out-going  
freight4 ,the small1  strong1 agile     
,japanese stevedores had this task      
completed by #h3cj ,p4  ,m4 and when we 
returned to the deck after supper       
another scene was  on4 ,the cargo       
lighters had gone and four large barges 
bearing #bej  tons of coal had taken    

their places on opposite sides of the   
steamer1 each illuminated with buckets  
of blazing coal or by burning  conical  
heaps on the surface4 ,from the bottom  
of these pits in the  darkness the      
illumination suggested huge decapitated 
ant heaps in  the wildest frenzy1 for   
the coal seemed covered and there was   
hurry  in every direction4 ,men and     
women1 boys and girls1 bending to their 
tasks1 were filling shallow             
saucer-shaped baskets with coal and     
stacking them eight to ten high in a    
semi-circle1 like coin for  delivery4   
,rising out of these pits sixteen feet  
up the side of the  steamer and along   
her deck to the chutes leading to her   
bunkers were  what seemed four endless  
human chains1 in service the prototype  
of  our modern conveyors1 but here each 
link animated by its own power4  ,up    
these conveyors the loaded buckets      
passed1 one following another  at the   
rate of #dj to #fj per minute1 to return
 empty by the  descending line1 and over

 the four chains one hundred tons per   
hour1  for #bej tons of coal passed to  
the bunkers in two and a half hours4    
,both men and women stood in the line   
and at the upper turn of one of  these1 
emptying the buckets down the chute1 was
 a mother with her  two-year-old child  
in the sling on back1 where it rocked   
and swayed  to and fro1 happy the entire
 time4 ,it was often necessary for the  
mother to adjust her baby in the sling  
whenever it was leaning  uncomfortably  
too far to one side or the other1 but   
she did it  skillfully1 always with a   
shrug of the shoulders1 for both hands  
were full4 ,the mother looked strong1   
was apparently accepting her  lot as a  
matter of course and often1 with a      
smile1 turned her face  to the child1   
who patted it and played with her ears  
and hair4  ,probably her husband was    
doing his part in a more strenuous place
 in  the chain and neither had time to  
be troubled with affinities for it  was 
#aj3cj ,p4 ,m4 when the baskets stopped1

 and somewhere no doubt  there was a    
home to be reached and perhaps supper to
 get4 ,shall we  be able1 when our      
numbers have vastly increased1 to permit
 all  needful earnings to be acquired in
 a better way8    ,we left ,moji in the 
early morning and late in the evening of
 the  same day entered the beautiful    
harbor of ,nagasaki1 all on board       
waiting until morning for a launch to go
 ashore4 ,we were to sail  again at noon
 so available time for observation was  
short and we set  out in a ricksha at   
once for our first near view of terraced
  gardening on the steep hillsides in   
,japan4 ,in reaching them and in        
returning our course led through streets
 paved with long1 thick and  narrow     
stone blocks1 having deep open gutters  
on one or both sides  close along the   
houses1 into which waste water was      
emptied and  through which the storm    
waters found their way to the sea4 ,few 
of  these streets were more than twelve 
feet wide and close watching1  with much

 dodging1 was required to make way      
through them4 ,here1 too1  the night    
soil of the city was being removed in   
closed receptacles  on the shoulders of 
men1 on the backs of horses and cattle  
and on  carts drawn by either4 ,other   
men and women were hurrying along with  
baskets of vegetables well illustrated  
in ,fig4 #ba1 some with fresh  cabbage1 
others with high stacks of crisp        
lettuce1 some with  monstrous white     
radishes or turnips1 others with bundles
 of onions1  all coming down from the   
terraced gardens to the markets4 ,we    
passed  loads of green bamboo poles just
 cut1 three inches in diameter at  the  
butt and twenty feet long1 drawn on     
carts4 ,both men and women  were        
carrying young children and older ones  
were playing and singing  in the street4
 ,very many old women1 some feeble      
looking1 moved1  loaded1 through the    
throng4 ,homely little dogs1 an         
occasional lean  cat1 and hens and      
roosters scurried across the street from

 one low  market or store to another4   
,back of the rows of small stores and   
shops fronting on the clean narrow      
streets were the dwellings whose  exits 
seemed to open through the stores1 few  
or no open courts of  any size          
separating them from the market or shop4
 ,the opportunity  which the oriental   
housewife may have in the choice of     
vegetables on  going to the market1 and 
the attractive manner of displaying such
  products in ,japan1 are seen in ,fig4 
#bb4    ,we finally reached one of the  
terraced hillsides which rise five      
hundred to a thousand feet above the    
harbor with sides so steep that  garden 
areas have a width of seldom more than  
twenty to thirty feet  and often less1  
while the front of each terrace may be a
 stone wall1  sometimes twelve feet     
high1 often more than six1 four and five
 feet  being the most common height4    
,one of these hillside slopes is seen   
in ,fig4 #bc4 ,these terraced gardens   
are both short and narrow and  most of  

them bounded by stone walls on three    
sides1 suggesting house  foundations1   
the two end walls sloping down the hill 
from the height  of the back terrace1   
dropping to the ground level in front1  
these  forming foot-paths leading up the
 slope occasionally with one1 two  or   
three steps in places4    ,each terrace 
sloped slightly down the hill at a small
 angle and had  a low ridge along the   
front4 ,around its entire border a      
narrow drain  or furrow was arranged to 
collect surface water and direct it to  
drainage channels or into a catch basin 
where it might be put back  on the      
garden or be used in preparing liquid   
fertilizer4 ,at one  corner of many of  
these small terraced gardens were cement
 lined  pits1 used both as catch basins 
for water and as receptacles for  liquid
 manure or as places in which to prepare
 compost4 ,far up the  steep paths1 too1
 along either side1 we saw many piles of
 stable  manure awaiting application1   
all of which had been brought up the    

slopes in backets on bamboo poles1      
carried on the shoulders of men  and    
women4              ,,ii    ,,grave     
,,lands ,,of ,,china            ,the    
launch had returned the passengers to   
the steamer at #aa3cj2 the  captain was 
on the bridge2 prompt to the minute at  
the call ,hoist  away the signal went   
below and the ,yamaguchi's whistle      
filled the  harbor and over-flowed the  
hills4 ,the cable wound in1 and at      
twelve1  noon1 we were leaving          
,nagasaki1 now a city of #aec1jjj and   
the  western doorway of a nation of     
fifty-one millions of people but of     
little importance before the sixteenth  
century when it became the  chief mart  
of ,portuguese trade4 ,we were to pass  
the ,koreans on our  right and enter the
 portals of a third nation of four      
hundred  millions4 ,we had left a       
country which had added eighty-five     
millions  to its population in one      
hundred years and which still has twenty
  acres for each man1 woman and child1  

to pass through one which has  but one  
and a half acres per capita1 and were   
going to another whose  allotment of    
acres1 good and bad1 is less than #b4d4 
,we had gone from  practices by which   
three generations had exhausted strong  
virgin  fields1 and were coming to      
others still fertile after thirty       
centuries of cropping4 ,on ,january     
#cjth we crossed the head waters of  the
 ,mississippi-,missouri1 four thousand  
miles from its mouth1 and on  ,march    
#ast were in the mouth of the ,yangtse  
river whose waters are  gathered from a 
basin in which dwell two hundred        
millions of people4    ,the ,yamaguchi  
reached ,woosung in the night and       
anchored to await  morning and tide     
before ascending the ,hwangpoo1 believed
 by some  geographers to be the middle  
of three earlier delta arms of the      
,yangtse kiang1 the southern entering   
the sea at ,hangchow #abj miles  further
 south1 the third being the present     
stream4 ,as we wound  through this great

 delta plain toward ,shanghai1 the city 
of foreign  concessions to all          
nationalities1 the first striking       
feature was the  graves of the fathers1 
of the ancestors4 ,at first the numerous
  grass-covered hillocks dotting the    
plain seemed to be stacks of  grain or  
straw2 then came the query whether they 
might not be huge  compost heaps        
awaiting distribution in the fields1 but
 as the river  brought us nearer to them
 we seemed to be moving through a land  
of  ancient mound builders and ,fig4 #bd
 shows1 in its upper section1  their    
appearance as seen in the distance4     
,as the journey led on among the fields1
 so large were the mounds1  often ten to
 twelve feet high and twenty or more    
feet at the base2  so grass-covered and 
apparently neglected2 so numerous and so
  irregularly scattered1 without        
apparent regard for fields1 that when   
we were told these were graves we could 
not give credence to the  statement1 but
 before the city was reached we saw     

places where1 by  the shifting of the   
channel1 the river had cut into some of 
these  mounds1 exposing brick vaults1   
some so low as to be under water part   
of the time1 and we wonder if the fact  
does not also record a slow  subsidence 
of the delta plain under the ever       
increasing load of  river silt4    ,a   
closer view of these graves in the same 
delta plain is given in  the lower      
section of ,fig4 #bd1 where they are    
seen in the midst of  fields and to     
occupy not only large areas of valuable 
land but to be  much in the way of      
agricultural operations4 ,a still closer
 view of  other groups1 with a farm     
village in the background1 is shown in  
the  middle section of the same         
illustration1 and here it is better seen
  how large is the space occupied by    
them4 ,on the right in the same  view   
may be seen a line of six graves        
surmounting a common lower  base which  
is a type of the larger and higher ones 
so suggestive of  buildings seen in the 

horizon of the upper section4           
,everywhere we went in ,china1 about all
 of the very old and large  cities1 the 
proportion of grave land to cultivated  
fields is very  large4 ,in the vicinity 
of ,canton ,christian college1 on ,honam
 island1  more than fifty per cent of   
the land was given over to graves and in
  many places they were so close that   
one could step from one to  another4    
,they are on the higher and dryer lands1
 the cultivated  areas occupying ravines
 and the lower levels to which water may
 be  more easily applied and which are  
the most productive4 ,hilly lands  not  
so readily cultivated1 and especially if
 within reach of cities1  are largely so
 used1 as seen in ,fig4 #be1 where the  
graves are marked  by excavated shelves 
rather than by mounds1 as on the plains4
 ,these  grave lands are not altogether 
unproductive for they are generally     
overgrown with herbage of one or another
 kind and used as pastures  for geese1  
sheep1 goats and cattle1 and it is not  

at all uncommon1  when riding along a   
canal1 to see a huge water buffalo      
projected  against the sky from the     
summit of one of the largest and highest
  grave mounds within reach4 ,if the    
herbage is not fed off by animals  it is
 usually cut for feed1 for fuel1 for    
green manure or for use in  the         
production of compost to enrich the     
soil4    ,caskets may be placed directly
 upon the surface of a field1 encased   
in brick vaults with tile roofs1 forming
 such clusters as was seen  on the bank 
of the ,grand ,canal in ,chekiang       
province1 represented in  the lower     
section of ,fig4 #bf1 or they may stand 
singly in the midst  of a garden1 as in 
the upper section of the same figure2 in
 a rice  paddy entirely surrounded by   
water parts of the year1 and indeed in  
almost any unexpected place4 ,in        
,shanghai in #ahih1 #b1gfc exposed      
coffined corpses were removed outside   
the ,international ,settlement  or      
buried by the authorities4    ,further  

north1 in the ,shantung province1 where 
the dry season is  more prolonged and   
where a severe drought had made grass   
short1 the  grave lands had become      
nearly naked soil1 as seen in ,fig4 #bg 
where a  ,shantung farmer had just dug a
 temporary well to irrigate his little  
field of barley4 ,within the range of   
the camera1 as held to take  this view1 
more than forty grave mounds besides the
 seven near by1  are near enough to be  
fixed on the negative and be discernible
 under  a glass1 indicating what        
extensive areas of land1 in the         
aggregate1  are given over to graves4   
,still further north1 in ,chihli1 a like
 story is told in1 if  possible1 more   
emphatic manner and fully vouched for in
 the next  illustration1 ,fig4 #bh1     
which shows a typical family group1 to  
be  observed in so many places between  
,taku and ,tientsin and beyond  toward  
,peking4 ,as we entered the mouth of the
 ,pei-ho for ,tientsin1  far away to the
 vanishing horizon there stretched an   

almost naked  plain except for the vast 
numbers of these graves of the fathers1 
so strange1 so naked1 so regular in form
 and so numerous that more  than an hour
 of our journey had passed before we    
realized that they  were graves and that
 the country here was perhaps more      
densely  peopled with the dead than with
 the living4 ,in so many places there   
was the huge father grave1 often capped 
with what in the distance  suggested a  
chimney1 and the many associated smaller
 ones1 that it  was difficult to realize
 in passing what they were4    ,it is a 
common custom1 even if the residence has
 been permanently  changed to some      
distant province1 to take the bodies    
back for  interment in the family group2
 and it is this custom which leads to   
the practice of choosing a temporary    
location for the body1 waiting  for a   
favorable opportunity to remove it to   
the family group4 ,this  is often the   
occasion for the isolated coffin so     
frequently seen  under a simple thatch  

of rice straw1 as in ,fig4 #bi2 and the 
many  small stone jars containing       
skeletons of the dead1 or portions of   
them1 standing singly or in rows in the 
most unexpected places least  in the way
 in the crowded fields and gardens1     
awaiting removal to  the final resting  
place4 ,it is this custom1 too1 ,i am   
told1 which  has led to placing a large 
quantity of caustic lime in the bottom  
of  the casket1 on which the body rests1
 this acting as an effective  absorbent4
    ,it is the custom in some parts of  
,china1 if not in all1 to  periodically 
restore the mounds1 maintaining their   
height and size1  as is seen in the next
 two illustrations1 and to decorate     
these once  in the year with flying     
streamers of colored paper1 the remnants
 of  which may be seen in both ,figs4   
#cj and #ca1 set there as tokens that   
the paper money has been burned upon    
them and its essence sent up in  the    
smoke for the maintenance of the spirits
 of their departed  friends4 ,we have   

our memorial day2 they have for         
centuries observed  theirs with         
religious fidelity4    ,the usual       
expense of a burial among the working   
people is said to be  #ajj1 ,mexican1 an
 enormous burden when the day's wage or 
the yearly  earning of the family is    
considered and when there is added to   
this  the yearly expense of ancestor    
worship4 ,how such voluntary burdens    
are assumed by people under such        
circumstances is hard to  understand4   
,missionaries assert it is fear of evil 
consequences in  this life and of       
punishment and neglect in the hereafter 
that leads  to assuming them4 ,is it not
 far more likely that such is the price 
these people are willing to pay for a   
good name among the living and  because 
of their deep and lasting friendship for
 the departed8 ,nor  does it seem at all
 strange that a kindly1 warm-hearted    
people with  strong filial affection    
should have reached1 carry in their long
  history1 a belief in one spirit of the

 departed which hovers about  the home1 
one which hovers about the grave and    
another which wanders  abroad1 for      
surely there are associations with each 
of these  conditions which must long and
 forcefully awaken memories of friends  
gone4 ,if this view is possible may not 
such ancestral worship be an  index of  
qualities of character strongly fixed   
and of the highest  worth which1 when   
improvements come that may relieve the  
heavy  burdens now carried1 will only   
shine more brightly and count more  for 
right living as well as comfort8        
,even in our own case it will hardly be 
maintained that our burial  customs have
 reached their best and final solution1 
for in all  civilized nations they are  
unnecessarily expensive and far too     
cumbersome4 ,it is only necessary to    
mentally add the accumulation of  a few 
centuries to our cemeteries to realize  
how impossible our  practice must       
become4 ,clearly there is here a very   
important line  for betterment which all

 nationalities should undertake4        
,when the steamer anchored at ,shanghai 
the day was pleasant and the  rain coats
 which greeted us in ,yokohama were not 
in evidence but the  numbers who had met
 the steamer in the hope of an          
opportunity for  earning a trifle was   
far greater and in many ways in strong  
contrast  with the ,japanese4 ,we were  
much surprised to find the men of so    
large stature1 much above the ,chinese  
usually seen in the ,united  ,states4   
,they were fully the equal of large     
,americans in frame but  quite without  
surplus flesh yet few appeared underfed4
 ,to realize  that these are strong1    
hardy men it was only necessary to watch
 them  carrying on their shoulders bales
 of cotton between them1 supported  by a
 strong bamboo2 while the heavy loads   
they transport on  wheel-barrows through
 the country over long distances1 as    
seen in  ,fig4 #cb1 prove their great   
endurance4 ,this same type of vehicle1  
too1 is one of the common means of      

transporting people1 especially         
,chinese women1 and four six and even   
eight may be seen riding  together1     
propelled by a single wheelbarrow man4  
,,iii    ,,to ,,hongkong ,,and ,,canton 
,we had come to learn how the old-world 
farmers bad been able to  provide       
materials for food and clothing on such 
small areas for so  many millions1 at so
 low a price1 during so many centuries1 
and were  anxious to see them at the    
soil and among the crops4 ,the sun was  
still south of the equator1 coming north
 only about twelve miles per  day1 so1  
to save time1 we booked on the next     
steamer for ,hongkong to  meet spring at
 ,canton1 beyond the ,tropic of ,cancer1
 six hundred  miles farther south1 and  
return with her4    ,on the morning of  
,march #dth the ,tosa ,maru steamed out 
into the  ,yangtse river1 already       
flowing with the increased speed of ebb 
tide4  ,the pilots were on the bridge to
 guide her course along the narrow      
south channel through waters seemingly  

as brown and turbid as the  ,potomac    
after a rain4 ,it was some distance     
beyond ,gutzlaff ,island1  seventy miles
 to sea1 where there is a lighthouse and
 a telegraph  station receiving six     
cables1 that we crossed the front of the
  out-going tide1 showing in a sharp    
line of contrast stretching in  either  
direction farther than the eye could    
see1 across the course  of the ship and 
yet it was the season of low water in   
this river4  ,during long ages this     
stream of mighty volume has been loading
 upon  itself in far-away ,tibet1       
without dredge1 barge1 fuel or human    
effort1 unused and there unusable soils1
 bringing them down from  inaccessible  
heights across two or three thousand    
miles1 building up  with them1 from     
under the sea1 at the gateways of       
commerce1 miles  upon miles of the      
world's most fertile fields and gardens4
 ,today on  this river1 winding through 
six hundred miles of the most highly    
cultivated fields1 laid out on          

river-built plains1 go large ocean      
steamers to the city of                 
,hankow-,wuchang-,hanyang where         
#a1ggj1jjj  people live and trade within
 a radius less than four miles2 while   
smaller steamers push on a thousand     
miles and are then but #acj feet  above 
sea level4    ,even now1 with the aid of
 current1 tide and man1 these brown     
turbid  waters are rapidly adding       
fertile delta plains for new homes4     
,during  the last twenty-five years     
,chungming island has grown in length   
some  #ahjj feet per year and today a   
million people are living and growing   
rice1 wheat1 cotton and sweet potatoes  
on #bgj square miles of  fertile plain  
where five hundred years ago were only  
submerged river  sands and silt4 ,here  
#cgjj people per square mile have       
acquired  homes4    ,the southward      
voyage was over a quiet sea and as we   
passed among and  near the off-shore    
islands these1 as seen in ,japan1       
appeared  destitute of vegetation other 

than the low herbaceous types with few  
shrubs and almost no forest growth and  
little else that gave the  appearance of
 green4 ,captain ,harrison informed me  
that at no time in  the year are these  
islands possessed of the grass-green    
verdure so  often seen in northern      
climates1 and yet the islands lie in a  
region  of abundant summer rain1 making 
it hard to understand why there is  not 
a more luxuriant growth4    ,sunday     
morning1 ,march #gth1 passing first     
extensive sugar refineries1  found us   
entering the long1 narrow and beautiful 
harbor of ,hongkong4  ,here1 lying at   
anchor in the ten square miles of water1
 were five  battleships1 several large  
ocean steamers1 many coastwise vessels  
and a multitude of smaller craft whose  
yearly tonnage is twenty to  thirty     
millions4 ,but the harbor lies in the   
track of the terrible  ,east ,indian    
typhoon and1 although sheltered on the  
north shore of a  high island1 one of   
these storms recently sunk nine vessels1

 sent  twenty-three ashore1 seriously   
damaged twenty-one others1 wrought      
great destruction among the smaller     
craft and over a thousand dead  were    
recovered4 ,such was the destruction    
wrought by the ,september  storm of     
#aijf4    ,our steamer did not go to    
dock but the ,nippon ,yusen ,kaisha's   
launch  transferred us to a city much   
resembling ,seattle in possessing a     
scant footing between a long sea front  
and high steep mountain  slopes behind4 
,here cliffs too steep to climb rise    
from the very  sidewalk and are covered 
with a great profusion and variety of   
ferns1 small bamboo1 palms1 vines1 many 
flowering shrubs1 all  interspersed with
 pine and great banyan trees that do so 
much toward  adding the beauty of       
northern landscapes to the tropical     
features  which reach upward until      
hidden in a veil of fog that hung1 all  
of  the time we were there1 over the    
city1 over the harbor and stretched     
beyond ,old and ,new ,kowloon4          

,hongkong island is some eleven miles   
long and but two to five miles  wide1   
while the peak carrying the signal staff
 rises #a1hbe feet  above the streets   
from which ascends the ,peak tramway1   
where1  hanging from opposite ends of a 
strong cable1 one car rises up the      
slope and another descends every fifteen
 to twenty minutes1  affording          
communication with business houses below
 and homes in  beautiful surroundings   
and a tempered climate above4 ,extending
 along  the slopes of the mountains1    
too1 above the city1 are very excellent 
roads1 carefully graded1 provided with  
concrete gutters and bridges1  along    
which one may travel on foot1 on        
horseback1 by ricksha or  sedan chair1  
but too narrow for carriages4 ,over one 
of these we  ascended along one side of 
,happy ,valley1 around its head and down
  the other side4 ,only occasionally    
could we catch glimpses of the  summit  
through the lifting fog but the views1  
looking down and  across the city and   

beyond the harbor with its shipping1 and
 up and  down the many ravines from     
via-ducts1 are among the choicest and   
rarest ever made accessible to the      
residents of any city4 ,it was the      
beginning of the migratory season for   
birds1 and trees and shrubbery  thronged
 with many species4    ,many of the     
women in ,hongkong were seen engaged in 
such heavy manual  labor with the men as
 carrying crushed rock and sand1 for    
concrete  and macadam work1 up the steep
 street slopes long distances from the  
dock1 but they were neither tortured nor
 incapacitated by bound  feet4 ,like the
 men1 they were of smaller stature than 
most seen at  ,shanghai and closely     
resemble the ,chinese in the ,united    
,states4 ,both  sexes are agile1 wiry   
and strong4 ,here we first saw lumber   
sawing in  the open streets after the   
manner shown in ,fig4 #cc1 where wide   
boards were being cut from camphor logs4
 ,in the damp1 already warm  weather the
 men were stripped to the waist1 their  

limbs bare to  above the knee1 and each 
carried a large towel for wiping away   
the  profuse perspiration4    ,it was   
here1 too1 that we first met the        
remarkable staging for the  erection of 
buildings of four and six stories1 set  
up without saw1  hammer or nail2 without
 injury to or waste of lumber and with  
the  minimum of labor in construction   
and removal4 ,poles and bamboo stems    
were lashed together with overlapping   
ends1 permitting any interval  or height
 to be secured without cutting or       
nailing1 and admitting of  ready removal
 with absolutely no waste1 all parts    
being capable of  repeated use unless it
 be some of the materials employed in   
tying  members4 ,up inclined stairways1 
from staging to staging1 in the         
erection of six-story granite buildings1
 mortar was being carried in  baskets   
swinging from bamboo poles on the       
shoulders of men and  women1 as the     
cheapest hoists available in ,english   
,hongkong where  there is willing human 

labor and to spare4    ,the ,singer     
sewing machine1 manufactured in ,new    
,jersey1 was seen in  many ,chinese     
shops in ,hongkong and other cities1    
operated by ,chinese  men and women1    
purchased1 freight prepaid1 at          
two-thirds the retail  price in the     
,united ,states4 ,such are the          
indications of profit to  manufacturers 
on the home sale of home-made goods     
while at the same  time reaping good    
returns from a large trade in heathen   
lands1 after  paying the freight4       
,industrial ,china1 ,korea and ,japan do
 not observe our weekly day of  rest and
 during our walk around ,happy ,valley  
on ,sunday afternoon1  looking down upon
 its terraced gardens and tiny fields1  
we saw men  and women busy fitting the  
soil for new crops1 gathering vegetables
  for market1 feeding plants with liquid
 manure and even irrigating  certain    
crops1 notwithstanding the damp1 foggy1 
showery weather4  ,turning the head of  
the valley1 attention was drawn to a    

walled  enclosure and a detour down the 
slope brought us to a florist's  garden 
within which were rows of large potted  
foliage plants of  semi-shrubbery habit1
 seen in ,fig4 #ce1 trained in the form 
of  life-size human figures with limbs1 
arms and trunk provided with  highly    
glazed and colored porcelain feet1 hands
 and head4 ,these1  with many other     
potted plants and trees1 including dwarf
 varieties1  are grown under out-door   
lattice shelters in different parts of  
,china1 for sale to the wealthy ,chinese
 families4    ,how thorough is the      
tillage1 how efficient and painstaking  
the  garden fitting1 and how closely the
 ground is crowded to its upper  limit  
of producing power are indicated in     
,fig4 #cf2 and when one  stops and      
studies the detail in such gardens he   
expects in its  executor an orderly1    
careful1 frugal and industrious man1    
getting  not a little satisfaction out  
of his creations however arduous his    
task or prolonged his day4 ,if he is in 

the garden or one meets him  at the     
house1 clad as the nature of his duties 
and compensation have  determined1 you  
may be disappointed or feel arising an  
unkind  judgment4 ,but who would risk a 
reputation so clad and so environed8    
,many were the times1 during our walks  
in the fields and gardens  among these  
old1 much misunderstood1 misrepresented 
and undervalued  people1 when the bond  
of common interest was recognized       
between us1  that there showed through  
the face the spirit which put aside both
  dress and surroundings and the man    
stood forth who1 with fortitude  and    
rare wisdom1 is feeding the millions and
 who has carried through  centuries the 
terrible burden of taxes levied by      
dishonor and  needless wars4 ,nay1 more 
than this1 the man stood forth who has  
kept  alive the seeds of manhood and has
 nourished them into such sturdy  stock 
as has held the stream of progress along
 the best interests of  civilization in 
spite of the driftwood heaped upon it4  

,not only are these people extremely    
careful and painstaking in  fitting     
their fields and gardens to receive the 
crop1 but they are  even more scrupulous
 in their care to make everything that  
can  possibly serve as fertilizer for   
the soil1 or food for the crop  being   
grown1 do so unless there is some more  
remunerative service it  may render4    
,expense is incurred to provide such    
receptacles as are  seen in ,fig4 #cg   
for receiving not only the night soil of
 the home  and that which may be bought 
or otherwise procured1 but in which may 
be stored any other fluid which can     
serve as plant food4 ,on the  right of  
these earthenware jars too is a pile of 
ashes and one of  manure4 ,all such     
materials are saved and used in the most
  advantageous ways to enrich the soil  
or to nourish the plants being  grown4  
,generally the liquid manures must be   
diluted with water to a greater  or less
 extent before they are fed1 as the     
,chinese say1 to their  plants1 hence   

there is need of an abundant and        
convenient water  supply4 ,one of these 
is seen in ,fig4 #ch1 where the         
,chinaman has  adopted the modern       
galvanized iron pipe to bring water from
 the  mountain slope of ,happy ,valley  
to his garden4 ,by the side of this     
tank are the covered pails in which the 
night soil was brought1  perhaps more   
than a mile1 to be first diluted and    
then applied4 ,but  the more general    
method for supplying water is that of   
leading it  along the ground in channels
 or ditches to a small reservoir in one 
corner of a terraced field or garden1 as
 seen in ,fig4 #ci1 where it  is held   
and the surplus led down from terrace to
 terrace1 giving  each its permanent    
supply4 ,at the upper right corner of   
the  engraving may be seen two manure   
receptacles and a third stands near  the
 reservoir4 ,the plants on the lower    
terrace are water cress and  those above
 the same4 ,at this time of the year1 on
 the terraced  gardens of ,happy        

,valley1 this is one of the crops most  
extensively  grown4    ,walking among   
these gardens and isolated homes1 we    
passed a pig pen  provided with a       
smooth1 well-laid stone floor that had  
just been  washed scrupulously clean1   
like the floor of a house4 ,while ,i was
  not able to learn other facts         
regarding this case1 ,i have little     
doubt that the washings from this floor 
had been carefully collected  and taken 
to some receptacle to serve as a plant  
food4    ,looking backward as we left   
,hongkong for ,canton on the cloudy     
evening of ,march #hth1 the view was    
wonderfully beautiful4 ,we were  drawing
 away from three cities1 one1           
electric-lighted ,hongkong  rising up   
the steep slopes1 suggesting a section  
of sky set with a  vast array of stars  
of all magnitudes up to triple          
,jupiters2  another1 old and new        
,kowloon on the opposite side of the    
harbor2 and  between these two1         
separated from either shore by wide     

reaches of  wholly unoccupied water1 lay
 the third1 a mid-strait city of        
sampans1 junks and coastwise craft of   
many kinds segregated1 in  obedience to 
police regulation1 into blocks and      
streets with each  setting sun1 but only
 to scatter again with the coming morn4 
,at  night1 after a fixed hour1 no one  
is permitted to leave shore and  cross  
the vacant water strip except from      
certain piers and with the  permission  
of the police1 who take the number of   
the sampan and the  names of its        
occupants4 ,over the harbor three large 
search lights  were sweeping and it was 
curious to see the junks and other craft
  suddenly burst into full blazes of    
light1 like so many monstrous           
fire-flies1 to disappear and reappear as
 the lights came and went4  ,thus is the
 mid-strait city lighted and policed and
 thus have steps  been taken to lessen  
the number of cases of foul play where  
people  have left the wharves at night  
for some vessel in the strait1 never  to

 be heard from again4    ,some ninety   
miles is the distance by water to       
,canton1 and early the  next morning our
 steamer dropped anchor off the foreign 
settlement  of ,shameen4 ,through the   
kindness of ,consul-,general ,amos ,p4  
,wilder in  sending a telegram to the   
,canton ,christian ,college1 their      
little  steam launch met the boat and   
took us directly to the home of the     
college on ,honam ,island1 lying in the 
great delta south of the city  where    
sediments brought by the                
,si-kiang--west1 ,pei-kiang--north1 and 
,tung-kiang--east--rivers through long  
centuries have been building  the       
richest of land which1 because of the   
density of population1 are  squared up  
everywhere to the water's edge and      
appropriated as fast  as formed1 and    
made to bring forth materials for food  
fuel and  raiment in vast quantities4   
,it was on ,honam ,island that we walked
 first among the grave lands  and came  
to know them as such1 for ,canton       

,christian ,college stands  in the midst
 of graves which1 although very old1 are
 not permitted  to be disturbed and the 
development of the campus must wait to  
secure permission to remove graves1 or  
erect its buildings in places  not the  
most desirable4 ,cattle were grazing    
among the graves and  with them a flock 
of some #bej of the brown ,chinese      
geese1 two-thirds  grown1 was watched by
 boys1 gleaning their entire living from
 the  grave lands and adjacent water4 ,a
 mature goose sells in ,canton for      
#a4bj1 ,mexican1 or less than #eb cents1
 gold1 but even then how can  the       
laborer whose day's wage is but ten or  
fifteen cents afford one  for his       
family8 ,here1 too1 we saw the ,chinese 
persistent1  never-ending industry in   
keeping their land1 their sunshine and  
their rain1 with themselves1 busy in    
producing something needful4  ,fields   
which had matured two crops of rice     
during the long summer1  had been       
laboriously1 and largely by hand labor1 

thrown into strong  ridges as seen in   
,fig4 #dj1 to permit still a third      
winter crop of  some vegetable to be    
taken from the land4    ,but this       
intensive1 continuous cropping of the   
land spells soil  exhaustion and creates
 demands for maintenance and restoration
 of  available plant food or the adding 
of large quantities of something        
quickly convertible into it1 and so here
 in the fields on ,honam  ,island1 as we
 had found in ,happy ,valley1 there was 
abundant evidence  of the most careful  
attention and laborious effort devoted  
to plant  feeding4 ,the boat standing in
 the canal in ,fig4 #da had come from   
,canton in the early morning with two   
tons of human manure and men  were busy 
applying it1 in diluted form1 to beds of
 leeks at the rate  of #af1jjj gallons  
per acre1 all carried on the shoulders  
in such  pails as stand in the          
foreground4 ,the material is applied    
with  long-handled dippers holding a    
gallon1 dipping it from the pails1  the 

men wading1 with bare feet and trousers 
rolled above the knees1  in the water of
 the furrows between the beds4 ,this is 
one of their  ways of feeding the crop1 
and they have other methods of manuring 
the soil4    ,one of these we first met 
on ,honam ,island4 ,large amounts of    
canal  mud are here collected in boats  
and brought to the fields to be  treated
 and there left to drain and dry before 
distributing4 ,both  the material used  
to feed the crop and that used for      
manuring the  land are waste products1  
hindrances to the industry of the       
region1  but the ,chinese make them do  
essential duty in maintaining its life4 
,the human waste must be disposed of4   
,they return it to the soil4 ,we  turn  
it into the sea4 ,doing so1 they save   
for plant feeding more  than a ton of   
phosphorus 7#bgab pounds7 and more than 
two tons of  potassium 7#ddhh pounds7   
per day for each million of adult       
population4 ,the mud collects in their  
canals and obstructs movement4  ,they   

must be kept open4 ,the mud is highly   
charged with organic  matter and would  
add humus to the soil if applied to the 
fields1 at  the same time raising their 
level above the river and canal1 giving 
them better drainage2 thus are they     
turning to use what is otherwise  waste1
 causing the labor which must be        
expended in disposal to count  in a     
remunerative way4    ,during the early  
morning ride to ,canton ,christian      
,college and three  others which we were
 permitted to enjoy in the launch on the
 canal  and river waters1 everything was
 again strange1 fascinating and full  of
 human interest4 ,the ,cantonese water  
population was a surprise1  not so much 
for its numbers as for the lithe1 sinewy
 forms1 bright  eyes and cheerful faces1
 particularly among the women1 young and
  old4 ,nearly always one or more women1
 mother and daughter oftenest1          
grandmother many times1 wrinkled1       
sometimes grey1 but strong1 quick  and  
vigorous in motion1 were manning the    

oars of junks1 houseboats  and sampans4 
,sometimes husband and wife and many    
times the whole  family were seen       
together when the craft was both home   
and business  boat as well4 ,little     
children were gazing from most          
unexpected peek  holes1 or they toddled 
tethered from a waist belt at the end of
 as  much rope as would arrest them     
above water1 should they go  overboard4 
,and the cat was similarly tied4        
,through an overhanging  latticed stern1
 too1 hens craned their necks1 longing  
for scenes  they could not reach4 ,with 
bare heads1 bare feet1 in short trousers
  and all dressed much alike1 men1      
women1 boys and girls showed equal      
mastery of the oar4 ,beginning so young1
 day and night in the open  air on the  
tide-swept streams and canals1 exposed  
to all of the  sunshine the fogs and    
clouds will permit1 and removed from the
 dust  and filth of streets1 it would   
seem that if the children survive at    
all they must develop strong4 ,the      

appearance of the women somehow         
conveyed the impression that they were  
more vigorous and in better  fettle than
 the men4    ,boats selling many kinds  
of steaming hot dishes were common4     
,among  these was rice tied in green    
leaf wrappers1 three small packets in a 
cluster suspended by a strand of some   
vegetable fiber1 to be handed  hot from 
the cooker to the purchaser1 some one on
 a passing junk or  on an in-coming or  
out-going boat4 ,another would buy hot  
water for a  brew of tea1 while still   
another1 and for a single cash1 might be
  handed a small square of cotton cloth1
 wrung hot from the water1  with which  
to wipe his face and hands and then be  
returned4    ,perhaps nothing better    
measures the intensity of the           
maintenance  struggle here1 and better  
indicates the minute economies          
practiced1  than the value of their     
smallest currency unit1 the ,cash1 used 
in  their daily retail transactions4 ,on
 our ,pacific coast1 where less  thought

 is given to little economies than      
perhaps anywhere else in  the world1 the
 nickel is the smallest coin in general 
use1 twenty to  the dollar4 ,for the    
rest of the ,united ,states and in most 
,english  speaking countries one hundred
 cents or half pennies measure an  equal
 value4 ,in ,russia #agj kopecks1 in    
,mexico #bjj centavos1 in  ,france #bej 
two-centime pieces1 and in              
,austria-,hungary #bej two-heller  coins
 equal the ,united ,states dollar2 while
 in ,germany #djj pfennigs1  and in     
,india #djj pie are required for an     
equal value4 ,again #ejj  penni in      
,finland and of stotinki in ,bulgaria1  
of centesimi in ,italy  and of half     
cents in ,holland equal our dollar2 but 
in ,china the  small daily financial    
transactions are measured against a much
  smaller unit1 their ,cash1 #aejj to   
#bjjj of which are required to  equal   
the ,united ,states dollar1 their       
purchasing power fluctuating  daily with
 the price of silver4    ,in the        

,shantung province1 when we inquired of 
the farmers the  selling prices of their
 crops1 their replies were given like   
this3  ,thirty-five strings of cash for 
#dbj catty of wheat and twelve to       
fourteen strings of cash for #ajjj catty
 of wheat straw4 ,at this  time1        
according to my interpreter1 the value  
of one string of cash  was #dj cents    
,mexican1 from which it appears that    
something like #bej  of these coins were
 threaded on a string4 ,twice we saw a  
wheelbarrow  heavily loaded with strings
 of cash being transported through the  
streets of ,shanghai1 lying exposed on  
the frame1 suggesting chains  of copper 
more than money4 ,at one of the go-downs
 or warehouses in  ,tsingtao1 where     
freight was being transferred from a    
steamer1 the  carriers were receiving   
their pay in these coin4 ,the pay-master
  stood in the doorway with half a      
bushel of loose cash in a grain  sack at
 his feet4 ,with one hand he received   
the bamboo tally-sticks  from the       

stevedores and with the other paid the  
cash for service  rendered4             
,reference has been made to buying hot  
water4 ,in a sampan managed by  a woman 
and her daughter1 who took us ashore1   
the middle section of  the boat was     
furnished in the manner of a tiny       
sitting-room1 and on  the sideboard sat 
the complete embodiment of our fireless 
cookers1  keeping boiled water hot for  
making tea4 ,this device and the custom 
are here centuries old and throughout   
these countries boiled water1  as tea1  
is the universal drink1 adopted no doubt
 as a preventive  measure against       
typhoid fever and allied diseases4 ,few 
vegetables  are eaten raw and nearly all
 foods are taken hot or recently cooked 
if not in some way pickled or salted4   
,houseboat meat shops move  among the   
many junks on the canals4 ,these were   
provided with a  compartment            
communicating freely with the canal     
water where the fish  were kept alive   
until sold4 ,at the street markets too1 

fish are kept  alive in large tubs of   
water systematically aerated by the     
water  falling from an elevated         
receptacle in a thin stream4 ,a live    
fish  may even be sliced before the eyes
 of a purchaser and the unsold  portion 
returned to the water4 ,poultry is      
largely retailed alive  although we saw 
much of it dressed and cooked to a      
uniform rich  brown1 apparently roasted1
 hanging exposed in the markets of the  
very narrow streets in ,canton1 shaded  
from the hot sun under awnings          
admitting light overhead through        
translucent oyster-shell  latticework4  
,perhaps these fowl had been cooked in  
hot oil and  before serving would be    
similarly heated4 ,at any rate it is    
perfectly clear that among these people 
many very fundamental  sanitary         
practices are rigidly observed4    ,one 
fact which we do not fully understand is
 that1 wherever we went1  house flies   
were very few4 ,we never spent a summer 
with so little  annoyance from them as  

this one in ,china1 ,korea and ,japan4  
,it may be  that our experience was     
exceptional but1 if so1 it could not be 
ascribed to the season of our visit for 
we have found flies so  numerous in     
southern ,florida early in ,april as to 
make the use of  the fly brush at the   
table very necessary4 ,if the scrupulous
  husbanding of waste refuse so         
universally practiced in these          
countries reduces the fly nuisance and  
this menace to health to the  extent    
which our experience suggests1 here is  
one great gain4 ,we  breed flies in     
countless millions each year1 until they
 become an  intolerable nuisance1 and   
then expend millions of dollars on      
screens  and fly poison which only      
ineffectually lessen the intensity and  
danger of the evil4    ,the mechanical  
appliances in use on the canals and in  
the shops of  ,canton demonstrate that  
the ,chinese possess constructive       
ability of  a high order1               
notwithstanding so many of these are of 

the simplest  forms4 ,this statement is 
well illustrated in the simple yet      
efficient foot-power seen in ,fig4 #db1 
where a father and his two  sons are    
driving an irrigation pump1 lifting     
water at the rate of  seven and a half  
acre-inches per ten hours1 and at a     
cost1 including  wage and food1 of #cf  
to #de cents1 gold4 ,here1 too1 were    
large  stern-wheel passenger boats1     
capable of carrying thirty to one       
hundred people1 propelled by the same   
foot-power but laid crosswise  of the   
stern1 the men working in long single or
 double lines1  depending on the size of
 the boat4 ,on these the fare was one   
cent1  gold1 for a fifteen mile journey1
 a rate one-thirtieth our two-cent      
railway tariff4 ,the dredging and       
clearing of the canals and water        
channels in and about ,canton is        
likewise accomplished with the same     
foot-power1 often by families living on 
the dredge boats4 ,a dipper  dredge is  
used1 constructed of strong bamboo      

strips woven into the  form of a        
sliding1 two-horse road scraper1 guided 
by a long bamboo  handle4 ,the dredge is
 drawn along the bottom by a rope       
winding about  the projecting axle of   
the foot-power1 propelled by three or   
more  people4 ,when the dipper reaches  
the axle and is raised from the  water  
it is swung aboard1 emptied and returned
 by means of a long  arm like the old   
well sweep1 operated by a cord depending
 from the  lower end of the lever1 the  
dipper swinging from the other4 ,much of
  the mud so collected from the canals  
and channels of the city is  taken to   
the rice and mulberry fields1 many      
square miles of which  occupy the       
surrounding country4 ,thus the channels 
are kept open1 the  fields grow steadily
 higher above flood level1 while their  
productive power is maintained by the   
plant food and organic matter  carried  
in the sediment4    ,the mechanical     
principle involved in the boy's button  
buzz was  applied in ,canton and in many

 other places for operating small       
drills as well as in grinding and       
polishing appliances used in the        
manufacture of ornamental ware4 ,the    
drill1 as used for boring metal1  is set
 in a straight shaft1 often of bamboo1  
on the upper end of  which is mounted a 
circular weight4 ,the drill is driven by
 a pair of  strings with one end        
attached just beneath the momentum      
weight and  the other fastened at the   
ends of a cross hand-bar1 having a hole 
at  its center through which the shaft  
carrying the drill passes4  ,holding the
 drill in position for work and turning 
the shaft1 the  two cords are wrapped   
about it in such a manner that simple   
downward  pressure on the hand bar held 
in the two hands unwinds the cords and  
thus revolves the drill4 ,relieving the 
pressure at the proper time  permits the
 momentum of the revolving weight to    
rewind the cords and  the next downward 
pressure brings the drill again into    
service4              ,,iv    ,,up ,,the

 ,,si-,,kiang1 ,,west ,,river           
,on the morning of ,march #ajth we took 
passage on the ,nanning for  ,wuchow1 in
 ,kwangsi province1 a journey of #bbj   
miles up the ,west  river1 or ,sikiang4 
,the ,nanning is one of two ,english    
steamers making  regular trips between  
the two places1 and it was the sister   
boat  which in the summer of #aijf was  
attacked by pirates on one of her  trips
 and all of the officers and first class
 passengers killed  while at dinner4    
,the cause of this attack1 it is said1  
or the excuse  for it1 was threatened   
famine resulting from destructive floods
  which had ruined the rice and mulberry
 crops of the great delta  region and   
had prevented the carrying of manure and
 bean cake as  fertilizers to the tea   
fields in the hill lands beyond1 thus   
bringing ruin to three of the great     
staple crops of the region4 ,to  avoid  
the recurrence of such tragedies the    
first class quarters on  the ,nanning   
had been separated from the rest of the 

ship by heavy  iron gratings thrown     
across the decks and over the hatchways4
 ,armed  guards stood at the locked     
gateways1 and swords were hanging from  
posts under the awnings of the first    
cabin quarters1 much as saw and  ax in  
our passenger coaches4 ,both ,british   
and ,chinese gunboats were  patrolling  
the river2 all ,chinese passengers were 
searched for  concealed weapons as they 
came aboard1 even though ,government    
soldiers1 and all arms taken into       
custody until the end of the  journey4  
,several of the large ,chinese merchant 
junks which were  passed1 carrying      
valuable cargoes on the river1 were     
armed with  small cannon and when riding
 by rail from ,canton to ,sam ,shui1 a  
government pirate detective was in our  
coach4    ,the ,sikiang is one of the   
great rivers of ,china and indeed of the
  world4 ,its width at ,wuchow at low   
water was nearly a mile and our  steamer
 anchored in twenty-four feet of water  
to a floating dock  made fast by huge   

iron chains reaching three hundred feet 
up the  slope to the city proper1 thus  
providing for a rise of twenty-six  feet
 in the river at its flood stage during 
the rainy season4 ,in a  narrow section 
of river where it winds through ,shui   
,hing gorge1 the  water at low stage has
 a depth of more than twenty-five       
fathoms1 too  deep for anchorage1 so in 
times of prospective fog1 boats wait for
  clearing weather4 ,fluctuations in the
 height of the river limit  vessels     
passing up to ,wuchow to those drawing  
six and a half feet of  water during the
 low stage1 and at high stage to those  
drawing  sixteen feet4    ,when the     
,west river emerges from the high lands1
 with its burden of  silt1 to join its  
waters with those of the ,north and     
,east rivers1 it  has entered a vast    
delta plain some eighty miles from east 
to west  and nearly as many from north  
to south1 and this has been canalized1  
diked1 drained and converted into the   
most productive of fields1  bearing     

three or more crops each year4 ,as we   
passed westward through  this delta     
region the broad flat fields1 surrounded
 by dikes to  protect them against high 
water1 were being plowed and fitted for 
the coming crop of rice4 ,in many places
 the dikes which checked off  the fields
 were planted with bananas and in the   
distance gave the  appearance of        
extensive orchards completely occupying 
the ground4  ,except for the water and  
the dikes it was easy to imagine that we
  were traversing one of our western    
prairie sections in the early  spring1  
at seeding time1 the scattered farm     
villages here easily  suggested distant 
farmsteads2 but a nearer approach to the
 houses  showed that the roofs and sides
 were thatched with rice straw and      
stacks were very numerous about the     
buildings4 ,many tide gates were  set in
 the dikes1 often with double trunks4   
,at times we approached near enough to  
the fields to see how they  were laid   
out4 ,from the gates long canals1 six to

 eight feet wide1  led back sometimes   
eighty or a hundred rods4 ,across these 
and at  right angles1 head channels were
 cut and between them the fields  were  
plowed in long straight lands some two  
rods wide1 separated by  water furrows4 
,many of the fields were bearing sugar  
cane standing  eight feet high4 ,the    
,chinese do no sugar refining but boil  
the sap  until it will solidify1 when it
 is run into cakes resembling  chocolate
 or our brown maple sugar4 ,immense     
quantities of sugar  cane1 too1 are     
exported to the northern provinces1 in  
bundles  wrapped with matting or other  
cover1 for the retail markets where it  
is sold1 the canes being cut in short   
sections and sometimes peeled1  to be   
eaten from the hands as a confection4   
,much of the way this water-course was  
too broad to permit detailed  study of  
field conditions and crops1 even with a 
glass4 ,in such  sections the recent    
dikes often have the appearance of being
 built  from limestone blocks but a     

closer view showed them constructed from
  blocks of the river silt cut and laid 
in walls with slightly sloping  faces4  
,in time however the blocks weather and 
the dikes become  rounded earthen walls4
    ,we passed two men in a boat1 in    
charge of a huge flock of some  hundreds
 of yellow ducklings4 ,anchored to the  
bank was a large  houseboat provided    
with an all-around1 over-hanging rim and
 on board  was a stack of rice straw and
 other things which constituted the     
floating home of the ducks4 ,both ducks 
and geese are reared in this  manner in 
large numbers by the river population4  
,when it is desired  to move to another 
feeding ground a gang plank is put      
ashore and the  flock come on board to  
remain for the night or to be landed at 
another place4    ,about five hours     
journey westward in this delta plain1   
where the  fields lie six to ten feet   
above the present water stage1 we       
reached  the mulberry district4 ,here   
the plants are cultivated in rows about 

four feet apart1 having the habit of    
small shrubs rather than of  trees1 and 
so much resembling cotton that our first
 impression was  that we were in an     
extensive cotton district4 ,on the lower
 lying  areas1 surrounded by dikes1 some
 fields were laid out in the manner  of 
the old ,italian or ,english water      
meadows1 with a shallow  irrigation     
furrow along the crest of the bed and   
much deeper  drainage ditches along the 
division line between them4 ,mulberries 
were occupying the ground before the    
freshly cut trenches we saw  were dug1  
and all the surface between the rows had
 been evenly  overlaid with the fresh   
earth removed with the spade1 the soil  
lying  in blocks essentially unbroken4  
,in ,fig4 #dc may be seen the mulberry  
crop on a similarly treated surface1    
between ,canton and ,samshui1  with the 
earth removed from the trenches laid    
evenly over the entire  surface between 
and around the plants1 as it came from  
the spade4    ,at frequent intervals    

along the river1 paths and steps were   
seen  leading to the water and within a 
distance of a quarter of a mile we      
counted thirty-one men and women        
carrying mud in baskets on bamboo  poles
 swung across their shoulders1 the mud  
being taken from just  above the water  
line4 ,the disposition of this material 
we could not  see as it was carried     
beyond a rise in ground4 ,we have little
 doubt  that the mulberry fields were   
being covered with it4 ,it was here     
that a rain set in and almost like magic
 the fields blossomed out  with great   
numbers of giant rain hats and          
kittysols1 where people  had been       
unobserved before4 ,from one o'clock    
until six in the  afternoon we had      
traveled continuously through these     
mulberry fields  stretching back miles  
from our line of travel on either hand1 
and  the total acreage must have been   
very large4 ,but we had now nearly      
reached the margin of the delta and the 
mulberries changed to fields  of grain1 

beans1 peas and vegetables4    ,after   
leaving the delta region the balance of 
the journey to ,wuchow  was through a   
hill country1 the slopes rising steeply 
from near the  river bank1 leaving      
relatively little tilled or readily     
tillable  land4 ,rising usually five    
hundred to a thousand feet1 the sides   
and  summits of the rounded1            
soil-covered hills were generally       
clothed  with a short herbaceous growth 
and small scattering trees1 oftenest    
pine1 four to sixteen feet high1 ,fig4  
#dd being a typical landscape  of the   
region4    ,in several sections along   
the course of this river there are      
limited  areas of intense erosion where 
naked gulleys of no mean magnitude  have
 developed but these were exceptions and
 we were continually  surprised at the  
remarkable steepness of the slopes1 with
 convexly  rounded contours almost      
everywhere1 well mantled with soil1     
devoid  of gulleys and completely       
covered with herbaceous growth dotted   

with  small trees4 ,the absence of      
forest growth finds its explanation in  
human influence rather than natural     
conditions4    ,throughout the hill-land
 section of this mighty river the most  
characteristic and persistent human     
features were the stacks of  brush-wood 
and the piles of stove wood along the   
banks or loaded  upon boats and barges  
for the market4 ,the brush-wood was     
largely  made from the boughs of pine1  
tied into bundles and stacked like      
grain4 ,the stove wood was usually      
round1 peeled and made from the  limbs  
and trunks of trees two to five inches  
in diameter4 ,all this  fuel was coming 
to the river from the back country1 sent
 down along  steep slides which in the  
distance resemble paths leading over    
hills  but too steep for travel4 ,the   
fuel was loaded upon large barges1 the  
boughs in the form of stacks to shed    
rain but with a tunnel leading  into the
 house of the boat about which they were
 stacked1 while the  wood was similarly 

corded about the dwelling1 as seen in   
,fig4 #dd4  ,the wood was going to      
,canton and other delta cities while the
 pine  boughs were taken to the lime and
 cement kilns1 many of which were       
located along the river4 ,absolutely the
 whole tree1 including the  roots and   
the needles1 is saved and burned2 no    
waste is permitted4    ,the up-river    
cargo of the ,nanning was chiefly       
matting rush1 taken on  at ,canton1 tied
 in bundles like sheaves of wheat4 ,it  
is grown upon  the lower1 newer delta   
lands by methods of culture similar to  
those  applied to rice1 ,fig4 #de       
showing a field as seen in ,japan4      
,the rushes were being taken to one of  
the country villages on a  tributary of 
the ,sikiang and the steamer was met by 
a flotilla of  junks from this village1 
some forty-five miles up the stream1    
where  the families live who do the     
weaving4 ,on the return trip the        
flotilla again met the steamer with a   
cargo of the woven matting4 ,in  keeping

 record of packages transferred the     
,chinese use a simple and  unique       
method4 ,each carrier1 with his two     
bundles1 received a pair  of tally      
sticks4 ,at the gang-plank sat a man    
with a tally-case  divided into twenty  
compartments1 each of which could       
receive five1  but no more1 tallies4 ,as
 the bundles left the steamer the       
tallies  were placed in the tally-case  
until it contained one hundred1 when  it
 was exchanged for another4    ,wuchow  
is a city of some #fe1jjj inhabitants1  
standing back on the  higher ground1 not
 readily visible from the steamer       
landing nor from  the approach on the   
river4 ,on the foreground1 across which 
stretched  the anchor chains of the     
dock1 was living a floating population1 
many in shelters less substantial than  
,indian wigwams1 but engaged  in a great
 variety of work1 and many water buffalo
 had been tied for  the night along the 
anchor chains4 ,before ,july much of    
this area  would lie beneath the flood  

waters of the ,sikiang4    ,here a ship 
builder was using his simple1 effective 
bow-brace1  boring holes for the dowel  
pins in the planking for his ship1 and  
another was bending the plank to the    
proper curvature4 ,the bow-brace        
consisted of a bamboo stalk carrying the
 bit at one end and a  shoulder rest at 
the other4 ,pressing the bit to its work
 with the  shoulder1 it was driven with 
the string of a long bow wrapped once   
around the stalk by drawing the bow back
 and forth1 thus rapidly and  readily   
revolving the bit4    ,the bending of   
the long1 heavy plank1 four inches thick
 and eight  inches wide1 was more simple
 still1 ,it was saturated with water and
  one end raised on a support four feet 
above the ground4 ,a bundle of  burning 
rice straw moved along the under side   
against the wet wood  had the effect of 
steaming the wood and the weight of the 
plank  caused it to gradually bend into 
the shape desired4 ,bamboo poles are    
commonly bent or straightened in this   

manner to suit any need and  ,fig4 #df  
shows a wooden fork shaped in the manner
 described from a  small tree having    
three main branches4 ,this fork is in   
the hands of  my interpreter and was    
used by the woman standing at the right1
 in  turning wheat4    ,when the old    
ship builder had finished shaping his   
plank he sat down  on the ground for a  
smoke4 ,his pipe was one joint of bamboo
 stem a  foot long1 nearly two inches in
 diameter and open at one end4 ,in the  
closed end1 at one side1 a small hole   
was bored for draft4 ,a charge  of      
tobacco was placed in the bottom1 the   
lips pressed into the open  end and the 
pipe lighted by suction1 holding a      
lighted match at the  small opening4 ,to
 enjoy his pipe the bowl rested on the  
ground  between his legs4 ,with his lips
 in the bowl and a long breath1 he      
would completely fill his lungs1        
retaining the smoke for a time1  then   
slowly expire and fill the lungs again1 
after an interval of  natural breathing4

    ,on returning to ,canton we went by 
rail1 with an interpreter1 to  ,samshui1
 visiting fields along the way1 and     
,fig4 #dg is a view of one  landscape4  
,the woman was picking roses among tidy 
beds of garden  vegetables4 ,beyond her 
and in front of the near building are   
two  rows of waste receptacles4 ,in the 
center background is a large  go-down1  
in function that of our cold storage    
warehouse and in  part that of our grain
 elevator for rice4 ,in them1 too1 the  
wealthy  store their fur-lined winter   
garments for safe keeping4 ,these are   
numerous in this portion of ,china and  
the rank of a city is  indicated by     
their number4 ,the conical hillock is a 
large near-by  grave mound and many     
others serrate the sky line on the hill 
beyond4    ,in the next landscape1 ,fig4
 #dh1 a crop of winter peas1 trained to 
canes1 are growing on ridges among the  
stubble of the second crop of  rice1 ,in
 front is one canal1 the double ridge   
behind is another and  a third canal    

extends in front of the houses4 ,already
 preparations  were being made for the  
first crop of rice1 fields were being   
flooded and fertilized4 ,one such is    
seen in ,fig4 #di1 where a laborer  was 
engaged at the time in bringing stable  
manure1 wading into the  water to empty 
the baskets4    ,two crops of rice are  
commonly grown each year in southern    
,china and  during the winter and early 
spring1 grain1 cabbage1 rape1 peas1     
beans1 leeks and ginger may occupy the  
fields as a third or even  fourth crop1 
making the total year's product from the
 land very  large2 but the amount of    
thought1 labor and fertilizers given to 
securing these is even greater and      
beyond anything ,americans will  endure4
 ,how great these efforts are will be   
appreciated from what is  seen in ,fig4 
#ej1 representing two fields thrown into
 high ridges1  planted to ginger and    
covered with straw4 ,all of this work is
 done  by hand and when the time for    
rice planting comes every ridge will    

again be thrown down and the surface    
smoothed to a water level4 ,even  when  
the ridges and beds are not thrown down 
for the crops of rice1  the furrows and 
the beds will change places so that all 
the soil is  worked over deeply and     
mainly through hand labor4 ,the         
statement so  often made1 that these    
people only barely scratch the surface  
of  their fields with the crudest of    
tools is very far from the truth1  for  
their soils are worked deeply and often1
 notwithstanding the  fact that their   
plowing1 as such1 may be shallow4       
,through ,dr4 ,john ,blumann of the     
missionary hospital at ,tungkun1 east   
from ,canton1 we learned that the good  
rice lands there a few years  ago sold  
at #ge to #acj per acre but that prices 
are rising rapidly4  ,the holdings of   
the better class of farmers there are   
ten to fifteen  mow--one and two-thirds 
to two and a half acres--upon which are 
maintained families numbering six to    
twelve4 ,the day's wage of a  carpenter 

or mason is eleven to thirteen cents of 
our currency1 and  board is not         
included1 but a day's ration for a      
laboring man is  counted worth fifteen  
cents1 ,mexican1 or less than seven     
cents1  gold4    ,fish culture is       
practiced in both deep and shallow      
basins1 the deep  permanent ones renting
 as high as #cj gold1 per acre4 ,the    
shallow  basins which can be drained in 
the dry season are used for fish only   
during the rainy period1 being later    
drained and planted to some  crop4 ,the 
permanent basins have often come to be  
ten or twelve feet  deep1 increasing    
with long usage1 for they are           
periodically drained  by pumping and the
 foot or two of mud which has           
accumulated1 removed  and sold as       
fertilizer to planters of rice and other
 crops4 ,it is a  common practice1 too1 
among the fish growers1 to fertilize the
  ponds1 and in case a foot path leads  
alongside1 screens are built  over the  
water to provide accommodation for      

travelers4 ,fish reared  in the better  
fertilized ponds bring a higher price in
 the market4  ,the fertilizing of the   
water favors a stronger growth of food  
forms1  both plant and animal1 upon     
which the fish live and they are better 
nourished1 making a more rapid growth1  
giving their flesh better  qualities1 as
 is the case with well fed animals4     
,in the markets where fish are exposed  
for sale they are often sliced  in      
halves lengthwise and the cut surface   
smeared with fresh blood4  ,in talking  
with ,dr4 ,blumann as to the reason for 
this practice he  stated that the       
,chinese very much object to eating meat
 that is old  or tainted and that he    
thought the treatment simply had the    
effect  of making the fish look fresher4
 ,i question whether this treatment     
with fresh blood may not have a real    
antiseptic effect and very much  doubt  
that people so shrewd as the ,chinese   
would be misled by such a  ruse4        
,v    ,,extent ,,of ,,canalization ,,and

  ,,surface ,,fitting ,,of ,,fields     
,on the evening of ,march #aeth we left 
,canton for ,hongkong and the  following
 day embarked again on the ,tosa ,maru  
for ,shanghai4 ,although  our steamer   
stood so far to sea that we were        
generally out of sight  of land except  
for some off-shore islands1 the water   
was turbid most  of the way after we had
 crossed the ,tropic of ,cancer off the 
mouth  of the ,han river at ,swatow4    
,over a sea bottom measuring more than  
six hundred miles northward along the   
coast1 and perhaps fifty miles  to sea1 
unnumbered acre-feet of the richest soil
 of ,china are being  borne beyond the  
reach of her four hundred millions of   
people and  the children to follow them4
 ,surely it must be one of the great    
tasks of future statesmanship1 education
 and engineering skill to  divert larger
 amounts of such sediments close along  
inshore in such  manner as to add       
valuable new land annually to the public
 domain1  not alone in ,china but in all

 countries where large resources of     
this type are going to waste4    ,in the
 vast ,cantonese delta plains which we  
had just left1 in the  still more       
extensive ones of the ,yangtse kiang to 
which we were now  going1 and in those  
of the shifting ,hwang ho further north1
  centuries of toiling millions have    
executed works of almost  incalculable  
magnitude1 fundamentally along such     
lines as those just  suggested4 ,they   
have accomplished an enormous share of  
these tasks  by sheer force of body and 
will1 building levees1 digging canals1  
diverting the turbid waters of streams  
through them and then  carrying the     
deposits of silt and organic growth out 
upon the  fields1 often borne upon the  
shoulders of men in the manner we have  
seen4    ,it is well nigh impossible1 by
 word or map1 to convey an adequate     
idea of the magnitude of the systems of 
canalization and delta and  other       
lowland reclamation work1 or of the     
extent of surface fitting  of fields    

which have been effected in ,china1     
,korea and ,japan through  the many     
centuries1 and which are still in       
progress4 ,the lands so  reclaimed and  
fitted constitute their most enduring   
asset and they  support their densest   
populations4 ,in one of our journeys by 
houseboat on the delta canals between   
,shanghai and ,hangchow1 in  ,china1    
over a distance of #aag miles1 we made a
 careful record of the  number and      
dimensions of lateral canals entering   
and leaving the  main one along which   
our boat-train was traveling4 ,this     
record shows  that in #fb miles1        
beginning north of ,kashing and         
extending south to  ,hangchow1 there    
entered from the west #acd and there    
left on the  coast side #aij canals4    
,the average width of these canals1     
measured  along the water line1 we      
estimated at #bb and #ai feet           
respectively on  the two sides4 ,the    
height of the fields above the water    
level ranged  from four to twelve feet1 

during the ,april and ,may stage of     
water4  ,the depth of water1 after we   
entered the ,grand ,canal1 often        
exceeded  six feet and our best judgment
 would place the average depth of all   
canals in this part of ,china at more   
than eight feet below the level  of the 
fields4    ,in ,fig4 #ea1 representing  
an area of #gah square miles in the     
region  traversed1 all lines shown are  
canals1 but scarcely more than          
one-third of those present are shown on 
the map4 ,between ,a1 where we  began   
our records1 before reaching ,kashing1  
and ,b1 near the left  margin of the    
map1 there were forty-three canals      
leading in from the  up-country side1   
instead of the eight shown1 and on the  
coast side  there were eighty-six       
leading water out into the delta plain  
toward  the coast1 instead of the twelve
 shown4 ,again1 on one of our trips  by 
rail1 from ,shanghai to ,nanking1 we    
made a similar record of the  number of 
canals seen from the train1 close along 

the track1 and the  notes show1 in a    
distance of #afb miles1 #eic canals     
between ,lungtan  and ,nansiang4 ,this  
is an average of more than three canals 
per mile  for this region and that      
between ,shanghai and ,hangchow4    ,the
 extent1 nature and purpose of these    
vast systems of internal  improvement   
may be better realized through a study  
of the next two  sketch maps4 ,the      
first1 ,fig4 #eb1 represents an area    
#age by #afj  miles1 of which the last  
illustration is the portion enclosed in 
the  small rectangle4 ,on this area     
there are shown #b1gjj miles of canals  
and only about one-third of the canals  
shown in ,fig4 #ea are laid  down on    
this map1 and according to our personal 
observations there  are three times as  
many canals as are shown on the map of  
which ,fig4  #ea represents a part4 ,it 
is probable1 therefore1 that there      
exists  today in the area of ,fig4 #eb  
not less than #be1jjj miles of canals4  
,in the next illustration1 ,fig4 #ec1 an

 area of northeast ,china1 #fjj  by #gbe
 miles1 is represented4 ,the unshaded   
land area covers nearly  #bjj1jjj square
 miles of alluvial plain4 ,this plain is
 so level that  at ,ichang1 nearly a    
thousand miles up the ,yangtse1 the     
elevation is  only #acj feet above the  
sea4 ,the tide is felt on the river to  
beyond  ,wuhu1 #cge miles from the      
coast4 ,during the summer the depth of  
water  in the ,yangtse is sufficient to 
permit ocean vessels drawing            
twenty-five feet of water to ascend six 
hundred miles to ,hankow1 and  for      
smaller steamers to go on to ,ichang1   
four hundred miles further4    ,the     
location1 in this vast low delta and    
coastal plain1 of the  system of canals 
already described1 is indicated by the  
two  rectangles in the south-east corner
 of the sketch map1 ,fig4 #ec4 ,the     
heavy barred black line extending from  
,hangchow in the south to  ,tientsin in 
the north represents the ,grand ,canal  
which has a length  of more than eight  

hundred miles4 ,the plain1 east of this 
canal1 as  far north as the mouth of the
 ,hwang ho in #aheb1 is canalized much  
as  is the area shown in ,fig4 #eb4 ,so1
 too1 is a large area both sides of  the
 present mouth of the same river in     
,shantung and ,chihli1 between  the     
canal and the coast4 ,westward1 up the  
,yangtse valley1 the  provinces of      
,anhwei1 ,kiangsi1 ,hunan and ,hupeh    
have very extensive  canalized tracts1  
probably exceeding #bh1jjj square miles 
in area1  and ,figs4 #ed and #ee are two
 views in this more western region4     
,still  further west1 in ,szechwan      
province1 is the ,chengtu plain1 thirty 
by  seventy miles1 with what has been   
called the most remarkable  irrigation  
system in ,china4    ,westward beyond   
the limits of the sketch map1 up the    
,hwang ho  valley1 there is a reach of  
#abe miles of irrigated lands about     
,ninghaifu1 and others still farther    
west1 at ,lanchowfu and at ,suchow      
where the river has attained an         

elevation of #e1jjj feet1 in ,kansu     
province2 and there is still to be named
 the great ,canton delta  region4 ,a    
conservative estimate would place the   
miles of canals and  leveed rivers in   
,china1 ,korea and ,japan equal to eight
 times the  number represented in ,fig4 
#eb4 ,fully #bjj1jjj miles in all4      
,forty  canals across the ,united       
,states from east to west and sixty from
  north to south would not equal1 in    
number of miles those in these  three   
countries today4 ,indeed1 it is probable
 that this estimate is  not too large   
for ,china alone4    ,as adjuncts to    
these vast canalization works there have
 been  enormous amounts of embankment1  
dike and levee construction4 ,more  than
 three hundred miles of sea wall alone  
exist in the area covered  by the sketch
 map1 ,fig4 #eb4 ,the east bank of the  
,grand ,canal1  between ,yangchow and   
,hwaianfu1 is itself a great levee1     
holding back  the waters to the west    
above the eastern plain1 diverting them 

south1 into the ,yangtse kiang4 ,but it 
is also provided with  spillways for use
 in times of excessive flood1 permitting
 waters to  discharge eastward4 ,such   
excess waters however are controlled by 
another dike with canal along its west  
side1 some forty miles to the  east1    
impounding the water in a series of     
large lakes until it may  gradually     
drain away4 ,this area is seen in ,fig4 
#ec1 north of the  ,yangtse river4      
,along the banks of the ,yangtse1 and   
for many miles along the ,hwang  ho1    
great levees have been built1 some-times
 in reinforcing series  of two or three 
at different distances back from the    
channel where  the stream bed is above  
the adjacent country1 in order to       
prevent  widespread disaster and to     
limit the inundated areas in times of   
unusual flood4 ,in the province of      
,hupeh1 where the ,han river flows      
through two hundred miles of low        
country1 this stream is diked on  both  
sides throughout the whole distance1 and

 in a portion of its  course the height 
of the levees reaches thirty feet or    
more4 ,again1  in the ,canton delta     
region there are other hundreds of miles
 of sea  wall and dikes1 so that the    
aggregate mileage of this type of       
construction works in the ,empire can   
only be measured in thousands  of miles4
    ,in addition to the canal and levee 
construction works there are  numerous  
impounding reservoirs which are brought 
into requisition to  control overflow   
waters from the great streams4 ,some of 
these  reservoirs1 like ,tungting lake  
in ,hupeh and ,poyang in ,hunan1 have   
areas of #b1jjj and #a1hjj square miles 
respectively and during the  heaviest   
rainy seasons each may rise through     
twenty to thirty feet1  ,then there are 
other large and small lakes in the      
coastal plain  giving an aggregate      
reservoir area exceeding #ac1jjj square 
miles1  all of which are brought into   
service in controlling flood waters1    
all of which are steadily filling with  

the sediments brought from  the far away
 uncultivable mountain slopes and which 
are ultimately  destined to become rich 
alluvial plains1 doubtless to be        
canalized  in the manner we have seen4  
,there is still another phase of these  
vast construction works which  has been 
of the greatest moment in increasing the
 maintenance  capacity of the           
,empire1--the wresting from the flood   
waters of the  enormous volumes of silt 
which they carry1 depositing it over the
  flooded areas1 in the canals and along
 the shores in such manner as  to add to
 the habitable and cultivable land4     
,reference has been made  to the rapid  
growth of ,chungming island in the mouth
 of the ,yangtse  kiang1 and the million
 people now finding homes on the #bgj   
square  miles of newly made land which  
now has its canals1 as may be seen in   
the upper margin of ,fig4 #eb4 ,the city
 of ,shanghai1 as its name  signifies1  
stood originally on the seashore1 which 
has now grown  twenty miles to the      

northward and to the eastward4 ,in #bbj 
,b4 ,c4 the  town of ,putai in ,shantung
 stood one-third of a mile from the sea1
  but in #agcj it was forty-seven miles 
inland1 and is forty-eight  miles from  
the shore today4    ,sienshuiku1 on the 
,pei ho1 stood upon the seashore in #ejj
 ,a4 ,d4 ,we  passed the city1 on our   
way to ,tientsin1 eighteen miles inland4
 ,the  dotted line laid in from the     
coast of the ,gulf of ,chihli in ,fig4  
#ec  marks one historic shore line and  
indicates a general growth of land      
eighteen miles to seaward4    ,besides  
these actual extensions of the shore    
lines the centuries of  flooding of     
lakes and low lying lands has so filled 
many depressions  as to convert large   
areas of swamp into cultivated fields4  
,not only  this1 but the spreading of   
canal mud broadcast over the encircled  
fields has had two very important       
effects1--namely1 raising the  level of 
the low lying fields1 giving them better
 drainage and so  better physical       

condition1 and adding new plant food in 
the form of  virgin soil of the richest 
type1 thus contributing to the          
maintenance of soil fertility1 high     
maintenance capacity and  permanent     
agriculture through all the centuries4  
,these operations of maintenance and    
improvement had a very early  inception2
 they appear to have persisted          
throughout the recorded  history of the 
,empire and are in vogue today4 ,canals 
of the type  illustrated in ,figs4 #ea  
and #eb have been built between #ahhf   
and  #aija1 both on the extensions of   
,chungming island and the newly  formed 
main land to the north1 as is shown by  
comparison of  ,stieler's atlas1 revised
 in #ahhf1 with the recent ,german      
survey4    ,earlier than #bbee ,b4 ,c41 
more than #dajj years ago1 ,emperor ,yao
  appointed ,the ,great ,yu             
,superintendent of ,works and entrusted 
him  with the work of draining off the  
waters of disastrous floods and of      
canalizing the rivers1 and he devoted   

thirteen years to this work4  ,this     
great engineer is said to have written  
several treatises on  agriculture and   
drainage1 and was finally called1 much  
against his  wishes1 to serve as        
,emperor during the last seven years of 
his life4    ,the history of the ,hwang 
ho is one of disastrous floods and      
shiftings of its course1 which have     
occurred many times in the years  since 
before the time of the ,great ,yu1 who  
perhaps began the works  perpetuated    
today4 ,between #acjj ,a4 ,d4 and #aheb 
the ,hwang ho emptied  into the ,yellow 
,sea south of the highlands of          
,shantung1 but in that  year1 when in   
unusual flood1 it broke through the     
north levees and  finally took its      
present course1 emptying again into the 
,gulf of  ,chihli1 some three hundred   
miles further north4 ,some of these     
shiftings of course of the ,hwang ho and
 of the ,yangtse kiang are  indicated in
 dotted lines on the sketch map1 ,fig4  
#ec1 where it may  he seen that the     

,hwang ho during #adf years1 poured its 
waters into  the sea as far north as    
,tientsin1 through the mouth of the ,pei
 ho1  four hundred miles to the         
northward of its mouth in #aheb4        
,this mighty river is said to carry at  
low stage1 past the city of  ,tsinan in 
,shantung1 no less than #d1jjj cubic    
yards of water per  second1 and three   
times this volume when running at flood4
 ,this is  water sufficient to inundate 
thirty-three square miles of level      
country ten feet deep in twenty-four    
hours4 ,what must be said of the  mental
 status of a people who for forty       
centuries have measured  their strength 
against such a ,titan racing past their 
homes above  the level of their fields1 
confined only between walls of their own
  construction8 ,while they have not    
always succeeded in controlling  the    
river1 they have never failed to try    
again4 ,in #ahgg this river  broke its  
banks1 inundating a vast4 area1 bringing
 death to a  million people4 ,again1 as 

late as #ahih1 fifteen hundred villages 
to  the northeast of ,tsinan and a much 
larger area to the southwest of  the    
same city were devastated by it1 and it 
is such events as these  which have won 
for the river the names ,china's        
,sorrow1 ,the  ,ungovernable and ,the   
,scourge of the ,sons of ,han4    ,the  
building of the ,grand ,canal appears to
 have been a comparatively  recent event
 in ,chinese history4 ,the middle       
section1 between the  ,yangtse and      
,tsingkiangpu1 is said to have been     
constructed about the  sixth century ,b4
 ,c42 the southern section1 between     
,chingkiang and  ,hangchow1 during the  
years #fje to #fag ,a4 ,d42 but the     
northern  section1 from the channel of  
the ,hwang ho deserted in #aheb1 to     
,tientsin1 was not built until the years
 #abhj-abhc4    ,while this canal has   
been called by the ,chinese ,yu ho      
7,imperial  river71 ,yun ho 7,transport 
river7 or ,yunliang ho 7,tribute bearing
  river7 and while it has connected the 

great rivers coming down from  the far  
interior into a great water-transport   
system1 this feature  of construction   
may have been but a by-product of the   
great  dominating purpose which led to  
the vast internal improvements in  the  
form of canals1 dikes1 levees and       
impounding reservoirs so  widely        
scattered1 so fully developed and so    
effectively utilized4  ,rather the      
master purpose must have been           
maintenance for the  increasing flood of
 humanity4 ,and ,i am willing to grant  
to the ,great  ,yu1 with his finger on  
the pulse of the nation1 the power to   
project  his vision four thousand years 
into the future of his race and to      
formulate some of the measures which    
might he inaugurated to grow  with the  
years and make certain perpetual        
maintenance for those to  follow4       
,the exhaustion of cultivated fields    
must always have been the most          
fundamental1 vital and difficult problem
 of all civilized people and  it appears

 clear that such canalization as is     
illustrated in ,figs4  #ea and #eb may  
have been primarily initial steps in the
 reclamation  of delta and overflow     
lands4 ,at any rate1 whether            
deliberately so  planned or not1 the    
canalization of the delta and overflow  
plains of  ,china has been one of the   
most fundamental and fruitful measures  
for  the conservation of her national   
resources that they could have  taken1  
for we are convinced that this oldest   
nation in the world has  thus greatly   
augmented the extension of its coastal  
plains1  conserving and building out of 
the waste of erosion wrested from the   
great streams1 hundreds of square miles 
of the richest and most  enduring of    
soils1 and we have little doubt that    
were a full and  accurate account given 
of human influence upon the changes in  
this  remarkable region during the last 
four thousand years it would show  that 
these gigantic systems of canalization  
have been matters of  slow1 gradual     

growth1 often initiated and always      
profoundly  influenced by the labors of 
the strong1 patient1 persevering1       
thoughtful but ever silent husband-men  
in their efforts to acquire  homes and  
to maintain the productive power of     
their fields4    ,nothing appears more  
clear than that the greatest material   
problem  which can engage the best      
thought of ,china today is that of      
perfecting1 extending and perpetuating  
the means for controlling her  flood    
waters1 for better draining of her vast 
areas of low land1 and  for utilizing   
the tremendous loads of silt borne by   
her streams more  effectively in        
fertilizing existing fields and in      
building and  reclaiming new land4 ,with
 her millions of people needing homes   
and  anxious for work2 who have done so 
much in land building1 in  reclamation  
and in the maintenance of soil          
fertility1 the government  should give  
serious thought to the possibility of   
putting large  numbers of them at work1 

effectively directed by the best        
engineering skill4 ,it must now be      
entirely practicable1 with  engineering 
skill and mechanical appliances1 to put 
the ,hwang ho1  and other rivers of     
,china subject to overflow1 completely  
under  control4 ,with the ,hwang ho     
confined to its channel1 the adjacent   
low  lands can be better drained by     
canalization and freed from the         
accumulating saline deposits which are  
rendering them sterile4  ,warping may be
 resorted to during the flood season to 
raise the  level of adjacent low-lying  
fields1 rendering them at the same time 
more fertile4 ,where the river is       
running above the adjacent plains  there
 is no difficulty in drawing off the    
turbid water by gravity1  under         
controlled conditions1 into diked       
basins1 and even in  compelling the     
river to buttress its own levees4 ,there
 is certainly  great need and great     
opportunity for ,china to make still    
better and  more efficient her already  

wonderful transportation canals and     
those  devoted to drainage1 irrigation  
and fertilization4    ,in the ,united   
,states1 along the same lines1 now that 
we are  considering the development of  
inland waterways1 the subject should  be
 surveyed broadly and much careful study
 may well be given to the  works these  
old people have developed and found     
serviceable through  so many centuries4 
,the ,mississippi is annually bearing to
 the sea  nearly #bbe1jjj acre-feet of  
the most fertile sediment1 and between  
levees along a raised bed through two   
hundred miles of country  subject to    
inundation4 ,the time is here when there
 should he  undertaken a systematic     
diversion of a large part of this       
fertile  soil over the swamp areas1     
building them into well drained1        
cultivable1 fertile fields provided with
 waterways to serve for  drainage1      
irrigation1 fertilization and           
transportation4 ,these great  areas of  
swamp land may thus be converted into   

the most productive  rice and sugar     
plantations to be found anywhere in the 
world1 and  the area made capable of    
maintaining many millions of people as  
long  as the ,mississippi endures1      
bearing its burden of fertile sediment4 
,but the conservation and utilization of
 the wastes of soil erosion1  as applied
 in the delta plain of ,china1          
stupendous as this work has  been1 is   
nevertheless small when measured by the 
savings which  accrue from the careful  
and extensive fitting of fields so      
largely  practiced1 which both lessens  
soil erosion and permits a large  amount
 of soluble and suspended matter in the 
run-off to be applied  to1 and retained 
upon1 the fields through their extensive
 systems of  irrigation4 ,mountainous   
and hilly as are the lands of ,japan1   
#aa1jjj  square miles of her cultivated 
fields in the main islands of ,honshu1  
,kyushu and ,shikoku have been carefully
 graded to water level areas  bounded by
 narrow raised rims upon which sixteen  

or more inches of  run-off water1 with  
its suspended and soluble matters1 may  
be  applied1 a large part of which is   
retained on the fields or utilized  by  
the crop1 while surface erosion is      
almost completely prevented4  ,the      
illustrations1 ,figs4 #aa1 #ab and #ac  
show the application of the  principle  
to the larger and more level fields1 and
 in ,figs4 #aea1 #aeb  and #bbe may be  
seen the practice on steep slopes4      
,if the total area of fields graded     
practically to a water level in  ,japan 
aggregates #aa1jjj square miles1 the    
total area thus surface  fitted in      
,china must be eight or tenfold this    
amount4 ,such enormous  field erosion as
 is tolerated at the present time in our
 southern  and south ,atlantic states is
 permitted nowhere in the ,far ,east1 so
  far as we observed1 not even where the
 topography is much steeper4  ,the tea  
orchards as we saw them on the steeper  
slopes1 not  level-terraced1 are often  
heavily mulched with straw which makes  

erosion1 even by heavy rains impossible1
 while the treatment retains  the rain  
where it falls1 giving the soil         
opportunity to receive it  under the    
impulse of both capillarity and gravity1
 and with it the  soluble ash           
ingredients leached from the straw4 ,the
 straw mulches we  saw used in this     
manner were often six to eight inches   
deep1 thus  constituting a dressing of  
not less than six tons per acre1        
carrying  #adj pounds of soluble        
potassium and #ab pounds of phosphorus4 
,the  practice1 therefore1 gives at once
 a good fertilizing1 the highest        
conservation and utilization of         
rainfall1 and a complete protection     
against soil erosion4 ,it is a multum in
 parvo treatment which  characterizes so
 many of the practices of these people1 
which have  crystallized from twenty    
centuries of high tension experience4   
,in the ,kiangsu and ,chekiang provinces
 as elsewhere in the densely  populated 
portions of the ,far ,east1 we found    

almost all of the  cultivated fields    
very nearly level or made so by grading4
 ,instances  showing the type of this   
grading in a comparatively level country
  are seen in ,figs4 #ef and #eg4 ,by   
this preliminary surface fitting of  the
 fields these people have reduced to the
 lowest possible limit  the waste of    
soil fertility by erosion and surface   
leaching4 ,at the  same time they are   
able to retain upon the field1 uniformly
  distributed over it1 the largest part 
of the rainfall practicable1  and to    
compel a much larger proportion of the  
necessary run off to  leave by          
under-drainage than would be possible   
otherwise1 conveying  the plant food    
developed in the surface soil to the    
roots of the  crops1 while they make    
possible a more complete absorption and 
retention by the soil of the soluble    
plant food materials not taken  up4     
,this same treatment also furnishes the 
best possible conditions  for the       
application of water to the fields when 

supplemental  irrigation would be       
helpful1 and for the withdrawal of      
surplus  rainfall by surface drainage1  
should this be necessary4    ,besides   
this surface fitting of fields there is 
a wide application  of additional       
methods aiming to conserve both rainfall
 and soil  fertility1 one of which is   
illustrated in ,fig4 #eh1 showing one   
end  of a collecting reservoir4 ,there  
were three of these reservoirs in       
tandem1 connected with each other by    
surface ditches and with an  adjoining  
canal4 ,about the reservoir the level   
field is seen to be  thrown into beds   
with shallow furrows between the long   
narrow  ridges4 ,the furrows are        
connected by a head drain around the    
margin  of the reservoir and separated  
from it by a narrow raised rim4 ,such  a
 reservoir may be six to ten feet deep  
but can be completely  drained only by  
pumping or by evaporation during the dry
 season4  ,into such reservoirs the     
excess surface water is drained where   

all  suspended matter carried from the  
field collects and is returned1  either 
directly as an application of mud or as 
material used in  composts4 ,in the     
preparation of composts1 pits are dug   
near the  margin of the reservoir1 as   
seen in the illustration1 and into them 
are thrown coarse manure and any        
roughage in the form of stubble or      
other refuse which may be available1    
these materials being saturated  with   
the soft mud dipped from the bottom of  
the reservoir4    ,in all of the        
provinces where canals are abundant they
 also serve as  reservoirs for          
collecting surface washings and along   
their banks  great numbers of compost   
pits are maintained and repeatedly      
filled  during the season1 for use on   
the fields as the crops are changed4    
,fig4 #ei shows two such pits on the    
bank of a canal1 already filled4    ,in 
other cases1 as in the ,shantung        
province1 illustrated in ,fig4 #fj1  the
 surface of the field may be thrown into

 broad leveled lands  separated and     
bounded by deep and wide trenches into  
which the  excess water of very heavy   
rains may collect4 ,as we saw them there
  was no provision for draining the     
trenches and the water thus  collected  
either seeps away or evaporates1 or it  
may be returned in  part by underflow   
and capillary rise to the soil from     
which it was  collected1 or be applied  
directly for irrigation by pumping4 ,in 
this  province the rains may often be   
heavy but the total fall for the  year  
is small1 being little more than        
twenty-four inches hence there  is the  
greatest need for its conservation1 and 
this is carefully  practiced4           
,,vi    ,,some ,,customs ,,of ,,the     
,,common  ,,people            ,the ,tosa
 ,maru brought us again into ,shanghai  
,march #bjth1 just in  time for the     
first letters from home4 ,a ricksha man 
carried us and  our heavy valise at a   
smart trot from the dock to the ,astor  
,house  more than a mile1 for #h4f      

cents1 ,u4 ,s4 currency1 and more than  
the  conventional price for the service 
rendered4 ,on our way we passed  several
 loaded carryalls of the type seen in   
,fig4 #fa1 on which women  were riding  
for a fare one-tenth that we had paid1  
but at a slower  pace and with many a   
jolt4    ,the ringing chorus which came 
loud and clear when yet half a block    
away announced that the pile drivers    
were still at work on the  foundation   
for an annex to the ,astor ,house1 and  
so were they on ,may  #bgth when we     
returned from the ,shantung province1   
#hh days after we  saw them first1 but  
with the task then practically          
completed4 ,had  the eighteen men       
labored continuously through this       
interval1 the  cost of their services to
 the contractor would have been but     
#bje4ib4 ,with these conditions the     
engine-driven pile driver could  not    
compete4 ,all ordinary labor here       
receives a low wage4 ,in the  ,chekiang 
province farm labor employed by the year

 received #cj and  board1 ten years ago1
 but now is receiving #ej4 ,this is at  
the rate  of about #ab4ij and #ba4ej1   
gold1 materially less than there is paid
  per month in the ,united ,states4 ,at 
,tsingtao in the ,shantung province  a  
missionary was paying a ,chinese cook   
ten dollars per month1 a man  for       
general work nine dollars per month1 and
 the cook's wife1 for  doing the mending
 and other family service1 two dollars  
per month1  all living at home and      
feeding themselves4 ,this service       
rendered for  #i4jc1 gold1 per month    
covers the marketing1 all care of the   
garden  and lawn as well as all the work
 in the house4 ,missionaries in ,china  
find such servants reliable and         
satisfactory1 and trust them with  the  
purse and the marketing for the table1  
finding them not only  honest but far   
better at a bargain and at economical   
selection than  themselves4    ,we had a
 soil tube made in the shops of a large 
,english ship  building and repair firm1

 employing many hundred ,chinese as     
mechanics1 using the most modern and    
complex machinery1 and the  foreman     
stated that as soon as the men could    
understand well enough  to take orders  
they were even better shop hands than   
the average in  ,scotland and ,england4 
,an educated ,chinese booking clerk at  
the  ,soochow railway station in        
,kiangsu province was receiving a salary
  of #aj4ge1 gold1 per month4 ,we had   
inquired the way to the ,elizabeth      
,blake hospital and he volunteered to   
escort us and did so1 the  distance     
being over a mile4    ,he would accept  
no compensation1 and yet ,i was an      
entire stranger1  without introduction  
of any kind4 ,everywhere we went in     
,china1 the  laboring people appeared   
generally happy and contented if they   
have  something to do1 and showed       
clearly that they were well nourished4  
,the industrial classes are thoroughly  
organized1 having had their  guilds or  
labor unions for centuries and it is not

 at all uncommon  for a laborer who is  
known to have violated the rules of his 
guild  to be summarily dealt with or    
even to disappear without questions     
being asked4 ,in going among the people1
 away from the lines of  tourist travel1
 one gets the impression that everybody 
is busy or is  in the harness ready to  
be busy4 ,tramps of our hobo type have  
few  opportunities here and we doubt if 
one exists in either of these           
countries4 ,there are people physically 
disabled who are asking alms  and there 
are organized charities to help them1   
but in proportion to  the total         
population these appear to be fewer than
 in ,america or  ,europe4 ,the gathering
 of unfortunates and habitual beggars   
about  public places frequented by      
people of leisure and means naturally   
leads tourists to a wrong judgment      
regarding the extent of these  social   
conditions4 ,nowhere among these densely
 crowded people1  either ,chinese1      
,japanese or ,korean1 did we see one    

intoxicated1 but  among ,americans and  
,europeans many instances were observed4
 ,all  classes and both sexes use       
tobacco and the ,british-,american      
,tobacco  ,company does a business in   
,china amounting to millions of dollars 
annually4    ,during five months among  
these people we saw but two children in 
a  quarrel4 ,the two little boys were   
having their trouble on ,nanking  road1 
,shanghai1 where1 grasping each other's 
pigtails1 they tussled  with a vengeance
 until the mother of one came and parted
 their ways4    ,among the most frequent
 sights in the city streets are the     
itinerant  vendors of hot foods and     
confections4 ,stove1 fuel1 supplies and 
appliances may all be carried on the    
shoulders1 swinging from a  bamboo pole4
 ,the mother in ,fig4 #fc was quite     
likely thus supporting  her family and  
the children are seen at lunch1 dressed 
in the blue  and white calico prints so 
generally worn by the young4 ,the       
printing  of this calico by the very    

ancient1 simple yet effective method we 
witnessed in the farm village along the 
canal seen in ,fig4 #aj4 ,this  art1 as 
with so many others in ,china1 was the  
inheritance of the  family we saw at    
work1 handed down to them through many  
generations4  ,the printer was standing 
at a rough work bench upon which a large
  heavy stone in cubical form served as 
a weight to hold in place a  thoroughly 
lacquered sheet of tough cardboard in   
which was cut the  pattern to appear in 
white on the cloth4 ,beside the stone   
stood a  pot of thick paste prepared    
from a mixture of lime and soy bean     
flour4 ,the soy beans were being ground 
in one corner of the same  room by a    
diminutive edition of such an outfit as 
seen in ,fig4 #fd4  ,the donkey was     
working in his permanent abode and      
whenever off duty  he halted before     
manger and feed4 ,at the operator's     
right lay a bolt  of white cotton cloth 
fixed to unroll and pass under the      
stencil1  held stationary by the heavy  

weight4 ,to print1 the stencil was      
raised and the cloth brought to place   
under it4 ,the paste was then  deftly   
spread with a paddle over the surface   
and thus upon the cloth  beneath        
wherever exposed through the openings in
 the stencil4 ,this  completes the      
printing of the pattern on one section  
of the bolt of  cloth4 ,the free end of 
the stencil is then raised1 the cloth   
passed  along the proper distance by    
hand and the stencil dropped in place   
for the next application4 ,the paste is 
permitted to dry upon the  cloth and    
when the bolt has been dipped into the  
blue dye the  portions protected by the 
paste remain white4 ,in this simple     
manner  has the printing of calico been 
done for centuries for the garments  of 
millions of children4 ,from the ceiling 
of the drying room in this  printery of 
olden times were hanging some hundreds  
of stencils  bearing different patterns4
 ,in our great calico mills1 printing   
hundreds of yards per minute1 the       

mechanics and the chemistry differ  only
 in detail of application and in        
dispatch1 not in fundamental  principle4
    ,in almost any direction we traveled
 outside the city1 in the  pleasant     
mornings when the air was still1 the    
laying of warp for  cotton cloth could  
be seen1 to be woven later in the       
country homes4  ,we saw this work in    
progress many times and in many places  
in the  early morning1 usually along    
some roadside or open place1 as seen in 
,fig4 #fe1 but never later in the day4  
,when the warp is laid each will  be    
rolled upon its stretcher and removed to
 the house to be woven4    ,in many     
places in ,kiangsu province batteries of
 the large dye pits  were seen sunk in  
the fields and lined with cement4 ,these
 were six  to eight feet in diameter and
 four to five feet deep4 ,in one case   
observed there were nine pits in the    
set4 ,some of the pits were  neatly     
sheltered beneath live arbors1 as       
represented in ,fig4 #ff4 ,but  much of 

this spinning1 weaving1 dyeing and      
printing of late years is  being        
displaced by the cheaper calicos of     
foreign make and most of  the dye pits  
we saw were not now used for this       
purpose1 the two in  the illustration   
serving as manure receptacles4 ,our     
interpreter  stated however that there  
is a growing dissatisfaction with       
foreign  goods on account of their lack 
of durability2 and we saw many cases    
where the cloth dyed blue was being     
dried in large quantities on the  grave 
lands4    ,in another home for nearly an
 hour we observed a method of beating   
cotton and of laying it to serve as the 
body for mattresses and the  coverlets  
for beds4 ,this we could do without     
intrusion because the  home was also the
 work shop and opened full width        
directly upon the  narrow street4 ,the  
heavy wooden shutters which closed the  
home at  night were serving as a work   
bench about seven feet square1 laid     
upon movable supports4 ,there was barely

 room to work between it and  the       
sidewalk without impeding traffic1 and  
on the three other sides  there was a   
floor space three or four feet wide4 ,in
 the rear sat  grandmother and wife     
while in and out the four younger       
children were  playing4 ,occupying the  
two sides of the room were receptacles  
filled  with raw cotton and appliances  
for the work4 ,there may have been a    
kitchen and sleeping room behind but no 
door1 as such1 was visible4  ,the       
finished mattresses1 carefully rolled   
and wrapped in paper1 were  suspended   
from the ceiling4 ,on the improvised    
work table1 with its  top two feet above
 the floor1 there had been laid in the  
morning  before our visit1 a mass of    
soft white cotton more than six feet    
square and fully twelve inches deep4 ,on
 opposite sides of this table  the      
father and his son1 of twelve years1    
each twanged the string of  their heavy 
bamboo bows1 snapping the lint from the 
wads of cotton  and flinging it         

broadcast in an even layer over the     
surface of the  growing mattress1 the   
two strings the while emitting tones    
pitched  far below the hum of the       
bumblebee4 ,the heavy bow was steadied  
by a  cord secured around the body of   
the operator1 allowing him to manage  it
 with one hand and to move readily      
around his work in a manner  different  
from the custom of the ,japanese seen in
 ,fig4 #fg4 ,by this  means the lint was
 expeditiously plucked and skillfully   
and  uniformly laid1 the twanging being 
effected by an appliance similar  to    
that used in ,japan4    ,repeatedly1    
taken in small bits from the barrel of  
cotton1 the lint  was distributed over  
the entire surface with great dexterity 
and  uniformity1 the mattress growing   
upward with perfectly vertical  sides1  
straight edges and square corners4 ,in  
this manner a  thoroughly uniform       
texture is secured which compresses into
 a body  of even thickness1 free from   
hard places4    ,the next step in       

building the mattress is even more      
simple and  expeditious4 ,a basket of   
long bobbins of roughly spun cotton was 
near the grandmother and probably her   
handiwork4 ,the father took  from the   
wall a slender bamboo rod like a        
fish-pole1 six feet long1  and selecting
 one of the spools1 threaded the strand 
through an eye  in the small end4 ,with 
the pole and spool in one hand and the  
free  end of the thread1 passing through
 the eye1 in the other1 the father      
reached the thread across the mattress  
to the boy who hooked his  finger over  
it1 carrying it to one edge of the bed  
of cotton4 ,while  this was doing the   
father had whipped the pole back to his 
side and  caught the thread over his own
 finger1 bringing this down upon the    
cotton opposite his son4 ,there was thus
 laid a double strand1 but  the pole    
continued whipping hack and forth across
 the bed1 father  and son catching the  
threads and bringing them to place on   
the  cotton at the rate of forty to     

fifty courses per minute1 and in a  very
 short time the entire surface of the   
mattress had been laid  with double     
strands4 ,a heavy bamboo roller was next
 laid across the  strands at the middle1
 passed carefully to one side1 back     
again to  the middle and then to the    
other edge4 ,another layer of threads   
was  then laid diagonally and this      
similarly pressed with the same  roller2
 then another diagonally the other way  
and finally straight  across in both    
directions4 ,a similar network of       
strands had been  laid upon the table   
before spreading the cotton4 ,next a    
flat  bottomed1 circular1 shallow       
basket-like form two feet in diameter   
was used to gently compress the material
 from twelve to six inches  in          
thickness4 ,the woven threads were now  
turned over the edge of the  mattress on
 all sides and sewed down1 after which1 
by means of two  heavy solid wooden     
disks eighteen inches in diameter1      
father and son  compressed the cotton   

until the thickness was reduced to three
  inches4 ,there remained the task of   
carefully folding and wrapping  the     
finished piece in oiled paper and of    
suspending it from the  ceiling4    ,on 
,march #bjth1 when visiting the ,boone  
,road and ,nanking ,road markets  in    
,shanghai1 we had our first surprise    
regarding the extent to which           
vegetables enter into the daily diet of 
the ,chinese4 ,we had observed  long    
processions of wheelbarrow men moving   
from the canals through  the streets    
carrying large loads of the green tips  
of rape in  bundles a foot long and five
 inches in diameter4 ,these had come    
from  the country on boats each carrying
 tons of the succulent leaves and       
stems4 ,we had counted as many as fifty 
wheelbarrow men passing a  given point  
on the street in quick succession1 each 
carrying #cjj to  #ejj pounds of the    
green rape and moving so rapidly that it
 was not  easy to keep pace with them1  
as we learned in following one of the   

trains during twenty minutes to its     
destination4 ,during this time  not a   
man in the train halted or slackened his
 pace4    ,this rape is very extensively
 grown in the fields1 the tips of the   
stems cut when tender and eaten1 after  
being boiled or steamed1  after the     
manner of cabbage4 ,very large          
quantities are also packed  with salt in
 the proportion of about twenty pounds  
of salt to one  hundred pounds of the   
rape4 ,this1 ,fig4 #fh1 and many other  
vegetables  are sold thus pickled and   
used as relishes with rice1 which       
invariably is cooked and served without 
salt or other seasoning4    ,another    
field crop very extensively grown for   
human food1 and partly  as a source of  
soil nitrogen1 is closely allied to our 
alfalfa4 ,this  is the ,medicago        
astragalus1 two beds of which are seen  
in ,fig4 #fi4  ,tender tips of the stems
 are gathered before the stage of       
blossoming  is reached and served as    
food after boiling or steaming4 ,it is  

known  among the foreigners as ,chinese 
clover4 ,the stems are also cooked  and 
then dried for use when the crop is out 
of season4 ,when picked  very young1    
wealthy ,chinese families pay an extra  
high price for the  tender shoots1      
sometimes as much as #bj to #bh cents1  
our currency1  per pound4    ,the       
markets are thronged with people making 
their purchases in the  early mornings1 
and the congested condition1 with the   
great variety  of vegetables1 makes it  
almost as impressive a sight as         
,billingsgate  fish market in ,london4  
,in the following table we give a list  
of  vegetables observed there and the   
prices at which they were selling4      
----------------------------------------
-------------------  ,,list ,,of        
,,vegetables ,,displayed ,,for ,,sale   
,,in ,,boone ,,road ,,market1           
,,shanghai1 ,,april #f,,th1 #aijj1      
,,with ,,prices ,,expressed             
,,in ,u4 ,s4 ,,currency4--              
----------------------------------------

-----------------                       
,cents     ,lotus roots1 per lb4        
#a4fj     ,bamboo sprouts1 per lb4      
#f4dj     ,english cabbage1 per lb4     
#a4cc     ,olive greens1 per lb4        
4#fg     ,white greens1 per lb4         
4#cc     ,tee ,tsai1 per lb4            
4#ec     ,chinese celery1 per lb4       
4#fg     ,chinese clover1 per lb4       
4#eh     ,chinese clover1 very young1   
lb4     #ba4cc     ,oblong white        
cabbage1 per lb4        #b4jj     ,red  
beans1 per lb4                   #a4cc  
,yellow beans1 per lb4                  
#a4hg     ,peanuts1 per lb4             
#b4di     ,ground nuts1 per lb4         
#b4if     ,cucumbers1 per lb4           
#b4eh     ,green pumpkin1 per lb4       
#a4fb     ,maize1 shelled1 per lb4      
#a4jj     ,windsor beans1 dry1 per lb4  
#a4gb     ,french lettuce1 per head     
4#dd     ,hau ,tsai1 per head           
4#hg     ,cabbage lettuce1 per head     
4#bb     ,kale1 per lb4                 
#a4fj     ,rape1 per lb4                

4#bc     ,portuguese water cress1 basket
       #b4ae     ,shang tsor1 basket    
#h4fj     ,carrots1 per lb4             
4#ig     ,string beans2 per lb4         
#a4fj     ,irish potatoes1 per lb4      
#a4fj     ,red onions1 per lb4          
#d4if     ,long white turnips1 per lb4  
4#dd     ,flat string beans1 per lb4    
#d4hj     ,small white turnips1 bunch   
4#dd     ,onion stems1 per lb4          
#a4bi     ,lima beans1 green1 shelled1  
lb4      #f4de     ,egg plants1 per lb4 
#d4cj     ,tomatoes1 per lb4            
#e4af     ,small flat turnips1 per lb4  
4#hf     ,small red beets1 per lb4      
#a4bi     ,artichokes1 per lb4          
#a4bi     ,white beans1 dry1 per lb4    
#d4hj     ,radishes1 per lb4            
#a4bi     ,garlic1 per lb4              
#b4ae     ,kohl rabi1 per lb4           
#b4ae     ,mint1 per lb4                
#d4cj     ,leeks1 per lb4               
#b4ah     ,large celery1 bleached1 bunch
        #b4aj     ,sprouted peas1 per   
lb4                4#hj     ,sprouted   

beans1 per lb4               4#ic       
,parsnips1 per lb4                      
#a4bi     ,ginger roots1 per lb4        
#a4fj     ,water chestnuts1 per lb4     
#a4cc     ,large sweet potatoes1 per lb4
        #a4cc     ,small sweet potatoes1
 per lb4        #a4jj     ,onion        
sprouts1 per lb4               #b4ac    
,spinach1 per lb4                       
#a4jj     ,fleshy stemmed lettuce1      
peeled1       per lb4                   
#b4jj     ,fleshy stemmed lettuce1      
unpeeled1       per lb4                 
4#fg     ,bean curd1 per lb4            
#c4ic     ,shantung walnuts1 per lb4    
#d4cj     ,duck eggs1 dozen             
#h4cd     ,hen's eggs1 dozen            
#g4cj     ,goat's meat1 per lb4         
#f4de     ,pork1 per lb4                
#f4hh     ,hens1 live weight1 per lb4   
#f4de     ,ducks1 live weight1 per lb4  
#e4ei     ,cockerels1 live weight1 per  
lb4      #e4ei--                        
----------------------------------------
-----------------      ,this long list1 

made up chiefly of fresh vegetables     
displayed for  sale on one market day1  
is by no means complete4 ,the record is 
only  such as was made in passing down  
one side and across one end of the      
market occupying nearly one city block4 
,nearly everything is sold by  weight   
and the problem of correct weights is   
effectively solved by  each purchaser   
carrying his own scales1 which he       
unhesitatingly uses  in the presence of 
the dealer4 ,these scales are made on   
the pattern  of the old time steelyards 
but from slender rods of wood or bamboo 
provided with a scale and sliding poise1
 the suspensions all being  made with   
strings4    ,we stood by through the    
purchasing of two cockerels and the     
dickering over their weight4 ,a dozen   
live birds were under cover in  a large1
 open-work basket4 ,the customer took   
out the birds one by  one1 examining    
them by touch1 finally selecting two1   
the price being  named4 ,these the      
dealer tied together by their feet and  

weighed  them1 announcing the result2   
whereupon the customer checked the      
statement with his own scales4 ,an      
animated dialogue followed1  punctuated 
with many gesticulations and with the   
customer tossing  the birds into the    
basket and turning to go away while the 
dealer  grew more earnest4 ,the         
purchaser finally turned back1 and again
  balancing the roosters upon his       
scales1 called a bystander to read  the 
weight1 and then flung them in apparent 
disdain at the dealer1  who caught them 
and placed them in the customer's       
basket4 ,the storm  subsided and the    
dealer accepted #ib;c1 ,mexican1 for the
 two birds4  ,they were good sized      
roosters and must have dressed more than
 three  pounds each1 yet for the two he 
paid less than #dj cents in our         
currency4    ,bamboo sprouts are very   
generally used in ,china1 ,korea and    
,japan and  when one sees them growing  
they suggest giant stalks of asparagus1 
some of them being three and even five  

inches in diameter and a foot  in height
 at the stage for cutting4 ,they are    
shipped in large  quantities from       
province to province where they do not  
grow or when  they are out of season4   
,those we saw in ,nagasaki referred to  
in ,fig4  #bb1 had come from ,canton or 
,swatow or possibly ,formosa4 ,the form1
  foliage and bloom of the bamboo give  
the most beautiful effects in  the      
landscape1 especially when grouped with 
tree forms4 ,they are  usually          
cultivated in small clumps about        
dwellings in places not  otherwise      
readily utilized1 as seen in ,fig4 #ff4 
,like the asparagus  bud1 the bamboo    
sprout grows to its full height between 
,april and  ,august1 even when it       
exceeds thirty or even sixty feet in    
height4  ,the buds spring from fleshy   
underground stems or roots whose stored 
nourishment permits this rapid growth1  
which in its earlier stages  may exceed 
twelve inches in twenty-four hours4 ,but
 while the full  size of the plant is   

attained the first season1 three or four
 years  are required to ripen and harden
 the wood sufficiently to make it       
suitable for the many uses to which the 
stems are put4 ,it would seem  that the 
time must come when some of the many    
forms of bamboo will  be introduced and 
largely grown in many parts of this     
country4    ,lotus roots form another   
article of diet largely used and widely 
cultivated from ,canton to ,tokyo4      
,these are seen in the lower section  of
 ,fig4 #gj1 and the plants in bloom in  
,fig4 #ga1 growing in water1  their     
natural habitat4 ,the lotus is grown in 
permanent ponds not  readily drained for
 rice or other crops1 and the roots are 
widely  shipped4    ,sprouted beans and 
peas of many kinds and the sprouts of   
other  vegetables1 such as onions1 are  
very generally seen in the markets  of  
both ,china and ,japan1 at least during 
the late winter and early  spring1 and  
are sold as foods1 having different     
flavors and  digestive qualities1 and no

 doubt with important advantageous      
effects in nutrition4    ,ginger is     
another4 crop which is very widely and  
extensively  cultivated4 ,it is         
generally displayed in the market in the
 root  form4 ,no one thing was more     
generally hawked about the streets of   
,china than the water chestnut4 ,this is
 a small corm or fleshy bulb  having the
 shape and size of a small onion4 ,boys 
pare them and sell  a dozen spitted     
together on slender sticks the length of
 a knitting  needle4 ,then there are the
 water caltropes1 grown in the canals   
producing a fruit resembling a horny nut
 having a shape which  suggests for them
 the name buffalo-horn4 ,still another  
plant1  known as water-grass            
7,hydropyrum latifolium7 is grown in    
,kiangsu  province where the land is too
 wet for rice4 ,the plant has a tender  
succulent crown of leaves and the       
peeling of the outer coarser ones  away 
suggests the husking of an ear of green 
corn4 ,the portion eaten  is the central

 tender new growth1 and when cooked     
forms a delicate  savory dish4 ,the     
farmers' selling price is three to four 
dollars1  ,mexican1 per hundred catty1  
or 4#ig to #a4bi per hundredweight1 and 
the return per acre is from #ac to #bj4 
,the small number of animal products    
which are included in the market  list  
given should not be taken as indicating 
the proportion of  animal to vegetable  
foods in the dietaries of these people4 
,it is  nevertheless true that they are 
vegetarians to a far higher degree  than
 are most western nations1 and the high 
maintenance efficiency  of the          
agriculture of ,china1 ,korea and ,japan
 is in great measure  rendered possible 
by the adoption of a diet so largely    
vegetarian4  ,hopkins1 in his ,soil     
,fertility and ,permanent ,agriculture1 
page #bcd1  makes this pointed statement
 of fact3 #ajjj bushels of grain has at 
least five times as much food value and 
will support five times as  many people 
as will the meat or milk that can be    

made from it4 ,he  also calls attention 
to the results of many ,rothamsted      
feeding  experiments with growing and   
fattening cattle1 sheep and swine1      
showing that the cattle destroyed       
outright1 in every #ajj pounds of  dry  
substance eaten1 #eg4c pounds1 this     
passing off into the air1 as  does all  
of wood except the ashes1 when burned in
 the stove2 they  left in the excrements
 #cf4e pounds1 and stored as increase   
but #f4b  pounds of the #ajj4 ,with     
sheep the corresponding figures were    
#fj4a  pounds2 #ca4i pounds and #h      
pounds2 and with swine they were #fe4g  
pounds2 #af4g pounds and #ag4f pounds4  
,but less than two-thirds of the        
substance stored in the animal can      
become food for man and hence we  get   
but four pounds in one hundred of the   
dry substances eaten by  cattle in the  
form of human food2 but five pounds from
 the sheep and  eleven pounds from      
swine4    ,in view of these relations1  
only recently established as scientific 

facts by rigid research1 it is          
remarkable that these very ancient      
people came long ago to discard cattle  
as milk and meat producers2  to use     
sheep more for their pelts and wool than
 for food2 while  swine are the one kind
 of the three classes which they did    
retain in  the role of middleman as     
transformers of coarse substances into  
human food4    ,it is clear that in the 
adoption of the succulent forms of      
vegetables as human food important      
advantages are gained4 ,at this  stage  
of maturity they have a higher          
digestibility1 thus making the          
elimination of the animal less          
difficult4 ,their nitrogen content is   
relatively higher and this in a measure 
compensates for loss of  meat4 ,by      
devoting the soil to growing vegetation 
which man can  directly digest they have
 saved #fj pounds per #ajj of absolute  
waste  by the animal1 returning their   
own wastes to the field for the         
maintenance of fertility4 ,in using     

these immature forms of  vegetation so  
largely as food they are able to produce
 an immense  amount that would otherwise
 be impossible1 for this is grown in a  
shorter time1 permitting the same soil  
to produce more crops4 ,it is  also     
produced late in the fall and early in  
the spring when the  season is too cold 
and the hours of sunshine too few each  
day to  permit of ripening crops4       
,,vii    ,,the ,,fuel ,,problem1        
,,building ,,and  ,,textile ,,materials 
,with the vast and ever increasing      
demands made upon materials which  are  
the products of cultivated fields1 for  
food1 for apparel1 for  furnishings and 
for cordage1 better soil management must
 grow more  important as populations    
multiply4 ,with the increasing cost and 
ultimate exhaustion of mineral fuel2    
with our timber vanishing  rapidly      
before the ever growing demands for     
lumber and paper2 with  the inevitably  
slow growth of trees and the very       
limited areas which  the world can ever 

afford to devote to forestry1 the time  
must  surely come when1 in short period 
rotations1 there will be grown  upon the
 farm materials from which to           
manufacture not only paper and  the     
substitutes for lumber1 but fuels as    
well4 ,the complete  utilization of     
every stream which reaches the sea1     
reinforced by the  force of the winds   
and the energy of the waves which may be
  transformed along the coast lines1    
cannot fully meet the demands of  the   
future for power and heat2 hence only in
 the event of science  and engineering  
skill becoming able to devise means for 
transforming  the unlimited energy of   
space through which we are ever whirled1
  with an economy approximating that    
which crops now exhibit1 can good  soil 
management be relieved of the task of   
meeting a portion of the  world's demand
 for power and heat4    ,when these     
statements were made in #aije we did not
 know that for  centuries there had     
existed in ,china1 ,korea and ,japan a  

density of  population such as to       
require the extensive cultivation of    
crops for  fuel and building material1  
as well as for fabrics1 by the ordinary 
methods of tillage1 and hence another of
 the many surprises we had  was the     
solution these people had reached of    
their fuel problem and  of how to keep  
warm4 ,their solution has been direct   
and the simplest  possible4 ,dress to   
make fuel for warmth of body            
unnecessary1 and  burn the coarser stems
 of crops1 such as cannot be eaten1 fed 
to  animals or otherwise made useful4   
,these people still use what wood  can  
be grown on the untillable land within  
transporting distance1  and convert much
 wood into charcoal1 making             
transportation over  longer distances   
easier4 ,the general use of mineral     
fuels1 such as  coal1 coke1 oils and    
gas1 had been impossible to these as to 
every  other people until within the    
last one hundred years4 ,coal1 coke1    
oil and natural gas1 however1 have been 

locally used by the ,chinese  from very 
ancient times4 ,for more than two       
thousand years brine from  many deep    
wells in ,szechwan province has been    
evaporated with heat  generated by the  
burning of natural gas from wells1      
conveyed through  bamboo stems to the   
pans and burned from iron terminals4 ,in
 other  sections of the same province   
much brine is evaporated over coal      
fires4 ,alexander ,hosie estimates the  
production of salt in ,szechwan         
province at more than #fjj million      
pounds annually4    ,coal is here used  
also to some extent for warming the     
houses1 burned  in pits sunk in the     
floor1 the smoke escaping where it may4 
,the same  method of heating we saw in  
use in the post office at ,yokohama     
during ,february4 ,the fires were in    
large iron braziers more than two  feet 
across the top1 simply set about the    
room1 three being in  operation4 ,stoves
 for house warming are not used in      
dwellings in  these countries4    ,in   

both ,china and ,japan we saw coal dust 
put into the form and size  of medium   
oranges by mixing it with a thin paste  
of clay4 ,charcoal  is similarly molded1
 as seen in ,fig4 #gb1 using a          
by-product from the  manufacture of rice
 syrup for cementing4 ,in ,nanking we   
watched with  much interest the         
manufacture of charcoal briquets by     
another  method4 ,a ,chinese workman was
 seated upon the earth floor of a shop4 
,by his side was a pile of powdered     
charcoal1 a dish of rice syrup          
by-product and a basin of the moistened 
charcoal powder4 ,between his  legs was 
a heavy mass of iron containing a       
slightly conical mold two  inches deep1 
two and a half inches across at the top 
and a heavy  iron hammer weighing       
several pounds4 ,in his left hand he    
held a  short heavy ramming tool and    
with his right placed in the mold a     
pinch of the moistened charcoal2 then   
followed three well directed  blows from
 the hammer upon the ramming tool1      

compressing the charge  of moistened1   
sticky charcoal into a very compact     
layer4 ,another  pinch of charcoal was  
added and the process repeated until the
 mold  was filled1 when the briquet was 
forced out4    ,by this simplest        
possible mechanism1 the man1 utilizing  
but a small  part of his available      
energy1 was subjecting the charcoal to  
an  enormous pressure such as we attain 
only with the best hydraulic  presses1  
and he was using the principle of       
repeated small charges  recently        
patented and applied in our large and   
most efficient cotton  and hay presses1 
which permit much denser bales to be    
made than is  possible when large       
charges are added1 and the ,chinese is  
here1 as  in a thousand other ways1     
thoroughly sound in his application of  
mechanical principles4 ,his output for  
the day was small but his  patience     
seemed unlimited4 ,his arms and body1   
bared to the waist1  showed vigor and   
good feeding1 while his face wore the   

look of  contentment4    ,with forty    
centuries of such inheritance coursing  
in the veins of  four hundred millions  
of people1 in a country possessed of    
such  marvelous wealth of coal and water
 power1 of forest and of  agricultural  
possibilities1 there should be a future 
speedily  blossoming and ripening into  
all that is highest and best for such a 
nation4 ,if they will retain their      
economies and their industry and  use   
their energies to develop1 direct and   
utilize the power in their  streams and 
in their coal fields along the lines    
which science has  now made possible to 
them1 at the same time walking in paths 
of  peace and virtue1 there is little   
worth while which may not come to  such 
a people4    ,a ,shantung farmer in     
winter dress1 ,fig4 #ah1 and the        
,kiangsu woman  portrayed in ,fig4 #gc1 
in corresponding costume1 are typical   
illustrations of the manner in which    
food for body warmth is  minimized and  
of the way the heat generated in the    

body is  conserved4 ,observe his wadded 
and quilted frock1 his trousers of      
similar goods tied about the ankle1 with
 his feet clad in multiple  socks and   
cloth shoes provided with thick felted  
soles4 ,these types  of dress1 with the 
wadding1 quilting1 belting and tying1   
incorporate  and confine as part of the 
effective material a large volume of    
air1  thus securing without cost1 much  
additional warmth without  increasing   
the weight of the garments4 ,beneath    
these outer garments  several under     
pieces of different weights are worn    
which greatly  conserve the warmth      
during the coldest weather and make     
possible a  wide range of adjustment to 
suit varying changes in temperature4 ,it
  is doubtful if there could he devised 
a wardrobe suited to the  conditions of 
these people at a smaller first cost and
 maintenance  expense4 ,rev4 ,e4 ,a4    
,evans1 of the ,china ,inland ,mission1 
for many  years residing at ,sunking in 
,szechwan1 estimated that a farmer's    

wardrobe1 once it was procured1 could be
 maintained with an annual  expenditure 
of #b4be of our currency1 this sum      
procuring the  materials for both       
repairs and renewals4    ,the intense   
individual economy1 extending to the    
smallest matters1  so universally       
practiced by these people1 has sustained
 the massive  strength of the ,mongolian
 nations through their long history and 
this trait is seen in their handling of 
the fuel problem1 as it is  in all other
 lines4 ,in the home of ,mrs4 ,wu1 owner
 and manager of a  #be-;acre rice farm  
in ,chekiang province1 there was a      
masonry kang  seven by seven feet1 about
 twenty-eight inches high1 which could  
be  warmed in winter by building a fire 
within4 ,the top was fitted for  mats to
 serve as couch by day and as a place   
upon which to spread  the bed at night4 
,in the ,shantung province we visited   
the home of a  prosperous farmer and    
here found two kangs in separate        
sleeping  apartments1 both warmed by the

 waste heat from the kitchen whose      
chimney flue passed horizontally under  
the kangs before rising  through the    
roof4 ,these kangs were wide enough to  
spread the beds  upon1 about thirty     
inches high1 and had been constructed   
from brick  twelve inches square and    
four inches thick1 made from the clay   
subsoil taken from the fields and worked
 into a plastic mass1 mixed  with chaff 
and short straw1 dried in the sun and   
then laid in a  mortar of the same      
material4 ,these massive kangs are thus 
capable of  absorbing large amounts of  
the waste heat from the kitchen during  
the day and of imparting congenial      
warmth to the couches by day and  to the
 beds and sleeping apartments during the
 night4 ,in some  ,manchurian inns large
 compound kangs are so arranged that the
 guests  sleep heads together in double 
rows1 separated only by low dividing    
rails1 securing the greatest economy of 
fuel1 providing the guests  with places 
where they may sit upon the moderately  

warmed fireplace1  and spread their beds
 when they retire4    ,the economy of   
the chimney beds does not end with the  
warmth  conserved4 ,the earth and straw 
brick1 through the processes of         
fermentation and through shrinkage1     
become open and porous after  three or  
four years of service1 so that the draft
 is defective1  giving annoyance from   
smoke1 which requires their renewal4    
,but the  heat1 the fermentation and the
 absorption of products of combustion   
have together transformed the           
comparatively infertile subsoil into    
what they regard as a valuable          
fertilizer and these discarded brick    
are used in the preparation of compost  
fertilizers for the fields4  ,on account
 of this value of the discarded brick   
the large amount of  labor involved in  
removing and rebuilding the kangs is not
 regarded  altogether as labor lost4    
,our own observations have shown that   
heating soils to dryness at a           
temperature of #aaj deg ,c4 greatly     

increases the freedom with which  plant 
food may be recovered from them by the  
solvent power of water1  and the same   
heating doubtless improves the physical 
and biological  conditions of the soil  
as well4 ,nitrogen combined as ammonia1 
and  phosphorus1 potash and lime are all
 carried with the smoke or soot1        
mechanically in the draft and arrested  
upon the inner walls of the  kangs or   
filter into the porous brick with the   
smoke1 and thus add  plant food directly
 to the soil4 ,soot from wood has been  
found to  contain1 as an average1 #a4cf 
per cent of nitrogen2 4#ea per cent of  
phosphorus and #e4cd per cent of        
potassium4 ,we practice burning straw   
and corn stalks in enormous quantities1 
to get them easily out of  the way1 thus
 scattering on the winds valuable plant 
food1  thoughtlessly and lazily wasting 
where these people laboriously and      
religiously save4 ,these are gains in   
addition to those which result  from the
 formation of nitrates1 soluble potash  

and other plant foods  through          
fermentation4 ,we saw many instances    
where these discarded  brick were being 
used1 both in ,shantung and ,chihli     
provinces1 and it  was common in walking
 through the streets of country villages
 to see  piles of them1 evidently       
recently removed4    ,the fuel grown on 
the farms consists of the stems of all  
agricultural crops which are to any     
extent woody1 unless they can be  put to
 some better use4 ,rice straw1 cotton   
stems pulled by the roots  after the    
seed has been gathered1 the stems of    
windsor beans1 those  of rape and the   
millets1 all pulled by the roots1 and   
many other  kinds1 are brought to the   
market tied in bundles in the manner    
seen  in ,figs4 #gd1 #ge and #gf4 ,these
 fuels are used for domestic purposes   
and for the burning of lime1 brick1     
roofing tile and earthenware as  well as
 in the manufacture of oil1 tea1        
bean-curd and many other  processes4 ,in
 the home1 when the meals are cooked    

with these light  bulky fuels1 it is the
 duty of some one1 often one of the     
children1  to sit on the floor and feed 
the fire with one hand while with the   
other a bellows is worked to secure     
sufficient draft4 ,the  manufacture of  
cotton seed oil and cotton seed cake is 
one of the  common family industries in 
,china1 and in one of these homes we saw
  rice hulls and rice straw being used  
as fuel4 ,in the large low1  one-story1 
tile-roofed building serving as store1  
warehouse1 factory  and dwelling1 a     
family of four generations were at work1
 the  grandfather supervising in the    
mill and the grandmother leading in  the
 home and store where the cotton seed   
oil was being4 retailed for  #bb cents  
per pound and the cotton seed cake at   
#cc cents1 gold1 per  hundredweight4    
,back of the store and living rooms1 in 
the mill  compartment1 three blindfolded
 water buffalo1 each working a granite  
mill1 were crushing and grinding the    
cotton seed4 ,three other  buffalo1 for 

relay service1 were lying at rest or    
eating1 awaiting  their turn at the     
ten-hour working day4 ,two of the mills 
were  horizontal granite burrs more than
 four feet in diameter1 the upper  one  
revolving once with each circuit made by
 the cow4 ,the third mill  was a pair of
 massive granite rollers1 each five feet
 in diameter  and two feet thick1 joined
 on a very short horizontal axle which  
revolved on a circular stone plate about
 a vertical axis once with  each circuit
 of the buffalo4 ,two men tended the    
three mills4 ,after  the cotton seed had
 been twice passed through the mills it 
was  steamed to render the oil fluid and
 more readily expressed4 ,the  steamer  
consisted of two covered wooden hoops   
not unlike that seen  in ,fig4 #gg1     
provided with screen bottoms1 and in    
these the meal was  placed over openings
 in the top of an iron kettle of boiling
 water  from which the steam was forced 
through the charge of meal4 ,each       
charge was weighed in a scoop balanced  

on the arm of a bamboo scale1  thus     
securing a uniform weight for the cakes4
    ,on the ground in front of the      
furnace sat a boy of twelve years       
steadily feeding rice chaff into the    
fire with his left hand at the  rate of 
about thirty charges per minute1 while  
with his right hand1  and in perfect    
rhythm1 he drew back and forth the long 
plunger of a  rectangular box bellows1  
maintaining a forced draft for the fire4
 ,at  intervals the man who was bringing
 fuel fed into the furnace a  bundle of 
rice straw1 thus giving the boy's left  
arm a moment's  respite4 ,when the      
steaming has rendered the oil           
sufficiently fluid  the meal is         
transferred1 hot1 to ten-inch hoops two 
inches deep1  made of braided bamboo    
strands1 and is deftly tramped with the 
bare  feet1 while hot1 the operator     
steadying himself by a pair of hand     
bars4 ,after a stack of sixteen hoops1  
divided by a slight sifting of  chaff or
 short straw to separate the cakes1 had 

been completed these  were taken to one 
of four pressmen1 who were kept busy in 
expressing  the oil4    ,the presses    
consisted of two parallel timbers framed
 together1 long  enough to receive the  
sixteen hoops on edge above a gap       
between  them4 ,these cheeses of meal   
are subjected to an enormous pressure   
secured by means of three parallel lines
 of wedges forced against  the follower 
each by an iron-bound master wedge1     
driven home with a  heavy beetle        
weighing some twenty-five or thirty     
pounds4 ,the lines  of wedges were      
tightened in succession1 the loosened   
line receiving  an additional wedge to  
take up the slack after drawing back the
  master wedge1 which was then driven   
home4 ,to keep good the supply of       
wedges which are often crushed under the
 pressure a second boy1  older than the 
one at the furnace1 was working on the  
floor1 shaping  new ones1 the broken    
wedges and the chips going to the       
furnace for  fuel4    ,by this very     

simple1 readily constructed and         
inexpensive mechanism  enormous         
pressures were secured and when the     
operator had obtained  the desired      
compression he lighted his pipe and sat 
down to smoke  until the oil ceased     
dripping into the pit sunk in the floor 
beneath  the press4 ,in this interval   
the next series of cakes went to another
  press and the work thus kept up during
 the day4    ,six hundred and forty     
cakes was the average daily output of   
this  family of eight men and two boys1 
with their six water buffalo4 ,the      
cotton seed cakes were being sold as    
feed1 and a near-by ,chinese  dairyman  
was using them for his herd of forty    
water buffalo1 seen in  ,fig4 #gh1      
producing milk for the foreign trade in 
,shanghai4 ,this herd  of forty cows one
 of which was an albino1 was giving an  
average of  but #bjj catty of milk per  
day1 or at the rate of six and          
two-thirds  pounds per head6 ,the cows  
have extremely small udders but the milk

  is very rich1 as indicated by an      
analysis made in the office of the      
,shanghai ,board of ,health and obtained
 through the kindness of ,dr4  ,arthur  
,stanley4 ,the milk showed a specific   
gravity of #a4jbh and  contained #bj4a  
per cent total solids2 #g4e per cent    
fat2 #d4b per cent  milk sugar and 4#h  
per cent ash4 ,in the family of ,rev4   
,w4 ,h4 ,hudson1  of the ,southern      
,presbyterian ,mission1 ,kashing1 whose 
very gracious  hospitality we enjoyed on
 two different occasions1 the butter    
made  from the milk of two of these     
cows1 one of which1 with her calf1 is   
seen in ,fig4 #gi1 was used on the      
family table4 ,it was as white as  lard 
or cottolene but the texture and flavor 
were normal and far  better than the    
,danish and ,new ,zealand products      
served at the  hotels4    ,the milk     
produced at the ,chinese dairy in       
,shanghai was being sold in  bottles    
holding two pounds1 at the rate of one  
dollar a bottle1 or  #dc cents1 gold4   

,this seems high and there may have been
  misunderstanding on the part of my    
interpreter but his answer to my        
question was that the milk was being    
sold at one ,shanghai dollar per  bottle
 holding one and a half catty1 which1   
interpreted1 is the  value given above4 
,but fuel from the stems of cultivated  
plants which are in part  otherwise     
useful1 is not sufficient to meet the   
needs of country and  village1          
notwithstanding the intense economies   
practiced4 ,large  areas of hill and    
mountain land are made to contribute    
their share1  as we have seen in the    
south of ,china1 where pine boughs were 
being  used for firing the lime and     
cement kilns4 ,at ,tsingtao we saw the  
pine bough fuel on the backs of mules1  
,fig4 #hj1 coming from the  hills in    
,shantung province4 ,similar fuels were 
being used in ,korea  and we have       
photographs of large pine bough fuel    
stacks1 taken in  ,japan at ,funabashi1 
east from ,tokyo4    ,the hill and      

mountain lands1 wherever accessible to  
the densely  peopled plains1 have long  
been cut over and as regularly has      
afforestation been encouraged and       
deliberately secured even through  the  
transplanting of nursery stock grown    
expressly for that purpose4  ,we had    
read so much regarding the reckless     
destruction of forests in  ,china and   
,japan and had seen so few old forest   
trees except where  these had been      
protected about temples1 graves or      
houses1 that when  ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,haden1
 of the ,elizabeth ,blake hospital1 near
 ,soochow  insisted that the ,chinese   
were deliberate foresters and that they 
regularly grow trees for fuel1          
transplanting them when necessary to    
secure a close and early stand1 after   
the area had been cleared1 we  were so  
much surprised that he generously       
volunteered to accompany  us westward on
 a two days journey into the hill       
country where the  practice could be    
seen4    ,a family owning a houseboat   

and living upon it was engaged for the  
journey4 ,this family consisted of a    
recently widowed father1 his two  sons1 
newly married1 and a helper4 ,they were 
to transport us and  provide sleeping   
quarters for myself1 ,mr4 ,haden and a  
cook for the  consideration of #c4jj1   
,mexican1 per day and to continue the   
journey  through the night1 leaving the 
day for observation in the hills4       
,the recent funeral had cost the father 
#ajj and the wedding of the  two sons   
#ej each1 while the remodeling of the   
houseboat to meet the  needs of the new 
family relations cost still another     
#ajj4 ,to meet  these expenses it had   
been necessary to borrow the full       
amount1  #cjj4 ,on #ajj the father was  
paying #bj per cent interest2 on #ej he 
was compelled to pay #ej per cent       
interest4 ,the balance he had  borrowed 
from friends without interest but with  
the understanding  that he would return 
the favor should occasion be required4  
,rev4 ,a4 ,e4 ,evans informed us that it

 is a common practice in ,china  for    
neighbors to help one another in times  
of great financial  stress4 ,this is one
 of the methods3    ,a neighbor may need
 #hjjj cash4 ,he prepares a feast and   
sends  invitations to a hundred friends4
 ,they know there has been no death  in 
his family and that there is no wedding1
 still it is understood  that he is in  
need of money4 ,the feast is prepared at
 a small  expense4 ,the invited guests  
come1 each bringing eighty cash as a    
present4 ,the recipient is expected to  
keep a careful record of  contributing  
friends and to repay the sum4 ,another  
method is like  this3 ,for some reason a
 man needs to borrow #bj1jjj cash4 ,he  
proposes  to twenty of his friends that 
they organize a club to raise this  sum4
 ,if the friends agree each pays #ajjj  
cash to the organizing  member4 ,the    
balance of the club draw lots as to     
which member shall  be number two1      
three1 four1 five1 etc41 designating the
 order in  which payments shall be made4

 ,the man borrowing the money is then   
under obligation to see that these      
payments are met in full at the  times  
agreed upon4 ,not infrequently a small  
rate of interest is  charged4    ,rates 
of interest are very high in ,china1    
especially on small sums  where         
securities are not the best4 ,mr4 ,evans
 informs me that two per  cent per month
 is low and thirty per cent per annum is
 very commonly  collected4 ,such        
obligations are often never met but they
 do not  outlaw and may descend from    
father to son4    ,the boat cost #bib4dj
 in ,u4 ,s4 currency2 the yearly earning
 was  #ajg4ej to #abj4dj4 ,the funeral  
cost #dc and #dc more was required  for 
the wedding of the two sons4 ,they were 
receiving for the  services of six      
people #a4bi per day4 ,an engagement for
 two weeks or  a month could have been  
made for materially lower rates and     
their  average daily earning1 on the    
basis of three hundred days service in  
the year1 and the #abj4dj total earning1

 would be only #dj4ac cents1  less than 
seven cents each1 hence their trip with 
us was two of  their banner days4       
,foreigners in ,shanghai and other      
cities  frequently engage such houseboat
 service for two weeks or a month of    
travel on the canals and rivers1 finding
 it a very enjoyable as well  as        
inexpensive way of having a picnic      
outing4    ,on reaching the hill lands  
the next morning there were such scenes 
as shown in ,fig4 #hb1 where the strips 
of tree growth1 varying from  two to ten
 years1 stretched directly up the slope1
 often in strong  contrast on account of
 the straight boundaries and different  
ages of  the timber4 ,some of these long
 narrow holdings were less than two     
rods wide and on one of these only      
recently cut1 up which we walked  for   
considerable distance1 the young pine   
were springing up in  goodly numbers4   
,as many as eighteen young trees were   
counted on a  width of six feet across  
the strip of thirty feet wide4 ,on this 

area  everything had been recently cut  
clean4 ,even stumps and the large  roots
 were dug and saved for fuel4    ,in    
,fig4 #hc are seen bundles of fuel from 
such a strip1 just brought  into the    
village1 the boughs retaining the leaves
 although the fuel  had been dried4 ,the
 roots1 too1 are tied in with the limbs 
so that  everything is saved4 ,on our   
walk to the hills we passed many people 
bringing their loads of fuel swinging   
from carrying poles on their  shoulders4
 ,inquiries regarding the afforestation 
of these strips of  hillside showed that
 the extensive digging necessitated by  
the  recovery of the roots usually      
caused new trees to spring up quickly   
as volunteers from scattered seed and   
from the roots1 so that  planting was   
not generally required4 ,talking with a 
group of people  as to where we could   
see some of the trees used for          
replanting the  hillsides1 a lad of     
seven years was first to understand and 
volunteered to conduct us to a planting4

 ,this he did and was  overjoyed on     
receipt of a trifle for his services4   
,one of these  little pine nurseries is 
seen in ,fig4 #hd1 many being planted in
  suitable places through the woods4    
,the lad led us to two such  locations  
with whose whereabouts he was evidently 
very familiar1  although they were      
considerable distance from the path and 
far from  home4 ,these small trees are  
used in filling in places where the     
volunteer growth has not been           
sufficiently close4 ,a strong           
herbaceous growth usually springs up    
quickly on these newly cleared  lands   
and this too is cut for fuel or for use 
in making compost or  as green manure4  
,the grass which grows on the grave     
lands1 if not fed off1 is also  cut and 
saved for fuel4 ,we saw several         
instances of this outside of  ,shanghai1
 one where a mother with her daughter1  
provided with rake1  sickle1 basket and 
bag1 were gathering the dry stubble and 
grass of  the previous season1 from the 

grave lands where there was less than   
could be found on our closely mowed     
meadows4 ,in ,fig4 #he may be seen  a   
man who has just returned with such a   
load1 and in his hand is the  typical   
rake of the ,far ,east1 made by simply  
bending bamboo splints1  claw-shape1 and
 securing them as seen in the engraving4
    ,in the ,shantung province1 in      
,chihli and in ,manchuria1 millet stems1
  especially those of the great kaoliang
 or sorghum1 are extensively  used for  
fuel and for building as well as for    
screens1 fences and  matting4 ,at       
,mukden the kaoliang was selling as fuel
 at #b4gj to  #c4jj1 ,mexican1 for a    
#ajj-;bundle load of stalks1 weighing   
seven  catty to the bundle4 ,the yield  
per acre of kaoliang fuel amounts to    
#efjj pounds and the stalks are eight to
 twelve feet long1 so that  when carried
 on the backs of mules or horses the    
animals are nearly  hidden by the load4 
,the price paid for plant stem fuel from
  agricultural crops1 in different parts

 of ,china and ,japan1 ranged  from     
#a4cj to #b4he1 ,u4 ,s4 currency1 per   
ton4 ,the price of  anthracite coal at  
,nanking was #g4gf per ton4 ,taking the 
weight of  dry oak wood at #cejj pounds 
per cord1 the plant stem fuel1 for equal
  weight1 was selling at #b4bh to #e4jj4
    ,large amounts of wood are converted
 into charcoal in these countries  and  
sent to market baled in rough matting or
 in basketwork cases  woven from small  
brush and holding two to two and a half 
bushels4  ,when such wood is not        
converted into charcoal it is sawed into
 one  or two-foot lengths1 split and    
marketed tied in bundles1 as seen in    
,fig4 #gg4    ,along the ,mukden-,antung
 railway in ,manchuria fuel was also    
being  shipped in four-foot lengths1 in 
the form of cordwood4 ,in ,korea  cattle
 were provided with a peculiar saddle   
for carrying wood in  four-foot sticks  
laid blanket-fashion over the animal1   
extending far  down on their sides4     
,thus was it brought from the hills to  

the  railway station4 ,this wood1 as in 
,manchuria1 was cut from small  trees4  
,in ,korea1 as in most parts of ,china  
where we visited1 the  tree growth over 
the hills was generally scattering and  
thin on the  ground wherever there was  
not individual ownership in small       
holdings4 ,under and among the          
scattering pine there were oak in many  
cases1 but these were always small1     
evidently not more than two or  three   
years standing1 and appearing to have   
been repeatedly cut  back4 ,it was in   
,korea that we saw so many instances of 
young leafy  oak boughs brought to the  
rice fields and used as green manure4   
,there was abundant evidence of periodic
 cutting between ,mukden and  ,antung in
 ,manchuria2 between ,wiju and ,fusan in
 ,korea2 and throughout  most of our    
journey in ,japan2 from ,nagasaki to    
,moji and from  ,shimonoseki to         
,yokohama4 ,in all of these countries   
afforestation  takes place quickly and  
the cuttings on private holdings are    

made  once in ten1 twenty or twenty-five
 years4 ,when the wood is sold to  those
 coming for it the takers pay at the    
rate of #dj sen per one  horse load of  
forty kan1 or #ccj pounds1 such as is   
seen in ,fig4 #hg4  ,director ,ono1 of  
the ,akashi ,experiment station1        
informed us that  such fuel loads in    
that prefecture1 where the wood is cut  
once in  ten years1 bring returns       
amounting to about #dj per acre for the 
ten-year crop4 ,this land was worth #dj 
per acre but when they are  suitable for
 orange groves they sell for #fjj per   
acre4 ,mushroom  culture is extensively 
practiced under the shade of some of    
these  wooded areas1 yielding under     
favorable conditions at the rate of     
#ajj per acre4    ,the forest covered   
area in ,japan exclusive of ,formosa and
 ,karafuto1  amounts to a total of      
#ed1aif1gbh acres1 less than twenty     
millions of  which are in private       
holdings1 the balance belonging to the  
state  and to the ,imperial ,crown4     

,in all of these countries there has    
been an extensive general use of        
materials other than wood for building  
purposes and very many of the           
substitutes for lumber are products     
grown on the cultivated fields4  ,the   
use of rice straw for roofing1 as seen  
in the ,hakone village1  ,fig4 #h1 is   
very general throughout the rice growing
 districts1 and  even the sides of      
houses may be similarly thatched1 as was
 observed  in the ,canton delta region1 
such a construction being warm for      
winter and cool for summer4 ,the life of
 these thatched roofs1  however1 is     
short and they must be renewed as often 
as every three  to five years but the   
old straw is highly prized as fertilizer
 for  the fields on which it is grown1  
or it may serve as fuel1 the ashes  only
 going to the fields4    ,burned clay   
tile1 especially for the cities and     
public buildings1  are very extensively 
used for roofing1 clay being abundant   
and near  at hand4 ,in ,chihli and in   

,manchuria millet and sorghum stems1    
used  alone or plastered1 as in ,fig4   
#hh1 with a mud mortar1 sometimes  mixed
 with lime1 cover the roofs of vast     
numbers of the dwellings  outside the   
larger cities4    ,at ,chiao ,tou in    
,manchuria we saw the building of the   
thatched millet  roofs and the use of   
kaoliang stems as lumber4 ,rafters were 
set in  the usual way and covered with a
 layer about two inches thick of the    
long kaoliang stems stripped of their   
leaves and tops4 ,these were  tied      
together and to the rafters with twine1 
thus forming a sort of  matting4 ,a     
layer of thin clay mortar was then      
spread over the  surface and well       
trowelled until it began to show on the 
under side4  ,over this was applied a   
thatch of small millet stems bound in   
bundles eight inches thick1 cut square  
across the butts to eighteen  inches in 
length4 ,they were dipped in water and  
laid in courses  after the manner of    
shingles but the butts of the stems are 

driven  forward to a slope which        
obliterates the shoulder1 making the    
courses invisible4 ,in the better houses
 this thatching may be  plastered with  
earth mortar or with an earth-lime      
mortar1 which is  less liable to wash in
 heavy rain4    ,the walls of the house 
we saw building were also sided with the
  long1 large kaoliang stems4 ,an       
ordinary frame with posts and girts     
about three feet apart had been erected1
 on sills and with plates  carrying the 
roof4 ,standing vertically against the  
girts and tied to  them1 forming a close
 layer1 were the kaoliang stems4 ,these 
were  plastered outside and in with a   
layer of thin earth mortar4 ,a  similar 
layer of stems1 set up on the inside of 
the girts and  similarly plastered1     
formed the inner face of the wall of the
 house1  leaving dead air spaces between
 the girts4    ,brick made from earth   
are very extensively used for house     
building1  chaff and short straw being  
used as a binding material1 the brick   

being simply dried in the sun1 as seen  
in ,fig4 #hi4 ,a house in the  process  
of building1 where the brick were being 
used1 is seen in  ,fig4 #ij4 ,the       
foundation of the dwelling1 it will be  
observed1 was  laid with well-formed    
hard-burned brick1 these being necessary
 to  prevent capillary moisture from the
 ground being drawn up and soften  the  
earth brick1 making the wall unsafe4    
,several kilns for burning brick1 built 
of clay and earth1 were  passed in our  
journey up the ,pei ho1 and stacked     
about them1  covering an area of more   
than eight hundred feet back from the   
river  were bundles of the kaoliang     
stems to serve as fuel in the kilns4    
,the extensive use of the unburned brick
 is necessitated by the  difficulty of  
obtaining fuel1 and various methods are 
adopted to  reduce the number of burned 
brick required in construction4 ,one of 
these devices is shown in ,fig4 #gi1    
where the city wall surrounding         
,kashing is constructed of alternate    

courses of four layers of burned  brick 
separated by layers of simple earth     
concrete4    ,in addition to the        
multiple-function1 farm-gown crops used 
for food1  fuel and building material1  
there is a large acreage devoted to the 
growing of textile and fiber products   
and enormous quantities of  these are   
produced annually4 ,in ,japan1 where    
some fifty millions of  people are      
chiefly fed on the produce of little    
more than #ba1jjj  square miles of      
cultivated land1 there was grown in     
#aijf more than  #ge1ejj1jjj pounds of  
cotton1 hemp1 flax and ,china grass     
textile  stock1 occupying #gf1gjj acres 
of the cultivated land4 ,on #ada1jjj    
other acres there grew #aae1jjj1jjj     
pounds of paper mulberry and            
,mitsumata1 materials used in the       
manufacture of paper4 ,from still       
another #ad1jjj acres were taken        
#ib1jjj1jjj pounds of matting stuff1    
while more than #ieg1jjj acres were     
occupied by mulberry trees for  the     

feeding of silkworms1 yielding to ,japan
 #bb1chi1gih pounds of  silk4 ,here are 
more than #cjj1jjj1jjj pounds of fiber  
and textile  stuff taken from #ahfj     
square miles of the cultivated land1    
cutting  down the food producing area to
 #ai1bfc square miles and this area is  
made still smaller by devoting #abc1jjj 
acres to tea1 these producing  in #aijf 
#eh1ijj1jjj pounds1 worth nearly five   
million dollars4 ,nor do  these         
statements express the full measure of  
the producing power of  the #ba1cba     
square miles of cultivated land1 for1 in
 addition to the  food and other        
materials named1 there were also made   
#b1cfe1jjj  worth of braid from straw   
and wood shavings2 #f1jjj1jjj worth of  
rice straw bags1 packing cases and      
matting2 and #a1jhe1jjj worth of  wares 
from bamboo1 willow and vine4 ,as       
illustrating the intense home  industry 
of these people we may consider the fact
 that the #e1dec1cji  households of     
farmers in ,japan produced in #aijf1 in 

their homes as  subsidiary work1        
#bj1ebg1jjj worth of manufactured       
articles4 ,if  correspondingly exact    
statistical data were available from    
,china and  ,korea a similarity full    
utilization of cultural possibilities   
would  be revealed there4    ,this      
marvelous heritage of economy1 industry 
and thrift1 bred of the  stress of      
centuries1 must not be permitted to lose
 virility through  contact with western 
wasteful practices1 now exalted to      
seeming  virtues through the dazzling   
brilliancy of mechanical achievements4  
,more and more must labor be dignified  
in all homes alike1 and  economy1       
industry and thrift become inherited    
impulses compelling  and satisfying4    
,cheap1 rapid1 long distance            
transportation1 already well started in 
these countries1 will bring with it a   
fuller utilization of the  large stores 
of coal and mineral wealth and of the   
enormous  available water power1 and as 
a result there will come some  temporary

 lessening of the stress for fuel and   
with better forest  management some     
relief along the lines of building      
materials4 ,but  the time is not a      
century distant when1 throughout the    
world1 a  fuller1 better development    
must take place along the lines of these
  most far-reaching and fundamental     
practices so long and so  effectively   
followed by the ,mongolian races in     
,china1 ,korea and  ,japan4 ,when the   
enormous water-power of these countries 
has been  harnessed and brought into the
 foot-hills and down upon the margins   
of the valleys and plains in the form of
 electric current1 let it1  if possible1
 be in a large measure so distributed as
 to become  available in the country    
village homes to lighten the burden and 
lessen the human drudgery and yet       
increase the efficiency of the  human   
effort now so well bestowed upon        
subsidiary manufactures under  the      
guidance and initiative of the home1    
where there may be room to  breathe and 

for children to come up to manhood and  
womanhood in the  best conditions       
possible1 rather than in enormous       
congested  factories4                   
,,viii    ,,tramps ,,afield             
,on ,march #cast we took the #h ,a4 ,m4 
train on the ,shanghai-,nanking  railway
 for ,kunshan1 situated thirty-two miles
 west from ,shanghai1  to spend the day 
walking in the fields4 ,the fare1 second
 class1 was  eighty cents1 ,mexican4 ,a 
third class ticket would have been forty
  cents and a first class1 #a4fj1       
practically two cents1 one cent and     
half a cent1 our currency1 per mile4    
,the second class fare to  ,nanking1 a  
distance of #aic miles1 was #a4gb1 ,u4  
,s4 currency1 or a  little less than one
 cent per mile4 ,while the car seats    
were not  upholstered1 the service was  
good4 ,meals were served on the train in
  either foreign or ,chinese style1 and 
tea1 coffee or hot water to  drink4     
,hot1 wet face cloths were regularly    
passed and many ,chinese  daily         

newspapers were sold on the train1 a    
traveler often buying  two4    ,in the  
vicinity of ,kunshan a large area of    
farm land had been  acquired by the     
,french catholic mission at a purchase  
price of #dj1  ,mexican1 per mow1 or at 
the rate of #ajc4bj per acre4 ,this they
  rented to the ,chinese4    ,it was    
here that we first saw1 at close range1 
the details of using  canal mud as a    
fertilizer1 so extensively applied in   
,china4 ,walking  through the fields we 
came upon the scene in the middle       
section of  ,fig4 #ib where1 close on   
the right was such a reservoir as seen  
in  ,fig4 #eh4 ,men were in it1 dipping 
up the mud which had accumulated  over  
its bottom1 pouring it on the bank in a 
field of windsor beans1  and the thin   
mud was then over two feet deep at that 
side and  flowing into the beans where  
it had already spread two rods1 burying 
the plants as the engraving shows4 ,when
 sufficiently dry to be  readily handled
 this would be spread among the beans as

 we found it  being done in another     
field1 shown in the upper section of the
  illustration4 ,here four men were     
distributing such mud1 which had  dried1
 between the rows1 not to fertilize the 
beans1 but for a  succeeding crop of    
cotton soon to be planted between the   
rows1  before they were harvested4 ,the 
owner of this piece of land1 with  whom 
we talked and who was superintending the
 work1 stated that his  usual yield of  
these beans was three hundred catty per 
mow and that  they sold them green1     
shelled1 at two cents1 ,mexican1 per    
catty4 ,at  this price and yield his    
return would be #ae4dh1 gold1 per acre4 
,if  there was need of nitrogen and     
organic matter in the soil the vines    
would be pulled green1 after picking the
 beans1 and composted with  the wet mud4
 ,if not so needed the dried stems would
 be tied in  bundles and sold as fuel or
 used at home1 the ashes being returned 
to the fields4 ,the windsor beans are   
thus an early crop grown for            

fertilizer1 fuel and food4    ,this     
farmer was paying his laborers one      
hundred cash per day and  providing     
their meals1 which he estimated worth   
two hundred cash  more1 making twelve   
cents1 gold1 for a ten-hour day4        
,judging from  what we saw and from the 
amount of mud carried per load1 we      
estimated the men would distribute not  
less than eighty-four loads  of eighty  
pounds each per day1 an average distance
 of five hundred  feet1 making the cost 
#c4eg cents1 gold1 per ton for          
distribution4    ,the lower section of  
,fig4 #ib shows another instance where  
mud was  being used on a narrow strip   
bordering the path along which we       
walked1 the amount there seen having    
been brought more than four  hundred    
feet1 by one man before #aj ,a4 ,m4 on  
the morning the  photograph was taken4  
,he was getting it from the bottom of a 
canal  ten feet deep1 laid bare by the  
out-going tide4 ,already he had  brought
 more than a ton to his field4    ,the  

carrying baskets used for this work were
 in the form of huge  dustpans suspended
 from the carrying poles by two cords   
attached to  the side rims1 and steadied
 by the hand grasping a handle provided 
in the back for this purpose and for    
emptying the baskets by  tipping4 ,with 
this construction the earth was readily 
raked upon the  basket and very easily  
emptied from it by simply raising the   
hands  when the destination was reached4
 ,no arrangement could be more  simple1 
expeditious or inexpensive for this man 
with his small  holding4 ,in this simple
 manner has nearly all of the earth been
  moved in digging the miles of canal   
and in building the long sea  walls4 ,in
 ,shanghai the mud carried through the  
storm sewers into  ,soochow creek we saw
 being removed in the same manner during
 the  intervals when the tide was out4  
,in still another field1 seen in ,fig4  
#ic1 the upper portion shows  where     
canal mud had been applied at a rate    
exceeding seventy tons  per acre1 and we

 were told that such dressings may be   
repeated as  often as every two years   
though usually at longer intervals1 if  
other and cheaper fertilizers could be  
obtained4 ,in the lower  portion of the 
same illustration may be seen the       
section of canal  from which this mud   
was taken up the three earthen stairways
 built  of the mud itself and permitted 
to dry before using4 ,many such lines   
of stairway were seen during our trips  
along the canals1 only  recently made or
 in the process of building to be in    
readiness when  the time for applying   
the mud should arrive4 ,to facilitate   
collecting the mud from the shallow     
canals temporary dams may be  thrown    
across them at two places and the water 
between either  scooped or pumped out1  
laying the bottom bare1 as is often done
 also  for fishing4 ,the earth of the   
large grave mound seen across a canal   
in the center background of the upper   
portion of the engraving had  been      
collected in a similar manner4    ,in   

the ,chekiang province canal mud is     
extensively used in the  mulberry       
orchards as a surface dressing4 ,we have
 referred to this  practice in southern 
,china1 and ,fig4 #id is a view taken   
south of  ,kashing early in ,april4 ,the
 boat anchored in front of the mulberry 
orchard is the home of a family coming  
from a distance1 seeking  employment    
during the season for picking mulberry  
leaves to feed  silkworms4 ,we were much
 surprised1 on looking back at the boat 
after  closing the camera1 to see the   
head of the family standing erect in    
the center1 having shoved back a section
 of the matting roof4    ,the dressing  
of mud applied to this field formed a   
loose layer more  than two inches deep  
and when compacted by the rains which   
would  follow would add not less than a 
full inch of soil over the entire       
orchard1 and the weight per acre could  
not be less than #abj tons4    ,another 
equally1 or even more1 laborious        
practice followed by the  ,chinese      

farmers in this province is the periodic
 exchange of soil  between mulberry     
orchards and the rice fields1 their     
experience  being that soil long used in
 the mulberry orchards improves the     
rice1 while soil from the rice fields is
 very helpful when applied  to the      
mulberry orchards4 ,we saw many         
instances1 when traveling by  boat-train
 between ,shanghai1 ,kashing and        
,hangchow1 of soil being  carried from  
rice fields and either stacked on the   
banks or dropped  into the canal4 ,such 
soil was oftenest taken from narrow     
trenches  leading through the fields1   
laying them off in beds4 ,it is our     
judgment that the soil thrown into the  
canals undergoes important  changes1    
perhaps through the absorption of       
soluble plant food  substances such as  
lime1 phosphoric acid and potash        
withdrawn from  the water1 or through   
some growth or fermentation1 which1 in  
the  judgment of the farmer1 makes the  
large labor involved in this  procedure 

worth while4 ,the stacking of soil along
 the banks was  probably in preparation 
for its removal by boat to some of the  
mulberry orchards4    ,it is clearly    
recognized by the farmers that mud      
collected from  those sections of the   
canal leading through country villages1 
such  as that seen in ,fig4 #aj1 is both
 inherently more fertile and in  better 
physical condition than that collected  
in the open country4  ,they attribute   
this difference to the effect of the    
village washing  in the canal1 where    
soap is extensively used4 ,the storm    
waters of  the city doubtless carry some
 fertilizing material also1 although    
sewage1 as such1 never finds its way    
into the canals4 ,the washing  would be 
very likely to have a decided           
flocculating effect and so  render this 
material more friable when applied to   
the field4    ,one very important       
advantage which comes to the fields when
 heavily  dressed with such mud is that 
resulting from the addition of lime     

which has become incorporated with the  
silts through their  flocculation and   
precipitation1 and that which is added  
in the form  of snail shells abounding  
in the canals4 ,the amount of these may 
be  realized from the large numbers     
contained in the mud recently thrown    
out1 as seen in the upper section of    
,fig4 #ie1 where the pebbly  appearance 
of the surface is caused by snail       
shells4 ,in the lower  section of the   
same illustration the white spots are   
snail shells  exposed in the soil of a  
recently spaded field4 ,the shells are  
by no  means as numerous generally as   
here seen but yet sufficient to         
maintain the supply of lime4    ,several
 species of these snails are collected  
in quantities and used  as food4 ,piles 
containing bushels of the empty shells  
were seen  along the canals outside the 
villages4 ,the snails are cooked in the 
shell and often sold by measure to be   
eaten from the hand1 as we buy  roasted 
peanuts or popcorn4 ,when a purchase is 

made the vender clips  the spiral point 
from each shell with a pair of small    
shears4 ,this  admits air and permits   
the snail to be readily removed by      
suction  when the lips are applied to   
the shell4 ,in the canals there are also
  large numbers of fresh water eel1     
shrimp and crabs as well as fish1  all  
of which are collected and used for     
human food4 ,it is common1  when walking
 through the canal country1 to come upon
 groups of  gleaners busy in the bottoms
 of the shallow agricultural canals1    
gathering anything which may serve as   
food1 even including small  bulbs or the
 fleshy roots of edible aquatic plants4 
,to facilitate  the collection of such  
food materials sections of the canal are
  often drained in the manner already   
described1 so that gleaning may  be done
 by hand1 wading in the mud4 ,families  
living in houseboats  make a business of
 fishing for shrimp4 ,they trail behind 
the  houseboat one or two other boats   
carrying hundreds of shrimp traps       

cleverly constructed in such manner that
 when they are trailed along  the bottom
 and disturb the shrimps they dart into 
the holes in the  trap1 mistaking them  
for safe hiding places4    ,on the      
streets1 especially during festival     
days1 one may see young  people and     
others in social intercourse1 busying   
their fingers and  their teeth eating   
cooked snails or often watermelon seeds1
 which  are extensively sold and thus   
eaten4 ,this custom we saw first in the 
streets of a city south of ,kashing on  
the line of the new railway  between    
,hangchow and ,shanghai4 ,the first     
passenger train over the  line had been 
run the day before our visit1 which was 
a festival day  and throngs of people   
were visiting the nine-story pagoda     
standing  on a high hill a mile outside 
the city limits4 ,the day was one of    
great surprises to these people who had 
never before seen a  passenger train1   
and my own person appeared to be a great
 curiosity  to many4 ,no boy ever       

scrutinized the face of a caged         
chimpanzee  closer1 with purer          
curiosity1 or with less consideration   
for his  feelings than did a woman of   
fifty scrutinize mine1 standing close   
in front1 not two feet distant1 even    
bending forward as ,i sat upon a  bench 
writing at the railway station4 ,people 
would pass their hands  along my coat   
sleeve to judge the cloth1 and a boy    
felt of my shoes4  ,walking through the 
street we passed many groups gathered   
about  tables and upon seats1 visiting  
or in business conference1 their        
fingers occupied with watermelon seeds  
or with packages of cooked  snails4     
,along the pathway leading to the pagoda
 beggars had  distributed themselves1   
one in a place1 at intervals of two or  
three  hundred feet1 asking alms1 most  
of them infirm with age or in some      
other way physically disabled4 ,we saw  
but one who appeared capable  of earning
 a living4    ,travel between ,shanghai 
and ,hangchow at this time was heavy4   

,three  companies were running trains1  
of six or more houseboats1 each towed   
by a steam launch1 and these were daily 
crowded with passengers4 ,our  train    
left ,shanghai at #d3cj ,p4 ,m41        
reaching ,hangchow at #e3cj ,p4 ,m4  the
 following day1 covering a distance     
along the canal of something  more than 
#aag miles4 ,we paid #e4af1 gold1 for   
the exclusive use of a  first-cabin1    
five-berth stateroom for myself and     
interpreter4 ,it  occupied the full     
width of the boat1 lacking about        
fourteen inches  of footway1 and could  
be entered from either side down a      
flight of  five steps4 ,the berths were 
flat1 naked wooden shelves thirty inches
  wide1 separated by a partition        
headboard six inches high and without   
railing in front4 ,each traveler        
provided his own bedding4 ,a small      
table upon which meals were served1 a   
mirror on one side and a lamp  on the   
other1 set in an opening in the         
partition1 permitting it to  serve two  

staterooms1 completed the furnishings4  
,the roof of the  staterooms was covered
 with an awning and divided crosswise   
into two  tiers of berths1 each thirty  
inches wide1 by board partitions six    
inches high4 ,in these sections         
passengers spread their beds1  sleeping 
heads together1 separated only by a     
headboard six inches  high4 ,the awning 
was only sufficiently high to permit    
passengers to  sit erect4 ,ventilation  
was ample but privacy was nil4 ,curtains
 could  be dropped around the sides in  
stormy weather4    ,meals were served to
 each passenger wherever he might be4   
,dinner  consisted of hot steamed rice  
brought in very heavy porcelain bowls   
set inside a covered1 wet1 steaming hot 
wooden case4 ,with the rice  were tiny  
dishes1 butterchip size1 of green       
clover1 nicely cooked  and seasoned2 of 
cooked bean curd served with shredded   
bamboo  sprouts2 of tiny pork strips    
with bean curd2 of small bits of liver  
with bamboo sprouts2 of greens1 and hot 

water for tea4 ,if the  appetite is good
 one may have a second helping of rice  
and as much  hot water for tea as       
desired4 ,there was no table linen1 no  
napkins  and everything but the tea had 
to be negotiated with chop sticks1  or1 
these failing1 with the fingers4 ,when  
the meal was finished the  table was    
cleared and water1 hot if desired1 was  
brought for your  hand basin1 which with
 tea1 teacup and bedding1 constitute    
part of  the traveler's outfit4 ,at     
frequent intervals1 up to ten ,p4 ,m41 a
  crier walked about the deck with hot  
water for those who might  desire an    
extra cup of tea1 and again in the early
 morning4    ,at this season of the year
 ,chinese incubators were being run to  
their full capacity and it was our good 
fortune to visit one of  these1 escorted
 by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,haden1 who also acted
 as interpreter4  ,the art of incubation
 is very old and very extensively       
practiced in  ,china4 ,an interior view 
of one of these establishments is shown 

in  ,fig4 #if1 where the family were    
hatching the eggs of hens1 ducks and    
geese1 purchasing the eggs and selling  
the young as hatched4 ,as in  the case  
of so many trades in ,china1 this family
 was the last  generation of a long line
 whose lives had been spent in the same 
work4 ,we entered through their store1  
opening on the street of the  narrow    
village seen in ,fig4 #aj4 ,in the store
 the eggs were purchased  and the chicks
 were sold1 this work being in charge of
 the women of  the family4 ,it was in   
the extreme rear of the home that thirty
  incubators were installed1 all doing  
duty and each having a capacity  of     
#a1bjj hens' eggs4 ,four of these may be
 seen in the illustration  and one of   
the baskets which1 when two-thirds      
filled with eggs1 is  set inside of each
 incubator4    ,each incubator consists 
of a large earthenware jar having a door
 cut  in one side through which live    
charcoal may be introduced and the  fire
 partly smothered under a layer of      

ashes1 this serving as the  source of   
heat4 ,the jar is thoroughly insulated1 
cased in basketwork  and provided with a
 cover1 as seen in the illustration4    
,inside the  outer jar rests a second of
 nearly the same size1 as one teacup may
  in another4 ,into this is lowered the 
large basket with its #fjj hens'  eggs1 
#djj ducks' eggs or #age geese' eggs1 as
 the case may be4 ,thirty  of these     
incubators were arranged in two parallel
 rows of fifteen  each4 ,immediately    
above each row1 and utilizing the warmth
 of the  air rising from them1 was a    
continuous line of finishing hatchers   
and brooders in the form of woven       
shallow trays with sides warmly  padded 
with cotton and with the tops covered   
with sets of quilts of  different       
thickness4    ,after a basket of hens'  
eggs has been incubated four days it is 
removed and the eggs examined by        
lighting1 to remove those which are     
infertile before they have been rendered
 unsalable4 ,the infertile  eggs go to  

the store and the basket is returned to 
the incubator4  ,ducks' eggs are        
similarly examined after two days and   
again after  five days incubation2 and  
geese' eggs after six days and again    
after  fourteen days4 ,through these    
precautions practically all loss from   
infertile eggs is avoided and from #ie  
to #ih per cent of the fertile  eggs are
 hatched1 the infertile eggs ranging    
from #e to #be per cent4    ,after the  
fourth day in the incubator all eggs are
 turned five times  in twenty-four      
hours4 ,hens' eggs are kept in the lower
 incubator  eleven days2 ducks' eggs    
thirteen days1 and geese' eggs sixteen  
days1 after which they are transferred  
to the trays4 ,throughout the           
incubation period the most careful watch
 and control is kept over  the          
temperature4 ,no thermometer is used but
 the operator raises the  lid or quilt1 
removes an egg1 pressing the large end  
into the eye  socket4 ,in this way a    
large contact is made where the skin is 

sensitive1 nearly constant in           
temperature1 but little below blood     
heat and from which the air is excluded 
for the time4 ,long practice  permits   
them thus to judge small differences of 
temperature  expeditiously and with     
great accuracy2 and they maintain       
different  temperatures during different
 stages of the incubation4 ,the men     
sleep in the room and some one is on    
duty continuously1 making the  rounds of
 the incubators and brooders1 examining 
and regulating each  according to its   
individual needs1 through the management
 of the  doors or the shifting of the   
quilts over the eggs in the brooder     
trays where the chicks leave the eggs   
and remain until they go to  the store4 
,in the finishing trays the eggs form   
rather more than one  continuous layer  
but the second layer does not cover more
 than a  fifth or a quarter of the area4
 ,hens' eggs are in these trays ten     
days1 ducks' and geese' eggs1 fourteen  
days4    ,after the chickens have been  

hatched sufficiently long to require    
feeding they are ready for market and   
are then sorted according to  sex and   
placed in separate shallow woven trays  
thirty inches in  diameter4 ,the sorting
 is done rapidly and accurately through 
the  sense of touch1 the operator       
recognizing the sex by gently pinching  
the anus4 ,four trays of young chickens 
were in the store fronting on  the      
street as we entered and several women  
were making purchases1  taking five to a
 dozen each4 ,dr4 ,haden informed me    
that nearly every  family in the cities1
 and in the country villages raise a    
few1 but  only a few1 chickens and it is
 a common sight to see grown chickens   
walking about the narrow streets1 in and
 out of the open stores1  dodging the   
feet of the occupants and passers-by4   
,at the time of our  visit this family  
was paying at the rate of ten cents1    
,mexican1 for  nine hens' and eight     
ducks' eggs1 and were selling their     
largest  strong chickens at three cents 

each4 ,these figures1 translated into   
our currency1 make the purchase price   
for eggs nearly #dh cents1 and  the     
selling price for the young chicks      
#a4bi1 per hundred1 or  thirteen eggs   
for six cents and seven chickens for    
nine cents4    ,it is difficult even to 
conceive1 not to say measure1 the vast  
import of this solution of how to       
maintain1 in the millions of  homes1 a  
constantly accessible supply of         
absolutely fresh and  thoroughly        
sanitary animal food in the form of meat
 and eggs4 ,the  great density of       
population in these countries makes the 
problem of  supplying eggs to the people
 very different from that in the ,united
  ,states4 ,our #bej1fjj1jjj fowl in    
#aijj was at the rate of three to  each 
person but in ,japan1 with her          
#af1ejj1jjj fowl1 she had in #aijf  but 
one for every three people4 ,her number 
per square mile of  cultivated land     
however was #hbe1 while in the ,united  
,states1 in  #aijj1 the number of fowls 

per square mile of improved farm land   
was  but #chg4 ,to give to ,japan three 
fowls to each person there would  needs 
be an average of about nine to each acre
 of her cultivated  land1 whereas in the
 ,united ,states there were in #aijj    
nearly two  acres of improved farm land 
for each fowl4 ,we have no statistics   
regarding the number of fowl in ,china  
or the number of eggs produced  but the 
total is very large and she exports to  
,japan4 ,the large boat  load of eggs   
seen in ,fig4 #ig had just arrived from 
the country1  coming into ,shanghai in  
one of her canals4    ,besides applying 
canal mud directly to the fields in the 
ways  described there are other very    
extensive practices of composting it    
with organic matter of one or another   
kind and of then using the  compost on  
the fields4 ,the next three             
illustrations show some of the  steps   
and something of the tremendous labor of
 body1 willingly and  cheerfully        
incurred1 and something of the          

forethought practiced1  that homes may  
be maintained and that grandparents1    
parents1 wives  and children need       
neither starve nor beg4 ,we had reached 
a place  seen in ,fig4 #ih1 where eight 
bearers were moving winter compost to a 
recently excavated pit in an adjoining  
field shown in ,fig4 #ii4    ,four      
months before the camera fixed the      
activity shown1 men had  brought waste  
from the stables of ,shanghai fifteen   
miles by water1  depositing it upon the 
canal bank between layers of thin mud   
dipped  from the canal1 and left it to  
ferment4 ,the eight men were removing   
this compost to the pit seen in ,fig4   
#ii1 then nearly filled4 ,near by  in   
the same field was a second pit seen in 
,fig4 #ajj1 excavated three  feet deep  
and rimmed about with the earth removed1
 making it two  feet deeper4    ,after  
these pits had been filled the clover   
which was in blossom  beyond the pits   
would be cut and stacked upon them to a 
height of  five to eight feet and this  

also saturated1 layer by layer1 with mud
  brought from the canal1 and allowed to
 ferment twenty to thirty days  until   
the juices set free had been absorbed by
 the winter compost  beneath1 helping to
 carry the ripening of that still       
further1 and  until the time had arrived
 for fitting the ground for the next    
crop4  ,this organic matter1 fermented  
with the canal mud1 would then be       
distributed by the men over the field1  
carried a third time on their           
shoulders1 notwithstanding its weight   
was many tons4    ,this manure had been 
collected1 loaded and carried fifteen   
miles by  water2 it had been unloaded   
upon the bank and saturated with canal  
mud2 the field had been fitted for      
clover the previous fall and  seeded2   
the pits had been dug in the fields2 the
 winter compost had  been carried and   
placed in the pits2 the clover was to be
 cut1  carried by the men on their      
shoulders1 stacked layer by layer and   
saturated with mud dipped from the      

canal2 the whole would later be         
distributed over the field and finally  
the earth removed from the  pits would  
be returned to them1 that the service of
 no ground upon  which a crop might grow
 should be lost4    ,such are the tasks 
to which ,chinese farmers hold          
themselves1 because  they are convinced 
desired results will follow1 because    
their  holdings are so small and their  
families so large4 ,these practices  are
 so extensive in ,china and so          
fundamental in the part they play  in   
the maintenance of high productive power
 in their soils that we  made special   
effort to follow them through different 
phases4 ,in ,fig4  #aja we saw the      
preparation being made to build one of  
the clover  compost stacks saturated    
with canal mud4 ,on the left the thin   
mud  had been dipped from the canal2    
way-farers in the center were  crossing 
the foot-bridge of the country by-way2  
and beyond rises the  conical thatch to 
shelter the water buffalo when pumping  

for  irrigating the rice crop to be fed 
with this plant food in  preparation4   
,on the right were two large piles of   
green clover  freshly cut and a woman of
 the family at one of them was spreading
  it to receive the mud1 while the      
men-folk were coming from the field     
with more clover on their carrying      
poles4 ,we came upon this scene  just   
before the dinner hour and after the    
workers had left another  photograph was
 taken at closer range and from a       
different side1  giving the view seen in
 ,fig4 #ajb4 ,the mud had been removed  
some days  and become too stiff to      
spread1 so water was being brought from 
the  canal in the pails at the right for
 reducing its consistency to that  of a 
thin porridge1 permitting it to more    
completely smear and  saturate the      
clover4 ,the stack grew1 layer by layer1
 each saturated  with the mud1 tramped  
solid with the bare feet1 trousers      
rolled  high4 ,provision had been made  
here for building four other stacks4    

,further along we came upon the scene in
 ,fig4 #ajc where the building  of the  
stack of compost and the gathering of   
the mud from the canal  were            
simultaneous4 ,on one side of the canal 
the son1 using a  clam-shell form of    
dipper made of basket-work1 which could 
be opened  and shut with a pair of      
bamboo handles1 had nearly filled the   
middle  section of his boat with the    
thin ooze1 while on the other side1     
against the stack which was building1   
the mother was emptying a  similar boat1
 using a large dipper1 also provided    
with a bamboo  handle4 ,the man on the  
stack is a good scale for judging its   
size4    ,we came next upon a finished  
stack on the bank of another canal1     
shown in ,fig4 #ajd1 where our umbrella 
was set to serve as a scale4  ,this     
stack measured ten by ten feet on the   
ground1 was six feet high  and must have
 contained more than twenty tons of the 
green compost4  ,at the same place1 two 
other stacks had been started1 each     

about  fourteen by fourteen feet1 and   
foundations were laid for six others1   
nine in all4    ,during twenty or more  
days this green nitrogenous organic     
matter is  permitted to lie fermenting  
in contact with the fine soil particles 
of the ooze with which it had been      
charged4 ,this is a remarkable  practice
 in that it is a very old1 intensive    
application of an  important fundamental
 principle only recently understood and 
added  to the science of agriculture1   
namely1 the power of organic matter1    
decaying rapidly in contact with soil1  
to liberate from it soluble  plant food2
 and so it would be a great mistake to  
say that these  laborious practices are 
the result of ignorance1 of a lack of   
capacity for accurate thinking or of    
power to grasp and utilize4 ,if  the    
agricultural lands of the ,united       
,states are ever called upon to  feed   
even #abjj millions of people1 a number 
proportionately less  than one-half that
 being fed in ,japan today1 very        

different  practices from those we are  
now following will have been adopted4   
,we  can believe they will require less 
human bodily effort and be more         
efficient4 ,but the knowledge which can 
make them so is not yet in  the         
possession of our farmers1 much less the
 conviction that plant  feeding and more
 persistent and better directed soil    
management are  necessary to such yields
 as will then be required4    ,later1   
just before the time for transplanting  
rice1 we returned to  the same district 
to observe the manner of applying this  
compost to  the field1 and ,fig4 #aje is
 prepared from photographs taken then1  
illustrating the activities of one      
family1 as seen during the  morning of  
,may #bhth4 ,their home was in a near-by
 village and their  holding was divided 
into four nearly rectangular paddies1   
graded to  water level1 separated by    
raised rims1 and having an area of      
nearly  two acres4 ,three of these      
little fields are partly shown in the   

illustration1 and the fourth in ,fig4   
#afj4 ,in the background of the  upper  
section of ,fig4 #aje1 and under the    
thatched shelter1 was a  native ,chinese
 cow1 blindfolded and hitched to the    
power-wheel of a  large wooden-chain    
pump1 lifting water from the canal and  
flooding  the field in the foreground1  
to soften the soil for plowing4 ,riding 
on the power-wheel was a girl of some   
twelve years1 another of seven  and a   
baby4 ,they were there for entertainment
 and to see that the  cow kept at work4 
,the ground had been sufficiently       
softened so that  the father had begun  
plowing1 the cow sinking to her knees as
 she  walked4 ,in the same paddy1 but   
shown in the section below1 a boy was   
spreading the clover compost with his   
hands1 taking care that it was  finely  
divided and evenly scattered4 ,he had   
been once around before  the plowing    
began4 ,this compost had been brought   
from a stack by the  side of a canal1   
and two other men were busy still       

bringing the  material to one of the    
other paddies1 one of whom1 with his    
baskets  on the carrying pole appears in
 the third section4 ,between these two  
paddies was the one seen at the bottom  
of the illustration1 which  had matured 
a crop of rape that had been pulled and 
was lying in  swaths ready to be moved4 
,two other men were busy here1 gathering
  the rape into large bundles and       
carrying it to the village home1  where 
the women were threshing out the seed1  
taking care not to  break the stems     
which1 after threshing1 were tied into  
bundles for  fuel4 ,the seed would be   
ground and from it an oil expressed1    
while  the cake would be used as a      
fertilizer4    ,this crop of rape is    
remarkable for the way it fits into the 
economies of these people4 ,it is a near
 relative of mustard and  cabbage2 it   
grows rapidly during the cooler portions
 of the season1  the spring crop        
ripening before the planting of rice and
 cotton2 its  young shoots and leaves   

are succulent1 nutritious1 readily      
digested  and extensively used as human 
food1 boiled and eaten fresh1 or  salted
 for winter use1 to be served with rice2
 the mature stems1  being woody1 make   
good fuel2 and it bears a heavy crop of 
seed1 rich  in oil1 which has been      
extensively used for lights and in      
cooking1  while the rape seed cake is   
highly prized as a manure and very      
extensively so used4    ,in the early   
spring the country is luxuriantly green 
with the large  acreage of rape1 later  
changing to a sea of most brilliant     
yellow  and finally to an ashy grey when
 the leaves fall and the stems and  pods
 ripen4 ,like the dairy cow1 rape       
produces a fat1 in the ratio of  about  
forty pounds of oil to a hundred pounds 
of seed1 which may be  eaten1 burned or 
sold without materially robbing the soil
 of its  fertility if the cake and the  
ashes from the stems are returned to    
the fields1 the carbon1 hydrogen and    
oxygen of which the oil is  almost      

wholly composed coming from the         
atmosphere rather than from  the soil4  
,in ,japan rape is grown as a second    
crop on both the upland and paddy       
fields1 and in #aijf she produced more  
than #e1edg1jjj bushels of the  seed2   
#a1hde1jjj worth of rape seed cake1     
importing enough more to  equal a total 
value of #b1ege1jjj1 all of which was   
used as a  fertilizer1 the oil being    
exported4 ,the yield of seed per acre in
  ,japan ranges between thirteen and    
sixteen bushels1 and the farmer  whose  
field was photographed estimated that   
his returns from the  crop would be at  
the rate of #fdj pounds of seed per     
acre1 worth  #f4ai1 and #h1jjj pounds of
 stems worth as fuel #e4af per acre4    
,,ix    ,,the ,,utilization ,,of ,,waste
            ,one of the most remarkable 
agricultural practices adopted by any   
civilized people is the centuries-long  
and well nigh universal  conservation   
and utilization of all human waste in   
,china1 ,korea and  ,japan1 turning it  

to marvelous account in the maintenance 
of soil  fertility and in the production
 of food4 ,to understand this  evolution
 it must be recognized that mineral     
fertilizers so  extensively employed in 
modern western agriculture1 like the    
extensive use of mineral coal1 had been 
a physical impossibility to  all people 
alike until within very recent years4   
,with this fact must  be associated the 
very long unbroken life of these nations
 and the  vast numbers their farmers    
have been compelled to feed4    ,when we
 reflect upon the depleted fertility of 
our own older farm  lands1 comparatively
 few of which have seen a century's     
service1 and  upon the enormous quantity
 of mineral fertilizers which are being 
applied annually to them in order to    
secure paying yields1 it  becomes       
evident that the time is here when      
profound consideration  should be given 
to the practices the ,mongolian race has
 maintained  through many centuries1    
which permit it to be said of ,china    

that  one-sixth of an acre of good land 
is ample for the maintenance of  one    
person1 and which are feeding an average
 of three people per  acre of farm land 
in the three southernmost of the four   
main islands  of ,japan4    ,from the   
analyses of mixed human excreta made by 
,wolff in ,europe and  by ,kellner in   
,japan it appears that1 as an average1  
these carry in  every #bjjj pounds #ab4g
 pounds of nitrogen1 #d pounds of       
potassium and  #a4g pounds of           
phosphorus4 ,on this basis and that of  
,carpenter1 who  estimates the average  
amount of excreta per day for the adult 
at #dj  ounces1 the average annual      
production per million of adult         
population is #e1gid1cjj pounds of      
nitrogen2 #a1hbe1jjj pounds of          
potassium1 and #gge1fjj pounds of       
phosphorus carried in #def1bej tons  of 
excreta4 ,the figures which ,hall cites 
in ,fertilizers and ,manures1  would    
make these amounts #g1idj1jjj pounds of 
nitrogen2 #c1jgj1ejj  pounds of         

potassium1 and #a1ife1fjj pounds of     
phosphorus1 but the  figures he takes   
and calls high averages give #ab1jjj1jjj
 of  nitrogen2 #d1aea1jjj pounds of     
potassium1 and #c1jeg1fjj pounds of     
phosphorus4    ,in #aijh the            
,international ,concessions of the city 
of ,shanghai sold  to one ,chinese      
contractor for #ca1jjj1 gold1 the       
privilege of  collecting #gh1jjj tons of
 human waste1 under stipulated          
regulations1  and of removing it to the 
country for sale to farmers4 ,the       
flotilla  of boats seen in ,fig4 #ajf is
 one of several engaged daily in        
,shanghai throughout the year in this   
service4    ,dr4 ,kawaguchi1 of the     
,national ,department of ,agriculture   
and  ,commerce1 taking his data from    
their records1 informed us that the     
human manure saved and applied to the   
fields of ,japan in #aijh  amounted to  
#bc1hej1bie tons1 which is an average of
 #a4ge tons per  acre of their #ba1cba  
square miles of cultivated land in their

 four  main islands4    ,on the basis of
 the data of ,wolff1 ,kellner and       
,carpenter1 or of  ,hall1 the people of 
the ,united ,states and of ,europe are  
pouring into  the sea1 lakes or rivers  
and into the underground waters from    
#e1gid1cjj to #ab1jjj1jjj pounds of     
nitrogen2 #a1hha1ijj to #d1aea1jjj      
pounds of potassium1 and #ggg1bjj to    
#c1jeg1fjj pounds of phosphorus  per    
million of adult population annually1   
and this waste we esteem  one of the    
great achievements of our civilization4 
,in the ,far ,east1  for more than      
thirty centuries1 these enormous wastes 
have been  religiously saved and today  
the four hundred million of adult       
population send back to their fields    
annually #aej1jjj tons of  phosphorus2  
#cgf1jjj tons of potassium1 and         
#a1aeh1jjj tons of  nitrogen comprised  
in a gross weight exceeding #ahb million
 tons1  gathered from every home1 from  
the country villages and from the  great
 cities like ,hankow-,wuchang-,hanyang  

with its #a1ggj1jjj people  swarming on 
a land area delimited by a radius of    
four miles4    ,man is the most         
extravagant accelerator of waste the    
world has ever  endured4 ,his withering 
blight has fallen upon every living     
thing  within his reach1 himself not    
excepted2 and his besom of destruction  
in the uncontrolled hands of a          
generation has swept into the sea  soil 
fertility which only centuries of life  
could accumulate1 and  yet this         
fertility is the substratum of all that 
is living4 ,it must  be recognized that 
the phosphate deposits which we are     
beginning to  return to our fields are  
but measures of fertility lost from     
older  soils1 and indices of processes  
still in progress4 ,the rivers of       
,north ,america are estimated to carry  
to the sea more than #ejj tons  of      
phosphorus with each cubic mile of      
water4 ,to such loss modern             
civilization is adding that of hydraulic
 sewage disposal through  which the     

waste of five hundred millions of people
 might be more  than #aid1cjj tons of   
phosphorus annually1 which could not be 
replaced by #a1bie1jjj tons of rock     
phosphate1 #ge per cent pure4 ,the      
,mongolian races1 with a population now 
approaching the figure named2  occupying
 an area little more than one-half that 
of the ,united  ,states1 tilling less   
than #hjj1jjj square miles of land1 and 
much of  this during twenty1 thirty or  
perhaps forty centuries2 unable to      
avail themselves of mineral fertilizers1
 could not survive and  tolerate such   
waste4 ,compelled to solve the problem  
of avoiding such  wastes1 and exercising
 the faculty which is characteristic of 
the  race1 they cast down their buckets 
where they were1 as    99,a ship lost at
 sea for many days suddenly sighted a   
friendly  vessel4 ,from the mast of the 
unfortunate vessel was seen a signal1   
,water1 water2 we die of thirst6 ,the   
answer from the friendly  vessel at once
 came back1 ,cast down your bucket where

 you are4 ,a  second time the signal1   
,water1 water2 ,send us water6 ran up   
from  the distressed vessel1 and was    
answered1 ,cast down your bucket  where 
you are4 ,and a third and fourth signal 
for water was  answered1 ,cast down your
 bucket where you are4 ,the captain of  
the  distressed vessel1 at last heeding 
the injunction1 cast down his  bucket1  
and it came up full of fresh sparkling  
water from the mouth  of the ,amazon    
river4 99,booker ,t4 ,washington1       
,atlanta address4    ,not even in great 
cities like ,canton1 built in the meshes
 of  tideswept rivers and canals2 like  
,hankow on the banks of one of the      
largest rivers in the world2 nor yet in 
modern ,shanghai1 ,yokohama or  ,tokyo1 
is such waste permitted4 ,to them such a
 practice has meant  race suicide and   
they have resisted the temptation so    
long that it  has ceased to exist4      
,dr4 ,arthur ,stanley1 ,health officer  
of the city of ,shanghai1 in his  annual
 report for #ahii1 considering this     

subject as a municipal  problem1 wrote3 
,regarding the bearing on the sanitation
 of ,shanghai of the  relationship      
between ,eastern and ,western hygiene1  
it may be said1  that if prolonged      
national life is indicative of sound    
sanitation1  the ,chinese are a race    
worthy of study by all who concern      
themselves  with ,public ,health4 ,even 
without the returns of a                
,registrar-,general  it is evident that 
in ,china the birth rate must very      
considerably  exceed the death rate1 and
 have done so in an average way during  
the  three or four thousand years that  
the ,chinese nation has existed4        
,chinese hygiene1 when compared with    
medieval ,english1 appears to           
advantage4 ,the main problem of         
sanitation is to cleanse the dwelling   
day by day1 and if this can be done at a
 profit so much the better4  ,while the 
ultra-civilized ,western elaborates     
destructors for burning  garbage at a   
financial loss and turns sewage into the

 sea1 the  ,chinaman uses both for      
manure4 ,he wastes nothing while the    
sacred  duty of agriculture is uppermost
 in his mind4 ,and in reality recent    
bacterial work has shown that faecal    
matter and house refuse are  best       
destroyed by returning them to clean    
soil1 where natural  purification takes 
place4 ,the question of destroying      
garbage can1 ,i  think1 under present   
conditions in ,shanghai1 be answered in 
a  decided negative4 ,while to adopt the
 water-carriage system for  sewage and  
turn it into the river1 whence the water
 supply is  derived1 would be an act of 
sanitary suicide4 ,it is best1          
therefore1  to make use of what is good 
in ,chinese hygiene1 which demands      
respect1 being1 as it is1 the product of
 an evolution extending from  more than 
a thousand years before the ,christian  
era4    ,the storage of such waste in   
,china is largely in stoneware          
receptacles such as are seen in ,fig4   
#aji1 which are hard-burned1  glazed    

terra-cotta urns1 having capacities     
ranging from #ejj to #ajjj  pounds4     
,japan more often uses sheltered        
cement-lined pits such as  are seen in  
,fig4 #aaj4    ,in the three countries  
the carrying to the fields is oftenest  
in  some form of pail1 as seen in ,fig4 
#aaa1 a pair of which are borne         
swinging from the carrying pole4 ,in    
applying the liquid to the field  or    
garden the long handle dipper is used1  
seen in ,fig4 #aab4    ,we are beginning
 to husband with some economy the waste 
from our  domestic animals but in this  
we do not approach that of ,china1      
,korea  and ,japan4 ,people in ,china   
regularly search for and collect        
droppings along the country and caravan 
roads4 ,repeatedly1 when  walking       
through city streets1 we observed such  
materials quickly and  apparently       
eagerly gathered1 to be carefully stored
 under conditions  which ensure small   
loss from either leaching or unfavorable
  fermentation4 ,in some mulberry       

orchards visited the earth had been     
carefully hoed back about the trunks of 
trees to a depth of three or  four      
inches from a circle having a diameter  
of six to eight feet1  and upon these   
areas were placed the droppings of      
silkworms1 the  moulted skins1 together 
with the bits of leaves and stem left   
after  feeding4 ,some disposition of    
such waste must be made4 ,they return at
  once to the orchard all but the silk  
produced from the leaves2  unnecessary  
loss is thus avoided and the material   
enters at once the  service of forcing  
the next crop of leaves4    ,on the farm
 of ,mrs4 ,wu1 near ,kashing1 while     
studying the operation  of two          
irrigation pumps driven by two cows1    
lifting water to flood  her twenty-five 
acres of rice field preparatory to      
transplanting1 we  were surprised to    
observe that one of the duties of the   
lad who had  charge of the animals was  
to use a six-quart wooden dipper with a 
bamboo handle six feet long to collect  

all excreta1 before they fell  upon the 
ground1 and transfer them to a          
receptacle provided for the  purpose4   
,there came a flash of resentment that  
such a task was set  for the lad1 for we
 were only beginning to realize to what 
lengths  the practice of economy may go1
 but there was nothing irksome          
suggested in the boy's face4 ,he        
performed the duty as a matter of       
course and as we thought it through     
there was no reason why it  should have 
been otherwise4 ,in fact1 the only right
 course was being  taken4 ,conditions   
would have been worse if the collection 
had not  been made4 ,it made possible   
more rice4 ,character of substantial    
quality was building in the lad which   
meant thrift in the growing  man and    
continued life for the nation4    ,we   
have adverted to the very small number  
of flies observed anywhere  in the      
course of our travel1 but its           
significance we did not realize  until  
near the end of our stay4 ,indeed1 for  

some reason1 flies were  more in        
evidence during the first two days on   
the steamship1 out  from ,yokohama on   
our return trip to ,america1 than at any
 time before  on our journey4 ,it is to 
be expected that the eternal vigilance  
which seizes every waste1 once it has   
become such1 putting it in  places of   
usefulness1 must contribute much toward 
the destruction of  breeding places1 and
 it may be these nations have been      
mindful of  the wholesomeness of their  
practice and that many phases of the    
evolution of their waste disposal system
 have been dictated by and  held fast to
 through a clear conception of sanitary 
needs4    ,much intelligence and the    
highest skill are exhibited by these    
old-world farmers in the use of their   
wastes4 ,in ,fig4 #aac is one of  many  
examples which might be cited4 ,the man 
walking down the row  with his manure   
pails swinging from his shoulders       
informed us on his  return that in his  
household there were twenty to be fed2  

that from  this garden of half an acre  
of land he usually sold a product       
bringing in #djj1 ,mexican1--#agb1 gold4
 ,the crop was cucumbers in  groups of  
two rows thirty inches apart and        
twenty-four inches  between the groups4 
,the plants were eight to ten inches    
apart in the  row4 ,he had just marketed
 the last of a crop of greens which     
occupied the space between the rows of  
cucumbers seen under the  strong1       
durable1 light and very readily         
removable trellises4 ,on ,may  #bh the  
vines were beginning to run1 so not a   
minute had been lost in  the change of  
crop4 ,on the contrary this man had     
added a month to  his growing season by 
over-lapping his crops1 and the         
trellises  enabled him to feed more     
plants of this type than there was room 
for  vines on the ground4 ,with         
ingenuity and much labor he had made his
  half acre for cucumbers equivalent to 
more than two4 ,he had removed  the     
vines entirely from the ground2 had     

provided a travel space two  feet wide1 
down which he was walking1 and he had   
made it possible to  work about the     
roots of every plant for the purpose of 
hoeing and  feeding4 ,four acres of     
cucumbers handled by ,american field    
methods  would not yield more than this 
man's one1 and he grows besides two     
other crops the same season4    ,the    
difference is not so much in activity of
 muscle as it is in  alertness and      
efficiency of the grey matter of the    
brain4 ,he sees  and treats each plant  
individually1 he loosens the ground so  
that  his liquid manure drops           
immediately beneath the surface within  
reach  of the active roots4 ,if the     
rainfall has been scanty and the soil is
  dry he may use ten of water to two of 
night soil1 not to supply  water but to 
make certain sufficiently deep          
penetration4 ,if the  weather is rainy  
and the soil over wet1 the food is      
applied more  concentrated1 not to      
lighten the burden but to avoid waste by

  leaching and over saturation4 ,while  
ever crowding growth he never           
overfeeds4 ,forethought1 after-thought  
and the mind focused on the  work in    
hand are characteristic of these people4
 ,we do not recall to  have seen a man  
smoking while at work4 ,they enjoy      
smoking1 but  prefer to do this also    
with the attention undivided and thus   
get  more for their money4    ,on       
another date earlier in ,may we were    
walking in the fields without  an       
interpreter4 ,for half an hour we stood 
watching an old gardener  fitting the   
soil with his spading hoe in the manner 
seen in ,fig4 #bf1  where the graves of 
his ancestors occupy a part of the land4
  ,angleworms were extremely numerous1  
as large around as an ordinary  lead    
pencil and1 when not extended1          
two-thirds as long1 decidedly  greenish 
in color4 ,nearly every stroke of the   
spade exposed two to  five of these     
worms but so far as we observed1 and we 
watched the  man closely1 pulverizing   

the soil1 he neither injured nor left   
uncovered a single worm4 ,while he      
seemed to make no effort to avoid       
injuring them or to cover them with     
earth1 and while we could not  talk with
 him1 we are convinced that his action  
was continually  guarded against        
injuring the worms4    ,they certainly  
were subsoiling his garden deeply and   
making possible  a freer circulation of 
air far below the surface4 ,their great 
abundance proved a high content of      
organic matter present in the  soil and1
 as the worms ate their way through it1 
passing the soil  through their bodies1 
the yearly volume of work done by them  
was  very great4 ,in the fields flooded 
preparatory to fitting them for  rice   
these worms are forced to the surface in
 enormous numbers and  large flocks of  
ducks are taken to such fields to feed  
upon them4    ,in another field a crop  
of barley was nearing maturity4 ,an     
adjacent  strip of land was to be fitted
 and planted4 ,the leaning barley heads 

were in the way4 ,not one must be lost  
and every inch of ground must  be put to
 use4 ,the grain along the margin1 for a
 breadth of sixteen  inches1 had been   
gathered into handfuls and skillfully   
tied1 each  with an unpulled barley     
stem1 without breaking the straw1 thus  
permitting even the grains in that head 
to fill and be gathered with  the rest1 
while the tying set all straws well     
aslant1 out of the  way1 and permitted  
the last inch of naked ground to be     
fitted  without injuring the grain4     
,in still another instance a man was    
growing ,irish potatoes to market  when 
yet small4 ,he had enriched his soil2 he
 would apply water if  the rains were   
not timely and sufficient1 and had fed  
the plants4 ,he  had planted in rows    
only twelve to fourteen inches apart    
with a hill  every eight inches in the  
row4 ,the vines stood strong1 straight1 
fourteen inches high and as even as a   
trimmed hedge4 ,the leaves and  stems   
were turgid1 the deepest green and as   

prime and glossy as a  prize steer4 ,so 
close were the plants that there was    
leaf surface to  intercept the sunshine 
falling on every square inch of the     
patch4  ,there were no potato beetles   
and we saw no signs of injury but the   
gardener was scanning the patch with the
 eye of a robin4 ,he spied  the         
slightest first drooping of leaves in a 
stem2 went after the  difficulty and    
brought and placed in our hand a        
cutworm1 a young  tuber the size of a   
marble and a stem cut half off1 which he
 was  willing to sacrifice because of   
our evident interest4 ,but the two      
friends who had met were held apart by  
the babel of tongues4    ,nothing is    
costing the world more2 has made so many
 enemies1 and has  so much hindered the 
forming of friendships as the inability 
to  fully understand2 hence the dove    
that brings world peace must fly on  the
 wings of a common language1 and the    
bright star in the east is  world       
commerce1 rising on rapidly developing  

railway and steamship  lines1 heralded  
and directed by electric communication4 
,with world  commerce must come mutual  
confidence and friendship requiring a   
full  understanding and therefore a     
common tongue4 ,then world peace will   
be permanently assured4 ,it is coming   
inevitably and faster than we  think4   
,once this desired end is seriously     
sought1 the carrying of  three          
generations of children through the     
public schools where the  world language
 is taught together with the mother     
tongue1 and the  passing of the parents 
and grandparents1 would effect the      
change4    ,the important point         
regarding these ,far ,east people1 to   
which  attention should be directed1 is 
that effective thinking1 clear and      
strong1 prevails among the farmers who  
have fed and are still  feeding the     
dense populations from the products of  
their limited  areas4 ,this is further  
indicated in the universal and extensive
 use  of plant ashes derived from fuel  

grown upon cultivated fields and  upon  
the adjacent hill and mountain lands4   
,we were unable to secure exact data    
regarding the amount of fuel  burned    
annually in these countries1 and of     
ashes used as fertilizer1  but a cord of
 dry oak wood weighs about #cejj pounds1
 and the weight  of fuel used in the    
home and in manufactures must exceed    
that of two  cords per household4 ,japan
 has an average of #e4efc people per    
family4 ,if we allow but #acjj pounds of
 fuel per capita1 ,japan's  consumption 
would be #ca1bjj1jjj tons4 ,in view of  
the fact that a  very large share of the
 fuel used in these countries is either 
agricultural plant stems1 with an       
average ash content of #e per cent1  or 
the twigs and even leaves of trees1 as  
in the case of pine bough  fuel1 #d4e   
per cent of ash may be taken as a fair  
estimate4 ,on this  basis1 and with a   
content of phosphorus equal to 4#e per  
cent1 and of  potassium equal to #e per 
cent1 the fuel ash for ,japan would     

amount  to #a1djd1jjj tons annually1    
carrying #gjbj tons of phosphorus and   
#gj1bjj tons of potassium1 together with
 more than #djj1jjj tons of  limestone1 
which is returned annually to less than 
#ba1cba square  miles of cultivated     
land4    ,in ,china1 with her more than 
four hundred millions of people1 a      
similar rate of fuel consumption would  
make the phosphorus and  potassium      
returned to her fields more than eight  
times the amounts  computed for ,japan4 
,on the basis of these statements       
,japan's annual  saving of phosphorus   
from the waste of her fuel would be     
equivalent  to more than #df1hjj tons of
 rock phosphate having a purity of #ge  
per  cent1 or in the neighborhood of    
seven pounds per acre4 ,if this  amount1
 even with the potash and limestone     
added1 appears like a  trifling addition
 of fertility it is important for       
,americans to  remember that even if    
this is so1 these people have felt      
compelled  to make the saving4    ,in   

the matter of returning soluble         
potassium to the cultivated  fields     
,japan would be applying with her ashes 
the equivalent of no  less than #aef1fjj
 tons of pure potassium sulphate1 equal 
to #bc  pounds per acre2 while the lime 
carbonate so applied annually would  be 
some #fb pounds per acre4    ,in        
addition to the forest lands1 which have
 long been made to  contribute plant    
food to the cultivated fields through   
fuel ashes1  there are large areas which
 contribute green manure and compost    
material4 ,these are chiefly hill lands1
 aggregating some twenty per  cent of   
the cultivated fields1 which bear mostly
 herbaceous growth4  ,some #b1eeb1gda   
acres of these lands may be cut over    
three times each  season1 yielding1 in  
#aijc1 an average of #gihj pounds per   
acre4 ,the  first cutting of this hill  
herbage is mainly used on the rice      
fields  as green manure1 it being       
tramped into the mud between the rows   
after the manner seen in ,fig4 #aad4    

,this man had been with basket and      
sickle to gather green herbage  wherever
 he could and had brought it to his rice
 paddy4 ,the day in  ,july was extremely
 sultry4 ,we came upon him wading in the
 water half  way to his knees1 carefully
 laying the herbage he had gathered     
between alternate rows of his rice1 one 
handful in a place1 with  tips          
overlapping4 ,this done he took the     
attitude seen in the  illustration and1 
gathering the materials into a compact  
bunch1  pressed it beneath the surface  
with his foot4 ,the two hands smoothed  
the soft mud over the grass and righted 
the disturbed spears of rice  in the two
 adjacent hills4 ,thus1 foot following  
foot1 one bare  length ahead1 the       
succeeding bunches of herbage were      
submerged until  the last had been      
reached1 following between alternate    
rows only a  foot apart1 there being a  
hill every nine to ten inches in the row
  and the hands grasping and being drawn
 over every one in the paddy4    ,he was

 renting the land1 paying therefor forty
 kan of rice per tan1  and his usual    
yield was eighty kan4 ,this is          
forty-four bushels of  sixty pounds per 
acre4 ,in unfavorable seasons his yield 
might be  less but still his rent would 
be forty kan per tan unless it was      
clear that he had done all that could   
reasonably be expected of him  in       
securing the crop4 ,it is difficult for 
,americans to understand  how it is     
possible for the will of man1 even when 
spurred by the  love of home and family1
 to hold flesh to tasks like these4     
,the second and third cuttings of       
herbage from the genya lands in  ,japan 
are used for the preparation of compost 
applied on the  dry-land fields in the  
fall or in the spring of the following  
season4 ,some of these lands are        
pastured1 but approximately  #aj1ahe1ejj
 tons of green herbage grown and        
gathered from the hills  contributes    
much of its organic matter and all of   
its ash to enrich  the cultivated       

fields4 ,such wild growth areas in      
,japan are the  commons of the near by  
villages1 to which the people are freely
  admitted for the purpose of cutting   
the herbage4 ,a fixed time may be  set  
for cutting and a limit placed upon the 
amount which may be  carried away1 which
 is done in the manner seen in ,fig4    
#aae4 ,it is  well recognized by the    
people that this constant cutting and   
removal  of growth from the hill lands1 
with no return1 depletes the soils  and 
reduces the amount of green herbage they
 are able to secure4    ,through the    
kindness of ,dr4 ,daikuhara of the      
,imperial ,agricultural  ,experiment    
,station at ,tokyo we are able to give  
the average  composition of the green   
leaves and young stems of five of the   
most  common wild species of plants cut 
for green manure in ,june4 ,in each     
#ajjj pounds the amount of water is     
#efb4ah pounds2 of organic matter1      
#chb4fh pounds2 of ash1 #ee4ad pounds2  
nitrogen1 #d4gh pounds2  potassium1     

#b4djg pounds1 and phosphorus1 4#cd     
pound4 ,on the basis of  this           
composition and an aggregate yield of   
#aj1ahe1ejj tons1 there  would be       
annually applied to the cultivated      
fields #cdfc tons of  phosphorus and    
#bd1eaf tons of potassium derived from  
the genya  lands4    ,in addition to    
this the run-off from both the mountain 
and the genya  lands is largely used    
upon the rice fields1 more than sixteen 
inches  of water being applied annually 
to them in some prefectures4 ,if such   
waters have the composition of river    
waters in ,north ,america1 twelve       
inches of water applied to the rice     
fields of the three main islands  would 
contribute no less than #abjj tons of   
phosphorus and #ai1jjj  tons of         
potassium annually4    ,dr4 ,kawaguchi1 
of the ,national ,department of         
,agriculture and  ,commerce1 informed us
 that in #aijh ,japanese farmers        
prepared and  applied to their fields   
#bb1hab1ghg tons of compost manufactured

 from  the wastes of cattle1 horses1    
swine and poultry1 combined with        
herbage1 straw and other similar wastes 
and with soil1 sod or mud  from ditches 
and canals4 ,the amount of this compost 
is sufficient to  apply #a4gh tons per  
acre of cultivated land of the southern 
three  main islands4    ,from data      
obtained at the ,nara ,experiment       
,station1 the composition  of compost as
 there prepared shows it to contain1 in 
each #bjjj  pounds1 #eej pounds of      
organic matter2 #ae4f pounds of         
nitrogen2 #h4c  pounds of potassium1 and
 #e4bd pounds of phosphorus4 ,on this   
basis  #bb1hjj1jjj tons of compost will 
carry #ei1gjj tons of phosphorus and    
#id1fjj tons of potassium4 ,the         
construction of compost houses is       
illustrated in ,fig4 #aaf1 reproduced   
from a large circular sent to  farmers  
from the ,nara ,experiment ,station1 and
 an exterior of one at  the ,nara       
,station is given in ,fig4 #aag4        
,this compost house is designed to serve

 two and a half acres4 ,its  floor is   
twelve by eighteen feet1 rendered       
watertight by a mixture  of clay1 lime  
and sand4 ,the walls are of earth1 one  
foot thick1 and  the roof is thatched   
with straw4 ,its capacity is sixteen to 
twenty  tons1 having a cash value of #fj
 yen1 or #cj4 ,in preparing the stack1  
materials are brought daily and1 spread 
over one side of the compost  floor     
until the pile has attained a height of 
five feet4 ,after one  foot in depth has
 been laid and firmed1 #a4b inches of   
soil or mud is  spread over the surface 
and the process repeated until full     
height  has been attained4 ,water is    
added sufficient to keep the whole      
saturated and to maintain the           
temperature below that of the body4     
,after the compost stacks have been     
completed they are permitted to  stand  
five weeks in summer1 seven weeks in    
winter1 when they are  forked over and  
transferred to the opposite side of the 
house4    ,if we state in round numbers 

the total nitrogen1 phosphorus and      
potassium thus far enumerated which     
,japanese farmers apply or return       
annually to their twenty or twenty-one  
thousand square miles of  cultivated    
fields1 the case stands #che1bad tons of
 nitrogen1 #ia1fef  tons of phosphorus  
and #bee1ggh tons of potassium4 ,these  
values are  only approximations and do  
not include the large volume and variety
  of fertilizers prepared from fish1    
which have long been used4  ,neither do 
they include the very large amount of   
nitrogen derived  directly from the     
atmosphere through their long1 extensive
 and  persistent cultivation of soy     
beans and other legumes4 ,indeed1 from  
#aijc to #aijf the average area of paddy
 field upon which was grown a  second   
crop of green manure in the form of some
 legume was #f4h per  cent of the total 
area of such fields aggregating #aa1jjj 
square  miles4 ,in #aijf over #ah per   
cent of the upland fields also produced 
some leguminous crop1 these fields      

aggregating between #i1jjj and  #aj1jjj 
square miles4    ,while the values which
 have been given above1 expressing the  
sum  total of nitrogen1 phosphorus and  
potassium applied annually to the       
cultivated fields of ,japan may be      
somewhat too high for some of the       
sources named1 there is little doubt    
that ,japanese farmers apply to  their  
fields more of these three plant food   
elements annually than  has been        
computed4 ,the amounts which have been  
given are sufficient  to provide        
annually1 for each acre of the #ba1cba  
square miles of  cultivated land1 an    
application of not less than #ef pounds 
of  nitrogen1 #ac pounds of phosphorus  
and #cg pounds of potassium4 ,or1 if  we
 omit the large northern island of      
,hokkaido1 still new in its  agriculture
 and lacking the intensive practices of 
the older farm  land1 the quantities are
 sufficient for a mean application of   
#fj1 #ad  and #dj pounds respectively of
 nitrogen1 phosphorus and potassium per 

acre1 and yet the maturing of #ajjj     
pounds of wheat crop1 covering  grain   
and straw as water-free substance1      
removes from the soil but  #ac4i pounds 
of nitrogen1 #b4c pounds of phosphorus  
and #h4d pounds of  potassium1 from     
which it may be computed that the #fj   
pounds of  nitrogen added is sufficient 
for a crop yielding #ca bushels of      
wheat2 the phosphorus is sufficient for 
a crop of #dd bushels1 and  the         
potassium for a crop of #ce bushels per 
acre4 ,dr4 ,hopkins1 in his  recent     
valuable work on ,soil ,fertility and   
,permanent ,agriculture  gives1 on page 
#aed1 a table from which we abstract the
 following  data3       ,,approximate   
,,amounts ,,of ,,nitrogen1 ,,phosphorus 
,,and ,,potassium ,,removable           
,,per ,,acre ,,annually ,,by            
,nitrogen1  ,phosphorus1  ,potassium1   
pounds4     pounds4      pounds4   #ajj 
bush4 crop of corn              #adh    
#bc           #ga   #ajj bush4 crop of  
oats               #ig          #af     

#fh    #ej bush4 crop of wheat          
#if          #af           #eh    #be   
bush4 crop of soy beans         #aei    
#ba           #gc   #ajj bush4 crop of  
rice              #aee          #ah     
#ie     #c ton crop of timothy hay      
#gb           #i           #ga     #d   
ton crop of clover hay          #afj    
#bj          #abj     #c ton crop of cow
 pea hay         #acj          #ad      
#ih     #h ton crop of alfalfa hay      
#djj          #cf          #aib  #gjjj  
lb4 crop of cotton              #afh    
#bi4d         #hb   #djj bush4 crop of  
potatoes           #hd          #ag4c   
#abj    #bj ton crop of sugar beets     
#ajj          #ah          #aeg         
,annually applied in ,japan1 more than  
#fj          #ad           #dj      ,we 
have inserted in this table1 for        
comparison1 the crop of rice1  and have 
increased the crop of potatoes from     
three hundred bushels  to four hundred  
bushels per acre1 because such a yield1 
like all of  those named1 is quite      

practicable under good management and   
favorable seasons1 notwithstanding the  
fact that much smaller yields  are      
generally attained through lack of      
sufficient plant food or  water4 ,from  
this table1 assuming that a crop of     
matured grain  contains #aa per cent of 
water and the straw #ae per cent1 while 
potatoes contain #gi per cent and beets 
#hg per cent1 the amounts of  the three 
plant food elements removable annually  
by #ajjj pounds of  crop have been      
calculated and stated in the next table4
        ,,approximate ,,amounts ,,of    
,,nitrogen1 ,,phosphorus ,,and          
,,potassium    ,,removable ,,annually   
,,per #a1jjjj ,,pounds ,,of ,,dry ,,crop
 ,,substance                            
,nitrogen1  ,phosphorus1   ,potassium1  
pounds4     pounds4       pounds4       
,cereals4  ,wheat                       
#ac4hgc      #b4cab         #h4chb      
,oats                    #ac4fff        
#b4bed         #i4ehj  ,corn            
#ac4gai      #b4adi         #f4fgf      

,legumes4  ,soy beans                   
#cj4hjg      #d4jgj        #ad4adg  ,cow
 peas                #be4dij      #b4gde
        #ai4baf  ,clover                
#bc4ebi      #b4ida        #ag4fdg      
,alfalfa                 #bi4daa        
#b4fdg        #ad4aah                   
,roots4  ,beets                         
#ai4bac      #c4dfb        #cj4aib      
,potatoes                #ae4eef        
#c4baj        #bb4bbb                   
,grass4  ,timothy                       
#ad4aag      #a4gfe        #ac4ibb      
,rice                     #i4idi        
#a4abi         #f4jhi      ,from the    
amounts of nitrogen1 phosphorus and     
potassium applied  annually to the      
cultivated fields of ,japan and from the
 data in  these two tables it may be    
readily seen that these people are now  
and probably long have been applying    
quite as much of these three  plant food
 elements to their fields with each     
planting as are  removed with the crop1 
and if this is true in ,japan it must   

also be  true in ,china4 ,moreover there
 is nothing in ,american agricultural   
practice which indicates that we shall  
not ultimately be compelled  to do      
likewise4              ,x    ,,in ,,the 
,,shantung ,,province            ,on    
,may #aeth we left ,shanghai by one of  
the coastwise steamers for  ,tsingtao1  
some three hundred miles farther north1 
in the ,shantung  ,province1 our object 
being to keep in touch with methods of  
tillage  and fertilization1             
corresponding phases of which would     
occur later  in the season there4       
,the ,shantung province is in the       
latitude of ,north ,carolina and        
,kentucky1 or lies between that of ,san 
,francisco and ,los ,angeles4 ,it  has  
an area of nearly #ef1jjj square miles1 
about that of ,wisconsin4  ,less than   
one-half of this area is cultivated land
 yet it is at the  present time         
supporting a population exceeding       
#ch1jjj1jjj of people4  ,new ,york state
 has today less than ten millions and   

more than half  of these are in ,new    
,york city4    ,it was in this province 
that ,confucius was born #bdfa years    
ago1 and  that ,mencius1 his disciple1  
lived4 ,here1 too1 seventeen hundred    
years before ,confucius' time1 after one
 of the great floods of the  ,yellow    
river1 #bbig ,b4 ,c41 and more than     
#dajj years ago1 the ,great ,yu  was    
appointed ,superintendent of ,public    
,works and entrusted with  draining off 
the flood waters and canalizing the     
rivers4    ,here also was the beginning 
of the ,boxer uprising4 ,tsingtao sits  
at  the entrance of ,kiaochow ,bay4     
,following the war of ,japan with ,china
  this was seized by ,germany1 ,november
 #ad1 #ahig1 nominally to  indemnify for
 the murder of two ,german missionaries 
which had  occurred in ,shantung1 and   
,march #fth1 #ahih1 this bay1 to the    
high  water line1 its islands and a     
,sphere of ,influence extending thirty  
miles in all directions from the        
boundary1 together with ,tsingtao1  was 

leased to ,germany for ninety-nine      
years4 ,russia demanded and  secured a  
lease of ,port ,arthur at the same time4
 ,great ,britain  obtained a similar    
lease of ,weihaiwei in ,shantung1 while 
to ,france  ,kwangchow-wan in southern  
,china1 was leased4 ,but the            
encroachments  of ,european powers did  
not stop with these leases and during   
the  latter part of #ahih the ,policy of
 ,spheres of ,influence culminated  in  
the international rivalry for railway   
concessions and mining4  ,these greatly 
alarmed ,china and uprisings broke out  
very naturally  first in ,shantung1     
among the people nearest of kin to the  
founders  of the ,empire4 ,as might have
 been expected of a patriotic1 even     
though naturally peaceful people1 they  
determined to defend their  country     
against such encroachments and the      
,boxer troubles followed4    ,tsingtao  
has a deep1 commodious harbor always    
free from ice and  ,germany is          
constructing here very extensive and    

substantial harbor  improvements which  
will be of lasting benefit to the       
province and  the ,empire4 ,a pier four 
miles in length encloses the inner      
wharf1  and a second wharf is nearing   
completion4 ,germany is also            
maintaining a meteorological observatory
 here and has established a  large1     
comprehensive ,forest ,garden1 under    
excellent management1  which is showing 
remarkable developments for so short a  
time4    ,our steamer entered the harbor
 during the night and1 on going  ashore1
 we soon found that only ,chinese and   
,german were generally  spoken2 but     
through the kind assistance of ,rev4 ,w4
 ,h4 ,scott1 of the  ,american          
,presbyterian ,mission1 an interpreter  
promised to call at my  hotel in the    
evening1 although he failed to appear4  
,the afternoon  was spent at the ,forest
 ,garden and on the reforestation tract1
 which  are under the supervision of    
,mr4 ,haas4 ,the ,forest ,garden covers 
two  hundred and seventy acres and the  

reforestation tract three thousand      
acres more4 ,in the garden a great      
variety of forest and fruit trees  and  
small fruits are being tried out with   
high promise of the most  valuable      
results4    ,it was in the steep hills  
about ,tsingtao that we first saw at    
close  range serious soil erosion in    
,china2 and the returning of forest     
growth on hills nearly devoid of soil   
was here remarkable1 in view  of the    
long dry seasons which prevail from     
,november to ,june1 and  ,fig4 #aah     
shows how destitute of soil the crests  
of granite hills may  become and yet how
 the coming back of the forest growth   
may hasten  as soon as it is no longer  
cut away4 ,the rock going into decay1   
where this view was taken1 is an        
extremely coarse crystalline  granite1  
as may be seen in contrast with the     
watch1 and it is  falling into decay at 
a marvelous rate4 ,disintegration has   
penetrated the rock far below the       
surface and the large crystals are  held

 together with but little more tenacity 
than prevails in a bed  of gravel4      
,moisture and even roots penetrate it   
deeply and readily  and the crystals    
fall apart with thrusts of the knife    
blade1 the  rock crumbling with the     
greatest freedom4 ,roadways have been   
extensively carved along the sides of   
the hills with the aid of only  pick and
 shovel4 ,close examination of the rock 
shows that layers of  sediment exist    
between the crystal faces1 either washed
 down by  percolating rain or formed    
through decomposition of the crystals in
  place4 ,the next illustration1 ,fig4  
#aai1 shows how large the growth  on    
such soils may be1 and in ,fig4 #abj the
 vegetation and forest  growth are seen 
coming back1 closely covering just such 
soil  surfaces and rock structure as are
 indicated in ,figs4 #aah and #aai4     
,these views are taken on the           
reforestation tract at ,tsingtao but    
most of the growth is volunteer1        
standing now protected by the  ,german  

government in their effort to see what  
may be possible under  careful          
supervision4    ,the loads of pine bough
 fuel represented in ,fig4 #hj were     
gathered  from such hills and from such 
forest growth as are here represented1  
but on lands more distant from the city4
 ,but ,tsingtao1 with its  forty        
thousand ,chinese1 and ,kiaochow across 
the bay1 with its one  hundred and      
twenty thousand more1 and other villages
 dotting the  narrow plains1 maintain a 
very great demand for such growth on the
  hill lands4 ,the wonder is that forest
 growth has persisted at all  and has   
contributed so much in the way of fuel4 
,growing in the ,forest ,garden was a   
most beautiful wild yellow rose1  native
 to ,shantung1 being used for landscape 
effect in the parking1  and it ought to 
be widely introduced into other         
countries wherever  it will thrive4 ,it 
was growing as heavy borders and massive
 clumps  six to eight feet high1 giving 
a most wonderful effect1 with its       

brilliant1 dense cloud of the richest   
yellow bloom4 ,the blossoms are  single1
 fully as large as the ,rosa rugosa1    
with the tips of the  petals shading    
into the most dainty light straw yellow1
 while the  center is a deep orange1 the
 contrast being sufficient to show in   
the photograph from which ,fig4 #aba was
 prepared4 ,another beautiful  and      
striking feature of this rose is the    
clustering of the blossoms  in one-sided
 wreath-like sprays1 sometimes twelve to
 eighteen inches  long1 the flowers     
standing close enough to even overlap4  
,the interpreter engaged for us failed  
to appear as per agreement so  the next 
morning we took the early train for     
,tsinan to obtain a  general view of the
 country and to note the places most    
favorable as  points for field study4   
,we had resolved also to make an effort 
to  secure an interpreter through the   
,american ,presbyterian ,college at     
,tsinan4 ,leaving ,tsingtao1 the train  
skirts around the ,kiaochow bay  for a  

distance of nearly fifty miles1 where we
 pass the city of the  same name with   
its population of #abj1jjj1 which had an
 import and  export trade in #aije      
valued at over #bd1jjj1jjj4 ,at ,sochen 
we passed  through a coal mining        
district where coal was being brought to
 the  cars in baskets carried by men4   
,the coal on the loaded open cars was   
sprinkled with whitewash1 serving as a  
seal to safe-guard against  stealing    
during transit1 making it so that none  
could be removed  without the fact being
 revealed by breaking the seal4 ,this   
practice  is general in ,china and is   
applied to many commodities handled in  
bulk4 ,we saw baskets of milled rice    
carried by coolies sealed with a        
pattern laid over the surface by        
sprinkling some colored powder upon  it4
 ,cut stone1 corded for the market1 was 
whitewashed in the same  manner as the  
coal4    ,as we were approaching        
,weihsien1 another city of #ajj1jjj     
people1 we  identified one of the deeply

 depressed1 centuries-old roadways1 worn
  eight to ten feet deep1 by chancing to
 see half a dozen teams  passing along  
it as the train crossed4 ,we had passed 
several and  were puzzling to account   
for such peculiar erosion4 ,the teams   
gave  the explanation and thus connected
 our earlier reading with the  concrete4
 ,along these deep-cut roadways caravans
 may pass1 winding  through the fields1 
entirely unobserved unless one chances  
to be  close along the line or the      
movement is discovered by clouds of     
dust1 one of the methods that has       
produced them1 and we would not be      
surprised if gathering manure from them 
has played a large part  also4          
,weihsien is near one of the great      
commercial highways of ,china and  in   
the center of one of the coal mining    
regions of the province4  ,still further
 along towards ,tsinan we passed        
,tsingchowfu1 another of  the large     
cities of the province1 with #aej1jjj   
population4 ,all day  we rode through   

fields of wheat1 always planted in rows1
 and in  hills in the row east of       
,kaumi1 but in single or double         
continuous  drills westward from here to
 ,tsinan4 ,thousands of wells used for  
irrigation1 of the type seen in ,fig4   
#abc1 were passed during the  day1 many 
of them recently dug to supply water for
 the barley  suffering from the severe  
drought which was threatening the crop  
at  the time4    ,it was #f3cj ,p4 ,m4  
before our train pulled into the station
 at  ,tsinan2 #g3cj when we had finished
 supper and engaged a ricksha to  take  
us to the ,american ,presbyterian       
,college in quest of an  interpreter4   
,we could not speak ,chinese1 the       
ricksha boy could  neither speak nor    
understand a word of ,english1 but the  
hotel  proprietor had instructed him    
where to go4 ,we plunged into the       
narrow streets of a great ,chinese city1
 the boy running wherever he  could1    
walking where he must on account of the 
density of the crowds  or the roughness 

of the stone paving4 ,we had turned many
 corners1  crossed bridges and passed   
through tunneled archways in sections of
  the massive city walls1 until it was  
getting dusk and the ricksha  man       
purchased and lighted a lantern4 ,we    
were to reach the college in  thirty    
minutes but had been out a full hour4 ,a
 little later the boy  drew up to and   
held conference with a policeman4 ,the  
curious of the  street gathered about   
and it dawned upon us that we were lost 
in the  night in the narrow streets of a
 ,chinese city of a hundred thousand    
people4 ,to go further would be useless 
for the gates of the mission  compound  
would be locked4 ,we could only indicate
 by motions our  desire to return1 but  
these were not understood4 ,on the train
 a  thoughtful1 kindly old ,german had  
recognized a stranger in a foreign  land
 and volunteered useful information1    
cutting from his daily  paper an        
advertisement describing a good hotel4  
,this gave the name  of the hotel in    

,german1 ,english and in ,chinese       
characters4 ,we handed  this to the     
policeman1 pointing to the name of the  
hotel1 indicating  by motions the desire
 to return1 but apparently he was unable
 to  read in either language and seemed 
to think we were assuming to  direct the
 way to the college4 ,a man and boy in  
the crowd apparently  volunteered to act
 as escort for us4 ,the throng parted   
and we left  them1 turned more corners  
into more unlighted narrow alleyways1   
one  of which was too difficult to      
permit us to ride4 ,the escorts1 if     
such they were1 finally left us1 but the
 dark alley led on until it  terminated 
at the blank face1 probably of some     
other portion of the  massive city wall 
we had thrice threaded through lighted  
tunnels4  ,here the ricksha boy stopped 
and turned about but the light from his 
lantern was too feeble to permit reading
 the workings of his mind  through his  
face1 and our tongues were both utterly 
useless in this  emergency1 so we       

motioned for him to turn back and by    
some route we  reached the hotel at #aa 
,p4 ,m4    ,we abandoned the effort to  
visit the college1 for the purpose of   
securing an interpreter1 and took the   
early train back to ,tsingtao1  reaching
 there in time to secure the very       
satisfactory service of  ,mr4 ,chu ,wei 
,yung1 through the further kind offices 
of ,mr4 ,scott4 ,we  had been twice over
 the road between the two cities1       
obtaining a  general idea of the country
 and of the crops and field operations  
at  this season4 ,the next morning we   
took an early train to ,tsangkau and    
were ready to walk through the fields   
and to talk with the last  generations  
of more than forty unbroken centuries of
 farmers who1  with brain and brawn1    
have successfully and continuously      
sustained  large families on small areas
 without impoverishing their soil4 ,the 
next illustration is from a photograph  
taken in one of these fields4  ,we      
astonished the old farmer by asking the 

privilege of holding his  plow through  
one round in his little field1 but he   
granted the  privilege readily4 ,our    
furrow was not as well turned as his1   
nor as  well as we could have done with 
a two-handled ,oliver or ,john ,deere1  
but it was better than the old man had  
expected and won his respect4    ,this  
plow had a good steel point1 as a       
separate1 blunt1 ,v-shaped  piece1 and a
 moldboard of cast steel with a good    
twist which turned  the soil well4 ,the 
standard and sole were of wood and at   
the end of  the beam was a block for    
gauging the depth of furrow4 ,the cost  
of  this plow1 to the farmer1 was #b4ae1
 gold1 and when the day's work  is done 
it is taken home on the shoulders1 even 
though the distance  may be a mile or   
more1 and carefully housed4 ,chinese    
history states  that the plow was       
invented by ,shennung1 who lived        
#bgcg-bfig ,b4 ,c4  and taught the art  
of agriculture and the medical use of   
herbs4 ,he  is honored as the ,god of   

,agriculture and ,medicine4    ,through 
my interpreter we learned that there    
were twelve in this  man's family1 which
 he maintained on fifteen mow of land1  
or #b4e  acres1 together with his team1 
consisting of a cow and small donkey1   
besides feeding two pigs4 ,this is at   
the rate of #aib people1 #af  cows1 #af 
donkeys and #cb pigs on a forty-acre    
farm2 and of a  population density      
equivalent to #cjgb people1 #bef cows1  
#bef donkeys  and #eab swine per square 
mile of cultivated field4    ,on another
 small holding we talked with the farmer
 standing at the  well in ,fig4 #bg1    
where he was irrigating a little piece  
of barley #cj  feet wide and #ach feet  
long4 ,he owned and was cultivating but 
one  and two-thirds acres of land and   
yet there were ten in his family  and he
 kept one donkey and usually one pig4   
,here is a maintenance  capacity at the 
rate of #bdj people1 #bd donkeys and #bd
 pigs on a  forty-acre farm2 and a      
population density of #chdj people1 #chd

  donkeys and #chd pigs per square mile4
 ,his usual annual sales in good        
seasons were equivalent in value to #gc1
 gold4    ,in both of these cases the   
crops grown were wheat1 barley1 large   
and  small millet1 sweet potatoes and   
soy beans or peanuts4 ,much straw  braid
 is manufactured in the province by the 
women and children in  their homes1 and 
the cargo of the steamer on which we    
returned to  ,shanghai consisted almost 
entirely of shelled peanuts in gunny    
sacks  and huge bales of straw braid    
destined for the manufacture of hats  in
 ,europe and ,america4    ,shantung has 
only moderate rainfall1 little more than
 #bd inches  annually1 and this fact has
 played an important part in determining
  the agricultural practices of these   
very old people4 ,in ,fig4 #abc is  a   
closer view than ,fig4 #bg of the farmer
 watering his little field  of barley4  
,the well had just been dug over eight  
feet deep1  expressly and solely to     
water this one piece of grain once1     

after  which it would be filled and the 
ground planted4    ,the season had been 
unusually dry1 as had been the one      
before1 and  the people were fearing    
famine4 ,only #b4dd inches of rain had  
fallen  at ,tsingtao between the end of 
the preceding ,october and our visit1   
,may #bast1 and hundreds of such        
temporary wells had been or were  being 
dug all along both sides of the two     
hundred and fifty miles of  railway1 and
 nearly all to be filled when the crop  
on the ground was  irrigated1 to release
 the land for one to follow4 ,the homes 
are in  villages a mile or more apart   
and often the holdings or rentals are   
scattered1 separated by considerable    
distances1 hence easy  portability is   
the key-note in the construction of this
 irrigating  outfit4 ,the bucket is very
 light1 simply a woven basket           
waterproofed  with a paste of bean      
flour4 ,the windlass turns like a long  
spool on  a single pin and the standard 
is a tripod with removable legs4 ,some  

wells we saw were sixteen or twenty feet
 deep and in these the water  was raised
 by a cow walking straight away at the  
end of a rope4    ,the amount and       
distribution of rainfall in this        
province1 as  indicated by the mean of  
ten years' records at ,tsingtao1        
obtained at  the ,german ,meteorological
 ,observatory through the courtesy of   
,dr4 ,b4  ,meyermanns1 are given in the 
table in which the rainfall of ,madison1
  ,wisconsin1 is inserted for           
comparison4          ,mean monthly      
rainfall4 ,mean rainfall ,in #aj days4  
,tsingtao1 ,madison1 ,tsingtao1         
,madison1            ,inches4   ,inches4
  ,inches4   ,inches4  ,january    4#cid
     #a4ef      4#aca      4#ebj        
,february   4#bdj     #a4ej      4#jhj  
4#ejj  ,march      4#hib     #b4ab      
4#big      4#gjg  ,april     #a4bdj     
#b4fb      4#dac      4#hdj  ,may       
#a4fcf     #c4fb      4#ede     #a4bjg  
,june      #b4gjb     #d4aj      4#ija  
#a4hff  ,july      #f4fcg     #c4ij     

#b4bab     #a4cjj  ,august    #e4aeg    
#c4ba     #a4gai     #a4jgj  ,september 
#b4ddh     #c4ae      4#haf     #a4jej  
,october   #b4beh     #b4db      4#gec  
4#hjg  ,november   4#cih     #a4gh      
4#acb      4#eic  ,december   4#fhb     
#a4gg      4#bbg      4#eij             
------------  ,total    #bd4fhb         
#ca4fe      ,while ,shantung receives   
less than #be inches of rain during the 
year1  against ,wisconsin's more than   
#ca inches1 the rainfall during ,june1  
,july and ,august in ,shantung is nearly
 #ad4e inches1 while ,wisconsin         
receives but #aa4b inches4 ,this greater
 summer rainfall1 with  persistent      
fertilization and intense management1 in
 a warm latitude1  are some of the      
elements permitting ,shantung today to  
feed  #ch1bdg1ijj people from an area   
equal to that upon which ,wisconsin is  
yet feeding but #b1ccc1hfj4 ,must       
,american agriculture ultimately feed   
sixteen people where it is now feeding  
but one8 ,if so1  correspondingly more  

intense and effective practices must    
follow1  and we can neither know too    
well nor too early what these ,old      
,world  people have been driven to do2  
how they have succeeded1 and how we  and
 they may improve upon their practices  
and lighten the human  burdens by more  
fully utilizing physical forces and     
mechanical  appliances4    ,as we passed
 on to other fields we found a mother   
and daughter  transplanting sweet       
potatoes on carefully fitted ridges of  
nearly  air-dry soil in a little field1 
the remnant of a table on a deeply      
eroded hillside1 ,fig4 #abd4 ,the       
husband was bringing water for          
moistening the soil from a deep ravine a
 quarter of a mile distant1  carrying it
 on his shoulder in two buckets1 ,fig4  
#abe1 across an  intervening gulch4 ,he 
had excavated four holes at intervals up
 the  gulch and from these1 with a      
broken gourd dipper mended with         
stitches1 he filled his pails1 bailing  
in succession from one to the  other in 

regular rotation4    ,the daughter was  
transplanting4 ,holding the slip with   
its tip  between thumb and fingers1 a   
strong forward stroke plowed a furrow   
in the mellow1 dry soil2 then1 with a   
backward movement and a  downward       
thrust1 planted the slip1 firmed the    
soil about it1 leaving  a depression in 
which the mother poured about a pint of 
water from  another gourd dipper4 ,after
 this water had soaked away1 dry earth  
was drawn about the slip and firmed and 
looser earth drawn over  this1 the only 
tools being the naked hands and dipper4 
,the father and mother were dressed in  
coarse garb but the daughter  was neatly
 clad1 with delicate hands decorated    
with rings and a  bracelet4 ,neither of 
the women had bound feet4 ,there were   
ten in his  family2 and on adjacent     
similar areas they had small patches of 
wheat nearly ready for the harvest1 all 
planted in hills1 hoed1 and  in         
astonishingly vigorous condition        
considering the extreme drought  which  

prevailed4 ,the potatoes were being     
planted under these extreme  conditions 
in anticipation of the rainy season     
which then was fully  due4 ,the summer  
before had been one of unusual drought1 
and famine  was threatened4 ,the        
government had recently issued an edict 
that no  sheep should be sold from the  
province1 fearing they might be needed  
for food4 ,an old woman in one of the   
villages came out1 as we walked         
through1 and inquired of my interpreter 
if we had come to make it  rain4 ,such  
was the stress under which we found     
these people4    ,one of the large      
farmers1 owning ten acres1 stated that  
his usual  yield of wheat in good season
 was #afj catty per mow1 equivalent to  
#ba4c bushels per acre4 ,he was         
expecting the current season not more   
than one half this amount4 ,as a        
fertilizer he used a prepared earth     
compost which we shall describe later1  
mixing it with the grain and  sowing in 
the hills with the seed1 applying about 

#eccc pounds per  acre1 which he valued1
 in our currency1 at #h4fj1 or #c4bb per
 ton4  ,a pile of such prepared compost 
is seen in ,fig4 #abf1 ready to be      
transferred to the field4 ,the views    
show with what cleanliness the  yard is 
kept and with what care all animal waste
 is saved4 ,the cow  and donkey are the 
work team1 such as was being used by the
 plowman  referred to in ,fig4 #abb4    
,the mounds in the background of the    
lower  view are graves2 the fence behind
 the animals is made from the stems  of 
the large millet1 kaoliang1 while that  
at the right of the donkey  is made of  
earth1 both indicative of the scarcity  
of lumber4 ,the  buildings1 too1 are    
thatched and their walls are of earth   
plastered  with an earthen mortar worked
 up with chaff4    ,in another field a  
man plowing and fertilizing for sweet   
potatoes  had brought to the field and  
laid down in piles the finely           
pulverized dry compost4 ,the father was 
plowing2 his son of sixteen  years was  

following and scattering1 from a basket1
 the pulverized  dry compost in the     
bottom of the furrow4 ,the next furrow  
covered the  fertilizer1 four turned    
together forming a ridge upon which the 
potatoes were to be planted after a     
second and older son had  smoothed and  
fitted the crest with a heavy hand rake4
 ,the fertilizer  was thus applied      
directly beneath the row1 at the rate of
 #gdjj  pounds per acre1 valued at      
#g4ae1 our currency1 or #a4ic per ton4  
,we were astonished at the moist        
condition of the soil turned1 which  was
 such as to pack in the hand            
notwithstanding the extreme drought     
prevailing and the fact that standing   
water in the ground was more  than eight
 feet below the surface4 ,the field had 
been without crop  and cultivated4 ,to  
the question1 ,what yield of sweet      
potatoes do  you expect from this piece 
of land8 he replied1 ,about #djjj catty1
  which is #ddj bushels of #ef pounds   
per acre4 ,the usual market price  was  

stated to be #a4jj1 ,mexican1 per one   
hundred catty1 making the  gross value  
of the crop #gi4di1 gold1 per acre4 ,his
 land was valued  at #fj1 ,mexican1 per 
mow1 or #aed4hj per acre1 gold4    ,my  
interpreter informed me that the average
 well-to-do farmers in  this part of    
,shantung own from fifteen to twenty mow
 of land and  this amount is quite ample
 to provide for eight people4 ,such     
farmers  usually keep two cows1 two     
donkeys and eight or ten pigs4 ,the less
  well-to-do or small farmers own two to
 five mow and act as  superintendents   
for the larger farmers4 ,taking the     
largest holding1  of twenty mow per     
family of eight people1 as a basis1 the 
density  per square mile would be #aecf 
people1 and an area of farm land equal  
to the state of ,wisconsin would have   
#hf1jjj1jjj people2 #ba1ejj1jjj  cows2  
#ba1ejj1jjj donkeys and #hf1jjj1jjj     
swine4 ,these observations  apply to one
 of the most productive sections of the 
province1 but  very large areas of land 

in the province are not cultivable and  
the  last census showed the total       
population nearly one-half of this      
amount4 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that   
either very effective  agricultural     
methods are practiced or else extreme   
economy is  exercised4 ,both are true4  
,on this day in the fields our          
interpreter procured his dinner at a    
farm house1 bringing us four boiled     
eggs1 for which he paid at the  rate of 
#h4c cents of our money1 but his dinner 
was probably included  in the price4    
,the next table gives the prices for    
some articles  obtained by inquiry at   
the ,tsingtao market1 ,may #bcrd1 #aiji1
 reduced  to our currency4              
,cents  ,old potatoes1 per lb           
#b4ah  ,new potatoes1 per lb            
#b4hg  ,salted turnip1 per lb           
4#hf  ,onions1 per lb                   
#d4aj  ,radishes1 bunch of #aj          
#a4bi  ,string beans1 per lb            
#aa4df  ,cucumbers1 per lb              
#e4gh  ,pears1 per lb                   

#e4gc  ,apricots1 per lb                
#h4fj  ,pork1 fresh1 per lb             
#aj4cc  ,fish1 per lb                   
#e4gc  ,eggs1 per dozen                 
#e4af      ,the only items which are low
 compared with our own prices are salted
  turnips1 radishes and eggs4 ,most of  
the articles listed were out of  season 
for the locality and were imported for  
the foreigners1  turnips1 radishes1     
pork1 fish and eggs being the           
exceptions4 ,prof4  ,ross informs us    
that he found eggs selling in ,shensi at
 four for one  cent of our money4       
,our interpreter asked a compensation of
 one dollar1 ,mexican1 or #dc  cents1   
,u4 ,s4 currency1 per day1 he furnishing
 his own meals4 ,the  usual wage for    
farm labor here was #h4fj1 per year1    
with board and  lodging4 ,we have       
referred to the wages paid by           
missionaries for  domestic service4 ,as 
servants the ,chinese are considered    
efficient1  faithful and trustworthy4   
,it was the custom of ,mr4 and ,mrs4    

,league  to intrust them with the purse 
for marketing1 feeling that they  could 
be depended upon for the closest        
bargaining4 ,commonly1 when  instructed 
to procure a certain article1 if they   
found the price one  or two cash higher 
than usual they would select a cheaper  
substitute4 ,if questioned as to why    
instructions were not followed  the     
reply would be ,too high1 no can afford4
    ,mrs4 ,league recited her experience
 with her cook regarding his use  of our
 kitchen appliances4 ,after fitting the 
kitchen with a modern  range and cooking
 utensils1 and working with him to      
familiarize him  with their use1 she was
 surprised1 on going into the kitchen a 
few  days later1 to find that the old   
,chinese stove had been set on the      
range and the cooking being done with   
the usual ,chinese furniture4  ,when    
asked why he was not using the stove his
 reply was ,take too  much fire4        
,nothing jars on the nerves of these    
people more than  incurring of needless 

expense1 extravagance in any form1 or   
poor  judgment in making purchases4     
,daily we became more and more impressed
 by the evidence of the  intense and    
incessant stress imposed by the dense   
populations of  centuries1 and how1     
under it1 the laws of heredity have     
wrought upon  the people1 affecting     
constitution1 habits and character4     
,even the  cattle and sheep have not    
escaped its irresistible power4 ,many   
times  in this province we saw men      
herding flocks of twenty to thirty sheep
  along the narrow unfenced pathways    
winding through the fields1 and  on the 
grave lands4 ,the prevailing drought had
 left very little  green to be had from 
these places and yet sheep were         
literally  brushing their sides against 
fresh green wheat and barley1 never     
molesting them4 ,time and again the     
flocks were stampeded into the  grain by
 an approaching train1 but immediately  
they returned to  their places without  
taking a nibble4 ,the voice of the      

shepherd and  an occasional well aimed  
lump of earth only being required to    
bring  them back to their uninviting    
pastures4    ,in ,kiangsu and ,chekiang 
provinces a line of half a dozen white  
goats  were often seen feeding single   
file along the pathways1 held by a  cord
 like a string of beads1 sometimes led  
by a child4 ,here1 too1  one of the most
 common sights was the water buffalo    
grazing  unattended among the fields    
along the paths and canal banks1 with   
crops all about1 ,one of the most       
memorable shocks came to us in          
,chekiang1 ,china1 when we had fallen   
into a revery while gazing at  the      
shifting landscape from the doorway of  
our low-down ,chinese  houseboat4       
,something in the sky and the vegetation
 along the canal  bank had recalled the 
scenes of boyhood days and it seemed1 as
 we  looked aslant up the bank with its 
fringe of grass1 that we were  gliding  
along ,whitewater creek through familiar
 meadows and that  standing up would    

bring the old home in sight4 ,that      
instant there  glided into view1 framed 
in the doorway and projected high       
against  the tinted sky above the       
setting sun1 a giant water buffalo      
standing  motionless as a statue on the 
summit of a huge grave mound1 lifted    
fully ten feet above the field4 ,but in 
a flash this was replaced by  a         
companion scene1 and with all its       
beautiful setting1 which had  been as   
suddenly fixed on the memory fourteen   
years before in the  far away ,trossachs
 when our coach1 hurriedly rounding a   
sharp turn  in the hills1 suddenly      
exposed a wild ox of ,scotland similarly
  thrust against the sky from a small   
but isolated rocky summit1 and  then1   
outspeeding the wireless1 recollection  
crossed two oceans and  an intervening  
continent1 bringing us back to ,china   
before a speed  of five miles1 per hour 
could move the first picture across the 
narrow doorway4    ,it was through the  
fields about ,tsangkow that the stalwart

  freighters referred to1 ,fig4 #cb1    
passed us on one of the paths  leading  
from ,kiaochow through unnumbered       
country villages1 already  eleven miles 
on their way with their wheelbarrows    
loaded with  matches made in ,japan4    
,many of the wheelbarrow men seen in    
,shanghai  and other cities are from    
,shantung families1 away for employment1
  expecting to return4 ,during the      
harvest season1 too1 many of these      
people go west and north into ,manchuria
 seeking employment1  returning to their
 homes in winter4 ,alexander ,hosie1 in 
his book on  ,manchuria1 states that    
from ,chefoo alone more than #bj1jjj    
,chinese  laborers cross to ,newchwang  
every spring by steamer1 others finding 
their way there by junks or other means1
 so that after the harvest  season      
#h1jjj more return by steamer to ,chefoo
 than left that way in  the spring1 from
 which he concludes that ,shantung      
annually supplies  ,manchuria with      
agricultural labor to the extent of     

#cj1jjj men4    ,about the average      
condition of wheat in ,shantung during  
this dry  season1 and nearing maturity1 
is seen in ,fig4 #abg1 standing rather  
more than three feet high1 as indicated 
by our umbrella between the  rows4      
,beyond the wheat and to the right1     
grave mounds serrate the  sky line1 no  
hills being in sight1 for we were in the
 broad plain  built up from the sea     
between the two mountain islands forming
 the  highlands of ,shantung4    ,on    
,may #bbnd we were in the fields north  
of ,kiaochow1 some sixty  miles by rail 
west from ,tsingtao1 but within the     
neutral zone  extending thirty miles    
back from the high water line of the bay
 of  the same name4 ,here the ,germans  
had built a broad macadam road after    
the best ,european type but over it were
 passing the vehicles of  forty         
centuries seen in ,figs4 #abh and #abi4 
,it is doubtful if the  resistance to   
travel experienced by these men on the  
better road was  enough less than that  

on the old paths they had left to       
convince  them that the cost of         
construction and maintenance would be   
worth  while until vehicles and the     
price of labor change4 ,it may appear   
strange that with a nation of so many   
millions and with so long a  history1   
roads have persisted as little more than
 beaten foot-paths2  but modern methods 
of transportation have remained physical
  impossibilities to every people until 
the science of the last  century opened 
the way4 ,throughout their history the  
burdens of  these people have been      
carried largely on foot1 mostly on the  
feet  of men1 and of single men wherever
 the load could be advantageously       
divided4 ,animals have been supplemental
 burden bearers but1 as with  the men1  
they have carried the load directly on  
their own feet1 the  mode least         
disturbed by inequalities of road       
surface4    ,for adaptability to the    
worst road conditions no vehicle equals 
the  wheelbarrow1 progressing by one    

wheel and two feet4 ,no vehicle is  used
 more in ,china1 if the carrying pole is
 excepted1 and no  wheelbarrow in the   
world permits so high an efficiency of  
human  power as the ,chinese1 as must be
 clear from ,figs4 #cb and #fa1 where   
nearly the whole load is balanced on the
 axle of a high1 massive  wheel with    
broad tire4 ,a shoulder band from the   
handles of the  barrow relieves the     
strain on the hands and1 when the load  
or the  road is heavy1 men or animals   
may aid in drawing1 or even1 when the   
wind is favorable1 it is not unusual to 
hoist a sail to gain  propelling power4 
,it is only in northern ,china1 and then
 in the more  level portions1 where     
there are few or no canals1 that carts  
have  been extensively used1 but are    
more difficult to manage on bad  roads4 
,most of the heavy carts1 especially    
those in ,manchuria1 seen  in ,fig4     
#bjc1 have the wheels framed rigidly to 
the axle which  revolves with them1 the 
bearing being in the bed of the cart4   

,but  new carts of modern type are being
 introduced4    ,in the extent of       
development and utilization of inland   
waterways no  people have approached the
 ,chinese4 ,in the matter of land       
transportation they have clearly        
followed the line of least  resistance  
for individual initiative1 so           
characteristic of  industrial ,china4   
,there are ,government courier or postal
 roads which connect ,peking  with the  
most distant parts of the ,empire1 some 
twenty-one being  usually enumerated4   
,these1 as far as practicable1 take the 
shortest  course1 are often cut into the
 mountain sides and even pass through   
tunnels4 ,in the plains regions these   
roads may be sixty to  seventy-five feet
 wide1 paved and occasionally bordered  
by rows of  trees4 ,in some cases1 too1 
signal towers are erected at intervals  
of  three miles and there are inns along
 the way1 relay posts and  stations for 
soldiers4    ,we have spoken of planting
 grain in rows and in hills in the row4 

,in  ,fig4 #acj is a field with the rows
 planted in pairs1 the members  being   
#af inches apart1 and together occupying
 #cj inches4 ,the space  between each   
pair is also #cj inches1 making five    
feet in all4 ,this  makes frequent      
hoeing practicable1 which is begun early
 in the  spring and is repeated after   
every rain4 ,it also makes it possible  
to feed the plants when they can utilize
 food to the best advantage  and to     
repeat the feeding if desirable4        
,besides1 the ground in the  wider space
 may be fitted1 fertilized and another  
crop planted  before the first is       
removed4 ,the hills alternate in the    
rows and are  #bd to #bf inches from    
center to center4    ,the planting may  
be done by hand or with a drill such as 
that in  ,fig4 #aca1 ingenious in the   
simple mechanism which permits planting 
in hills4 ,the husbandman had just      
returned from the field with the  drill 
on his shoulder when we met at the door 
of his village home1  where he explained

 to us the construction and operation of
 the drill  and permitted the photograph
 to be taken1 but turning his face      
aside1 not wishing to represent a       
specific character1 in the view4  ,in   
the drill there was a heavy leaden      
weight swinging free from a  point above
 the space between the openings leading 
to the respective  drill feet4 ,when    
planting1 the operator rocks the drill  
from side to  side1 causing the weight  
to hang first over one and then over the
  other opening1 thus securing          
alternation of hills in each pair of    
rows4    ,counting the heads of wheat in
 the hill in a number of fields showed  
them ranging between #bj and #ajj1 the  
distance between the rows and  between  
the hills as stated above4 ,there were  
always a larger number  of stalks per   
hill where the water capacity of the    
soil was large1  where the ground water 
was near the surface1 and where the soil
 was  evidently of good quality4 ,this  
may have been partly the result of      

stooling but we have little doubt that  
judgment was exercised in  planting1    
sowing less seed on the lighter soils   
where less moisture  was available4 ,in 
the piece just referred to1 in the      
illustration1  an average hill contained
 #df stalks and the number of kernels in
 a  head varied between #bj and #cj4    
,taking ,richardson's estimate of       
#ab1jjj kernels of wheat to the pound1  
this field would yield about  twelve    
bushels of wheat per acre this unusually
 dry season4 ,our  interpreter1 whose   
parents lived near ,kaomi1 four stations
 further  west1 stated that in #aija1   
one of their best seasons1 farmers there
  secured yields as high as #hge catty  
per legal mow1 which is at the  rate of 
#aaf bushels per acre4 ,such a yield on 
small areas highly  fertilized and      
carefully tilled1 when the rainfall is  
ample or where  irrigation is practiced1
 is quite possible and in the ,kiangsu  
province we observed individual small   
fields which would certainly  approach  

close to this figure4    ,further along 
in our journey of the day we came upon a
 field where  three1 one of them a boy  
of fourteen years1 were hoeing and      
thinning  millet and maize4 ,in ,china1 
during the hot weather1 the only garment
  worn by the men in the field1 was     
their trousers1 and the boy had  found  
these unnecessary1 although he slipped  
into them while we were  talking with   
his father4 ,the usual yield of maize   
was set at #dbj to  #dhj catty per mow1 
and that of millet at #fjj catty1 or #fj
 to #fh4e  bushels of maize and #if     
bushels of millet1 of fifty pounds1 per 
acre1 and the usual price would make the
 gross earnings #bc4dh to  #bf4hc per   
acre for the maize1 and #cj4if1 gold1   
for the millet4    ,it was evident when 
walking through these fields that the   
fall-sowed  grain was standing the      
drought far better than the barley      
planted in  the spring1 quite likely    
because of the deeper and stronger      
development of root system made possible

 by the longer period of  growth1 and   
partly because the wheat had made much  
of its growth  utilizing water that had 
fallen before the barley was planted and
  which would have been lost from the   
soil through percolation and  surface   
evaporation4 ,farmers here are very     
particular to hoe their  grain1         
beginning in the early spring1 and      
always after rains1  thoroughly         
appreciating the efficiency of earth    
mulches4 ,their hoe1  seen in ,fig4     
#acb1 is peculiarly well adapted to its 
purpose1 the  broad blade being so hung 
that it draws nearly parallel with the  
surface1 cutting shallow and permitting 
the soil to drop practically  upon the  
place from which it was loosened4 ,these
 hoes are made in  three parts2 a wooden
 handle1 a long1 strong and heavy iron  
socket  shank1 and a blade of steel4    
,the blade is detachable and different  
forms and sizes of blades may be used on
 the same shank4 ,the  mulch-producing  
blades may have a cutting edge thirteen 

inches long  and a width of nine inches4
    ,at short intervals on either hand1 
along the two hundred and fifty  miles  
of railway between ,tsingtao and        
,tsinan1 were observed many  piles of   
earth compost distributed in the fields4
 ,one of these piles  is seen in ,fig4  
#acc4 ,they were sometimes on unplanted 
fields1 in  other cases they occurred   
among the growing crops soon to be      
harvested1 or where another crop was to 
be planted between the rows  of one     
already on the ground4 ,some of these   
piles were six feet  high4 ,all were    
built in cubical form with flat top and 
carefully  plastered with a layer of    
earth mortar which sometimes cracked on 
drying1 as seen in the illustration4    
,the purpose of this careful  shaping   
and plastering we did not learn although
 our interpreter  stated it was to      
prevent the compost from being          
appropriated for use  on adjacent       
fields4 ,such a finish would have the   
effect of a seal1  showing if the pile  

had been disturbed1 but we suspect other
  advantages are sought by the          
treatment1 which involves so large an   
amount of labor4    ,the amount of this 
earth compost prepared and used annually
 in  ,shantung is large1 as indicated by
 the cases cited1 where more than  five 
thousand pounds1 in one instance1 and   
seven thousand pounds in  another1 were 
applied per acre for one crop4 ,when two
 or more crops  are grown the same year 
on the same ground1 each is fertilized1 
hence from three to six or more tons may
 be applied to each  cultivated acre4   
,the methods of preparing compost and of
 fertilizing  in ,kiangsu1 ,chekiang and
 ,kwangtung provinces have been         
described4 ,in  this part of ,shantung1 
in ,chihli and north in ,manchuria as   
far as  ,mukden1 the methods are        
materially different and if possible    
even  more laborious1 but clearly       
rational and effective4 ,here nearly if 
not all fertilizer compost is prepared  
in the villages and carried  to the     

fields1 however distant these may be4   
,rev4 ,t4 ,j4 ,league very kindly       
accompanied us to ,chengyang on the     
railway1 from which we walked some two  
miles1 back to a prosperous  rural      
village to see their methods of         
preparing this compost  fertilizer4 ,it 
was toward the close of the afternoon   
before we  reached the village1 and from
 all directions husbandmen were         
returning from the fields1 some with    
hoes1 some with plows1 some  with drills
 over their shoulders and others leading
 donkeys or  cattle1 and similar customs
 obtain in ,japan1 as seen in ,fig4     
#acd4  ,these were mostly the younger   
men4 ,when we reached the village       
streets the older men1 all bareheaded1  
as were those returning from  the       
fields1 and usually with their queues   
tied about the crown1 were  visiting1   
enjoying their pipes of tobacco4        
,opium is no longer used openly in      
,china1 unless it be permitted to  some 
well along in years with the habit      

confirmed1 and the growing  of the poppy
 is prohibited4 ,the penalties for      
violating the law are  heavy and        
enforcement is said to be rigid and     
effective4 ,for the  first violation a  
fine is imposed4 ,if convicted of a     
second  violation the fine is heavier   
with imprisonment added to help the     
victim acquire self control1 and a third
 conviction may bring the  death        
penalty4 ,the eradication of the opium  
scourge must prove a  great blessing to 
,china4 ,but with the passing of this   
most  formidable evil1 for whose        
infliction upon ,china ,england was     
largely  responsible1 it is a great     
misfortune that through the pitiless    
efforts of the ,british-,american       
,tobacco ,company her people are        
rapidly becoming addicted to the western
 tobacco habit1 selfish  beyond excuse1 
filthy beyond measure1 and unsanitary in
 its  polluting and oxygen-destroying   
effect upon the air all are  compelled  
to breathe4 ,it has already become a    

greater and more  inexcusable burden    
upon mankind than opium ever was4       
,china1 with her already overtaxed      
fields1 can ill afford to give  over an 
acre to the cultivation of this crop and
 she should prohibit  the growing of    
tobacco as she has that of the poppy4   
,let her take  the wise step now when   
she readily may1 for all civilized      
nations  will ultimately be compelled to
 adopt such a measure4 ,the ,united     
,states in #aijb had more than a million
 acres growing tobacco1 and  harvested  
#hba1jjj1jjj pounds of leaf4 ,this leaf 
depleted those soils  to the extent of  
more than twenty eight million pounds of
 nitrogen1  twenty-nine million pounds  
of potassium and nearly two and a half  
million pounds of phosphorus1 all so    
irrecoverably lost that even  ,china1   
with her remarkable skill in saving and 
her infinite patience  with little      
things1 could not recover them for her  
soils4 ,on a like  area of field might  
as readily be grown twenty million      

bushels of  wheat and if the twelve     
hundred million pounds of grain were all
  exported it would deplete the soil    
less than the tobacco crop in           
everything but phosphorus1 and in this  
about the same4 ,used at home1  ,china  
would return it all to one or another   
field4 ,the home  consumption of tobacco
 in the ,united ,states averaged seven  
pounds  per capita in #aijb4 ,a like    
consumption for ,china's four hundred   
millions would call for #bhjj million   
pounds of leaf4 ,if she grew it  on her 
fields two million acres would not      
suffice4 ,her soils would  be           
proportionately depleted and she would  
be short forty million  bushels of      
wheat2 but if ,china continues to import
 her tobacco the  vast sum expended can 
neither fertilize her fields nor feed1  
clothe  or educate her people1 yet a    
like sum expended in the importation of 
wheat would feed her hungry and enrich  
her soils4    ,in the matter of         
conservation of national resources here 

is one of  the greatest opportunities   
open to all civilized nations4 ,what    
might  not be done in the ,united       
,states with a fund of #eg1jjj1jjj      
annually1 the market price of the raw   
tobacco leaf1 and the land1  the labor  
and the capital expended in getting the 
product to the men  who puff1 breathe   
and perspire the noxious product into   
the air  everyone must breathe1 and who 
bespatter the streets1 sidewalks1 the   
floor of every public place and         
conveyance1 and befoul the million      
spittoons1 smoking rooms and smoking    
cars1 all unnecessary and  should be    
uncalled for1 but whose installation and
 up-keep the  non-user as well as the   
user is forced to pay1 and this in a    
country  of1 for and by the people4     
,this costly1 filthy1 selfish tobacco   
habit should be outgrown4 ,let it begin 
in every new home1 where the  mother    
helps the father in refusing to set the 
example1 and let its  indulgence be     
absolutely prohibited to everyone while 

in public  school and to all in         
educational institutions4    ,mr4       
,league had been given a letter of      
introduction to one of the  leading     
farmers of the village and it chanced   
that as we reached the  entrance way to 
big home we were met by his son1 just   
returning from  the fields with his     
drill on his shoulder1 and it is he     
standing in  the illustration1 ,fig4    
#aca1 holding the letter of introduction
 in  his hand4 ,after we had taken this 
photograph and another one looking  down
 the narrow street from the same point1 
we were led to the small  open court of 
the home1 perhaps forty by eighty feet1 
upon which all  doors of the one-storied
 structures opened4 ,it was dry and bare
 of  everything green1 but a row of very
 tall handsome trees1 close  relatives  
of our cottonwood1 with trunks thirty   
feet to the limbs1  looked down into the
 court over the roofs of the low        
thatched  houses4 ,here we met the      
father and grandfather of the man with  

the  drill1 so that1 with the boy       
carrying the baby in his arms1 who had  
met his father in the street gateway1   
there were four generations of  males at
 our conference4 ,there were women and  
girls in the household  but custom      
requires them to remain in retirement on
 such occasions4    ,a low narrow       
four-legged bench1 not unlike our       
carpenter's sawhorse1  five feet long1  
was brought into the court as a seat1   
which our host  and we occupied in      
common4 ,we had been similarly received 
at the  home of ,mrs4 ,wu in ,chekiang  
province4 ,on our right was the open    
doorway to the kitchen in which stood1  
erect and straight1 the tall  spare     
figure of the patriarch of the          
household1 his eyes still  shining black
 but with hair and long thin straggling 
beard a uniform  dull ashen gray4 ,no   
,chinese hair1 it seems1 ever becomes   
white with  age4 ,he seemed to have     
assumed the duties of cook for while we 
were  there be lighted the fire in the  

kitchen and was busy1 but was  always   
the final oracle on any matter of       
difference of opinion  between the      
younger men regarding answers to        
questions4 ,two sleeping  apartments    
adjoining the kitchen1 through whose    
wide kang beds the  waste heat from the 
cooking was conveyed1 as described on   
page #adb1  completed this side of the  
court4 ,on our left was the main street 
completely shut off by a solid earth    
wall as high as the eaves of  the house1
 while in front of us1 adjoining the    
street1 was the  manure midden1 a       
compost pit six feet deep and some eight
 feet  square4 ,a low opening in the    
street wall permitted the pit to be     
emptied and to receive earth and stubble
 or refuse from the fields  for         
composting1 ,against the pit and without
 partition1 but cut off  from the court1
 was the home of the pigs1 both under a 
common roof  continuous with a closed   
structure joining with the sleeping     
apartments1 while behind us and along   

the alley-way by which we had  entered  
were other dwelling and storage         
compartments4 ,thus was the  large      
family of four generations provided with
 a peculiarly private  open court where 
they could work and come out for sun and
 air1 both1  from our standards1 too    
meagerly provided in the houses4    ,we 
had come to learn more of the methods of
 fertilizing practiced by  these people4
 ,the manure midden was before us and   
the piles of earth  brought in from the 
fields1 for use in the process1 were    
stacked in  the street1 where we had    
photographed them at the entrance1 as   
seen  in ,fig4 #ace4 ,there a father1   
with his pipe1 and two boys stand at    
the extreme left2 beyond them is a large
 pile of earth brought into  the village
 and carefully stacked in the narrow    
street2 on the other  side of the       
street1 at the corner of the first      
building1 is a pile  of partly fermented
 compost thrown from a pit behind the   
walls4  ,further along in the street1 on

 the same side1 is a second large  stack
 of soil where two boys are standing at 
either end and another  little boy was  
in a near-by doorway4 ,in front of the  
tree1 on the  left side of the street1  
stands a third boy1 near him a small    
donkey  and still another boy4 ,beyond  
this boy stands a third large stack of  
soil1 while still beyond and across the 
way is another pile partly  composted4  
,notwithstanding the cattle in the      
preceding illustration1  the donkey1 the
 men1 the boys1 the three long high     
stacks of soil  and the two piles of    
compost1 the ten rods of narrow street  
possessed a width of available travelway
 and a cleanliness which  would appear  
impossible4 ,each farmer's household had
 its stack of  soil in the street1 and  
in walking through the village we passed
  dozens of men turning and mixing the  
soil and compost1 preparing it  for the 
field4    ,the compost pit in front of  
where we sat was two-thirds filled4 ,in 
it had been placed all of the manure and

 waste of the household and  street1 all
 stubble and waste roughage from the    
field1 all ashes not  to be applied     
directly and some of the soil stacked in
 the street4  ,sufficient water was     
added at intervals to keep the contents 
completely saturated and nearly         
submerged1 the object being to  control 
the character of fermentation taking    
place4    ,the capacity of these compost
 pits is determined by the amount of    
land served1 and the period of          
composting is made as long as  possible1
 the aim being to have the fiber of all 
organic material  completely broken     
down1 the result being a product of the 
consistency of mortar4    ,when it is   
near the time for applying the compost  
to the field1 or  of feeding it to the  
crop1 the fermented product is removed  
in  waterproof carrying baskets to the  
floor of the court1 to the yard1  such  
as seen in ,fig4 #abf1 or to the street1
 where it is spread to  dry1 to be mixed
 with fresh soil1 more ashes1 and       

repeatedly turned  and stirred to bring 
about complete aeration and to hasten   
the  processes of nitrification4 ,during
 all of these treatments1 whether  in   
the compost pit or on the nitrification 
floor1 the fermenting  organic matter in
 contact with the soil is converting    
plant food  elements into soluble plant 
food substances in the form of          
potassium1 calcium and magnesium        
nitrates and soluble phosphates of  one 
or another form1 perhaps of the same    
bases and possibly others  of organic   
type4 ,if there is time and favorable   
temperature and  moisture conditions for
 these fermentations to take place in   
the  soil of the field before the crop  
will need it1 the compost may be        
carried direct from the pit to the field
 and spread broadcast1 to be  plowed    
under4 ,otherwise the material is worked
 and reworked1 with  more water added if
 necessary1 until it becomes a rich     
complete  fertilizer1 allowed to become 
dry and then finely pulverized1         

sometimes using stone rollers drawn over
 it by cattle1 the donkey or  by hand4  
,the large numbers of stacks of compost 
seen in the fields  between ,tsingtao   
and ,tsinan were of this type and thus  
laboriously  prepared in the villages   
and then transported to the fields1     
stacked  and plastered to be ready for  
use at next planting4    ,in the early  
days of ,european history1 before modern
 chemistry had  provided the cheaper and
 more expeditious method of producing   
potassium nitrate for the manufacture of
 gunpowder and fireworks1  much land and
 effort were devoted to niter-farming   
which was no  other than a specific     
application of this most ancient        
,chinese  practice and probably imported
 from ,china4 ,while it was not until   
#ahgg to #ahgi that men of science came 
to know that the processes of           
nitrification1 so indispensable to      
agriculture1 are due to germ  life1 in  
simple justice to the plain farmers of  
the world1 to those  who through all the

 ages from ,adam down1 living close to  
,nature and  working through her and    
with her1 have fed the world1 it should 
be  recognized that there have been     
those among them who have grasped  such 
essential1 vital truths and have kept   
them alive in the  practices of their   
day4 ,and so we find it recorded in     
history as far  back as #afhf that      
,judge ,samuel ,lewell copied upon the  
cover of his  journal a practical man's 
recipe for making saltpeter beds1 in    
which  it was directed1 among other     
things1 that there should be added to   
it mother of petre1 meaning1 in ,judge  
,lewell's understanding1  simply soil   
from an old niter bed1 but in the mind  
of the man who  applied the maternity   
prefix1--mother1--it must have meant a  
vital  germ contained in the soil1      
carried with it1 capable of reproducing 
its kind and of perpetuating its        
characteristic work1 belonging to  the  
same category with the old1 familiar1   
homely germ1 mother of  vinegar4 ,so1   

too1 with the old cheesemaker who       
grasped the  conception which led to the
 long time practice of washing the walls
  of a new cheese factory with water    
from an old factory of the same  type1  
he must have been led by analogies of   
experience with things  seen to realize 
that he was here dealing with a vital   
factor4  ,hundreds1 of course1 have     
practiced empyrically1 but some one     
preceded with the essential thought and 
we feel it is small credit  to men of   
our time who1 after ten or twenty years 
of technical  training1 having their    
attention directed to a something to be 
seen1  and armed with compound          
microscopes which permit them to see    
with  the physical eye the mother of    
petre1 arrogate to themselves the       
discovery of a great truth4 ,much more  
modest would it be and much  more in the
 spirit of giving credit where credit is
 due to admit  that1 after long doubting
 the existence of such an entity1 we    
have  succeeded in confirming in        

fullness the truth of a great discovery 
which belongs to an unnamed genius of   
the past1 or perhaps to a  hundred of   
them who1 working with life's processes 
and familiar with  them through long    
intimate association1 saw in these      
invisible  processes analogies that     
revealed to them the essential truth in 
such fullness as to enable them to build
 upon it an unfailing  practice4        
,there is another practice followed by  
the ,chinese1 connected with  the       
formation of nitrates in soils1 which   
again emphasizes the  national trait of 
saving and turning to use any and every 
thing  worth while4 ,our attention was  
called to this practice by ,rev4 ,a4 ,e4
  ,evans of ,shunking1 ,szechwan        
province4 ,it rests upon the tendency of
  the earth floors of dwellings to      
become heavily charged with calcium     
nitrate through the natural processes of
 nitrification4 ,calcium  nitrate being 
deliquescent absorbs moisture           
sufficiently to dissolve  and make the  

floor wet and sticky4 ,dr4 ,evans'      
attention was drawn to  the wet floor in
 his own house1 which be at first       
ascribed to  insufficient ventilation1  
but which be was unable to remedy by    
improving that4 ,the father of one of   
his assistants1 whose business          
consisted in purchasing the soil of such
 floors for producing  potassium        
nitrate1 used so much in ,china in the  
manufacture of  fireworks and gunpowder1
 explained his difficulty and suggested 
the  remedy4    ,this man goes from     
house to house through the village1     
purchasing  the soil of floors which    
have thus become overcharged4 ,he       
procures a  sample1 tests it and        
announces what he will pay for the      
surface two1  three or four inches1 the 
price sometimes being as high as fifty  
cents for the privilege of removing the 
top layer of the floor1  which the      
proprietors must replace4 ,he leaches   
the soil removed1 to  recover the       
calcium nitrate1 and then pours the     

leachings through  plant ashes          
containing potassium carbonate1 for the 
purpose of  transforming the calcium    
nitrate into the potassium nitrate or   
saltpeter4 ,dr4 ,evans learned that     
during the four months preceding  our   
interview this man had produced         
sufficient potassium nitrate to  bring  
his sales up to #hj1 ,mexican4 ,it was  
necessary for him to make  a two-days   
journey to market his product4 ,in      
addition he paid a  license fee of #hj  
cents per month4 ,he must purchase his  
fuel ashes  and hire the services of two
 men4    ,when the nitrates which       
accumulate in the floors of dwellings   
are  not collected for this purpose the 
soil goes to the fields to be  used     
directly as a fertilizer1 or it may be  
worked into compost4 ,in  the course of 
time the earth used in the village walls
 and even in  the construction of the   
houses may disintegrate so as to require
  removal1 but in all such cases1 as    
with the earth brick used in the  kangs1

 the value of the soil has improved for 
composting and is  generally so used4   
,this improvement of the soil will not  
appear  strange when it is stated that  
such materials are usually from the     
subsoil1 whose physical condition would 
improve when exposed to the  weather1   
converting it in fact into an uncropped 
virgin soil4    ,we were unable to      
secure definite data as to the chemical 
composition of these composts and cannot
 say what amounts of  available plant   
food the ,shantung farmers are annually 
returning to  their fields4 ,there can  
be little doubt1 however1 that the      
amounts  are quite equal to those       
removed by the crops4 ,the soils        
appeared  well supplied with organic    
matter and the color of the foliage and 
the general aspect of crops indicated   
good feeding4    ,the family with whom  
we talked in the village place their    
usual  yields of wheat at #dbj catty of 
grain and #ajjj catty of straw per      
mow1--their mow was four-thirds of the  

legal standard mow--the grain  being    
worth #ce strings of cash and the straw 
#ab to #ad strings1 a  string of cash   
being #dj cents1 ,mexican1 at this time4
 ,their yields  of beans were such as to
 give them a return of #cj strings of   
cash  for the grain and #h to #aj       
strings for the straw4 ,small millet    
usually yielded #dej catty of grain1    
worth #be strings of cash1 per  mow1 and
 #hjj catty of straw worth #aj to #aa   
strings of cash2 while  the yields of   
large millet they placed at #djj catty  
per mow1 worth  #be strings of cash1 and
 #ajjj catty of straw worth #ab to #ad  
strings  of cash4 ,stating these amounts
 in bushels per acre and in our         
currency1 the yield of wheat was #db    
bushels of grain and #fjjj pounds  of   
straw per acre1 having a cash value of  
#bg4ji for the grain and  #aj4jf for the
 straw4 ,the soy bean crop follows the  
wheat1 giving an  additional return of  
#bc4bb for the beans and #f4ig for the  
straw1  making the gross earning for the

 two crops #fg4cd per acre4 ,the  yield 
of small millet was #ed bushels of seed 
and #dhjj pounds of  straw per acre1    
worth #bg4ji and #h4ab for seed and     
straw  respectively1 while the kaoliang 
or large millet gave a yield of #dh     
bushels of grain and #fjjj pounds of    
stalks per acre1 worth #ai4ce  for the  
grain1 and #aj4jf for the straw4    ,a  
crop of wheat like the one stated1 if no
 part of the plant food  contained in   
the grain or straw were returned to the 
field1 would  deplete the soil to the   
extent of about #ij pounds of nitrogen1 
#ae  pounds of phosphorus and #fe pounds
 of potassium2 and the crop of soy      
beans1 if it also were entirely removed1
 would reduce these three  plant food   
elements in the soil to the extent of   
about #bdj pounds of  nitrogen1 #cc     
pounds of phosphorus and #ajb pounds of 
potassium1 on  the basis of #de bushels 
of beans and #edjj pounds of stems and  
leaves  per acre1 assuming that the     
beans added no nitrogen to the soil1    

which is of course not true4 ,this      
household of farmers1 therefore1  in    
order to have maintained this producing 
power in their soil1 have  been         
compelled to return to it annually1 in  
one form or another1 not  less than #dh 
pounds of phosphorus and #afg pounds of 
potassium per  acre4 ,the #ccj pounds of
 nitrogen they would have to return in  
the  form of organic matter or          
accumulate it from the atmosphere1      
through  the instrumentality of their   
soy bean crop or some other legume4 ,it 
has already been stated that they do add
 more than #ejjj to #gjjj  pounds of dry
 compost1 which1 repeated for a second  
crop1 would make  an annual application 
of five to seven tons of dry compost per
 acre  annually4 ,they do use1 in       
addition to this compost1 large amounts 
of  bean and peanut cake1 which carry   
all of the plant food elements  derived 
from the soil which are contained in the
 beans and the  peanuts4 ,if the vines  
are fed1 or if the stems of the beaus   

are  burned for fuel1 most of the plant 
food elements in these will be  returned
 to the field1 and they have doubtless  
learned how to  completely restore the  
plant food elements removed by their    
crops1  and persistently do so4    ,the 
roads made by the ,germans in the       
vicinity of ,tsingtao enabled us  to    
travel by ricksha into the adjoining    
country1 and on one such  trip we       
visited a village mill for grinding soy 
beans and peanuts in  the manufacture of
 oil1 and ,fig4 #acf shows the stone    
roller1 four  feet in diameter and two  
feet thick1 which is revolved about a   
vertical axis on a circular stone plate1
 drawn by a donkey1 crushing  the       
kernels partly by its weight and partly 
by a twisting motion1  for the arm upon 
which the roller revolves is very short4
 ,after the  meal had been ground the   
oil was expressed in essentially the    
same  way as that described for the     
cotton seed1 but the bean and peanut    
cakes are made much larger than the     

cotton seed cakes1 about  eighteen      
inches in diameter and three to four    
inches thick4 ,two of  these cakes are  
seen in ,fig4 #acg1 standing on edge    
outside the mill  in an orderly clean   
court4 ,it is in this form that bean    
cake is  exported in large quantities to
 different parts of ,china1 and to      
,japan in recent years1 for use as      
fertilizer1 and very recently it  is    
being shipped to ,europe for both stock 
food and fertilizer4    ,nowhere in this
 province1 nor further north1 did we see
 the large  terra cotta1 receptacles so 
extensively used in the south for       
storing human excreta4 ,in these dryer  
climates some method of  desiccation is 
practiced and we found the gardeners in 
the vicinity  of ,tsingtao with         
quantities of the fertilizer stacked    
under matting  shelters in the          
desiccated condition1 this being finely 
pulverized  in one or another way before
 it was applied4 ,the next illustration1
  ,fig4 #ach1 shows one of these piles  

being fitted for the garden1 its        
thatched shelter standing behind the    
grandfather of a household4 ,his        
grandson was carrying the prepared      
fertilizer to the garden area  seen in  
,fig4 #aci1 where the father was working
 it into the soil4 ,the  greatest pains 
is taken1 both in reducing the product  
to a fine  powder and in spreading and  
incorporating it with the soil1 for one 
of their maxims of soil management is to
 make each square foot of  field or     
garden the equal of every other in its  
power to produce4 ,in  this manner each 
little holding is made to yield the     
highest returns  possible under the     
conditions the husbandman is able to    
control4    ,from one portion of the    
area being fitted1 a crop of artemisia  
had  been harvested1 giving a gross     
return at the rate of #gc4ai per  acre1 
and from another leeks had been taken1  
bringing a gross return  of #dc4hf per  
acre4 ,chinese celery was the crop for  
which the ground  was being fitted4     

,the application of soil as a fertilizer
 to the fields of ,china1  whether      
derived from the subsoil or from the    
silts and organic  matter of canals and 
rivers1 must have played an important   
part in  the permanency of agriculture  
in the ,far ,east1 for all such         
additions have been positive accretions 
to the effective soil1  increasing its  
depth and carrying to it all plant food 
elements4 ,if  not more than one-half of
 the weight of compost applied to the   
fields of ,shantung is highly fertilized
 soil1 the rates of  application        
observed would1 in a thousand years1 add
 more than two  million pounds per acre1
 and this represents about the volume of
  soil we turn with the plow in our     
ordinary tillage operations1 and  this  
amount of good soil may carry more than 
#fjjj pounds of  nitrogen1 #bjjj pounds 
of phosphorus and more than #fj1jjj     
pounds of  potassium4    ,when we left  
our hotel by ricksha for the steamer1   
returning to  ,shanghai1 we soon        

observed a boy of thirteen or fourteen  
years  apparently following1 sometimes a
 little ahead1 sometimes behind1        
usually keeping the sidewalk but        
slackening his pace whenever the        
ricksha man came to a walk4 ,it was a   
full mile to the wharf4 ,the boy        
evidently knew the sailing schedule and 
judged by the valise in  front1 that we 
were to take the out-going steamer and  
that he might  possibly earn two cents1 
,mexican1 the usual fee for taking a    
valise  aboard the steamer4 ,twenty men 
at the wharf might be waiting for the   
job1 but he was taking the chance with  
the mile down and back thrown  in1 and  
all for less than one cent in our       
currency1 equivalent at  the time to    
about twenty cash4 ,as we neared the    
steamer the lad  closed up behind but   
strong and eager men were watching4     
,twice he  was roughly thrust aside and 
before the ricksha stopped a man of     
stalwart frame seized the valise and1   
had we not observed the boy  thus       

unobtrusively entering the competition1 
he would have had only  his trouble for 
his pains4 ,thus intense was the        
struggle here for  existence and thus   
did a mere lad put himself effectively  
into it4  ,true to breeding and example 
he had spared no labor to win and was   
surprised but grateful to receive more  
than he had expected4              ,,xi 
,,orientals ,,crowd ,,both ,,time ,,and 
,,space            ,time is a function  
of every life process1 as it is of every
  physical1 chemical and mental         
reaction1 and the husbandman is         
compelled to shape his operations so as 
to conform with the time  requirements  
of his crops4 ,the oriental farmer is a 
time economizer  beyond any other4 ,he  
utilizes the first and last minute and  
all that  are between4 ,the foreigner   
accuses the ,chinaman of being always   
long on time1 never in a fret1 never in 
a hurry4 ,and why should he  be when he 
leads time by the forelock1 and uses all
 there is8    ,the customs and practices

 of these ,farthest ,east people        
regarding  their manufacture of         
fertilizers in the form of earth        
composts for  their fields1 and their   
use of altered subsoils which have      
served in  their kangs1 village walls   
and dwellings1 are all instances where  
they profoundly shorten the time        
required in the field to affect the     
necessary chemical1 physical and        
biological reactions which produce  from
 them plant food substances4 ,not only  
do they thus increase  their time       
assets1 but they add1 in effect1 to     
their land area by  producing these     
changes outside their fields1 at the    
same time  giving their crops the       
immediately active soil products4       
,their compost practices have been of   
the greatest consequence to  them1 both 
in their extremely wet1 rice-culture    
methods1 and in  their dry-farming      
practices1 where the soil moisture is   
too scanty  during long periods to      
permit rapid fermentation under field   

conditions4 ,western agriculturalists   
have not sufficiently  appreciated the  
fact that the most rapid growth of plant
 food  substances in the soil cannot    
occur at the same time and place with   
the most rapid crop increase1 because   
both processes draw upon the  available 
soil moisture1 soil air and soluble     
potassium1 calcium1  phosphorus and     
nitrogen compounds4 ,whether this       
fundamental  principle of practical     
agriculture is written in their         
literature or  not it is most indelibly 
fixed in their practice4 ,if we and they
 can  perpetuate the essentials of this 
practice at a large saving of  human    
effort1 or perpetually secure the final 
result in some more  expeditious and    
less laborious way1 most important      
progress will  have been made4    ,when 
we went north to the ,shantung province 
the ,kiangsu and ,chekiang  farmers were
 engaged in another of their time saving
 practices1 also  involving a large     
amount of human labor4 ,this was the    

planting of  cotton in wheat fields     
before the wheat was quite ready to     
harvest4  ,in the sections of these two 
provinces which we visited most of the  
wheat and barley were sowed broadcast on
 narrow raised lands1 some  five feet   
wide1 with furrows between1 after the   
manner seen in ,fig4  #adj1 showing a   
reservoir in the immediate foreground1  
on whose bank  is installed one of the  
four-man foot-power irrigation pumps in 
use  to flood the nursery rice bed close
 by on the right4 ,the narrow  lands of 
broadcasted wheat extend back from the  
reservoir toward the  farmsteads which  
dot the landscape1 and on the left      
stands one of  the pump shelters near   
the canal bank4    ,to save time1 or    
lengthen the growing season of the      
cotton which was  to follow1 this seed  
was sown broadcast among the grain on   
the  surface1 some ten to fifteen days  
before the wheat would be  harvested4   
,to cover the seed the soil in the      
furrows between the  beds had been      

spaded loose to a depth of four or five 
inches1 finely  pulverized1 and then    
with a spade was evenly scattered over  
the bed1  letting it sift down among the
 grain1 covering the seed4 ,this loose  
earth1 so applied1 acts as a mulch to   
conserve the capillary  moisture1       
permitting the soil to become           
sufficiently damp to  germinate the seed
 before the wheat is harvested4 ,the    
next  illustration1 ,fig4 #ada1 is a    
closer view with our interpreter        
standing in another field of wheat in   
which cotton was being sowed  ,april    
#bbnd in the manner described1 and yet  
the stand of grain was  very close and  
shoulder high1 making it not an easy    
task either to  sow the seed or to      
scatter sufficient soil to cover it4    
,when we had returned from ,shantung    
this piece of grain had been  harvested1
 giving a yield of #ie4f bushels of     
wheat and #c4e tons of  straw per acre1 
computed from the statement of the owner
 that #djj  catty of grain and #ejj     

catty of straw had been taken from the  
beds  measuring #djej square feet4 ,on  
the morning of ,may #bith the           
photograph for ,fig4 #adb was taken1    
showing the same area after the  wheat  
had been harvested and the cotton was   
up1 the young plants  showing slightly  
through the short stubble4 ,these beds  
had already  been once treated with     
liquid fertilizer4 ,a little later the  
plants  would be hoed and thinned to a  
stand of about one plant per each       
square foot of surface4 ,there were     
thirty-seven days between the  taking of
 the two photographs1 and certainly     
thirty days had been  added to the      
cotton crop by this method of planting1 
over what would  have been available if 
the grain had been first harvested and  
the  field fitted before planting1 ,it  
will be observed that the cotton        
follows the wheat without plowing1 but  
the soil was deep1 naturally  open1 and 
a layer of nearly two inches of loose   
earth had been  placed over the seed at 

the time of planting4 ,besides1 the     
ground  would be deeply worked with the 
two or four tined hoe1 at the time  of  
thinning4    ,starting cotton in the    
wheat in the manner described is but a  
special case of a general practice      
widely in vogue4 ,the growing of        
multiple crops is the rule throughout   
these countries wherever the  climate   
permits4 ,sometimes as many as three    
crops occupy the same  field in         
recurrent rows1 but of different dates  
of planting and in  different stages of 
maturity4 ,reference has been made to   
the  overlapping and alternation of     
cucumbers with greens4 ,the general     
practice of planting nearly all crops in
 rows lends itself readily  to systems  
of multiple cropping1 and these to the  
fullest possible  utilization of every  
minute of the growing season and of the 
time of  the family in caring for the   
crops4 ,in the field1 ,fig4 #adc1 a crop
  of winter wheat was nearing maturity1 
a crop of windsor beans was  about      

two-thirds grown1 and cotton had just   
been planted1 ,april  #bbnd4 ,this field
 had been thrown into ridges some five  
feet wide  with a twelve inch furrow    
between them4 ,two rows of wheat eight  
inches wide1 planted two feet between   
centers occupied the crest of  the      
ridge1 leaving a strip sixteen inches   
wide1 seen in the upper  section1 7#a7  
for tillage1 7#b7 then fertilization and
 7#c7 finally the  row of cotton planted
 just before the wheat was harvested4   
,against  the furrow on each side was a 
row of windsor beans1 seen in the  lower
 view1 hiding the furrow1 which was     
matured some time after the  wheat was  
harvested and before the cotton was very
 large4 ,a late  fall crop sometimes    
follows the windsor beans after a period
 of  tillage and fertilization1 making  
four in one year4 ,with such a          
succession fertilization for each crop1 
and an abundance of soil  moisture are  
required to give the largest returns    
from the soil4    ,in another plan      

winter wheat or barley may grow side by 
side with a  green crop1 such as the    
,chinese clover 7,medicago denticulata1 
,willd47 for soil fertilizer1 as was the
 case in ,fig4 #add1 to be  turned under
 and fertilize for a crop of cotton     
planted in rows on  either side of a    
crop of barley4 ,after the barley had   
been harvested  the ground it occupied  
would be tilled and further fertilized1 
and  when the cotton was nearing        
maturity a crop of rape might be grown1 
from which salted cabbage would be      
prepared for winter use4    ,multiple   
crops are grown as far north in ,chihli 
as ,tientsin and  ,peking1 these being  
oftenest wheat1 maize1 large and small  
millet  and soy beans1 and this1 too1   
where the soil is less fertile and      
where the annual rainfall is only about 
twenty-five inches1 the  rainy season   
beginning in late ,june or early ,july1 
and ,fig4 #ade  shows one of these      
fields as it appeared ,june #adth1 where
 two rows  of wheat and two of large    

millet were planted in alternating      
pairs1  the rows being about            
twenty-eight inches apart4 ,the wheat   
was ready  to harvest but the straw was 
unusually short because growing on a    
light sandy loam in a season of         
exceptional drought1 but little more    
than two inches of rain having fallen   
after ,january #ast of that  year4      
,the piles of pulverized dry-earth      
compost seen between the rows had  been 
brought for use on the ground occupied  
by the wheat when that  was removed4    
,the wheat would be pulled1 tied in     
bundles1 taken to  the village and the  
roots cut off1 for making compost1 as in
 ,fig4  #adf1 which shows the family    
engaged in cutting the roots from the   
small bundles of wheat1 using a long    
straight knife blade1 fixed at  one end1
 and thrust downward upon the bundle    
with lever pressure4  ,these roots1 if  
not used as fuel1 would be transferred  
to the  compost pit in the enclosure    
seen in ,fig4 #adg1 whose walls were    

built of earth brick4 ,here1 with any   
other waste litter1 manure or  ashes1   
they would be permitted to decay under  
water until the fiber  had been         
destroyed1 thus permitting it to be     
incorporated with soil  and applied to  
the fields1 rich in soluble plant food  
and in a  condition which would not     
interfere with the capillary movement of
  soil moisture1 the work going on      
outside the field where the changes     
could occur unimpeded and without       
interfering with the growth of  crops on
 the ground4    ,in this system of      
combined intertillage and multiple      
cropping the  oriental farmer thus takes
 advantage of whatever good may result  
from rotation or succession of crops1   
whether these be physical1              
vito-chemical or biological4 ,if plants 
are mutually helpful through  close     
association of their root systems in the
 soil1 as some believe  may be the case1
 this growing of different species in   
close  juxtaposition would seem to      

provide the opportunity1 but the other  
advantages which have been pointed out  
are so evident and so  important that   
they1 rather than this1 have doubtless  
led to the  practice of growing         
different crops in close recurrent rows4
              ,,xii    ,,rice ,,culture 
,,in ,,the ,,orient            ,the     
basal food crop of the people of ,china1
 ,korea and ,japan is rice1  and the    
mean consumption in ,japan1 for the five
 years ending #aijf1  per capita and per
 annum1 was #cjb pounds4 ,of ,japan's   
#age1dbh square  miles she devoted1 in  
#aijf1 #ab1hef to the rice crop4 ,her   
average  yield of water rice on #ab1ecd 
square miles exceeded #cc bushels per   
acre1 and the dry land rice averaged #ah
 bushels per acre on #cba  square miles4
 ,in the ,hokkaido1 as far north as     
northern ,illinois1  ,japan harvested   
#a1ghj1jjj bushels of water rice from   
#ec1jjj acres4    ,in ,szechwan         
province1 ,china1 ,consul-,general      
,hosie places the yield  of water rice  

on the plains land at #dd bushels per   
acre1 and that of  the dry land rice at 
#bb bushels4 ,data given us in ,china   
show an  average yield of #db bushels of
 water rice per acre1 while the  average
 yield of wheat was #be bushels per     
acre1 the normal yield in  ,japan being 
about #ag bushels4    ,if the rice eaten
 per capita in ,china proper and ,korea 
is equal to  that in ,japan the annual  
consumption for the three nations1 using
  the round number #cjj pounds per      
capita per annum1 would be3             
,population4    ,consumption4     ,china
     #daj1jjj1jjj    #fa1ejj1jjj tons   
,korea      #ab1jjj1jjj     #a1hjj1jjj  
tons     ,japan      #ec1jjj1jjj        
#g1iej #jjj tons                        
-----------------------     ,total      
#dge1jjj1jjj    #ga1bej1jjj tons        
,if the ratio of irrigated to dry land  
rice in ,korea and ,china proper  is the
 same as that in ,japan1 and if the mean
 yield of rice per acre  in these       
countries were forty bushels for the    

water rice and twenty  bushels for the  
dry land rice1 the acreage required to  
give this  production would be3         
,area4                ,water rice1      
,dry land rice1                 sq4     
miles4       sq4 miles4  ,in ,china     
#gh1jgc            #d1jjd  ,in ,korea   
#b1bhe              #aag  ,in ,japan    
#ab1ecd              #cba               
-------           ------  ,sum          
#ib1hib            #d1ddb  ,total       
#ig1ccd      ,our observations along the
 four hundred miles of railway in ,korea
  between ,antung1 ,seoul and ,fusan1   
suggest that the land under rice in     
this country must be more rather than   
less than that computed1 and  the square
 miles of canalized land in ,china1 as  
indicated on pages  #ig to #ajb1 would  
indicate an acreage of rice for her     
quite as large  as estimated4    ,in the
 three main islands of ,japan more than 
fifty per cent of the  cultivated land  
produces a crop of water rice each year 
and #g4if per  cent of the entire land  

area of the ,empire1 omitting far-north 
,karafuto4 ,in ,formosa and in southern 
,china large areas produce two  crops   
each year4 ,at the large mean yield used
 in the computation the  estimated      
acreage of rice in ,china proper amounts
 to #e4ic per cent  of her total area   
and this is #gdcc square miles greater  
than the  acreage of wheat in the       
,united ,states in #aijg4 ,our yield of 
wheat1  however1 was but #ai1jjj1jjj    
tons1 while ,china's output of rice was 
certainly double and probably three     
times this amount from nearly  the same 
acreage of land2 and notwithstanding    
this large production  per acre1 more   
than fifty per cent1 possibly as high as
 seventy-five  per cent1 of the same    
land matures at least one other crop the
 same  year1 and much of this may be    
wheat or barley1 both chiefly consumed  
as human food4    ,had the ,mongolian   
races spread to and developed in ,north 
,america  instead of1 or as well as1 in 
eastern ,asia1 there might have been a  

,grand ,canal1 something as suggested in
 ,fig4 #adh1 from the ,rio ,grande  to  
the mouth of the ,ohio river and from   
the ,mississippi to  ,chesapeake ,bay1  
constituting more than two thousand     
miles of inland  water-way1 serving     
commerce1 holding up and redistributing 
both the  run-off water and the wasting 
fertility of soil erosion1 spreading    
them over #bjj1jjj square miles of      
thoroughly canalized coastal  plains1 so
 many of which are now impoverished     
lands1 made so by the  intolerable waste
 of a vaunted civilization4 ,and who    
shall venture  to enumerate the increase
 in the tonnage of sugar1 bales of      
cotton1  sacks of rice1 boxes of        
oranges1 baskets of peaches1 and in the 
trainloads of cabbage1 tomatoes and     
celery such husbanding would  make      
possible through all time2 or number the
 increased millions  these could feed   
and clothe8 ,we may prohibit the        
exportation of our  phosphorus1 grind   
our limestone1 and apply them to our    

fields1 but  this alone is only         
temporizing with the future4 ,the more  
we produce1  the more numerous our      
millions1 the faster must present       
practices  speed the waste to the sea1  
from whence neither money nor prayer can
  call them back4    ,if the ,united    
,states is to endure2 if we shall       
project our history  even through four  
or five thousand years as the ,mongolian
 nations  have done1 and if that history
 shall be written in continuous peace1  
free from periods of wide-spread famine 
or pestilence1 this nation  must orient 
itself2 it must square its practices    
with a conservation  of resources which 
can make endurance possible4            
,intensifying  cultural methods but     
intensifies the digestion1 assimilation 
and  exhaustion of the surface soil1    
from which life springs4 ,multiple      
cropping1 closer stands on the ground   
and stronger growth1 all mean  the      
transpiration of much more water per    
acre through the crops1 and  this can   

only be rendered possible through a     
redistribution of the  run-off and the  
adoption of irrigation practices in     
humid climates  where water exists in   
abundance4 ,sooner or later we must     
adopt a  national policy which shall    
more completely conserve our water      
resources1 utilizing them not only for  
power and transportation1 but  primarily
 for the maintenance of soil fertility  
and greater crop  production through    
supplemental irrigation1 and all these  
great  national interests should be     
considered collectively1 broadly1 and   
with a view to the fullest and best     
possible coordination4 ,china1  ,korea  
and ,japan long ago struck the keynote  
of permanent agriculture  but the time  
has now come when they can and will make
 great  improvements1 and it remains for
 us and other nations to profit by      
their experience1 to adopt and adapt    
what is good in their practice  and help
 in a world movement for the            
introduction of new and  improved       

methods4    ,in selecting rice as their 
staple crop2 in developing and          
maintaining their systems of combined   
irrigation and drainage1                
notwithstanding they have a large summer
 rainfall2 in their systems  of multiple
 cropping2 in their extensive and       
persistent use of  legumes2 in their    
rotations for green manure to maintain  
the humus  of their soils and for       
composting2 and in the almost religious 
fidelity with which they have returned  
to their fields every form of  waste    
which can replace plant food removed by 
the crops1 these  nations have          
demonstrated a grasp of essentials and  
of fundamental  principles which may    
well cause western nations to pause and 
reflect4    ,while this country need not
 and could not now adopt their laborious
  methods of rice culture1 and while1   
let us hope1 those who come  after us   
may never be compelled to do so1 it is  
nevertheless quite  worth while to      
study1 for the sake of the principles   

involved1 the  practices they have been 
led to adopt4    ,great as is the       
acreage of land in rice in these        
countries but  little1 relatively1 is of
 the dry land type1 and the fields upon 
which most of the rice grows have all   
been graded to a water level  and       
surrounded by low1 narrow raised rims1  
such as may be seen in  ,fig4 #adi and  
in ,fig4 #aej1 where three men are at   
work on their  foot-power pump1 flooding
 fields preparatory to transplanting the
  rice4 ,if the country was not level   
then the slopes have been graded  into  
horizontal terraces varying in size     
according to the steepness  of the areas
 in which they were cut4 ,we saw these  
often no larger  than the floor of a    
small room1 and ,professor ,ross        
informed me that  he walked past those  
in the interior of ,china no larger than
 a  dining table and that he saw one    
bearing its crop of rice1  surrounded by
 its rim and holding water1 yet barely  
larger than a  good napkin4 ,the average

 area of the paddy field in ,japan is   
officially reported at #a4ad se1 or an  
area of but #ca by #dj feet4  ,excluding
 ,hokkaido1 ,formosa and ,karafuto1     
fifty-three per cent of  the irrigated  
rice lands in ,japan are in allotments  
smaller than  one-eighth of an acre1 and
 seventy-four per cent of other         
cultivated  lands are held in areas less
 than one-fourth of an acre1 and each of
  these may be further subdivided4 ,the 
next two illustrations1 ,figs4  #aea and
 #aeb1 give a good idea both of the     
small size of the rice  fields and of   
the terracing which has been done to    
secure the water  level basins4 ,the    
house standing near the center of ,fig4 
#aea is a  good scale for judging both  
the size of the paddies and the slope of
  the valley4 ,the distance between the 
rows of rice is scarcely one  foot1     
hence counting these in the foreground  
may serve as another  measure4 ,there   
are more than twenty little fields shown
 in this  engraving in front of the     

house and reaching but half way to it1  
and  the house was less than five       
hundred feet from the camera4    ,there 
are more than eleven thousand square    
miles of fields thus  graded in the     
three main islands of ,japan1 each      
provided with rims1  with water supply  
and drainage channels1 all carefully    
kept in the  best of repair4 ,the more  
level areas1 too1 in each of the three  
countries1 have been similarly thrown   
into water level basins1  comparatively 
few of which cover large areas1 because 
nearly always  the holdings are small4  
,all of the earth excavated from the    
canals  and drainage channels has been  
leveled over the fields unless needed   
for levees or dikes1 so that the        
original labor of construction1  added  
to that of maintenance1 makes a total   
far beyond our  comprehension and nearly
 all of it is the product of human      
effort4    ,the laying out and shaping  
of so many fields into these level      
basins  brings to the three nations an  

enormous aggregate annual asset1 a      
large proportion of which western       
nations are not yet utilizing4 ,the     
greatest gain comes from the unfailing  
higher yields made possible  by         
providing an abundance of water through 
which more plant food can  be utilized1 
thus providing higher average yields4   
,the waters used1  coming as they do    
largely from the uncultivated hills and 
mountain  lands1 carrying both dissolved
 and suspended matters1 make positive   
annual additions of dissolved limestone 
and plant food elements to  the fields  
which in the aggregate have been very   
large1 through the  persistent          
repetitions which have prevailed for    
centuries4 ,if the  yearly application  
of such water to the rice fields is but 
sixteen  inches1 and this has the       
average composition quoted by ,merrill  
for  rivers of ,north ,america1 taking  
into account neither suspended  matter  
nor the absorption of potassium and     
phosphorus by it1 each  ten thousand    

square miles would receive1 dissolved in
 the water1  substances containing some 
#a1djj tons of phosphorus2 #bc1jjj tons 
of  potassium2 #bg1jjj tons of nitrogen2
 and #dh1jjj tons of sulphur4 ,in       
addition1 there are brought to the      
fields some #baf1jjj tons of  dissolved 
organic matter and a still larger weight
 of dissolved  limestone1 so necessary  
in neutralizing the acidity of soils1   
amounting to #a1bba1jjj tons2 and such  
savings have been maintained  in ,china1
 ,korea and ,japan on more than five1   
and possibly more than  nine1 times the 
ten thousand square miles1 through      
centuries4 ,the  phosphorus thus turned 
upon ninety thousand square miles would 
aggregate nearly thirteen million tons  
in a thousand years1 which is  less than
 the time the practice has been         
maintained1 and is more  phosphorus than
 would be carried in the entire rock    
phosphate thus  far mined in the ,united
 ,states1 were it all seventy-five per  
cent  pure4    ,the canalization of     

fifty thousand square miles of our ,gulf
 and  ,atlantic coastal plain1 and the  
utilization on the fields of the  silts 
and organic matter1 together with the   
water1 would mean  turning to account a 
vast tonnage of plant food which is now 
wasting  into the sea1 and a            
correspondingly great increase of crop  
yield4  ,there ought1 and it would seem 
there must some time be provided a  way 
for sending to the sandy plains of      
,florida1 and to the sandy  lands       
between there and the ,mississippi1     
large volumes of the rich  silt and     
organic matter from this and other      
rivers1 aside from that  which should be
 applied systematically to building     
above flood plain  the lands of the     
delta which are subject to overflow or  
are too low  to permit adequate         
drainage4    ,it may appear to some that
 the application of such large volumes  
of  water to fields1 especially in      
countries of heavy rainfall1 must       
result in great loss of plant food      

through leaching and surface  drainage4 
,but under the remarkable practices of  
these three nations  this is certainly  
not the case and it is highly important 
that our  people should understand and  
appreciate the principles which         
underlie the practices they have almost 
uniformly adopted on the  areas devoted 
to rice irrigation4 ,in the first place1
 their paddy  fields are under-drained  
so that most of the water either leaves 
the  soil through the crop1 by surface  
evaporation1 or it percolates  through  
the subsoil into shallow drains4 ,when  
water is passed  directly from one rice 
paddy to another it is usually permitted
 some  time after fertilization1 when   
both soil and crop have had time to     
appropriate or fix the soluble plant    
food substances4 ,besides this1  water  
is not turned upon the fields until the 
time for transplanting  the rice1 when  
the plants are already provided with a  
strong root  system and are capable of  
at once appropriating any soluble plant 

food which may develop about their roots
 or be carried downward over  them4     
,although the drains are of the surface 
type and but eighteen inches  to three  
feet in depth1 they are sufficiently    
numerous and close so  that1 although   
the soil is continuously nearly filled  
with water1  there is a steady          
percolation of the fresh1 fully aerated 
water  carrying an abundance of oxygen  
into the soil to meet the needs of  the 
roots1 so that watermelons1 egg plants1 
musk melons and taro are  grown in the  
rotations on the small paddies among the
 irrigated rice  after the manner seen  
in the illustrations4 ,in ,fig4 #aec    
each double  row of egg plants is       
separated from the next by a narrow     
shallow  trench which connects with a   
head drain and in which water was       
standing within fourteen inches of the  
surface4 ,the same was true in  the case
 of the watermelons seen in ,fig4 #aed1 
where the vines are  growing on a thick 
layer of straw mulch which holds them   

from the  moist soil and acts to        
conserve water by diminishing           
evaporation  and1 through decay from the
 summer rains and leaching1 serves as   
fertilizer for the crop4 ,in ,fig4 #aee 
the view is along a pathway  separating 
two head ditches between areas in       
watermelons and taro1  carrying the     
drainage waters from the several furrows
 into the main  ditches4 ,although the  
soil appeared wet the plants were       
vigorous and  healthy1 seeming in no way
 to suffer from insufficient drainage4  
,these people have1 therefore1 given    
effective attention to the  matter of   
drainage as well as irrigation and are  
looking after  possible losses of plant 
food1 as well as ways of supplying it4  
,it  is not alone where rice is grown   
that cultural methods are made to       
conserve soluble plant food and to      
reduce its loss from the field1  for    
very often1 where flooding is not       
practiced1 small fields and  beds1 made 
quite level1 are surrounded by low      

raised borders which  permit not only   
the whole of any rain to be retained    
upon the field  when so desired1 but it 
is completely distributed over it1 thus 
causing the whole soil to be uniformly  
charged with moisture and  preventing   
washing from one portion of the field to
 another4 ,such  provisions are shown in
 ,figs4 #acc and #ach4    ,extensive as 
is the acreage of irrigated rice in     
,china1 ,korea and  ,japan1 nearly every
 spear is transplanted2 the largest and 
best crop  possible1 rather than the    
least labor and trouble1 as is so often 
the case with us1 determining their     
methods and practices4 ,we first  saw   
the fitting of the rice nursery beds at 
,canton and again near  ,kashing in     
,chekiang province on the farm of ,mrs4 
,wu1 whose homestead  is seen in ,fig4  
#aef4 ,she had come with her husband    
from ,ningpo after  the ravages of the  
,taiping rebellion had swept from two   
provinces  alone twenty millions of     
people and settled on a small area of   

then  vacated land4 ,as they prospered  
they added to their holding by  purchase
 until about twenty-five acres were     
acquired1 an area about  ten times that 
possessed by the usual prosperous family
 in ,china4  ,the widow was managing her
 place1 one of her sons1 although       
married1  being still in school1 the    
daughter-in-law living with her         
mother-in-law and helping in the home4  
,her field help during the  summer      
consisted of seven laborers and she kept
 four cows for the  plowing and pumping 
of water for irrigation4 ,the wages of  
the men  were at the rate of #bd1       
,mexican1 for five summer months1       
together  with their meals which were   
four each day4 ,the cash outlay for the 
seven men was thus #ad4de of our        
currency per month4 ,ten years  before1 
such labor had been #cj per year1 as    
compared with #ej at  the time of our   
visit1 or #ab4ij and #ba4ej of our      
currency1  respectively4    ,her usual  
yields of rice were two piculs per mow1 

or twenty-six and  two-thirds bushels   
per acre1 and a wheat crop yielding half
 this  amount1 or some other1 was taken 
from part of the land the same  season1 
one fertilization answering for the two 
crops4 ,she stated  that her annual     
expense for fertilizers purchased was   
usually about  #fj1 or #be4hj of our    
currency4 ,the homestead of ,mrs4 ,wu1  
,fig4 #aef1  consists of a compound in  
the form of a large quadrangle          
surrounding  a court closed on the south
 by a solid wall eight feet high4 ,the  
structure is of earth brick with the    
roof thatched with rice straw4    ,our  
first visit here was ,april #aith4 ,the 
nursery rice beds had been  planted four
 days1 sowing seed at the rate of twenty
 bushels per  acre4 ,the soil had been  
very carefully prepared and highly      
fertilized1 the last treatment being a  
dressing of plant ashes so  incompletely
 burned as to leave the surface coal    
black4 ,the seed1  scattered directly   
upon the surface1 almost completely     

covered it  and had been gently beaten  
barely into the dressing of ashes1 using
  a wide1 flat-bottom basket for the    
purpose4 ,each evening1 if the  night   
was likely to be cool1 water was pumped 
over the bed1 to be  withdrawn the next 
day1 if warm and sunny1 permitting the  
warmth to  be absorbed by the black     
surface1 and a fresh supply of air to be
  drawn into the soil4    ,nearly a     
month later1 ,may #adth1 a second visit 
was made to this farm  and one of the   
nursery beds of rice1 as it then        
appeared1 is seen in  ,fig4 #aei1 the   
plants being about eight inches high and
 nearing the  stage for transplanting4  
,the field beyond the bed had already   
been  partly flooded and plowed1 turning
 under ,chinese clover to ferment  as   
green manure1 preparatory for the rice  
transplanting4 ,on the  opposite side of
 the bed and in front of the residence1 
,fig4 #aef1  flooding was in progress in
 the furrows between the ridges formed  
after the previous crop of rice was     

harvested and upon which the  crop of   
clover for green manure was grown4      
,immediately at one end of  the two     
series of nursery beds1 one of which is 
seen in ,fig4 #aei1  was the pumping    
plant seen in ,fig4 #aeg1 under a       
thatched shelter1  with its two pumps   
installed at the end of a water channel 
leading  from the canal4 ,one of these  
wooden pump powers1 with the            
blindfolded cow attached1 is reproduced 
in ,fig4 #aeh and just beyond  the      
animal's head may be seen the long      
handle dipper to which  reference has   
been made1 used for collecting excreta4 
,more than a month is saved for maturing
 and harvesting winter and  early spring
 crops1 or in fitting the fields for    
rice1 by this  planting in nursery beds4
 ,the irrigation period for most of the 
land  is cut short a like amount1 saving
 in both water and time4 ,it is  cheaper
 and easier to highly fertilize and     
prepare a small area for  the nursery1  
while at the same time much stronger and

 more uniform  plants are secured than  
would be possible by sowing in the      
field4  ,the labor of weeding and caring
 for the plants in the nursery is far   
less than would be required in the      
field4 ,it would be practically         
impossible to fit the entire rice areas 
as early in the season as  the nursery  
beds are fitted1 for the green manure is
 not yet grown  and time is required for
 composting or for decaying1 if plowed  
under  directly4 ,the rice plants in the
 nursery are carried to a stage when    
they are strong feeders and when set    
into the newly prepared1  fertilized1   
clean soil of the field they are ready  
to feed strongly  under these most      
favorable conditions ,both time and     
strength of  plant are thus gained and  
these people are following what would   
appear to be the best possible practices
 under their condition of  small        
holdings and dense population4    ,with 
our broad fields1 our machinery and few 
people1 their system  appears to us     

crude and impossible1 but cut our       
holdings to the size  of theirs and the 
same stroke makes our machinery1 even   
our plows1  still more impossible1 and  
so the more one studies the environment 
of these people1 thus far unavoidable1  
their numbers1 what they have  done and 
are doing1 against what odds they have  
succeeded1 the more  difficult it       
becomes to see what course might have   
been better4    ,how full with work is  
the month which precedes the            
transplanting of  rice has been pointed 
out1--the making of the compost         
fertilizer2  harvesting the wheat1 rape 
and beans2 distributing the compost over
  the fields1 and their flooding and    
plowing4 ,in ,fig4 #afj one of these    
fields is seen plowed1 smoothed and     
nearly ready for the plants4 ,the       
turned soil had been thoroughly         
pulverized1 leveled and worked to  the  
consistency of mortar1 on the larger    
fields with one or another  sort of     
harrow1 as seen in ,figs4 #afj and #afa4

 ,this thorough puddling  of the soil   
permits the plants to be quickly set and
 provides  conditions which ensure      
immediate perfect contact for the roots4
    ,when the fields are ready women    
repair to the nurseries with their  low 
four-legged bamboo stools1 to pull the  
rice plants1 carefully  rinsing the soil
 from the roots1 and then tie them into 
bundles of a  size easily handled in    
transplanting1 which are then           
distributed in  the fields4    ,the work
 of transplanting may be done by groups 
of families changing  work1 a           
considerable number of them laboring    
together after the  manner seen in ,fig4
 #afc1 made from four snap shots taken  
from the  same point at intervals of    
fifteen minutes4 ,long cords were       
stretched in the rice field six feet    
apart and each of the seven men  was    
setting six rows of rice one foot apart1
 six to eight plants in  a hill1 and the
 hills eight or nine inches apart in the
 row4 ,the1  bundle was held in one hand

 and deftly1 with the other1 the desired
  number of plants were selected with   
the fingers at the roots1  separated    
from the rest and1 with a single thrust1
 set in place in  the row4 ,there was no
 packing of earth about the roots1 each 
hill  being set with a single motion1   
which followed one another in quick     
succession1 completing one cross row of 
six hills after another4 ,the  men move 
backward across the field1 completing   
one entire section1  tossing the unused 
plants into the unset field4 ,then reset
 the lines  to cover another section4   
,we were told that the usual day's work 
of  transplanting1 for a man under these
 conditions1 after the field is  fitted 
and the plants are brought to him1 is   
two mow or one-third of  an acre4 ,the  
seven men in this group would thus set  
two and a third  acres per day and1 at  
the wage ,mrs4 ,wu was paying1 the cash 
outlay1  if the help was hired1 would be
 nearly #ba cents per acre4 ,this is    
more cheaply than we are able to set    

cabbage and tobacco plants with  our    
best machine methods4 ,in ,japan1 as    
seen in ,figs4 #afd and #afe1  the women
 participate in the work of setting the 
plants more than in  ,china4    ,after  
the rice has been transplanted its care1
 unlike that of our  wheat crop1 does   
not cease4 ,it must be hoed1 fertilized 
and watered4  ,to facilitate the        
watering all fields have been leveled1  
canals1  ditches and drains provided1   
and to aid in fertilizing and hoeing1   
the setting has been in rows and in     
hills in the row4    ,the first working 
of the rice fields after the            
transplanting1 as we  saw it in ,japan1 
consisted in spading between the hills  
with a  four-tined hoe1 apparently more 
for loosening the soil and aeration     
than for killing weeds4 ,after this     
treatment the field was gone over  again
 in the manner seen in ,fig4 #aff1 where
 the man is using his  bare hands to    
smooth and level the stirred soil1      
taking care to  eradicate every weed1   

burying them beneath the mud1 and to    
straighten each hill of rice as it is   
passed4 ,sometimes the fingers  are     
armed with bamboo claws to facilitate   
the weeding4 ,machinery in  the form of 
revolving hand cultivators is recently  
coming into use  in ,japan1 and two men 
using these are seen in ,fig4 #ad4 ,in  
these  cultivators the teeth are mounted
 on an axle so as to revolve as the     
cultivator is pushed along the row4     
,fertilization for the rice crop        
receives the greatest attention         
everywhere by these three nations and in
 no direction more than in  maintaining 
the store of organic matter in the soil4
 ,the pink  clover1 to which reference  
has been made1 ,figs4 #ii and #ajj1 is  
extensively sowed after a crop of rice  
is harvested in the fall and  comes into
 full bloom1 ready to cut for compost or
 to turn under  directly when the rice  
fields are plowed4 ,eighteen to twenty  
tons of  this green clover are produced 
per acre1 and in ,japan this is  usually

 applied to about three acres1 the      
stubble and roots serving  for the field
 producing the clover1 thus giving a    
dressing of six to  seven tons of green 
manure per acre1 carrying not less than 
#cg  pounds of potassium2 #e pounds of  
phosphorus1 and #eh pounds of  nitrogen4
    ,where the families are large and   
the holdings small1 so they cannot      
spare room to grow the green manure     
crop1 it is gathered on the  mountain1  
weed and hill lands1 or it may be cut in
 the canals4 ,on  our boat trip west    
from ,soochow the last of ,may1 many    
boats were  passed carrying tons of the 
long green ribbon-like grass1 cut and   
gathered from the bottom of the canal4  
,to cut this grass men were  working to 
their armpits in the water of the canal1
 using a  crescent-shaped knife mounted 
like an anchor from the end of a        
#af-;foot bamboo handle4 ,this was      
shoved forward along the bottom of  the 
canal and then drawn backward1 cutting  
the grass1 which rose to  the surface   

where it was gathered upon the boats4   
,or material for  green manure may be   
cut on grave1 mountain or hill lands1 as
  described under ,fig4 #aae4    ,the   
straw of rice and other grain and the   
stems of any plant not  usable as fuel  
may also be worked into the mud of rice 
fields1 as  may the chaff which is often
 scattered upon the water after the rice
  is transplanted1 as in ,fig4 #afh4    
,reference has been made to the         
utilization of waste of various kinds   
in these countries to maintain the      
productive power of their soils1  but it
 is worth while1 in the interests of    
western nations1 as  helping them to    
realize the ultimate necessity of such  
economies1 to  state again1 in more     
explicit terms1 what ,japan is doing4   
,dr4  ,kawaguchi1 of the ,national      
,department of ,agriculture and         
,commerce1  taking his data from their  
records1 informed me that ,japan        
produced1  in #aijh1 and applied to her 
fields1 #bc1hej1bie tons of human       

manure2  #bb1hab1ghg tons of compost2   
and she imported #gec1jgd tons of       
commercial fertilizers1 #gjjj of which  
were phosphates in one form or  another4
 ,in addition to these she must have    
applied not less than  #a1djd1jjj tons  
of fuel ashes and #aj1ahe1ejj tons of   
green manure  products grown on her hill
 and weed lands1 and all of these       
applied  to less than #ad1jjj1jjj acres 
of cultivated field1 and it should be   
emphasized that this is done because as 
yet they have found no  better way of   
permanently maintaining a fertility     
capable of feeding  her millions4       
,besides fertilizing1 transplanting and 
weeding the rice crop there  is the     
enormous task of irrigation to be       
maintained until the rice  is nearly    
matured4 ,much of the water used is     
lifted by animal power  and a large     
share of this is human4 ,fig4 #afi shows
 two ,chinese men  in their cool1       
capacious1 nowhere-touching summer      
trousers flinging  water with the       

swinging basket1 and it is surprising   
the amount of  water which may be raised
 three to four feet by this means4 ,the 
portable spool windlass1 in ,figs4 #bg  
and #abc1 has been described1  and ,fig4
 #agj shows the quadrangular1           
cone-shaped bucket and sweep            
extensively used in ,chihli4 ,this man  
was supplying water sufficient  for the 
irrigation of half an acre1 per day1    
lifting the water eight  feet4    ,the  
form of pump most used in ,china and the
 foot-power for working  it are seen in 
,fig4 #aga4 ,three men working a similar
 pump are seen  in ,fig4 #aej1 a closer 
view of three men working the foot-power
 may  be seen in ,fig4 #db and still    
another stands adjacent to a series of  
flooded fields in ,fig4 #agb4 ,where    
this view was taken the old farmer      
informed us that two men1 with this     
pump1 lifting water three feet1  were   
able to cover two mow of land with three
 inches of water in two  hours4 ,this is
 at the rate of #b4e acre-inches of     

water per ten hours  per man1 and for   
#ab to #ae cents1 our currency1 thus    
making sixteen  acre-inches1 or the     
season's supply of water1 cost #gg to   
#if cents1  where coolie labor is hired 
and fed4 ,such is the efficiency of     
human  power applied to the ,chinese    
pump1 measured in ,american currency4   
,this pump is simply an open box trough 
in which travels a wooden  chain        
carrying a series of loosely fitting    
boards which raise the  water from the  
canal1 discharging it into the field4   
,the size of the  trough and of the     
buckets are varied to suit the power    
applied and  the amount of water to be  
lifted4 ,crude as it appears there is   
nothing in western manufacture that can 
compete with it in first  cost1         
maintenance or efficiency for ,chinese  
conditions and nothing  is more         
characteristic of all these people than 
their efficient1  simple appliances of  
all kinds1 which they have reduced to   
the  lowest terms in every feature of   

construction and cost4 ,the greatest    
results are accomplished by the simplest
 means4 ,if a canal must be  bridged and
 it is too wide to be covered by a      
single span1 the  ,chinese engineer may 
erect it at some convenient place and   
turn the  canal under it when completed4
 ,this we saw in the case of a new      
railroad bridge near ,sungkiang4 ,the   
bridge was completed and the  water had 
just been turned under it and was being 
compelled to make  its own excavation4  
,great expense had been saved while     
traffic on  the canal had not been      
obstructed4    ,in the foot-power wheel 
of ,japan all gearing is eliminated and 
the  man walks the paddles themselves1  
as seen in ,fig4 #agc4 ,some of these   
wheels are ten feet in diameter1        
depending upon the height the water     
must be lifted4    ,irrigation by animal
 power is extensively practiced in each 
of the  three countries1 employing      
mostly the type of power wheel shown in 
,fig4 #aeh4 ,the next illustration1     

,fig4 #agd1 shows the most common  type 
of shelter seen in ,chekiang and        
,kiangsu provinces1 which are  there    
very numerous4 ,we counted as many as   
forty such shelters in a  semi-circle of
 half a mile radius4 ,they provide      
comfort for the  animals during both    
sunshine and rain1 for under no         
conditions must  the water be permitted 
to run low on the rice fields1 and      
everywhere  their domestic animals      
receive kind1 thoughtful treatment4     
,in the less level sections1 where      
streams have sufficient fall1  current  
wheels are in common use1 carrying      
buckets near their  circumference       
arranged so as to fill when passing     
through the water1  and to empty after  
reaching the highest level into a       
receptacle  provided with a conduit     
which leads the water to the field4 ,in 
,szechwan province some of these current
 wheels are so large and  gracefully    
constructed as to strongly suggest      
,ferris wheels4 ,a view  of one of these

 we are permitted to present in ,fig4   
#age1 through the  kindness of ,rollin  
,t4 ,chamberlin who took the photograph 
from which  the engraving was prepared4 
,this wheel which was some forty feet in
  diameter1 was working when the snap   
shot was taken1 raising the  water and  
pouring it into the horizontal trough   
seen near the top of  the wheel1 carried
 at the summit of a pair of heavy poles 
standing  on the far side of the wheel4 
,from this trough1 leading away to the  
left above the sky line1 is the long    
pipe1 consisting of bamboo  stems joined
 together1 for conveying the water to   
the fields4    ,when the harvest time   
has come1 notwithstanding the large     
acreage of  grain1 yielding hundreds of 
millions of bushels1 the small1 widely  
scattered holdings and the surface of   
the fields render all of our  machine   
methods quite impossible4 ,even our     
grain cradle1 which  preceded the       
reaper1 would not do1 and the great task
 is still met  with the old-time sickle1

 as seen in ,fig4 #agf1 cutting the rice
 hill  by hill1 as it was transplanted4 
,previous to the time for cutting1 after
 the seed is well matured1  the water is
 drawn off and the land permitted to dry
 and harden4 ,the  rainy season is not  
yet over and much care must be exercised
 in  curing the crop4 ,the bundles may  
be shocked in rows along the  margins of
 the paddies1 as seen in ,fig4 #agf1 or 
they may be  suspended1 heads down1 from
 bamboo poles as seen in ,fig4 #agg4    
,the threshing is accomplished by       
drawing the heads of the rice  through  
the teeth of a metal comb mounted as    
seen at the right in  ,fig4 #agh1 near  
the lower corner1 behind the basket1    
where a man and  woman are occupied in  
winnowing the dust and chaff from the   
grain by  means of a large double fan4  
,fanning mills built on the principle of
  those used by our farmers and closely 
resembling them have long been  used in 
both ,china and ,japan4 ,after the rice 
is threshed the grain  must be hulled   

before it can serve as food1 and the    
oldest and  simplest method of polishing
 used by the ,japanese is seen in1 ,fig4
  #agi1 where the friction of the grain 
upon itself does the polishing4  ,a     
quantity of rice is poured into the     
receptacle when1 with heavy  blows1 the 
long-headed plunger is driven into the  
mass of rice1 thus  forcing the kernels 
to slide over one another until1 by     
their  abrasion1 the desired result is  
secured4 ,the same method of  polishing1
 on a larger scale1 is accomplished     
where the plungers are  worked by the   
weight of the body1 a series of men     
stepping upon  lever handles of weighted
 plungers1 raising them and allowing    
them  to fall under the force of the    
weight attached4 ,recently1 however1    
mills worked by gasoline engines are in 
operation for both hulling  and         
polishing1 in ,japan4    ,the many uses 
to which rice straw is put in the       
economies of these  people make it      
almost as important as the rice itself4 

,as food and  bedding for cattle and    
horses2 as thatching material for       
dwellings  and other shelters2 as fuel2 
as a mulch2 as a source of organic      
matter in the soil1 and as a fertilizer1
 it represents a money value  which is  
very large4 ,besides these ultimate uses
 the rice straw is  extensively employed
 in the manufacture of articles used in 
enormous  quantities4 ,it is estimated  
that not less than #ahh1gjj1jjj bags    
such  as are seen in ,figs4 #ahj and    
#aha1 worth #c1aaj1jjj are made annually
  from the rice straw in ,japan1 for    
handling #cdf1aej1jjj bushels of        
cereals and #bh1aij1jjj bushels of      
beans2 and besides these1 great  numbers
 of bags are employed in transporting   
fish and other prepared  manures4    ,in
 the prefecture of ,hyogo1 with #eif    
square miles of farm land1 as  compared 
with ,rhode ,island's #gab square miles1
 ,hyogo farmers  produced in #aijf1 on  
#bfe1jdj acres1 #aj1ehd1jjj bushels of  
rice worth  #af1aia1djj1 securing an    

average yield of almost forty bushels   
per  acre and a gross return of #fa for 
the grain alone4 ,in addition to  this1 
these farmers grew on the same land1 the
 same season1 at least  one other crop4 
,where this was barley the average yield
 exceeded  twenty-six bushels per acre1 
worth #ag4    ,in connection with their 
farm duties these ,japanese families    
manufactured1 from a portion of their   
rice straw1 at night and  during the    
leisure hours of winter1 #h1ihj1jjj     
pieces of matting and  netting of       
different kinds having a market value of
 #bfb1jjj2  #d1hch1jjj bags worth       
#ahe1jjj2 #h1gdb1jjj slippers worth     
#cd1jjj2  #f1bed1jjj sandals worth      
#cj1jjj2 and miscellaneous articles     
worth  #fd1jjj4 ,this is a gross earning
 of more than #ba1jjj1jjj from  eleven  
and a half townships of farm land and   
the labor of the  farmers' families1 an 
average earning of1 #hj per acre on     
nearly  three-fourths of the farm land  
of this prefecture4 ,at this rate  three

 of the four forties of our #afj-;acre  
farms should bring a gross  annual      
income of #i1fjj and the fourth forty   
should pay the  expenses4    ,at the    
,nara ,experiment ,station we were      
informed that the money value  of a good
 crop of rice in that prefecture should 
be placed at ninety  dollars per acre   
for the grain and eight dollars for the 
unmanufactured straw2 thirty-six dollars
 per acre for the crop of  naked barley 
and two dollars per acre for the straw4 
,the farmers  here practice a rotation  
of rice and barley covering four or five
  years1 followed by a summer crop of   
melons1 worth #cbj per acre and  some   
other vegetable instead of the rice on  
the fifth or sixth year1  worth eighty  
yen per tan1 or #afj per acre4 ,to      
secure green manure  for fertilizing1   
soy beans are planted each year in the  
space  between the rows of barley1 the  
barley being planted in ,november4  ,one
 week after the barley is harvested the 
soy beans1 which produce  a yield of    

#afj kan per tan1 or #ebij pounds per   
acre1 are turned  under and the ground  
fitted for rice1 ,at these rates the    
,nara  farmers are producing on         
four-fifths or five-sixths of their rice
  lands a gross earning of #acf per acre
 annually1 and on the other  fifth or   
sixth1 an earning of #dhj per acre1 not 
counting the annual  crop of soy beans  
used in maintaining the nitrogen and    
organic  matter in their soils1 and not 
counting their earnings from home       
manufactures4 ,can the farmers of our   
south ,atlantic and ,gulf ,coast        
states1 which are in the same latitude1 
sometime attain to this  standard8 ,we  
see no reason why they should not1 but  
only with the  best of irrigation1      
fertilization and proper rotation1 with 
multiple  cropping4              ,,xiii 
,,silk ,,culture            ,another of 
the great and in some ways one of the   
most remarkable  industries of the      
,orient is that of silk production1 and 
its  manufacture into the most exquisite

 and beautiful fabrics in the  world4   
,remarkable for its magnitude2 for      
having had its birthplace  apparently in
 oldest ,china1 at least #bfjj years ,b4
 ,c42 for having  been founded on the   
domestication of a wild insect of the   
woods2 and  for having lived through    
more than four thousand years1 expanding
  until a #a1jjj1jjj cargo of the       
product has been laid down on our       
western coast at one time and rushed by 
special fast express to ,new  ,york     
,city for the ,christmas trade4         
,japan produced in #aijg #bf1jgb1jjj    
pounds of raw silk from #ag1aed1jjj     
bushels of cocoons1 feeding the         
silkworms from mulberry leaves grown  on
 #ieg1efj acres4 ,at the export selling 
price of this silk in ,japan  the crop  
represents a money value of             
#abd1jjj1jjj1 or more than two  dollars 
per capita for the entire population of 
the ,empire2 and  engaged in the care of
 the silkworms1 as seen in ,figs4 #ahd1 
#ahe1 #ahf  and #ahg1 there were1 in    

#aijf1 #a1djg1gff families or some      
#g1jjj1jjj  people4    ,richard's       
geography of the ,chinese ,empire places
 the total export of  raw silk to all   
countries1 from ,china1 in #aije1 at    
#cj1dac1bjj  pounds1 and this1 at the   
,japanese export price1 represents a    
value  of #ade1jjj1jjj4 ,richard also   
states that the value of the annual     
,chinese export of silk to ,france      
amounts to #aj1jjj1jjj pounds  sterling 
and that this is but twelve per cent of 
the total1 from  which it appears that  
her total export alone reaches a value  
near  #djj1jjj1jjj4    ,the use of silk 
in wearing apparel is more general among
 the ,chinese  than among the ,japanese1
 and with ,china's eightfold greater    
population1 the home consumption of silk
 must be large indeed and  her annual   
production must much exceed that of     
,japan4 ,hosie places  the output of raw
 silk in ,szechwan at #e1dci1ejj pounds1
 which is  nearly a quarter of the total
 output of ,japan1 and silk is          

extensively grown in eight other        
provinces1 which together have an  area 
nearly fivefold that of ,japan4 ,it     
would appear1 therefore1 that  a low    
estimate of ,china's annual production  
of raw silk must be some  #abj1jjj1jjj  
pounds1 and this1 with the output of    
,japan and ,korea1  would make a product
 for the three countries probably       
exceeding  #aej1jjj1jjj pounds annually1
 representing a total value of perhaps  
#gjj1jjj1jjj2 quite equalling in value  
the wheat crop of the ,united  ,states1 
but produced on less than one-eighth of 
the area4    ,according to the          
observations of ,count ,dandola1 the    
worms which  contribute to this vast    
earning are so small that some #gjj1jjj 
of  them weigh at hatching only one     
pound1 but they grow very rapidly1  shed
 their skins four times1 weighing #ae   
pounds at the time of the  first moult1 
#id pounds at the second1 #djj pounds at
 the third1 #afbh  pounds at the fourth 
moulting and when mature have come to   

weigh  nearly five tons--#iejj pounds4  
,but in making this growth during  about
 thirty-six days1 according to ,paton1  
the #gjj1jjj worms have  eaten #aje     
pounds by the time of the first moult2  
#cae pounds by the  second2 #ajej pounds
 by the third2 #caej pounds by the      
fourth1 and in  the final period1 before
 spinning1 #ai1bae pounds1 thus         
consuming in  all nearly twelve tons of 
mulberry leaves in producing nearly five
  tons of live weight1 or at the rate of
 two and a half pounds of  green leaf to
 one pound of growth4    ,according to  
,paton1 the cocoons from the #gjj1jjj   
worms would weigh  between #adjj and    
#bajj pounds and these1 according to the
  observations of ,hosie in the province
 of ,szechwan1 would yield about        
one-twelfth their weight of raw silk4   
,on this basis the one pound of  worms  
hatched from the eggs would yield       
between #aaf and #age pounds  of raw    
silk1 worth1 at the ,japanese export    
price for #aijg1 between  #eej and #hcb1

 and #afd pounds of green mulberry      
leaves would be  required to produce a  
pound of silk4    ,a ,chinese banker in 
,chekiang province1 with whom we talked1
 stated  that the young worms which     
would hatch from the eggs spread on a   
sheet of paper twelve by eighteen inches
 would consume1 in coming to  maturity1 
#bffj pounds of mulberry leaves and     
would spin #ba4f pounds  of silk4 ,this 
is at the rate of #abc pounds of leaves 
to one pound of  silk4 ,the ,japanese   
crop for #aijg1 #bf1jgb1jjj pounds1     
produced on  #ieg1efj acres1 is a mean  
yield of #bg4bc pounds of raw silk per  
acre  of mulberries1 and this would     
require a mean yield of #ddfe pounds of 
green mulberry leaves per acre1 at the  
rate of #afd pounds per pound  of silk4 
,ordinary silk in these countries is    
produced largely from three  varieties  
of mulberries1 and from them there may  
be three pickings  of leaves for the    
rearing of a spring1 summer and autumn  
crop of  silk4 ,we learned at the       

,nagoya ,experiment ,station1 ,japan1   
that there  good spring yields of       
mulberry leaves are at the rate of #djj 
kan1  the second crop1 #aej kan1 and the
 third crop1 #bej kan per tan1  making a
 total yield of over thirteen tons of   
green leaves per acre4  ,this1 however1 
seems to be materially higher than the  
average for  the ,empire4    ,in ,fig4  
#ahh is a near view of a mulberry       
orchard in ,chekiang  province1 which   
has been very heavily fertilized with   
canal mud1 and  which was at the stage  
for cutting the leaves to feed the first
 crop  of silkworms4 ,a bundle of cut   
limbs is in the crotch of the front     
tree in the view4 ,those who raise      
mulberry leaves are not usually  the    
feeders of the silkworms and the leaves 
from this orchard were  being sold at   
one dollar1 ,mexican1 per picul1 or     
#cb4be cents per one  hundred pounds4   
,the same price was being paid a week   
later in the  vicinity of ,nanking1     
,kiangsu province4    ,the mulberry     

trees1 as they appear before coming into
 leaf in the  early spring1 may be seen 
in ,fig4 #ahi4 ,the long limbs are the  
shoots  of the last year's growth1 from 
which at least one crop of leaves  had  
been picked1 and in healthy orchards    
they may have a length of  two to three 
feet4 ,an orchard from a portion of     
which the limbs had  just been cut1     
presented the appearance seen in ,fig4  
#aij4 ,these  trees were twelve to      
fifteen years old and the enlargements  
on the  ends of the limbs resulted from 
the frequent pruning1 year after  year1 
at nearly the same place4 ,the ground   
under these trees was  thickly covered  
with a growth of pink clover just coming
 into bloom1  which would be spaded into
 the soil1 providing nitrogen and       
organic  matter1 whose decay would      
liberate potash1 phosphorus and other   
mineral plant food elements for the     
crop4    ,in ,fig4 #aia three rows of   
mulberry trees1 planted four feet apart1
  stand on a narrow embankment raised   

four feet1 partly through  adjusting the
 surrounding fields for rice1 and partly
 by additions  of canal mud used as a   
fertilizer4 ,on either side of the      
mulberries  is a crop of windsor beans1 
and on the left a crop of rape1 both of 
which would be harvested in early ,june1
 the ground where they stand  flooded1  
plowed and transplanted to rice4 ,this  
and the other  mulberry views were taken
 in the extensively canalized portion of
  ,china represented in ,fig4 #eb4 ,the 
farmer owning this orchard had  just    
finished cutting two large bundles of   
limbs for the sale of the  leaves in the
 village4 ,he stated that his first crop
 ordinarily  yields from three to as    
many as twenty piculs per mow1 but that 
the  second crop seldom exceeded two to 
three piculs4 ,the first and  second    
crop of leaves1 if yielding together    
twenty-three piculs per  mow1 would     
amount to #i4b tons per acre1 worth1 at 
the price named1  #ei4cd4 ,mulberry     
leaves must be delivered fresh as soon  

as gathered  and must be fed the same   
day1 the limbs1 when1 stripped of their 
leaves1 at the place where these are    
sold1 are tied into bundles and         
reserved for use as fuel4    ,in the    
south of ,china the mulberry is grown   
from low cuttings rooted  by layering4  
,we have before spoken of our five hours
 ride in the  ,canton delta region1 on  
the steamer ,nanning1 through extensive 
fields of low mulberry then in full     
leaf1 which were first mistaken  for    
cotton nearing the blossom stage4 ,this 
form of mulberry is seen  in ,fig4 #dc1 
and the same method of pruning is       
practiced in southern  ,japan4 ,in      
middle ,japan high pruning1 as in       
,chekiang and ,kiangsu  provinces1 is   
followed1 but in northern ,japan the    
leaves are picked  directly1 as is the  
case with the last crop of leaves       
everywhere1  pruning not being practiced
 in the more northern latitudes4    ,not
 all silk produced in these northern    
countries is from the  domesticated     

,bombyx mori1 large amounts being       
obtained from the  spinnings of wild    
silkworms feeding upon the leaves of    
species of  oak growing on the mountain 
and hill lands in various parts of      
,china1 ,korea and ,japan4 ,in ,china   
the collections in largest amount  are  
reeled from the cocoons of the tussur   
worm 7,antheraea pernyi7  gathered in   
,shantung1 ,honan1 ,kweichow and        
,szechwan provinces4 ,in the  hilly     
parts of ,manchuria also this industry  
is attaining large  proportions1 the    
cocoons being sent to ,chefoo in the    
,shantung  province1 to be woven into   
pongee silk4    ,m4 ,randot has         
estimated the annual crop of wild silk  
cocoons in  ,szechwan at #aj1ahj1jjj    
pounds1 although in the opinion of      
,alexander  ,hosie much of this may come
 from ,kweichow4 ,richard places the    
export  of raw wild silk from the whole 
of ,china proper1 in #aijd1 at          
#d1djj1jjj pounds4 ,this would mean not 
less than #ge1cjj1jjj pounds of  wild   

cocoons and may be less than half the   
home consumption4    ,from data         
collected by ,alexander ,hosie it       
appears that in #ahii the  export of raw
 tussur silk from ,manchuria1 through   
the port of  ,newchwang by steamer      
alone1 was #a1hfb1ddh pounds1 valued at 
#a1gba1bjj1 and the production is       
increasing rapidly4 ,the export  from   
the same port the previous year1 by     
steamer1 was #a1jdf1gjd  pounds4 ,this  
all comes from the hilly and mountain   
lands south of  ,mukden1 lying between  
the ,liao plain on the west and the     
,yalu river  on the east1 covering some 
five thousand square miles1 which we    
crossed on the ,antung-,mukden railway4 
,there are two broods of these wild     
silkworms each season1 between  early   
,may and early ,october4 ,cocoons of the
 fall brood are kept  through the winter
 and when the moths come forth they are 
caused to  lay their eggs on pieces of  
cloth and when the worms are hatched    
they are fed until the first moult upon 

the succulent new oak leaves  gathered  
from the hills1 after which the worms   
are taken to the low  oak growth on the 
hills where they feed themselves and    
spin their  cocoons under the cover of  
leaves drawn about them4    ,the moths  
reserved from the first brood1 after    
becoming fertile1 are  tied by means of 
threads to the oak bushes where they    
deposit the  eggs which produce the     
second crop of tussur silk4 ,to maintain
 an  abundance of succulent leaves      
within reach the oaks are periodically  
cut back4    ,thus these plain people1  
patient1 frugal1 unshrinking from toil1 
the  basic units of three of the oldest 
nations1 go to the uncultivated  hill   
lands and from the wild oak and the     
millions of insects which  they help to 
feed upon it1 not only create a valuable
 export trade  but procure material for 
clothing1 fuel1 fertilizer and food1 for
  the large chrysalides1 cooked in the  
reeling of the silk1 may be  eaten at   
once or are seasoned with sauce to be   

used later4 ,besides  this1 the last    
unreelable portion of each cocoon is    
laid aside to be  manufactured into silk
 wadding and into soft mattresses for   
caskets  upon which the wealthy lay     
their dead4              ,,xiv    ,,the 
,,tea ,,industry            ,the        
cultivation of tea in ,china and ,japan 
is another of the great  industries of  
these nations1 taking rank with that of 
sericulture1  if not above it1 in the   
important part it plays in the welfare  
of  the people4 ,there is little reason 
to doubt that the industry has  its     
foundation in the need of something to  
render boiled water  palatable for      
drinking purposes4 ,the drinking of     
boiled water has  been universally      
adopted in these countries as an        
individually  available1 thoroughly     
efficient and safe guard against that   
class of  deadly disease germs which it 
has been almost impossible to exclude   
from the drinking water of any densely  
peopled country4    ,so far as may be   

judged from the success of the most     
thorough  sanitary measures thus far    
instituted1 and taking into             
consideration  the inherent difficulties
 which must increase enormously with    
increasing populations1 it appears      
inevitable that modern methods  must    
ultimately fail in sanitary efficiency  
and that absolute safety  must be       
secured in some manner having the       
equivalent effect of  boiling water1    
long ago adopted by the ,mongolian      
races1 and which  destroys active       
disease germs at the latest moment      
before using4 ,and  it must not be      
overlooked that the boiling of drinking 
water in  ,china and ,japan has been    
demanded quite as much because of       
congested  rural populations as to guard
 against such dangers in large cities1  
while as yet our sanitary engineers have
 dealt only with the urban  phases of   
this most vital problem and chiefly1    
too1 thus far1 only  where it has been  
possible to procure the water supply in 

comparatively unpopulated hill lands4   
,but such opportunities cannot  remain  
available indefinitely1 any more than   
they did in ,china and  ,japan1 and     
already typhoid epidemics break out in  
our large cities  and citizens are      
advised to boil their drinking water4   
,if tea drinking in the family is to    
remain general in most portions  of the 
world1 and especially if it shall       
increase in proportion to  population1  
there is great industrial and commercial
 promise for  ,china1 ,korea and ,japan 
in their tea industry if they will      
develop  tea culture still further over 
the extensive and still unused flanks   
of the hill lands2 improve their        
cultural methods2 their  manufacture2   
and develop their export trade4 ,they   
have the best of  climatic and soil     
conditions and people sufficiently      
capable of  enormously expanding the    
industry4 ,both improvement and         
expansion of  methods along all         
essential lines1 are needed1 enabling   

them to put  upon the market pure teas  
of thoroughly uniform grades of         
guaranteed  quality1 and with these the 
maintenance of an international code of 
rigid ethics which shall secure to all  
concerned a square deal and a  fair     
division of the profits4    ,the        
production of rice1 silk and tea are    
three industries which  these nations   
are preeminently circumstanced and      
qualified to  economically develop and  
maintain4 ,other nations may better     
specialize along other lines which      
fitness determines1 and the time  is    
coming when maximum production at       
minimum cost as the result of  clean    
robust living that in every way is worth
 while1 will determine  lines of social 
progress and of international relations4
 ,with the  vital awakening to the      
possibility of and necessity for world  
peace1  it must be recognized that this 
can be nothing less than universal1     
industrial1 commercial1 intellectual and
 religious1 in addition to  making      

impossible forever the bloody carnage   
that has ravaged the  world through all 
the centuries4    ,with the extension of
 rapid transportation and more rapid    
communication throughout the world1 we  
are fast entering the state  of social  
development which will treat the whole  
world as a mutually  helpful1 harmonious
 industrial unit4 ,it must be recognized
 that in  certain regions1 because of   
peculiar fitness of soil1 climate and   
people1 needful products can be produced
 there better and enough  more cheaply  
than elsewhere to pay the cost of       
transportation4 ,if  ,china1 ,korea and 
,japan1 with parts of ,india1 can and   
will produce  the best and cheapest     
silks1 teas or rice1 it must be for the 
greatest good to seek a mutually helpful
 exchange1 and the erection  of         
impassable tariff barriers is a         
declaration of war and cannot  make for 
world peace and world progress4    ,the 
date of the introduction of tea culture 
into ,china appears  unknown4 ,it was   

before the beginning of the ,christian  
era and  tradition would place it more  
than #bgjj years earlier4 ,the ,japanese
  definitely date its introduction into 
their islands as in the year  #hje ,a4  
,d41 and state its coming to them from  
,china4 ,however and  whenever tea      
growing originated in these countries1  
it long ago  attained and now maintains 
large proportions4 ,in #aijg ,japan had 
#abd1dhb acres of land occupied by tea  
gardens and tea plantations4  ,these    
produced #fj1hgg1ige pounds of cured    
tea1 giving a mean yield  of #dhi pounds
 per acre4 ,of the more than sixty      
million pounds of tea  produced annually
 on nearly two hundred square miles in  
,japan1 less  than twenty-two million   
pounds are consumed at home1 the balance
  being exported at a cash value1 in    
#aijg1 of #f1cji1abb1 or a mean of      
sixteen cents per pound4    ,in ,china  
the volume of tea produced annually is  
much larger than in  ,japan4 ,hosie     
places the annual export from ,szechwan 

into ,tibet alone  at #dj1jjj1jjj pounds
 and this is produced largely in the    
mountainous  portion of the province    
west of the ,min river4 ,richard places 
her  direct export to foreign countries1
 in #aije1 at #agf1jbg1bee pounds2  and 
in #aijf at #ahj1bga1jjj pounds1 so that
 the annual export must  exceed         
#bjj1jjj1jjj pounds1 and her total      
product of cured tea must  be more than 
#djj1jjj1jjj4    ,the general appearance
 of tea bushes as they are grown in     
,japan is  indicated in ,fig4 #aib4 ,the
 form of the bushes1 the shape and size 
of  the leaves and the dense green1     
shiny foliage quite suggests our  box1  
so much used in borders and hedges4     
,when the bushes are young1  not        
covering the ground1 other crops are    
grown between the rows1 but  as the     
bushes attain their full size1 standing 
after trimming1 waist  to breast high1  
the ground between is usually thickly   
covered with  straw1 leaves or grass and
 weeds from the hill lands1 which serve 

as  a mulch1 as a fertilizer1 as a means
 of preventing washing on the           
hillsides1 and to force the rain to     
enter the soil uniformly where  it      
falls4    ,quite a large per cent of the
 tea bushes are grown on small1         
scattering1 irregular areas about       
dwellings1 on land not readily  tilled1 
but there are also many tea plantations 
of considerable  size1 presenting the   
appearance seen in ,fig4 #aic4 ,after   
each picking  of the leaves the bushes  
are trimmed back with pruning shears1   
giving the rows the appearance of       
carefully trimmed hedges4    ,the tea   
leaves are hand picked1 generally by    
women and girls1 after  the manner seen 
in ,fig4 #aid1 where they are gathering 
the tender1  newly-formed leaves into   
baskets to be weighed fresh1 as seen in 
,fig4 #aie4    ,three crops of leaves   
are usually gathered each season1 the   
first  yielding in ,japan one hundred   
kan per tan1 the second fifty kan and   
the third eighty kan per tan4 ,this is  

at the rate of #ccjg pounds1  #afec     
pounds1 and #bfde pounds per acre1      
making a total of #gfje pounds  for the 
season1 from which the grower realizes  
from a little more  than #b4b to a      
little more than #c cents per pound of  
the green  leaves1 or a gross earning of
 #afg to #bji4ej per acre4    ,we were  
informed that the usual cost for        
fertilizers for the tea  orchards was   
#ae to #bj yen per tan1 or #cj to #dj   
per acre per annum1  the fertilizer     
being applied in the fall1 in the early 
spring and  again after the first       
picking of the leaves4 ,while the tea   
plants  are yet small one winter crop   
and one summer crop of vegetables1      
beans or barley are grown between the   
rows1 these giving a return of  some    
forty dollars per acre4 ,where the      
plantations are given good  care and    
ample fertilization the life of a       
plantation may be  prolonged            
continuously1 it is said1 through one   
hundred or more  years4    ,during our  

walk from ,joji to ,kowata1 along a     
country road in one of  the tea         
districts1 we passed a tea-curing house4
 ,this was a long  rectangular1         
one-story building with twenty furnaces 
arranged1 each  under an open window1   
around the sides4 ,in front of each     
heated  furnace with its tray of leaves1
 a ,japanese man1 wearing only a  breech
 cloth1 and in a state of profuse       
perspiration1 was busy  rolling the tea 
leaves between the palms of his hands4  
,at another place we witnessed the      
making of the low grade dust tea1  which
 is prepared from the leaves of bushes  
which must be removed or  from those of 
the prunings4 ,in this case the dried   
bushes with their  leaves were being    
beaten with flails on a threshing floor4
 ,the dust  tea thus produced is        
consumed by the poorer people4          
,,xv    ,,about ,,tientsin              
,on the #fth of ,june we left central   
,china for ,tientsin and further  north1
 sailing by coastwise steamer from      

,shanghai1 again plowing  through the   
turbid waters which give literal        
exactness to the name  ,yellow ,sea4    
,our steamer touched at ,tsingtao1      
taking on board a body  of ,german      
troops1 and again at ,chefoo1 and it was
 only between these  two points that the
 sea was not strongly turbid4 ,nor was  
this all4  ,from early morning of the   
#ajth until we anchored at ,tientsin1   
#b3cj  ,p4 ,m41 our course up the       
winding ,pei ho was against a strong    
dust-laden wind which left those who had
 kept to the deck as grey as  though    
they had ridden by automobile through   
the ,colorado desert2 so  the soils of  
high interior ,asia are still spreading 
eastward by  flood and by wind into the 
valleys and far over the coastal plains4
  ,over large areas between ,tientsin   
and ,peking and at other points         
northward toward ,mukden trees and      
shrubs have been systematically  planted
 in rectangular hedgerow lines1 to check
 the force of the  winds and reduce the 

drifting of soils1 planted fields       
occupying the  spaces between4    ,it   
was on this trip that we met ,dr4 ,evans
 of ,shunking1 ,szechwan  province4 ,his
 wife is a physician practicing among   
the ,chinese  women1 and in discussing  
the probable rate of increase of        
population  among the ,chinese1 it was  
stated that she had learned through her 
practice that very many mothers had     
borne seven to eleven children  and yet 
but one1 two or at most three1 were     
living4    ,it was said there are many  
customs and practices which determine   
this high mortality among children1 one 
of which is that of feeding  them meat  
before they have teeth1 the mother      
masticating for the  children1 with the 
result that often fatal convulsions     
follow4 ,a  ,scotch physician of long   
experience in ,shantung1 who took the   
steamer at ,tsingtao1 replied to my     
question as to the usual size of        
families in his circuit1 ,i do not know4
 ,it depends on the crops4 ,in  good    

years the number is large2 in times of  
famine the girls  especially are        
disposed of1 often permitted to die when
 very young  for lack of care4 ,many are
 sold at such times to go into other    
provinces4 ,such statements1 however1   
should doubtless be taken with  much    
allowance4 ,if all the details were     
known regarding the cases  which have   
served as foundations for such reports1 
the matter might  appear in quite a     
different light from that suggested by  
such cold  recitals4    ,although land  
taxes are high in ,china ,dr4 ,evans    
informed me that it  is not infrequent  
for the same tax to be levied twice and 
even three  times in one year4          
,inquiries regarding the land taxes     
among farmers  in different parts of    
,china showed rates running from three  
cents to  a dollar and a half1 ,mexican1
 per mow2 or from about eight cents to  
#c4hg gold1 per acre4 ,at these rates a 
forty acre farm would pay  from #c4bj to
 #aed4hj1 and a quarter section four    

times these  amounts4 ,data collected by
 ,consul-,general ,e4 ,t4 ,williams of  
,tientsin  indicate that in ,shantung   
the land tax is about one dollar per    
acre1  and in ,chihli1 twenty cents4 ,in
 ,kiangsi province the rate is #bjj to  
#cjj cash per mow1 and in ,kiangsu1 from
 #ejj to #fjj cash per mow1 or1         
according to the rate of exchange given 
on page #gf1 from #fj to #hj  cents1 or 
#ij cents to #a4bj per acre in ,kiangsi2
 and #a4ej to #b4jj  or #a4hj to #b4dj  
in ,kiangsu province4 ,the lowest of    
these rates  would make the land tax on 
#afj acres1 #if1 and the highest would  
place it at #chd1 gold4    ,in ,japan   
the taxes are paid quarterly and the    
combined amount of the  national1       
prefectural and village assessments     
usually aggregates  about ten per cent  
of the government valuation placed on   
the land4  ,the mean valuation placed on
 the irrigated fields1 excluding        
,formosa  and ,karafuto1 was in #aijg1  
#ce4ce yen per tan2 that of the upland  

fields1 #i4dj yen1 and the genya and    
pasture lands were given a  valuation of
 4#bb yen per tan4 ,these are valuations
 of #gj4gj1 #ah4hj  and 4#dd1 gold1 per 
acre1 respectively1 and the taxes on    
forty acres  of paddy field would be    
#bhb4hj2 #ge4bj on forty acres of upland
  field1 and #a4gf1 gold1 on the same   
area of the genya and weed  lands4      
,in the villages1 where work of one or  
another kind is done for pay1  ,dr4     
,evans stated that a woman's wage might 
not exceed #h1 ,mexican1  or #c4dd1     
gold1 per year1 and when we asked how it
 could be worth a  woman's while to work
 a whole year for so small a sum1 his   
reply  was1 ,if she did not do this she 
would earn nothing1 and this would  keep
 her in clothes and a little more4 ,a   
cotton spinner in his  church would     
procure a pound of cotton and on        
returning the yarn  would receive one   
and a quarter pounds of cotton in       
exchange1 the  quarter pound being her  
compensation4    ,dr4 ,evans also       

described a method of rooting slips from
 trees1  practiced in various parts of  
,china4 ,the under side of a branch is  
cut1 bent upward and split for a short  
distance2 about this is  packed a ball  
of moistened earth wrapped in straw to  
retain the soil  and to provide for     
future watering2 the whole may then be  
bound with  strips of bamboo for greater
 stability4 ,in this way slips for new  
mulberry orchards are procured4    ,at  
eight o'clock in the morning we entered 
the mouth of the ,pei ho  and wound     
westward through a vast1 nearly         
sea-level1 desert plain  and in both    
directions1 far toward the horizon1 huge
 white stacks of  salt dotted the       
surface of the ,taku ,government salt   
fields1 and  revolving in the wind were 
great numbers of horizontal sail        
windmills1 pumping sea water into an    
enormous acreage of evaporation  basins4
 ,in ,fig4 #aif may be seen five of the 
large salt stacks and  six of the       
windmills1 together with many smaller   

piles of salt4 ,fig4  #aig is a closer  
view of the evaporation basins with     
piles of salt  scraped from the surface 
after the mother liquor had been drained
  away4 ,the windmills1 which were      
working one1 sometimes two1 of the      
large wooden chain pumps1 were some     
thirty feet in diameter and  lifted the 
brine from tide-water basins into those 
of a second and  third higher level     
where the second and final concentration
  occurred4 ,these windmills1 crude as  
they appear in ,fig4 #aih1 are          
nevertheless efficient1 cheaply         
constructed and easily controlled4  ,the
 eight sails1 each six by ten feet1 were
 so hung as to take the  wind through   
the entire revolution1 tilting          
automatically to receive  the wind on   
the opposite face the moment the edge   
passed the  critical point4 ,some #dhj  
feet of sail surface were thus spread to
  the wind1 working on a radius of      
fifteen feet4 ,the horizontal drive     
wheel had a diameter of ten feet1       

carried eighty-eight wooden cogs  which 
engaged a pinion with fifteen leaves1   
and there were nine arms  on the reel at
 the other end of the shaft which drove 
the chain4 ,the  boards or buckets of   
the chain pump were six by twelve       
inches1  placed nine inches apart1 and  
with a fair breeze the pump ran full4   
,enormous quantities of salt are thus   
cheaply manufactured through  wind1 tide
 and sun power directed by the cheapest 
human labor4  ,before reaching ,tientsin
 we passed the ,government storage yards
 and  counted two hundred stacks of salt
 piled in the open1 and more than  a    
third of the yard had been passed before
 beginning the count4 ,the  average     
content of each stack must have exceeded
 #cjjj cubic feet of  salt1 and more    
than #dj1jjj1jjj pounds must have been  
stored in the  yards4 ,armed guards in  
military uniform patrolled the alleyways
 day  and night4 ,long strips of matting
 laid over the stacks were the only     
shelter against rain4    ,throughout the

 length of ,china's seacoast1 from as   
far north as  beyond ,shanhaikwan1 south
 to ,canton1 salt is manufactured from  
sea  water in suitable places4 ,in      
,szechwan province1 we learn from the   
report of ,consul-,general ,hosie1 that 
not less than #cjj1jjj tons of  salt are
 annually manufactured there1 largely   
from brine raised by  animal power from 
wells seven hundred to more than two    
thousand feet  deep4    ,hosie describes
 the operations at a well more than two 
thousand feet  deep1 at ,tzeliutsing4   
,in the basement of a power-house which 
sheltered forty water buffaloes1 a huge 
bamboo drum twelve feet  high1 sixty    
feet in circumference1 was so set as to 
revolve on a  vertical axis propelled by
 four cattle drawing from its           
circumference4 ,a hemp rope was wound   
about this drum1 six feet from  the     
ground1 passing out and under a pulley  
at the well1 then up and  around a wheel
 mounted sixty feet above and descended 
to the bucket  made from bamboo stems   

four inches in diameter and nearly sixty
 feet  long1 which dropped with great   
speed to the bottom of the well as  the 
rope unwound4 ,when the bucket reached  
the bottom four  attendants1 each with a
 buffalo in readiness1 hitched to the   
drum  and drove at a running pace1      
during fifteen minutes1 or until the    
bucket was raised from the well4 ,the   
buffalo were then unhitched  and1 while 
the bucket was being emptied and again  
dropped to the  bottom of the well1 a   
fresh relay were brought to the drum4   
,in this  way the work continued night  
and day4    ,the brine1 after being     
raised from the well1 was emptied into  
distributing reservoirs1 flowing thence 
through bamboo pipes to the  evaporating
 sheds where round bottomed1 shallow    
iron kettles four  feet across were set 
in brick arches in which jets of natural
 gas  were burning4    ,within an area  
some sixty miles square there are more  
than a  thousand brine and twenty fire  
wells from which fuel gas is taken4     

,the mouths of the fire wells are closed
 with masonry1 out from which  bamboo   
conduits coated with lime lead to the   
various furnaces1  terminating with iron
 burners beneath the kettles4           
,remarkable is the  fact that in the    
city of ,tzeliutsing1 both these brine  
and the fire  wells have been operated  
in the manufacture of salt since before 
,christ was born4    ,the forty water   
buffalo are worth #cj to #dj per head   
and their food  fifteen to twenty cents 
per day4 ,the cost of manufacturing this
 salt  is placed at thirteen to fourteen
 cash per catty1 to which the           
,government adds a tax of nine cash     
more1 making the cost at the  factory   
from #hb cents to #a4ae1 gold1 per      
hundred pounds4 ,salt  manufacture is a 
,government monopoly and the product    
must be sold  either to ,government     
officials or to merchants who have      
bought the  exclusive right to supply   
certain districts4 ,the importation of  
salt  is prohibited by treaties4 ,for   

the salt tax collection ,china is       
divided into eleven circuits each having
 its own source of supply  and transfer 
of salt from one circuit to another is  
forbidden4    ,the usual cost of salt is
 said to vary between one and a half and
  four cash per catty4 ,the retail price
 of salt ranges from  three-fourths to  
three cents per pound1 fully twelve to  
fifteen  times the cost of manufacture4 
,the annual production of salt in the   
,empire is some #a1hfj1jjj tons1 and in 
#aija salt paid a tax close to  ten     
million dollars4    ,beyond the salt    
fields1 toward ,tientsin1 the banks of  
the river were  dotted at short         
intervals with groups of low1 almost    
windowless  houses1 ,fig4 #aii1 built of
 earth brick plastered with clay on     
sides  and roof1 made more resistant to 
rain by an admixture of chaff and  cut  
straw1 and there was a remarkable       
freshness of look about them  which we  
learned was the result of recent        
preparations made for the  rainy season 

about to open4 ,beyond the first of     
these villages came  a stretch of plain 
dotted thickly and far with innumerable 
grave  mounds1 to which reference has   
been made4 ,for nearly an hour we had   
traveled up the river before there was  
any material vegetation1 the  soil being
 too saline apparently to permit growth1
 but beyond this1  crops in the fields  
and gardens1 with some fruit and other  
trees1  formed a fringe of varying width
 along the banks4 ,small fields of      
transplanted rice on both banks were    
frequent and often the land was  laid   
out in beds of two levels1 carefully    
graded1 the rice occupying  the lower   
areas1 and wooden chain pumps were being
 worked by hand1  foot and animal power1
 irrigating both rice and garden crops4 
,in the villages were many stacks of    
earth compost1 of the ,shantung  type2  
manure middens were common and donkeys  
drawing heavy stone  rollers followed by
 men with large wooden mallets1 were    
going round  and round1 pulverizing and 

mixing the dry earth compost and the    
large earthen brick from dismantled     
kangs1 preparing fertilizer for  the new
 series of crops about to be planted1   
following the harvest  of wheat and     
barley4 ,large boatloads of these       
prepared fertilizers  were moving on the
 river and up the canals to the fields4 
,toward the coast from ,tientsin1       
especially in the country1 traversed  by
 the railroad1 there was little produced
 except a short grass1  this being      
grazed at the time of our visit and1 in 
places1 cut for a  very meagre crop of  
hay4 ,the productive cultivated lands   
lie chiefly  along the rivers and canals
 or other water courses1 where there is 
better drainage as well as water for    
irrigation4 ,the extensive1  close      
canalization that characterizes parts of
 ,kiangsu and ,chekiang  provinces is   
lacking here and for this reason1 in    
part1 the soil is  not so productive4   
,the fuller canalization1 the securing  
of adequate  drainage and the gaining of

 complete control of the flood waters   
which flow through this vast plain      
during the rainy season  constitute one 
of ,china's most important industrial   
problems which1  when properly solved1  
must vastly increase her resources4     
,during our  drive over the old         
,peking-,taku road saline deposits were 
frequently  observed which had been     
brought to the surface during the dry   
season1 and the city engineer of        
,tientsin stated that in their  efforts 
at parking portions of the foreign      
concessions they had  found the trees   
dying after a few years when their roots
 began to  penetrate the more saline    
subsoil1 but that since they had opened 
canals1 improving the drainage1 trees   
were no longer dying4 ,there is  little 
doubt that proper drainage by means of  
canals1 and the  irrigation which would 
go with it1 would make all of these     
lands1  now more or less saline1 highly 
productive1 as are now those  contiguous
 to the existing water courses4    ,it  

had rained two days before our drive    
over the ,taku road and when  we applied
 for a conveyance1 the proprietor       
doubted whether the  roads were         
passible1 as he had been compelled to   
send out an extra  team to assist in the
 return of one which had been stalled   
during  the previous night4 ,it was     
finally arranged to send an extra horse 
with us4 ,the rainy season had just     
begun but the deep trenching of  the    
roads concentrates the water in them and
 greatly intensifies the  trouble4 ,in  
one of the little hamlets through which 
we passed the  roadway was trenched to a
 depth of three to four feet in the     
middle  of the narrow street1 leaving   
only five feet for passing in front of  
the dwellings on either side1 and in    
this trench our carriage moved  through 
mud and water nearly to the hubs4       
,between ,tientsin and ,peking1 in the  
early morning after a rain of  the night
 before1 we saw many farmers working    
their fields with the  broad hoes1      

developing an earth mulch at the first  
possible moment  to conserve their much 
needed moisture4 ,men were at work1 as  
seen in  ,figs4 #bjj and #bja1 using    
long handled hoes1 with blades nine by  
thirteen inches1 hung so as to draw just
 under the surface1 doing  very         
effective work1 permitting them to cover
 the ground rapidly4    ,walking        
further1 we came upon six women in a    
field of wheat1  gleaning the single    
heads which had prematurely ripened and 
broken  over upon the ground between the
 rows soon to be harvested4 ,whether    
they were doing this as a privilege or  
as a task we do not know2  they were    
strong1 cheerful1 reasonably dressed1   
hardly past middle  life and it was     
nearly noon1 yet not one of them had    
collected more  straws than she could   
readily grasp in one hand4 ,the season  
in  ,chihli as in ,shantung1 had been   
one of unusual drought1 making the  crop
 short and perhaps unusual frugality was
 being practiced2 but it  is in saving  

that these people excel perhaps more    
than in producing4  ,these heads of     
wheat1 if left upon the ground1 would be
 wasted and  if the women were          
privileged gleaners in the fields their 
returns  were certainly much greater    
than were those of the very old women we
  have seen in ,france gathering heads  
of wheat from the already  harvested    
fields4    ,in the fields between       
,tientsin and ,peking all wheat was     
being  pulled1 the earth shaken from the
 roots1 tied in small bundles and  taken
 to the dwellings1 sometimes on the     
heavy cart drawn by a team  consisting  
of a small donkey and cow hitched       
tandem1 as seen in ,fig4  #bjb4 ,millet 
had been planted between the rows of    
wheat in this field  and was already up4
 ,when the wheat was removed the ground 
would be  fertilized and planted to soy 
beans4 ,because of the dry season this  
farmer estimated his yield would be but 
eight to nine bushels per  acre4 ,he was
 expecting to harvest thirteen to       

fourteen bushels of  millet and from ten
 to twelve bushels of soy beans per acre
 from the  same field4 ,this would give 
him an earning1 based on the local      
prices1 of #aj4cf1 gold1 for the wheat2 
#f4jj for the beans1 and  #e4dh per acre
 for the millet4 ,this land was owned by
 the family of  the ,emperor and was    
rented at #a4ee1 gold1 per acre4 ,the   
soil was a  rather light sandy loam1 not
 inherently fertile1 and fertilizers to 
the value of #c4fa gold1 per acre1 had  
been applied1 leaving the  earning      
#af4ga per acre4    ,another farmer with
 whom we talked1 pulling his crop of    
wheat1 would  follow this with millet   
and soy beans in alternate rows4 ,his   
yield  of wheat was expected to be      
eleven to twelve bushels per acre1 his  
beans twenty-one bushels and his millet 
twenty-five bushels which1  at the local
 prices for grain and straw1 would bring
 a gross earning  of #ce1 gold1 per     
acre4    ,before reaching the end of our
 walk through the fields toward the     

next station we came across another of  
the many instances of the  labor these  
people are willing to perform for only a
 small possible  increase in crop4 ,the 
field was adjacent to one of the        
windbreak  hedges and the trees had     
spread their roots far afield and were  
threatening his crop through the        
consumption of moisture and plant  food4
 ,to check this depletion the farmer had
 dug a trench twenty  inches deep the   
length of his field1 and some twenty    
feet from the  line of trees1 thereby   
cutting all of the surface roots to stop
  their draft on the soil4 ,the trench  
was left open and an interesting        
feature observed was that nearly every  
cut root on the field side of  the      
trench had thrown up one or more shoots 
bearing leaves1 while  the ends still   
connected with the trees showed no signs
 of leaf  growth4    ,in ,chihli as     
elsewhere the ,chinese are skilled      
gardeners1 using  water for irrigation  
whenever it is advantageous4 ,one       

gardener was  growing a crop of early   
cabbage1 followed by one of melons1 and 
these with radish the same season4 ,he  
was paying a rent of #f4de1  gold1 per  
acre2 was applying fertilizer at a cost 
of nearly #h per  acre for each of the  
three crops1 making his cash outlay     
#bi4fg per  acre4 ,his crop of cabbage  
sold for #ajc1 gold2 his melons for #gg1
  and his radish for something more than
 #ea1 making a total of  #bcb4bj per    
acre1 leaving him a net value of        
#bjb4ec4    ,a second gardener1 growing 
potatoes1 obtained a yield1 when sold   
new1 of #h1jjj pounds per acre2 and of  
#af1jjj pounds when the crop  was       
permitted to mature4 ,the new potatoes  
were sold so as to bring  #ea4fj and the
 mature potatoes #ahe4gf per acre1      
making the earning  for the two crops   
the same season a total of #bcg4cf1     
gold4 ,by  planting the first crop very 
early these gardeners secure two crops  
the same season1 as far north as        
,columbus1 ,ohio1 and ,springfield1     

,illinois1 the first crop being         
harvested when the tubers are about  the
 size of walnuts4 ,the rental and       
fertilizers in this case  amounted to   
#cj4if per acre4    ,still another      
gardener growing winter wheat followed  
by onions1 and  these by cabbage1 both  
transplanted1 realized from the three   
crops a  gross earning of #agf4gc1 gold1
 per acre1 and incurred an expense of   
#ca4gc per acre for fertilizer and rent1
 leaving him a net earning  of #ade per 
acre4    ,these old people have acquired
 the skill and practice of storing and  
preserving such perishable fruits as    
pears and grapes so as to  enable them  
to keep them on the markets almost      
continuously4 ,pears  were very common  
in the latter part of ,june1 and        
,consul-,general  ,williams informed me 
that grapes are regularly carried into  
,july4 ,in  talking with my interpreter 
as to the methods employed ,i could only
  learn that the growers depend simply  
upon dry earth cellars which  can be    

maintained at a very uniform            
temperature1 the separate fruits  being 
wrapped in paper4 ,no foreigner with    
whom we talked knew their  methods4     
,vegetables are carried through the     
winter in such earth cellars as  are    
seen in ,fig4 #hh1 page #afa1 these     
being covered after they are  filled4   
,as to the price of labor in this part  
of ,china1 we learned through           
,consul-,general ,williams that a master
 mechanic may receive #ej cents1        
,mexican1 per day1 and a journeyman #ah 
cents1 or at a rate of #ba4e  cents and 
#g4ge cents1 gold4 ,farm laborers       
receive from #bj to #cj1  ,mexican1 or  
#h4fj to #ab4ij1 gold1 per year1 with   
food1 fuel and  presents which make a   
total of #ag4bj to #ba4ej4 ,this is less
 for  the year than we pay for a month  
of probably less efficient labor4       
,there is relatively little child labor 
in ,china and this perhaps  should be   
expected when adult labor is so abundant
 and so cheap4              ,,xvi       

,,manchuria ,,and ,,korea               
,the #cith parallel of latitude lies    
just south of ,tientsin2 followed       
westward1 it crosses the toe of ,italy's
 boot1 leads past ,lisbon in  ,portugal1
 near ,washington and ,st4 ,louis and to
 the north of  ,sacramento on the       
,pacific4 ,we were leaving a country    
with a mean  ,july temperature of #hj   
deg ,f41 and of #ba deg in ,january1 but
 where  two feet of ice may form2 a     
country where the eighteen year mean    
maximum temperature is #ajc4e deg and   
the mean minimum #d4e deg2 where  twice 
in this period the thermometer recorded 
#aac deg above zero1  and twice #g deg  
below1 and yet near the coast and in the
 latitude of  ,washington2 a country    
where the mean annual rainfall is #ai4gb
 inches  and all but #c4cg inches falls 
in ,june1 ,july1 ,august and ,september4
  ,we had taken the #e3dj ,a4 ,m4       
,imperial ,north-,china train1 ,june    
#agth1  to go as far northward as       
,chicago1--to ,mukden in ,manchuria1 a  

distance by rail of some four hundred   
miles1 but all of the way  still across 
the northward extension of the great    
,chinese coastal  plain4 ,southward1 out
 from the coldest quarter of the globe1 
where  the mean ,january temperature is 
more than #dj deg below zero1 sweep     
northerly winds which bring to ,mukden a
 mean ,january temperature  only #c deg 
above zero1 and yet there the ,july     
temperature averages  as high as #gg deg
 and there is a mean annual rainfall of 
but #ah4e  inches1 coming mostly in the 
summer1 as at ,tientsin4    ,although   
the rainfall of the northern extension  
of ,china's coastal  plain is small1 its
 efficiency is relatively high because  
of its  most favorable distribution and 
the high summer temperatures4 ,in the   
period of early growth1 ,april1 ,may and
 ,june1 there are #d4ah inches2  but in 
the period of maximum growth1 ,july and 
,august1 the rainfall  is #aa4d inches2 
and in the ripening period1 ,september  
and ,october1  it is #c4jh inches1 while

 during the rest of the year but #a4jf  
inch  falls4 ,thus most of the rain     
comes at the time when the crops        
require the greatest daily consumption  
and it is least in  mid-winter1 during  
the period of little growth4    ,as our 
train left ,tientsin we traveled for a  
long distance through a  country        
agriculturally poor and little tilled1  
with surface flat1  the soil apparently 
saline1 and the land greatly in need of 
drainage4 ,wherever there were canals   
the crops were best1 apparently         
occupying more or less continuous areas 
along either bank4 ,the day  was hot and
 sultry but laborers were busy with     
their large hoes1  often with all       
garments laid aside except a short shirt
 or a pair of  roomy trousers4    ,in   
the salt district about the village of  
,tangku there were huge  stacks of salt 
and smaller piles not yet brought       
together1 with  numerous windmills1     
constituting most striking features in  
the  landscape1 but there was almost no 

agricultural or other vegetation4       
,beyond ,pehtang there are other salt   
works and a canal leads westward  to    
,tientsin1 on which the salt is probably
 taken thither1 and still  other salt   
stacks and windmills continued visible  
until near ,hanku1  where another canal 
leads toward ,peking4 ,here the coast   
recedes  eastward from the railway and  
beyond the city limits many grave       
mounds dot the surrounding plains where 
herds of sheep were grazing4    ,as we  
hurried toward the delta region of the  
,lwan ho1 and before  reaching          
,tangshan1 a more productive country was
 traversed4 ,thrifty  trees made the    
landscape green1 and fields of millet1  
kaoliang and  wheat stretched for miles 
together along the track and back over  
the  flat plain beyond the limit of     
vision4 ,then came fields planted with  
two rows of maize alternating with one  
row of soy beans1 but not  over         
twenty-eight inches apart1 one stalk of 
corn in a place every  sixteen to       

eighteen inches1 all carefully hoed1    
weedless and  blanketed with an         
excellent earth mulch2 but still the    
leaves were  curling in the intense heat
 of the sun4 ,tangshan is a large city1 
apparently of recent growth on the      
railroad in a country where  isolated   
conical hills rise one hundred or two   
hundred feet out of  the flat1 plains4  
,cart loads of finely pulverized earth  
compost were  here moving to the fields 
in large numbers1 being laid in single  
piles of five hundred to eight hundred  
pounds1 forty to sixty feet  apart4 ,at 
,kaiping the country grows a little     
rolling and we passed  through the first
 railway cuts1 six to eight feet deep1  
and the  water in the streams is running
 ten to twelve feet below the surface   
of the fields4 ,on the right and beyond 
,kuyeh there are low hills1  and here we
 passed enormous quantities of dry1     
finely powdered earth  compost1         
distributed on narrow unplanted area    
over the fields4 ,what  crop1 if indeed 

any1 had occupied these areas this      
season1 we could  not judge4 ,the       
fertilization here is even more         
extensive and more  general than we     
found it in the ,shantung province1 and 
in places  water was being carried in   
pails to the fields for use either in   
planting or in transplanting1 to ensure 
the readiness of the new  crops to      
utilize the first rainfall when it      
comes4    ,then the bed of a nearly dry 
stream some three hundred feet wide was 
crossed and beyond it a sandy plain was 
planted in long narrow  fields between  
windbreak hedges4 ,the crops were small 
but evidently  improved by the influence
 of the shelter4 ,the sand in places had
  drifted into the hedges to a height of
 three feet4 ,at a number of  other     
places along the way before ,mukden was 
reached such protected  areas were      
passed and oftenest on the north side of
 wide1 now nearly  dry1 stream channels4
    ,as we passed on toward ,shanhaikwan
 we were carried over broad plains  even

 more nearly level and unobstructed than
 any to be found in the  corn belt of   
the middle west1 and these too planted  
with corn1  kaoliang1 wheat and beans1  
and with the low houses hidden in       
distant  scattered clusters of trees    
dotting the wide plain on either side1  
with not a fence1 and nothing to suggest
 a road anywhere in sight4  ,we seemed  
to be moving through one vast field     
dotted with hundreds  of busy men1 a    
plowman here1 and there a great cart    
hopelessly lost  in the field so far as 
one could see any sign of road to guide 
their  course4    ,some early crop      
appeared to have been harvested from    
areas  alternating with those on the    
ground1 and these were dotted with      
piles of the soil and manure compost1   
aggregating hundreds of tons1           
distributed over the fields but no doubt
 during the next three or  four days    
these thousands of piles would have been
 worked into the  soil and vanished from
 sight1 to reappear after another crop  

and  another year4    ,it was at        
,lwanchow that we met the out-going tide
 of soy beans  destined for ,japan and  
,europe1 pouring in from the surrounding
  country in gunny sacks brought on     
heavy carts drawn by large mules1  as   
seen in ,fig4 #bjc1 and enormous        
quantities had been stacked in the  open
 along the tracks1 with no shelter      
whatever1 awaiting the  arrival of      
trains to move them to export harbors4  
,the planting here1 as elsewhere1 is in 
rows1 but not of one kind of  grain4    
,most frequently two rows of maize1     
kaoliang or millet  alternated with the 
soy beans and usually not more than     
twenty-eight  inches apart1 sharp high  
ridge cultivation being the general     
practice4 ,such planting secures the    
requisite sunshine with a larger  number
 of plants on the field2 it secures a   
continuous general  distribution of the 
roots of the nitrogen-fixing soy beans  
in the  soil of all the field every     
season1 and permits the soil to be more 

continuously and more completely laid   
under tribute by the root  systems4 ,in 
places where the stand of corn or millet
 was too open  the gaps were filled with
 the soy beans4 ,such a system of       
planting  possibly permits a more       
immediate utilization of the nitrogen   
gathered from the soil air in the root  
nodules1 as these die and  undergo      
nitrification during the same season1   
while the crops are  yet on the ground1 
and so far as phosphorus and potassium  
compounds  are liberated by this decay1 
they too would become available to the  
crops4    ,the end of the day's journey 
was at ,shanhaikwan on the boundary     
between ,chihli and ,manchuria1 the     
train stopping at #f3bj ,p4 ,m4 for  the
 night4 ,stepping upon the veranda from 
our room on the second  floor of a      
,japanese inn in the early morning1     
there stood before us1  sullen and grey1
 the eastern terminus of the ,great     
,wall1 winding  fifteen hundred miles   
westward across twenty degrees of       

longitude1  having endured through      
twenty-one centuries1 the most          
stupendous  piece of construction ever  
conceived by man and executed by a      
nation4 ,more than twenty feet thick at 
the base and than twelve feet  on the   
top2 rising fifteen to thirty feet above
 the ground with  parapets along both   
faces and towers every two hundred yards
 rising  twenty feet higher1 it must    
have been1 for its time and the methods 
of warfare then practiced1 when defended
 by their thousands1 the  boldest and   
most efficient national defense ever    
constructed4 ,nor in  the economy of    
construction and maintenance has it ever
 been  equalled4    ,even if it be true 
that #bj1jjj masons toiled through ten  
years in  its building1 defended by     
#djj1jjj soldiers1 fed by a commissariat
 of  #bj1jjj more and supported by      
#cj1jjj others in the transport1 quarry 
and potters' service1 she would then    
have been using less than eight  tenths 
per cent of her population1 on a basis  

of #fj1jjj1jjj at the  time2 while      
according to ,edmond ,thry's estimate1  
the officers and  soldiers of ,europe   
today1 in time of peace1 constitute one 
per cent  of a population of            
#djj1jjj1jjj of people1 and these1 at   
only one  dollar each per day for food1 
clothing and loss of producing power    
would cost her nations1 in ten years1   
more than #ad1jjj million4  ,china1 with
 her present habits and customs1 would  
more easily have  maintained her army of
 #dgj1jjj men on thirty cents each per  
day1 or  for a total ten-year cost of   
but #ebj1jjj1jjj4 ,the ,french cabinet  
in  #aijj approved a naval program      
involving an expenditure of             
#fjj1jjj1jjj during the next ten years1 
a tax of more than #ae for  every man1  
woman and child in the ,republic4       
,leaving ,shanhaikwan at #e3bj in the   
morning and reaching ,mukden at  #f3cj  
in the evening1 we rode the entire day  
through ,manchurian  fields4 ,manchuria 
has an area of #cfc1gjj square miles1   

equal to that  of both ,dakotas1        
,minnesota1 ,nebraska and ,iowa         
combined4 ,it has  roughly the outline  
of a huge boot and could one slide it   
eastward  until ,port ,arthur was at    
,washington1 ,shanhaikwan would fall    
well  toward ,pittsburgh1 both at the   
tip of the broad toe to the boot4 ,the  
foot would lie across ,pennsylvania1    
,new ,york1 ,new ,jersey and all of     
,new ,england1 extending beyond ,new    
,brunswick with the heel in the  ,gulf  
of ,st4 ,lawrence4 ,harbin1 at the      
instep of the boot1 would lie  fifty    
miles east of ,montreal and the         
expanding leg would reach  northwestward
 nearly to ,james ,bay1 entirely to the 
north of the  ,ottawa river and the     
,canadian ,pacific1 spanning a thousand 
miles of  latitude and nine hundred     
miles of longitude4    ,the ,liao plain1
 thirty miles wide1 and the central     
,sungari plain1  are the largest in     
,manchuria1 forming together a long     
narrow valley  floor between two        

parallel mountain systems and extending 
northeasterly from the ,liao gulf1      
between ,port ,arthur and  ,shanhaikwan1
 up the ,liao river and down the        
,sungari to the ,amur1 a  distance of   
eight hundred or more miles4 ,these     
plains have a  fertile1 deep soil and it
 is on them and other lesser river      
bottoms  that ,manchurian agriculture is
 developed1 supporting eight or nine    
million people on a cultivated1 acreage 
possibly not greater than  #be1jjj      
square miles4    ,manchuria has great   
forest and grazing possibilities        
awaiting future  development1 as well as
 much mineral wealth4 ,the population of
  ,tsitsihar1 in the latitude of middle 
,north ,dakota1 swells from  thirty     
thousand to seventy thousand during     
,september and ,october1  when the      
,mongols bring in their cattle to       
market4 ,in the middle  province1 at the
 head of steam navigation on the        
,sungari1 because of  the abundance and 
cheapness of lumber1 ,kirin has become a

  shipbuilding center for ,chinese      
junks4 ,the ,sungari-,milky-river1 is a 
large stream carrying more water at     
flood season than the ,amur above  its  
mouth1 the latter being navigable #dej  
miles for steamers drawing  twelve feet 
of water1 and #aejj miles for those     
drawing four feet1 so  that during the  
summer season the middle and northern   
provinces have  natural inland          
waterways1 but the outlet to the sea is 
far to the  north and closed by ice six 
months of the year4    ,not far beyond  
the ,great ,wall of ,china1 fast falling
 into ruin1  partly through the         
appropriation of its material for       
building  purposes now that it has      
outlived its usefulness1 another broad1 
nearly dry stream bed was crossed4      
,there1 in full bloom1 was what         
appeared to be the wild white rose seen 
earlier1 further south1 west  of        
,suchow1 having a remarkable profusion  
of small white bloom in  clusters       
resembling the ,rambler rose4 ,one of   

these bushes growing  wild there on the 
bank of the canal had over spread a     
clump of trees  one of which was thirty 
feet in height1 enveloping it in a      
mantle of  bloom1 as seen in the upper  
section of ,fig4 #bjd4 ,the lower       
section  of the illustration is a closer
 view showing the clusters4 ,the stem   
of this rose1 three feet above the      
ground1 measured #ad4e inches in        
circumference4 ,if it would thrive in   
this country nothing could be  better   
for parks and pleasure drives4 ,later on
 our journey we saw it  many times in   
bloom along the railway between ,mukden 
and ,antung1 but  nowhere attaining so  
large growth4 ,the blossoms are scant   
three-fourths inch in diameter1 usually 
in compact clusters of three  to eleven1
 sometimes in twos and occasionally     
standing singly4 ,the  leaves are       
five-foliate1 sometimes trifoliate2     
leaflets broadly  lanceolate1 accuminate
 and finely serrate2 thorns minute1     
recurrent  and few1 only on the smaller 

branches4    ,in a field beyond1 a small
 donkey was drawing a stone roller three
  feet long and one foot in diameter1   
firming the crests of narrow1  sharp1   
recently formed ridges1 two at a time4  
,millet1 maize and  kaoliang were here  
the chief crops4 ,another nearly dry    
stream was  crossed1 where the fields   
became more rolling and much cut by deep
  gullies1 the first instances we had   
seen in ,china except on the  steep     
hillsides about ,tsingtao4 ,not all of  
the lands here were  cultivated1 and on 
the untilled areas herds of fifty to a  
hundred  goats1 pigs1 cattle1 horses and
 donkeys were grazing4    ,fields in    
,manchuria are larger than in ,china and
 some rows were a  full quarter of a    
mile long1 so that cultivation was being
 done with  donkeys and cattle1 and     
large numbers of men were working in    
gangs  of four1 seven1 ten1 twenty1 and 
in one field as high as fifty1  hoeing  
millet4 ,such a crew as the largest     
mentioned could probably  be hired at   

ten cents each1 gold1 per day1 and were 
probably men  from the thickly settled  
portions of ,shantung who had left in   
the  spring1 expecting to return in     
,september or ,october4 ,both laborers  
and working animals were taking dinner  
in the fields1 and earlier in  the day  
we had seen several instances where hay 
and feed were being  taken to the field 
on a wooden sled1 with the plow and     
other tools4  ,at noon this was serving 
as manger for the cattle1 mules or      
donkeys4    ,in fields where the close1 
deep furrowing and ridging was being    
done  the team often consisted of a     
heavy ox and two small donkeys driven   
abreast1 the three walking in adjacent  
rows1 the plow following the  ox1 or a  
heavy mule instead4    ,the rainy season
 had not begun and in many fields there 
was planting  and transplanting where   
water was used in separate hills1       
sometimes  brought in pails from a      
nearby stream1 and in other cases on    
carts  provided with tanks4 ,holes were 

made along the crests of the ridges     
with the blade of a narrow hoe and a    
little water poured in each  hill1 from 
a dipper1 before planting or setting4   
,these must have  been other instances  
where the farmers were willing to incur 
additional labor to save time for the   
maturing of the crop by  assisting      
germination in a soil too dry to make it
 certain until the  rains came4    ,it  
appears probable that the strong ridging
 and the close level rows  so largely   
adopted here must have marked advantages
 in utilizing the  rainfall1 especially 
the portions coming early1 and that     
later also  if it should come in heavy  
showers4 ,with steep narrow ridging1    
heavy  rains would be shed at once to   
the bottom of the deep furrows  without 
over-saturating the ridges1 while the   
wet soil in the bottom  of the furrows  
would favor deep percolation with       
lateral capillary  flow taking place    
strongly under the ridges from the      
furrows1  carrying both moisture and    

soluble plant food where they will be   
most completely and quickly available4  
,when the rain comes in heavy  showers  
each furrow may serve as a long         
reservoir which will prevent  washing   
and at the same time permit quick       
penetration2 the ridges  never becoming 
flooded or puddled1 permit the soil air 
to escape  readily as the water from the
 furrows sinks1 as it cannot easily do  
in flat fields when the rains fall      
rapidly and fill all of the soil  pores1
 thus closing them to the escape of air 
from below1 which must  take place      
before the water can enter4    ,when    
rows are only twenty-four to            
twenty-eight inches apart1 ridging  is  
not sufficiently more wasteful of soil  
moisture1 through greater  evaporation  
because of increased surface1 to        
compensate for the  other advantages    
gained1 and hence their practice1 for   
their  conditions1 appears sound4       
,the application of finely pulverized   
earth compost to fields to be  planted1 

and in some cases where the fields were 
already planted1  continued general     
after leaving ,shanhailkwan as it had   
been before4  ,compost stacks were      
common in yards wherever buildings were 
close  enough to the track to be seen4  
,much of the way about one-third of  the
 fields were yet to be1 or had just     
been1 planted and in a great  majority  
of these compost fertilizer had been    
laid down for use on  them1 or was being
 taken to them in large heavy carts     
drawn  sometimes by three mules4        
,between ,sarhougon and ,ningyuenchow   
fourteen fields thus fertilized were    
counted in less than half a  mile2 ten  
others in the next mile2 eleven in the  
mile and a quarter  following4 ,in the  
next two miles one hundred fields were  
counted and  just before reaching the   
station we counted during five minutes1 
with watch in hand1 ninety-five fields  
to be planted1 upon which  this         
fertilizer had been brought4 ,in some   
cases the compost was  being spread in  

furrows between the rows of a last      
year's crop1  evidently to be turned    
under1 thus reversing the position of   
the  ridges4    ,after passing          
,lienshan1 where1 the railway runs near 
the sea1 a sail  was visible on the bay 
and many stacks of salt piled about the 
evaporation fields were associated with 
the revolving sail windmills  already   
described4 ,here1 too1 large numbers of 
cattle1 horses1 mules  and donkeys were 
grazing on the untilled low lands1      
beyond which we  traversed a section    
where all fields were planted1 where no 
fertilizer was piled in the field but   
where many groups of men were  busy     
hoeing1 sometimes twenty in a gang4     
,chinese soldiers with bayonetted guns  
stood guard at every railway  station   
between ,shanhaikwan and ,mukden1 and   
from ,chinchowfu our  coach was occupied
 by some ,chinese official with guests  
and military  attendants1 including     
armed soldiers4 ,the official and his   
guests  were an attractive group of men 

with pleasant faces and winning         
manners1 clad in many garments of richly
 figured silk of bright1  attractive1   
but unobtrusive1 colors1 who talked1    
seriously or in  mirth1 almost          
incessantly4 ,they took the train about 
one o'clock and  lunch was immediately  
served in ,chinese style1 but the last  
course  was not brought until nearly    
four o'clock4 ,at every station soldiers
  stood in line in the attitude of      
salute until the official car had       
passed4    ,just before reaching        
,chinchowfu we saw the first planted    
fields  littered with stubble of the    
previous crop1 and in many instances    
such stubble was being gathered and     
removed to the villages1 large  stacks  
having been piled in the yards to be    
used either as fuel or  in the          
production of compost4 ,as the train    
approached ,taling ho  groups of men    
were hoeing in millet fields1 thirty in 
one group on  one side and fifty in     
another body on the other4 ,many small  

herds of  cattle1 horses1 donkeys and   
flocks of goats and sheep were feeding  
along stream courses and on the         
unplanted fields4 ,beyond the  station1 
after crossing the river1 still another 
sand dune tract was  passed1 planted    
with willows1 millet occupying the level
 areas  between the dunes1 and not far  
beyond1 wide untilled flats were        
crossed1 on which many herds were       
grazing and dotted with grave  mounds as
 we neared ,koupantze1 where a branch of
 the railway  traverses the ,liao plain 
to the port of ,newchwang4 ,it was in   
this  region that there came the first  
suggestion of resemblance to our        
marshland meadows2 and very soon there  
were seen approaching from  the distance
 loads so green that except for the     
large size one would  have judged them  
to be fresh grass4 ,they were loads of  
cured hay in  the brightest green1 the  
result1 no doubt1 of curing under their 
dry  weather conditions4    ,at ,ta ,hu 
,shan large quantities of grain in sacks

 were piled along  the tracks and in the
 freight yards1 but under matting       
shelters4  ,near here1 too1 large       
three-mule loads of dry earth compost   
were  going to the fields and men were  
busy pulverizing and mixing it on  the  
threshing floors preparatory for use4   
,nearly all crops growing  were one or  
another of the millets1 but considerable
 areas were yet  unplanted and on these 
cattle1 horses1 mules and donkeys were  
feeding and eight more loads of very    
bright new made hay crossed the  track4 
,when the train reached ,sinminfu where 
the railway turns abruptly  eastward to 
cross the ,liao ho to reach ,mukden we  
saw the first  extensive massing of the 
huge bean cakes for export1 together    
with  enormous quantities of soy beans  
in sacks piled along the railway  and in
 the freight yards or loaded on cars    
made up in trains ready  to move4       
,leaving this station we passed among   
fields of grain  looking decidedly      
yellow1 the first indication we had seen

 in ,china  of crops nitrogen-hungry and
 of soils markedly deficient in         
available nitrogen4 ,beyond the next    
station the fields were  decidedly      
spotted and uneven as well as yellow1   
recalling conditions  so commonly seen  
at home and which had been conspicuously
 absent  here before4 ,crossing the     
,liao ho with its broad channel of      
shifting  sands1 the river carrying the 
largest volume of water we had yet      
seen1 but the stream very low and still 
characteristic of the close  of the dry 
season of semi-arid climates1 we soon   
reached another  station where the      
freight yards and all of the space along
 the  tracks were piled high with bean  
cakes and yet the fields about were     
reflecting the impoverished condition of
 the soil through the yellow  crops and 
their uneven growth on the fields4      
,since the ,japanese-,russian war the   
shipments of soy beans and of  bean cake
 from ,manchuria have increased         
enormously4 ,up to this time  there had 

been exports to the southern provinces  
of ,china where the  bean cakes were    
used as fertilizers for the rice fields1
 but the new  extensive markets have so 
raised the price that in several        
instances  we were informed they could  
not then afford to use bean cake as     
fertilizer4 ,from ,newchwang alone1 in  
#aije1 between ,january #ast and  ,march
 #cast1 there went abroad #b1bhf1jjj    
pounds of beans and bean  cake1 but in  
#aijf the amount had increased to       
#d1hhc1jjj pounds4 ,but  a report       
published in the ,tientsin papers as    
official1 while we were  there1 stated  
that the value of the export of bean    
cake and soy  beans from ,dalny for the 
months ending ,march #cast had been1 in 
#aiji1  only #a1fce1jjj1 gold1 compared 
with #c1jfe1jjj in the corresponding    
period of #aijh1 and of #e1abj1jjj in   
#aijg1 showing a marked  decrease4      
,edward ,c4 ,parker1 writing from       
,mukden for the ,review of ,reviews1    
stated3 ,the bean cake shipments from   

,newchwang1 ,dalny and ,antung in  #aijh
 amounted to #eae1aih tons2 beans1      
#bci1bih tons2 bean oil1 #aicj  tons2   
having a total value of #ae1jaf1fdi 7,u4
 ,s4 gold74 ,according  to the          
composition of soy beans as indicated in
 ,hopkins' table of  analyses1 these    
shipments of beans and bean cake would  
remove an  aggregate of #faga tons of   
phosphorus1 #aj1jig tons of potassium1  
and  #dg1hab tons of nitrogen from      
,manchurian soils as the result of      
export for that year4 ,could such a rate
 have been maintained during  two       
thousand years there would have been    
sold from these soils  #bj1aid1jjj tons 
of potassium2 #ab1cdb1jjj tons of       
phosphorus and  #ie1fbd1jjj tons of     
nitrogen2 and the phosphorus1 were it   
thus  exported1 would have exceeded more
 than threefold all thus far  produced  
in the ,united ,states2 it would have   
exceeded the world's  output in #aijf   
more than eighteen times1 even assuming 
that all  phosphate rock mined was      

seventy-five per cent pure4    ,the     
choice of the millets and the sorghums  
as the staple bread crops  of northern  
,china and ,manchuria has been quite as 
remarkable as the  selection of rice for
 the more southern latitudes1 and the   
two  together have played a most        
important part in determining the high  
maintenance efficiency of these people4 
,in nutritive value these  grains rank  
well with wheat2 the stems of the larger
 varieties are  extensively used for    
both fuel and building material and the 
smaller  forms make excellent forage and
 have been used directly for            
maintaining the organic content of the  
soil4 ,their rapid development  and     
their high endurance of drought adapt   
them admirably to the  climate of north 
,china and ,manchuria where the rains   
begin only  after late ,june and where  
weather too cold for growth comes       
earlier  in the fall4 ,the quick        
maturity of these crops also permits    
them to  be used to great advantage even

 throughout the south1 in their  systems
 of multiple cropping so generally      
adopted1 while their great  resistance  
to drought1 being able to remain at a   
standstill for a  long time when the    
soil is too dry for growth and yet be   
able to  push ahead rapidly when        
favorable rains come1 permits them to be
  used on the higher lands generally    
where water is not available for        
irrigation4    ,in the ,shantung        
province the large millet1 sorghum or   
kaoliang1  yields as high as #bjjj to   
#cjjj pounds of seed per acre1 and #efjj
 to  #fjjj pounds of air-dry stems1     
equal in weight to #a4f to #a4g cords of
  dry oak wood4 ,in the region of       
,mukden1 ,manchuria1 its average yield  
of seed is placed at thirty-five bushels
 of sixty pounds weight per  acre1 and  
with this comes one and a half tons of  
fuel or of building  material4 ,hosie   
states that1 the kaoliang is the staple 
food of the  population of ,manchuria   
and the principal grain food of the work

  animals4 ,the grain is first washed in
 cold water and then poured  into a     
kettle with four times its volume of    
boiling water and cooked  for an hour1  
without salt1 as with rice4 ,it is eaten
 with chopsticks  with boiled or salted 
vegetables4 ,he states that an ordinary 
servant  requires about two pounds of   
this grain per day1 and that a workman  
at heavy labor will take double the     
amount4 ,a ,chinese friend of his1      
keeping five servants1 supplied them    
with #bdj pounds of millet per  month1  
together with #af pounds of native      
flour1 regarded as  sufficient for two  
days1 and meat for two days1 the amount 
not being  stated4 ,two of the small    
millets 7,setaria italica1 and ,panicum 
milliaceum71 wheat1 maize and buckwheat 
are other grains which are  used as food
 but chiefly to give variety and change 
of diet4    ,very large quantities of   
matting and wrappings are also made from
  the leaves of the large millet1 which 
serve many purposes  corresponding with 

the rice mattings and bags of ,japan and
 southern  ,china4    ,the small        
millets1 in ,shantung1 yield as high as 
#bgjj pounds of seed  and #dhjj pounds  
of straw per acre4 ,in ,japan1 in the   
year #aijf1 there  were grown #gcg1gai  
acres of foxtail1 barnyard and proso    
millet1  yielding #ag1jhd1jjj bushels of
 seed or an average of twenty-three     
bushels per acre4 ,in addition to the   
millets1 ,japan grew1 the same  year1   
#e1ifd1cjj bushels of buckwheat on      
#cid1ebc acres1 or an average  of       
fifteen bushels per acre4 ,the next     
engraving1 ,fig4 #bje1 shows a  crop of 
millet already six inches high planted  
between rows of  windsor beans which had
 matured about the middle of ,june4 ,the
 leaves  had dropped1 the beans had been
 picked from the stems1 and a little    
later1 when the roots had had time to   
decay the bean stems would be  pulled   
and tied in bundles for use as fuel or  
for fertilizer4    ,we had reached      
,mukden thoroughly tired after a long   

day of  continuous close observation and
 writing4 ,the ,astor ,house1 where we  
were to stop1 was three miles from the  
station and the only  conveyance to meet
 the train was a four-seated springless1
 open1  semi-baggage carryall and it was
 a full hour lumbering its way to  our  
hotel4 ,but here as everywhere in the   
,orient the foreigner meets  scenes and 
phases of life competent to divert his  
attention from  almost any discomfort4  
,nothing could be more striking than the
  peculiar mode the ,manchu ladies have 
of dressing their hair1 seen in  ,fig4  
#bjf1 many instances of which were      
passed on the streets during  this early
 evening ride4 ,it was fearfully and    
wonderfully done1 laid  in the          
smoothest1 glossiest black1 with nearly 
the lateral spread of  the tail of a    
turkey cock and much of the backward    
curve of that of  the rooster2 far less 
attractive than the plainer1 refined1   
modest1  yet highly artistic style      
adopted by either ,chinese or ,japanese 

ladies4    ,the journey from ,mukden to 
,antung required two days1 the train    
stopping for the night at ,tsaohokow4   
,our route lay most of the way  through 
mountainous or steep hilly country and  
our train was made up  of diminutive    
coaches drawn by a tiny engine over a   
three-foot  two-inch narrow gauge track 
of light rails laid by the ,japanese    
during the war with ,russia1 for the    
purpose of moving their armies  and     
supplies to the hotly contested fields  
in the ,liao and ,sungari  plains4 ,many
 of the grades were steep1 the curves   
sharp1 and in  several places it was    
necessary to divide the short train to  
enable  the engines to negotiate them4  
,to the southward over the ,liao plain  
the crops were almost  exclusively      
millet and soy beans1 with a little     
barley1 wheat1 and a  few oats4 ,between
 ,mukden and the first station across   
the ,hun river  we had passed           
twenty-four good sized fields of soy    
beans on one side  of the river and     

twenty-two on the other1 and before     
reaching the  hilly country1 after      
travelling a distance of possibly       
fifteen  miles1 we had passed #cji other
 and similar fields close along the     
track4 ,in this distance also we had    
passed two of the monuments  erected by 
the ,japanese1 marking sites of their   
memorable battles4  ,these fields were  
everywhere flat1 lying from sixteen to  
twenty feet  above the beds of the      
nearly dry streams1 and the cultivation 
was  mostly being done with horses or   
cattle4    ,after leaving the plains    
country the railway traversed a narrow  
winding valley less than a mile wide1   
with gradient so steep that  our train  
was divided4 ,fully sixty per cent of   
the hill slopes were  cultivated nearly 
to the summit and yet rising apparently 
more than  one in three to five feet1   
and the uncultivated slopes were closely
  wooded with young trees1 few more than
 twenty to thirty feet high1  but in    
blocks evidently of different ages4     

,beyond the pass many of  the cultivated
 slopes have walled terraces4 ,we       
crossed a large  stream where railway   
ties were being rafted down the river4  
,just  beyond this river the train was  
again divided to ascend a gradient  of  
one in thirty1 reaching the summit by   
five times switching back1  and matched 
on the other side of the pass by a down 
grade of one in  forty4    ,at many of  
the farm houses in the narrow valleys   
along the way large  rectangular1 flat  
topped compost piles were passed1 thirty
 to forty  inches high and twenty1      
thirty1 forty and even in one case as   
much  as sixty feet square on the       
ground4 ,more and more it became evident
  that these mountain and hill lands    
were originally heavily wooded  and that
 the new growth springs up quickly1     
developing rapidly4 ,it  was clear also 
that the custom of cutting over these   
wooded areas at  frequent intervals is  
very old1 not always in the same stage  
of  growth but usually when the trees   

are quite small4 ,considerable          
quantities of cordwood were piled at the
 stations along the railway  and were   
being loaded on the cars4 ,this was     
always either round wood  or sticks     
split but once2 and much charcoal1 made 
mostly from round  wood or sticks split 
but once1 was being shipped in sacks    
shaped  like those used for rice1 seen  
in ,fig4 #ahj4 ,some strips of the      
forest growth had been allowed to stand 
undisturbed apparently for  twenty or   
more years1 but most areas have been cut
 at more frequent  intervals1 often     
apparently once in three to five1 or    
perhaps ten1  years4    ,at several     
places on the rapid streams crossed1    
prototypes of the  modern turbine       
water-wheel were installed1 doing duty  
grinding beans  or grain4 ,as with      
native machinery everywhere in ,china1  
these wheels  were reduced to the lowest
 terms and the principle put to work    
almost unclothed4 ,these turbines were  
of the downward discharge  type1 much   

resembling our modern windmills1 ten to 
sixteen feet in  diameter1 set          
horizontally on a vertical axis rising  
through the  floor of the mill1 with the
 vanes surrounded by a rim1 the water   
dropping through the wheel1 reacting    
when reflected from the  obliquely set  
vanes4 ,american engineers and mechanics
 would  pronounce these very crude1     
primitive and inefficient4 ,a truer view
  would regard them as examples of a    
masterful grasp of principle by  some1  
man who long ago saw the unused energy  
of the stream and  succeeded thus in    
turning it to account4    ,both days of 
our journey had been bright and very    
warm and1 although  we took the train   
early in the morning at ,mukden1 a young
 ,japanese  anticipated the heat1       
entering the train clad only in his     
kimono and  sandals1 carrying a suitcase
 and another bundle4 ,he rode all day1  
the most comfortably1 if immodestly1    
clad man on the train1 and the  next    
morning took his seat in front of us    

clad in the same garb1 but  before the  
train reached ,antung he took down his  
suitcase and then  and there1           
deliberately attired himself in a good  
foreign suit1  folding his kimono and   
packing it away with his sandals4       
,from ,antung we crossed the ,yalu on   
the ferry to ,new ,wiju at #f3cj ,a4    
,m41 ,june #bb1 and were then in quite a
 different country and among a  very    
different people1 although all of the   
railway officials1  employes1 police and
 guards were ,japanese1 as they had been
 from  ,mukden4 ,at ,antung and ,new    
,wiju the ,yalu is a very broad slow    
stream  resembling an arm of the sea    
more than a river1 reminding one of the 
,st4 ,johns at ,jacksonville1 ,florida4 
,june #bbnd proved to be one of the     
national festival days in ,korea1       
called ,swing day1 and throughout our   
entire ride to ,seoul the  fields were  
nearly all deserted and throngs of      
people1 arrayed in  gala dress1 appeared
 all along the line of the railway1     

sometimes  congregating in bodies of two
 to three thousand or more1 as seen in  
,fig4 #bjg4 ,many swings had been hung  
and were being enjoyed by the  young    
people4 ,boys and men were bathing in   
all sorts of swimming  holes and places4
 ,so too1 there were many large open air
 gatherings  being addressed by public  
speakers1 one of which is seen in ,fig4 
#bjh4    ,nearly everyone was dressed in
 white outer garments made from some    
fabric which although not mosquito      
netting was nearly as open and          
possessed of a remarkable stiffness     
which seemed to take and retain  every  
dent with astonishing effect and which  
was sufficiently  transparent to reveal 
a third undergarment4 ,the full         
outstanding  skirts of five ,korean     
women may be seen in ,fig4 #bji1 and the
  trousers which went with these were   
proportionately full but tied  close    
about the ankles4 ,the garments seemed  
to be possessed of a  powerful repulsion
 which held them quite apart and away   

from the  person1 no doubt contributing 
much to comfort4 ,it was windy but one  
of those hot sultry1 sticky days1 and it
 made one feel cool to see  these open  
garments surging in the wind4    ,the   
,korean men1 like the ,chinese1 wear the
 hair long but not braided  in a queue4 
,no part of the head is shaved but the  
hair is wound in a  tight coil on the   
top of the head1 secured by a pin which1
 in the  case of the ,korean who rode in
 our coach from ,mukden to ,antung1 was 
a modern1 substantial tenpenny wire     
nail4 ,the tall1 narrow1 conical  crowns
 of the open hats1 woven from thin      
bamboo splints1 are  evidently designed 
to accommodate this style of hair       
dressing as  well as to be cool4        
,here1 too1 as in ,china and ,manchuria1
 nearly all crops are planted  in rows1 
including the cereals1 such as wheat1   
rye1 barley and oats4  ,we traversed    
first a flat marshy country with sandy  
soil and water  not more than four feet 
below the surface where1 on the lowest  

areas  a close ally of our wild         
flower-de-luce was in bloom4 ,wheat was 
coining into head but corn and millet   
were smaller than in  ,manchuria4 ,we   
had left ,new ,wiju at #g3cj in the     
morning and at #h3ae  we passed from the
 low land into a hill country with      
narrow valleys4  ,scattering young pine1
 seldom more than ten to twenty-five    
feet  high1 occupied the slopes and as  
we came nearer the hills were seen  to  
be clothed with many small oak1 the     
sprouts clearly not more than  one or   
two years old4 ,roofs of dwellings in   
the country were usually  thatched with 
straw laid after the manner of shingles1
 as may be  seen in ,fig4 #baj1 where   
the hills beyond show the low tree      
growth  referred to1 but here unusually 
dense4 ,bundles of pine boughs1  stacked
 and sheltered from the weather1 were   
common along the way  and evidently used
 for fuel4    ,at #h3be we passed       
through the first tunnel and there were 
many along  the route1 the longest      

requiring thirty seconds for the passing
 of  the train4 ,the valley beyond was  
occupied by fields of wheat where  beans
 were planted between the rows4 ,thus   
far none of the fields had  been as     
thoroughly tilled and well cared for as 
those seen in ,china1  nor were the     
crops as good4 ,further along we passed 
hills where the  pines were all of two  
ages1 one set about thirty feet high and
 the  others twelve to fifteen feet or  
less1 and among these were numerous  oak
 sprouts4 ,quite possibly these are used
 as food for the wild  silkworms4 ,in   
some places appearances indicate that   
the oak and  other deciduous growth1    
with the grass1 may be cut annually and 
only  the pines allowed to stand for    
longer periods4 ,as we proceeded        
southward and had passed ,kosui the     
young oak sprouts were seen to  cover   
the hills1 often stretching over the    
slopes much like a  regular crop1       
standing at a height of two to four     
feet1 and fresh  bundles of these       

sprouts were seen at houses along the   
foot of the  slopes1 again suggesting   
that the leaves may be for the tussur   
silkworms although the time appears late
 for the first moulting4  ,after we had 
left ,seoul1 entering the broader       
valleys where rice was  more extensively
 grown1 the using of the oak boughs and 
green grass  brought down from the hill 
lands for green manure became very      
extensive4    ,after the winter and     
early spring crops have been harvested  
the  narrow ridges on which they are    
grown are turned into the furrows by    
means of their simple plow drawn by a   
heavy bullock1 different from  the      
cattle in ,china but closely similar to 
those in ,japan4 ,the  fields are then  
flooded until they have the appearance  
seen in ,fig4  #ab4 ,over these flooded 
ridges the green grass and oak boughs   
are  spread1 when the fields are again  
plowed and the material worked  into the
 wet soil4 ,if this working is not      
completely successful men  enter the    

fields and tramp the surface until every
 twig and blade is  submerged4 ,the     
middle section in this illustration has 
been fitted  and transplanted2 in front 
of it and on the left are two other     
fields once plowed but not fertilized2  
those far to the right have  had the    
green manure applied and the ground     
plowed a second time but  not finished1 
and in the immediate foreground the     
grass and boughs  have been scattered   
but the second plowing is not yet done4 
,we passed men and bullocks coming from 
the hill lands loaded with  this green  
herbage and as we proceeded towards     
,fusan more and more  of the hill area  
was being made to contribute materials  
for green  manure for the cultivated    
fields4 ,the foreground of ,fig4 #baa   
had  been thus treated and so had the   
field in ,fig4 #bab1 where the man  was 
engaged in tramping the dressing beneath
 the surface4 ,in very  many cases this 
material was laid along the margin of   
the paddies2  in other cases it had been

 taken upon the fields as soon as the   
grain was cut and was lying in piles    
among the bundles2 while in  still other
 cases the material for green manure had
 been carried  between the rows while   
the grain was still standing1 but nearly
  ready to harvest4 ,in some fields a   
full third of a bushel of the  green    
stuff had been laid down at intervals of
 three feet over the  whole area4 ,in   
other cases piles of ashes alternated   
with those of  herbage1 and again manure
 and ashes mixed had been distributed in
  alternate piles with the green manure4
    ,in still other cases we saw        
untreated straw distributed through the 
fields awaiting application4 ,at ,shindo
 this1 straw had the  appearance of     
having been dipped in or smeared with   
some mixture1  apparently of mud and    
ashes or possibly of some compost which 
had  been worked into a thin paste with 
water4    ,after passing ,keizan1       
mountain herbage had been brought down  
from  the hills in large bales on       

cleverly constructed racks saddled to   
the backs of bullocks1 and in one field 
we saw a man who had just  come to his  
little field with an enormous load borne
 upon his  easel-like packing appliance4
 ,thus we find the ,koreans also        
adopting  the rice crop1 which yields   
heavily under conditions of abundant    
water2 we find them supplementing a     
heavy summer rainfall with water  from  
their hills1 and bringing to their      
fields besides both green  herbage for  
humus and organic matter1 and ashes     
derived from the  fuel coming also from 
the hills1 in these ways making good the
  unavoidable losses1 through intense   
cropping4    ,the amount of forest      
growth in ,korea1 as we saw it1 in      
proximity to  the cultivated valleys1 is
 nowhere large and is fairly represented
  in ,figs4 #baj1 #bac and #bad4 ,there 
were clear evidences of periodic        
cutting and considerable1 amounts of    
cordwood split from timber a  foot      
through were being brought to the       

stations on the backs of  cattle4 ,in   
some places there was evident and       
occasionally very  serious soil erosion1
 as may be seen in ,fig4 #bad1 one such 
region  being passed just before        
reaching ,kinusan1 but generally the    
hills  are well rounded and covered with
 a low growth of shrubs and  herbaceous 
plants4    ,southernmost ,korea has the 
latitude of the northern boundary of    
,south ,carolina1 ,georgia1 ,alabama and
 ,mississippi1 while the  northeast     
corner attains that of ,madison1        
,wisconsin1 and the  northern boundary  
of ,nebraska1 the country thus spanning 
some nine  degrees and six hundred miles
 of latitude4 ,it has an area of some   
#hb1jjj square miles1 about equaling the
 state of ,minnesota1 but much  of its  
surface is occupied by steep hill and   
mountain land4 ,the  rainy season had   
not yet set in1 ,june #bcrd4 ,wheat and 
the small  grains were practically all  
harvested southward of ,seoul and the   
people were everywhere busy with their  

flails threshing in the open1  about the
 dwellings or in the fields1 four flails
 often beating  together on the same lot
 of grain4 ,as we journeyed southward   
the  valleys and the fields became wider
 and more extensive1 and the  crops1 as 
well as the cultural methods1 were      
clearly much better4    ,neither the    
foot-power1 animal-power1 nor the wooden
 chain pump of  the ,chinese were       
observed in ,korea in use for lifting   
water1 but we  saw many instances of the
 long handled1 spoonlike swinging scoop 
hung over the water by a cord from tall 
tripods1 after the manner  seen in ,fig4
 #bae1 each operated by one man and     
apparently with high  efficiency for low
 lifts4 ,two instances also were        
observed of the  form of lift seen in   
,fig4 #agc1 where the man walks the     
circumference  of the wheel1 so commonly
 observed in ,japan4 ,much hemp was     
being  grown in southern ,korea but     
everywhere on very small isolated areas 
which flecked the landscape with the    

deepest green1 each little  field       
probably representing the crop of a     
single family4    ,it was #f3cj ,p4 ,m4 
when our train reached ,fusan after a   
hot and dusty  ride4 ,the service had   
been good and fairly comfortable but the
  ice-water tanks of ,american trains   
were absent1 their place being  supplied
 by cooled bottled waters of various    
brands1 including  soda-water1 sold by  
,japanese boys at nearly every important
 station4  ,close connection was made by
 trains with steamers to and from ,japan
  and we went directly on board the ,iki
 ,maru which was to weigh anchor  for   
,moji and ,shimonoseki at #h ,p4 ,m4    
,although small1 the steamer was  well  
equipped1 providing the best of service4
 ,we were fortunate in  having a smooth 
passage1 anchoring at #f3cj the next    
morning and  making close connection    
with the train for ,nagasaki1 landing at
 the  wharf with the aid of a steam     
launch4    ,our ride by train through   
the island of ,kyushu carried us through

  scenes not widely different from those
 we had just left4 ,the journey  was    
continuously among fields of rice1 with 
,korean features strongly  marked but   
usually under better and more           
intensified culture1 and  the season1   
too1 was a little more advanced4 ,here  
the plowing was  being done mostly with 
horses instead of the heavy bullocks so 
exclusively employed in ,korea4 ,coming 
from ,china into ,korea1 and  from there
 into ,japan1 it appeared very clear    
that in agricultural  methods and       
appliances the ,koreans and ,japanese   
are more closely  similar than the      
,chinese and ,koreans1 and the more we  
came to see of  the ,japanese methods   
the more strongly the impression became 
fixed  that the ,japanese had derived   
their methods either from the ,koreans  
or the ,koreans had taken theirs more   
largely from ,japan than from  ,china4  
,it was on this ride from ,moji to      
,nagasaki that we were introduced to    
the attractive and very satisfactory    

manner of serving lunches to  travelers 
on the trains in ,japan4 ,at important  
stations hot tea is  brought to the car 
windows in small glazed1 earthenware    
teapots  provided with cover and bail1  
and accompanied with a teacup of the    
same ware4 ,the set and contents could  
be purchased for five sen1 two  and a   
half cents1 our currency4 ,all tea is   
served without milk or  sugar4 ,the     
lunches were very substantial and put   
together in a neat  sanitary manner in a
 three-compartment wooden box1 carefully
 made  from clear lumber joined with    
wooden pegs and perfect joints4 ,packed 
in the cover we found a paper napkin1   
toothpicks and a pair of  chopsticks4   
,in the second compartment there were   
thin slices of  meat1 chicken and fish1 
together with bamboo sprouts1 pickles1  
cakes  and small bits of salted         
vegetables1 while the lower and chief   
compartment was filled with rice cooked 
quite stiff and without  salt1 as is the
 custom in the three countries4 ,the box

 was about six  inches long1 four inches
 deep and three and a half inches wide4 
,these lunches are handed to travelers  
neatly wrapped in spotless  thin white  
paper daintily tied with a bit of color1
 all in exchange  for #be sen1--#ab4e   
cents4 ,thus for fifteen cents the      
traveler is  handed1 through the car    
window1 in a respectful manner1 a square
  meal which he may eat at his leisure4 
,,xvii    ,,return ,,to ,,japan         
,we had returned to ,japan in the midst 
of the first rainy season1 and  all the 
day through1 ,june #beth1 and two       
nights1 a gentle rain fell  at          
,nagasaki1 almost without interruption4 
,across the narrow street  from ,hotel  
,japan were two of its guest houses1    
standing near the  front of a wall-faced
 terrace rising twenty-eight feet above 
the  street and facing the beautiful    
harbor4 ,they were accessible only by   
winding stone steps shifting on paved   
landings to continue the  ascent between
 retaining walls overhung with a wealth 

of shrubbery  clothed in the densest    
foliage1 so green and liquid in the drip
 of  the rain1 that one almost felt like
 walking edgewise amid stairs  lest the 
drip should leave a stain4 ,over such   
another series of  steps1 but longer and
 more winding1 we found our way to the  
,american  ,consulate where in the      
beautifully secluded quarters           
,consul-,general  ,scidmore escaped many
 annoyances of settling the imagined    
petty  grievances arising between       
,american tourists and the ricksha boys4
    ,through the kind offices of the    
,imperial ,university of ,sapporo and   
of the ,national ,department of         
,agriculture and ,commerce1 ,professor  
,tokito met us at ,nagasaki1 to act as  
escort through most of the  journey in  
,japan4 ,our first visit was to the     
prefectural  ,agricultural ,experiment  
,station at ,nagasaki4 ,there are four  
others  in the four main islands1 one to
 an average area of #dbhj square  miles1
 and to each #a1bjj1jjj people4 ,the    

island of ,kyushu1 whose  latitude is   
that of middle ,mississippi and north   
,louisiana1 has two  rice harvests1 and 
gardeners at ,nagasaki grow three crops1
 each  year4 ,the gardener and his      
family work about five tan1 or a little 
less than one and one-quarter acres1    
realizing an annual return of  some #bej
 per acre4 ,to maintain these earnings  
fertilizers are  applied rated worth #fj
 per acre1 divided between the three    
crops1  the materials used being largely
 the wastes of the city1 animal  manure1
 mud from the drains1 fuel ashes and    
sod1 all composted  together4 ,if this  
expenditure for fertilizers appears high
 it must  be remembered that nearly the 
whole product is sold and that there    
are three crops each year4 ,such intense
 culture requires a heavy  return if    
large yields are maintained4 ,good      
agricultural lands were  here valued at 
#cjj yen per tan1 approximately #fjj per
 acre4    ,when returning toward ,moji  
to visit the ,agricultural ,experiment  

,station of ,fukuoka prefecture1 the    
rice along the first portion of  the    
route was standing about eight inches   
above the water4 ,large  lotus ponds    
along the way occupied areas not readily
 drained1 and  the fringing fields      
between the rice paddies and the        
untilled hill  lands were bearing       
squash1 maize1 beans and ,irish         
potatoes4 ,many  small areas had been   
set to sweet potatoes on close narrow   
ridges1  the tops of which were thinly  
strewn with green grass1 or sometimes   
with straw or other litter1 for shade   
and to prevent the soil from  washing   
and baking in the hot sun after rains4  
,at ,kitsu we passed  near ,government  
salt works1 for the manufacture of salt 
by the  evaporation of sea water1 this  
industry in ,japan1 as in ,china1 being 
a ,government monopoly4    ,many bundles
 of grass and other green herbage were  
collected along  the way1 gathered for  
use in the rice fields4 ,in other cases 
the  green manure had already been      

spread over the flooded paddies and  was
 being worked beneath the surface1 as   
seen in ,fig4 #baf4 ,at this  time the  
hill lands were clothed in the richest1 
deepest green but  the tree growth was  
nowhere large except immediately about  
temples1  and was usually in distinct   
small areas with sharp boundaries       
occasioned by differences in age4 ,some 
tracts had been very recently  cut2     
others were in their second1 third or   
fourth years2 while  others still       
carried a growth of perhaps seven to ten
 years4 ,at one  village many bundles of
 the brush fuel had been gathered from  
an  adjacent area1 recently cleared4    
,a few fields were still bearing their  
crop of soy beans planted in  ,february 
between rows of grain1 and the green    
herbage was being  worked into the      
flooded soil1 for the crop of rice4     
,much compost1  brought to the fields1  
was stacked with layers of straw        
between1  laid straight1 the alternate  
courses at right angles1 holding the    

piles in rectangular form with vertical 
sides1 some of which were  four to six  
feet high and the layers of compost     
about six inches  thick4    ,just before
 reaching ,tanjiro1 a region is passed  
where orchards of  the candleberry tree 
occupy high leveled areas between rice  
paddies1  after the manner described for
 the mulberry orchards in ,chekiang1    
,china4 ,these trees1 when seen from a  
distance1 have quite the  appearance of 
our apple orchards4    ,at the ,fukuoka 
,experiment ,station we learned that the
 usual depth of  plowing for the rice   
fields is three and a half to four and a
 half  inches1 but that deeper plowing  
gives somewhat larger yields4 ,as an    
average of five years trials1 a depth of
 seven to eight inches  increased the   
yield from seven to ten per cent over   
that of the  usual depth4 ,in this      
prefecture grass from the bordering hill
 lands  is applied to the rice fields at
 rates ranging from #ccjj to #af1ebj    
pounds green weight per acre1 and1      

according to analyses given1  these     
amounts would carry to1 the fields from 
#ah to #ij pounds of  nitrogen2 #ab4d to
 #fc4b pounds of potassium1 and #b4a to 
#aj4f pounds  of phosphorus per acre4   
,where bean cake is used as a fertilizer
 the applications may be at  the rate of
 #dif pounds per acre1 carrying #cc4g   
pounds of nitrogen1  nearly #e pounds of
 phosphorus and #g4d pounds of          
potassium4 ,the earth  composts are     
chiefly applied to the dry land fields  
and then only  after they are well      
rotted1 the fermentation being carried  
through  at least sixty days1 during    
which the material is turned three times
  for aeration1 the work being done at  
the home4 ,when used on the rice  fields
 where water is abundant the composts   
are applied in a less  fermented        
condition4    ,the best yields of rice  
in this prefecture are some eighty      
bushels  per acre1 and crops of barley  
may even exceed this1 the two crops     
being grown the same year1 the rice     

following the barley4 ,in most  parts of
 ,japan the grain food of the laboring  
people is about #gj per  cent naked     
barley mixed with #cj per cent of rice1 
both cooked and  used in the same       
manner4 ,the barley has a lower market  
value and its  use permits a larger     
share of the rice to be sold as a money 
crop4    ,the soils are fertilized for  
each crop every year and the            
prescription for barley and rice        
recommended by the ,experiment          
,station1 for growers in this           
prefecture1 is indicated by the         
following table3                        
,,fertilization ,,for ,,naked ,,barley4 
,pounds per acre4   ,fertilizers4       
,n       ,p      ,k  ,manure compost    
#f1fac    #cc4j     #g4d   #cc4h  ,rape 
seed cake     #ccj    #af4g     #b4h    
#c4e  ,night soil       #d1fcj    #bf4d 
#b4f   #aj4b  ,superphosphate     #acb  
#i4i                                    
----------------------        ,sum      
#aa1gje    #gf4a    #bb4g   #dg4e       

,,fertilization ,,for ,,paddy ,,rice4   
,manure compost   #e1bia    #bf4d       
#e4i   #bg4a  ,green manure1    soy     
beans      #c1cjf    #ai4b     #a4a     
#ai4f  ,soy bean cake      #cig    #bg4h
     #a4g    #f4d  ,superphosphate      
#aih            #ab4h                   
----------------------         ,sum     
#i1aib    #gc4d    #ba4e   #ec4a        
,total for year  #bj1hig   #adi4e       
#dd4b  #ajj4f      ,where these         
recommendations are followed there is an
 annual  application of fertilizer      
material which aggregates some ten tons 
per acre1 carrying about #aej pounds of 
nitrogen1 #dd pounds of  phosphorus and 
#ajj pounds of potassium4 ,the crop     
yields which have  been associated with 
these applications on the ,station      
fields are  about forty-nine bushels of 
barley and fifty bushels of rice per    
acre4    ,the general rotation          
recommended for this portion of ,japan  
covers  five years and consists of a    
crop of wheat or naked barley the first 

two years with rice as the summer crop2 
in the third year genge1  pink clover   
7,astragalus sinicus7 or some other     
legume for green  manure is the winter  
crop1 rice following in the summer2 the 
fourth  year rape is the winter crop1   
from which the seed is saved and the    
ash of the stems returned to the soil1  
or rarely the stems  themselves may be  
turned under2 on the fifth and last year
 of the  rotation the broad kidney or   
windsor bean is the winter crop1        
preceding the summer crop of rice4 ,this
 rotation is not general yet  in the    
practice of the farmers of the section1 
they choosing rape or  barley and in    
,february plant windsor or soy beans    
between the rows  for green manure to   
use when the rice comes on4    ,it was  
evident from our observations that the  
use of composts in  fertilizing was very
 much more general and extensive in     
,china than  it was in either ,korea or 
,japan1 but1 to encourage the production
  and use of compost fertilizers1 this  

and other prefectures have  provided    
subsidies which permit the payment of   
#b4ej annually to  those farmers who    
prepare and use on their land a compost 
heap  covering twenty to forty square   
yards1 in accordance with specified     
directions given4    ,the agricultural  
college at ,fukuoka was not in session  
the day of  our visit1 it being a       
holiday usually following the close of  
the  last transplanting season4 ,one of 
the main buildings of the station  and  
college is seen in ,fig4 #bag1 and      
,figs4 #bah1 #bai and #bbj1 placed      
together from left to right in the order
 of their numbers1 form a  panoramic    
view of the station grounds and         
buildings with something  of the        
beautiful landscape setting4 ,there is  
nowhere in ,japan the  lavish           
expenditure of money on elaborate and   
imposing architecture  which            
characterizes ,american colleges and    
stations1 but in equipment  for research
 work1 both as to professional staff and

 appliances1  they compare favorably    
with similar institutions in ,america4  
,the  dormitory system was in vogue in  
the college1 providing room and  board  
at eight yen per month or four dollars  
of our currency4 ,eight  students were  
assigned to one commodious room1 each   
provided with a  study table1 but beds  
were mattresses spread upon the matting 
floor  at night and compactly stored on 
closet shelves during the day4    ,the  
,japanese plow1 which is very similar to
 the ,korean type1 may be  seen in ,fig4
 #bba1 the one on the right costing #b4e
 yen and the other  #b yen4 ,with the   
aid of the single handle and the sliding
 rod held in  the right hand1 the course
 of the plow is directed and the plow   
tilted in either direction1 throwing the
 soil to the right or the  left4    ,the
 nursery beds for rice breeding         
experiments and variety tests by  this  
station are shown in ,fig4 #bbb4        
,although these plots are flooded  the  
marginal plants1 adjacent to the free   

water paths1 were  materially larger    
than those within and had a much deeper 
green  color1 showing better feeding1   
but what seemed most strange was the    
fact that these stronger plants are     
never used in transplanting1 as  they do
 not thrive as well as those less       
vigorous4    ,we left the island of     
,kyushu in the evening of ,june #bith1  
crossing  to the main island of ,honshu1
 waiting in ,shimonoseki for the morning
  train4 ,the rice-planted valleys near 
,shimonoseki were relatively  broad and 
the paddies had all been recently set in
 close rows about  a foot apart and in  
hills in the rows4 ,mountain and hill   
lands were  closely wooded1 largely with
 coniferous trees about the base but    
toward and at the summits1 especially on
 the ,south slopes1 they were  green    
only with herbage cut for fertilizing   
and feeding stock4 ,many  very small    
trees1 often not more than one foot     
high1 were growing on  the recently     
cut-over areas2 tall slender graceful   

bamboos clustered  along the way and    
everywhere threw wonderful beauty into  
the  landscape4 ,cartloads of their     
slender stems1 two to four inches in    
diameter at the base and twenty or more 
feet long1 were moving along  the       
generally excellent1 narrow1 seldom     
fenced roads1 such as seen  in ,fig4    
#bbc4 ,on the borders and pathways      
between rice paddies many  small stacks 
of straw were in waiting to be laid     
between the rows of  transplanted rice1 
tramped beneath the water and overspread
 with mud  to enrich the soil4 ,the     
farmers here1 as elsewhere1 must contend
  against the scouring rush1 varieties  
of grass and our common  pigweeds1 even 
in the rice fields4 ,the large area of  
mountain and  hill land compared with   
that which could be tilled1 and the     
relatively small area of cultivated land
 not at this time under  water and      
planted to rice persisted throughout the
 journey4    ,if there could be any     
monotony for the traveller new to this  

land of  beauty it must result from the 
quick shifting of scenes and in the  way
 the landscapes are pieced together1    
out-doing the craziest  patchwork woman 
ever attempted2 the bits are almost     
never large2  they are of every shape1  
even puckered and crumpled and tilted at
  all angles4 ,here is a bit of the     
journey3 ,beyond ,habu the foothills    
are thickly wooded1 largely with        
conifers4 ,the valley is extremely      
narrow with only small areas for rice4  
,bamboo are growing in  congenial places
 and we pass bundles of wood cut to     
stove length1 as  seen in ,fig4 #bbd4   
,then we cross a long narrow valley     
practically all  in rice1 and then      
another not half a mile wide1 just      
before reaching  ,asa4 ,beyond here the 
fields become limited in area with the  
bordering low hills recently cut over   
and a new growth springing up  over them
 in the form of small shrubs among which
 are many pine4 ,now  we are in a narrow
 valley between small rice fields or    

with none at  all1 but dash into one    
more nearly level with wide areas in    
rice  chiefly on one side of the track  
just before reaching ,onoda at #aj3cj   
,a4 ,m4 and continuing three minutes    
ride beyond1 when we are again  between 
hills without fields and where the trees
 are pine with  clumps of bamboo4 ,in   
four minutes more we are among small    
rice  paddies and at #aj3ce have passed 
another gap and are crossing  another   
valley checkered with rice fields and   
lotus ponds1 but in  one minute more the
 hills have closed in1 leaving only room
 for the  track4 ,at #aj3cg we are      
running along a narrow valley with its  
terraced rice paddies where many of the 
hills show naked soil among  the bamboo1
 scattering pine and other small trees2 
then we are out  among garden patches   
thickly mulched with straw4 ,at #aj3ch  
we are  between higher hills with but   
narrow areas for rice stretching close  
along the track1 but in two minutes     
these are passed and we are  among low  

hills with terraced dry fields4 ,at     
#aj3db we are spinning  along the level 
valley with its rice1 but are quickly   
out again  among hills with naked soil  
where erosion was marked4 ,this is just 
before passing ,funkai where we are     
following the course of a stream  some  
sixty feet wide with but little         
cultivated land in small areas4  ,at    
#aj3dg we are again passing narrow rice 
fields near the track  where the people 
are busy weeding with their hands1 half 
knee-deep  in water4 ,at #aj3ec we enter
 a broader valley stretching far to the 
south and seaward1 but we had crossed it
 in one minute1 shot through  another   
gap1 and at #aj3ee are traversing a much
 broader valley  largely given over to  
rice1 but where some of the paddies were
  bearing matting rush set in rows and  
in hills after the manner of  rice4 ,it 
is here we pass ,oyou and just beyond   
cross a stream  confined between levees 
built some distance back from either    
bank4  ,at #aa3ag this plain is left and

 we enter a narrow valley without       
fields4 ,thus do most of the            
agricultural lands of ,japan lie in the 
narrowest valleys1 often steeply        
sloping1 and into which jutting  spurs  
create the greatest irregularity of     
boundary and slope4    ,the journey of  
this day covered #cej miles in fourteen 
hours1 all of  the way through a country
 of remarkable and peculiar beauty which
  can be duplicated nowhere outside the 
mountainous1 rice-growing  ,orient and  
there only during fifteen days closing  
the transplanting  season4 ,there were  
neither high mountains nor broad        
valleys1 no  great rivers and but few   
lakes2 neither rugged naked rocks1 tall 
forest trees nor wide level fields      
reaching away to unbroken  horizons4    
,but the low1 rounded1 soil-mantled     
mountain tops clothed  in herbaceous and
 young forest growth fell everywhere    
into lower  hills and these into narrow 
steep valleys which dropped by a series 
of water-level benches1 as seen in ,fig4

 #bbe1 to the main river  courses4 ,each
 one of these millions of terraces1 set 
about by its  raised rim1 was a silvery 
sheet of water dotted in the daintiest  
manner with bunches of rice just        
transplanted1 but not so close nor  yet 
so high and over-spreading as to obscure
 the water1 yet quite  enough to impart 
to the surface a most delicate sheen of 
green2 and  the grass-grown narrow rims 
retaining the water in the basins1      
cemented them into series of the most   
superb mosaics1 shaped into  the valley 
bottoms by artizan artists perhaps two  
thousand years  before and maintained by
 their descendants through all the years
  since1 that on them the rains and     
fertility from the mountains and  the   
sunshine from heaven might be           
transformed by the rice plant into  food
 for the families and support for the   
nation4 ,two weeks earlier  the aspect  
of these landscapes was very different1 
and two weeks  later the reflecting     
water would lie hidden beneath the      

growing and  rapidly developing mantle  
of green1 to go on changing until       
autumn1  when all would be overspread   
with the ripened harvest of grain4 ,and 
what intensified the beauty of it all   
was the fact that only along  the widest
 valley bottoms were the mosaics level1 
except the water  surface of each       
individual unit and these were always   
small4 ,at one  time we were riding     
along a descending series of steps and  
then  along another rising through a    
winding valley to disappear around a    
projecting spur1 and anywhere in the    
midst of it all might be  standing      
,japanese cottages or villas with the   
water and the growing  rice literally   
almost against the walls1 as seen in    
,fig4 #bbf1 while  a near-by high       
terrace might hold its water on a level 
with the  chimney-tops4 ,can one wonder 
that the ,japanese loves his country or 
that they are born and bred landscape   
artists8    ,just before reaching ,hongo
 there were considerable areas thrown   

into  long narrow1 much-raised1 east and
 west beds under covers of straw        
matting inclined at a slight angle      
toward the south1 some two feet  above  
the ground but open toward the north4   
,what crop may have been  grown here we 
did not learn but the matting was       
apparently intended  for shade1 as it   
was hot midsummer weather1 and we       
suspect it may  have been ginseng4 ,it  
was here1 too1 that we came into the    
region of  the culture of matting rush1 
extensively grown in ,hiroshima and     
,okayama prefectures1 but less          
extensively all over the empire4 ,as    
with rice1 the rush is first grown in   
nursery beds from which it is           
transplanted to the paddies1 one acre of
 nursery supplying  sufficient stock for
 ten acres of field4 ,the plants are set
 twenty  to thirty stalks in a hill in  
rows seven inches apart with the hills  
six inches from center to center in the 
row4 ,very high fertilization  is       
practiced1 costing from #abj to #bdj yen

 per acre1 or #fj to #abj  annually1 the
 fertilizer consisting of bean cake and 
plant ashes1 or  in recent years1       
sometimes of sulphate of ammonia for    
nitrogen1 and  superphosphate of lime4  
,about ten per cent of the amount of    
fertilizer required for the crop is     
applied at the time of fitting  the     
ground1 the balance being administered  
from time to time as the  season        
advances4 ,two crops of the rush may be 
taken from the same  ground each year or
 it is grown in rotation with rice1 but 
most  extensively on the lands less     
readily drained and not so well suited  
for other crops4 ,fields of the rush1   
growing in alternation with  rice1 are  
seen in ,fig4 #de1 and in ,fig4 #bbg1   
with the ,government salt  fields lying 
along the seashore beyond4    ,with the 
most vigorous growth the rush attain a  
height exceeding  three feet and the    
market price varies materially with the 
length of  the stems4 ,good yields1     
under the best culture1 may be as high  

as  #f4e tons per acre of the dry stems 
but the average yield is less1  that of 
#aije being #heca pounds1 for #ifee     
acres1 ,the value of the  product ranges
 from #abj to #bjj per acre4    ,it is  
from this material that mats are woven  
in standard sizes1 to  be laid over     
padding1 upholstering the floors which  
are the seats of  all classes in ,japan1
 used in the manner seen in ,fig4 #bbh  
and in  ,fig4 #bbi1 which is a          
completely furnished guest room in a    
first  class ,japanese inn1 finished in 
natural unvarnished wood1 with walls  of
 sliding panels of translucent paper1   
which may open upon a porch1  into a    
hallway or into another apartment2 and  
with its bouquet1  which may consist of 
a single large shapely branch of the    
purple  leaved maple1 having the cut end
 charred to preserve it fresh for a     
longer time1 standing in water in the   
vase4    ,two little maids ,i've heard  
of1 each with a pretty taste1 ,who had  
two little rooms to fix and not an hour 

to waste4 ,eight thousand  miles apart  
they lived1 yet on the selfsame day ,the
 one in ,nikko's  narrow streets1 the   
other on ,broadway1 ,they started out1  
each happy  maid her heart's desire to  
find1 ,and her own dear room to furnish 
just according to her mind4    ,when    
,alice went a-shopping1 she bought a bed
 of brass1 ,a bureau and  some chairs   
and things and such a lovely glass ,to  
reflect her little  figure--with two    
candle brackets near-- ,and a little    
dressing table  that she said was simply
 dear6 ,a book shelf low to hold her    
books1 a  little china rack1 ,and then1 
of course1 a bureau set and lots of     
bric-a-brac2 ,a dainty little           
escritoire1 with fixings all her own    
,and just for her convenience1 too1 a   
little telephone4 ,some oriental  rugs  
she got1 and curtains of madras1 ,with  
'cunning' ones of lace  inside1 to go   
against the glass2 ,and then a couch1 a 
lovely one1  with cushions soft to      
crush1 ,and forty pillows1 more or less1

 of  linen1 silk and plush2 ,of all the 
ornaments besides ,i couldn't tell  the 
half1 ,but wherever there was nothing   
else1 she stuck a  photograph4 ,and     
then1 when all was finished1 she sighed 
a little  sigh1 ,and looked about with  
just a shade of sadness in her eye3     
',for  it needs a statuette or so--a    
fern--a silver stork ,oh1 something1    
just to fill it up6' said ,alice of ,new
 ,york4    ,when little ,oumi of ,japan 
went shopping1 pitapat1 ,she bought a   
fan  of paper and a little sleeping mat2
 ,she set beside the window a lily  in a
 vase1 ,and looked about with more than 
doubt upon her pretty  face3 ',for1     
really--don't you think so8--with the   
lily and the fan4  ,it's a little       
overcrowded6' said ,oumi of ,japan4     
7,margaret ,johnson in ,st4 ,nicholas   
,magazine7    ,in the rural homes of    
,japan during #aijf there were woven    
#ad1dig1jeh  sheets of these floor mats 
and #f1fbh1ggb sheets of other matting1 
having a combined value of #b1hae1jdj1  

and in addition1 from the  best quality 
of rush grown upon the same ground1     
aggregating #gfeg  acres that year1     
there were manufactured for the export  
trade1 fancy  mattings1 having the value
 of #b1bgd1aca4 ,here is a total value1 
for  the product of the soil and for the
 labor put into the manufacture1        
amounting to #ffd per acre for the area 
named4    ,at the ,akashi agricultural  
experiment station1 under the           
,directorship of ,professor ,ono1 we saw
 some of the methods of fruit  culture  
as practiced in ,japan4 ,he was         
conducting experiments with  the object 
of improving methods of heading and     
training pear trees1  to which reference
 was made on page #bb4 ,a study was also
 being made  of the advantages and      
disadvantages associated with covering  
the  fruit with paper bags1 examples of 
which are seen in ,figs4 #f and #g4     
,the bags were being made at the time of
 our visit1 from old  newspapers cut1   
folded and pasted by women4 ,naked      

cultivation was  practiced in the       
orchard1 and fertilizers consisting of  
fish guano  and superphosphate of lime  
were being applied twice each year in   
amounts aggregating a cost of           
twenty-four dollars per acre4    ,pear  
orchards of native varieties1 in good   
bearing1 yield returns of  #aej yen per 
tan1 and those of ,european varieties1  
#bjj yen per tan1  which is at the rate 
of #cjj and #djj per acre4 ,the bibo1 so
  extensively grown in ,china was being 
cultivated here also and was  yielding  
about #cbj per acre4    ,it was here    
that we first met the cultivation of a  
variety of  burdock grown from the seed1
 three crops being taken each season    
where the climate is favorable1 or as   
one of three in the multiple  crop      
system4 ,it is grown for the root1      
yielding a crop valued at #dj  to #ej   
per acre4 ,one crop1 planted1 in ,march1
 was being harvested  ,july #ast4       
,during our ride to ,akashi on the early
 morning train we passed long           

processions of carts drawn by cattle1   
horses or by men1 moving along  the     
country road which paralleled the       
railway1 all loaded with the  waste of  
the city of ,kobe1 going to its         
destination in the fields1  some of it a
 distance of twelve miles1 where it was 
sold at from #ed  cents to #a4fc per    
ton4    ,at several places along our    
route from ,shimonoseki to ,osaka we had
  observed the application of slacked   
lime to the water of the rice  fields1  
but in this prefecture1 ,hyogo1 where   
the station is located1  its use was    
prohibited in #aija1 except under the   
direction of the  station authorities1  
where the soil was acid or where it was 
needed  on account of insect troubles4  
,up to this time it had been the  custom
 of farmers to apply slacked lime at the
 rate of three to five  tons per acre1  
paying for it #d4hd per ton4 ,the first 
restrictive  legislation permitted the  
use of #hb pounds of lime with each #hbg
  pounds of organic manure1 but as the  

farmers persisted in using much  larger 
quantities1 complete prohibition was    
resorted to4    ,reference has been made
 to subsidies encouraging the use of    
composts1 and in this prefecture prizes 
are awarded for the best  compost heaps 
in each county1 examinations being made 
by a  committee4 ,the composts receiving
 the four highest awards in each  county
 are allowed to compete with those in   
other counties for a  prefectural prize 
awarded by another committee4    ,the   
pink clover grown in ,hyogo after rice1 
as a green manure crop1  yields under   
favorable conditions twenty tons of the 
green product  per acre1 and is usually 
applied to about three times the area   
upon  which it grew1 at the rate of #f4f
 tons per acre1 the stubble and  roots  
serving for the ground upon which the   
crop grew4    ,on ,july #crd we left    
,osaka1 going south through ,sakai to   
,wakayama1  thence east and north to the
 ,nara ,experiment ,station4 ,after     
passing  the first two stations the     

route lay through a very flat1 highly   
cultivated garden section with cucumbers
 trained on trellises1 many  squash in  
full bloom1 with fields of taro1 ginger 
and many other  vegetables4 ,beyond     
,hamadera considerable areas of flat    
sandy land  had been set close with     
pine1 but with intervening areas in     
rice1  where the growers were using the 
revolving weeder seen in ,fig4 #ad4  ,at
 ,otsu broad areas are in rice but here 
worked with the short  handled claw     
weeders1 and stubble from a former crop 
had been drawn  together into small     
piles1 seen in ,fig4 #bcj1 which later  
would be  carefully distributed and     
worked beneath the mud4    ,much of the 
mountain lands in this region1 growing  
pine1 is owned by  private parties and  
the growth is cut at intervals of ten1  
twenty or  twenty-five years1 being sold
 on the ground to those who will come   
and cut it at a price of forty sen for a
 one-horse load1 as already  described1 
page #aei4    ,the course from here was 

up the rather rapidly rising ,kiigawa   
valley  where much water was being      
applied to the rice fields by various   
methods of pumping1 among them numerous 
current wheels2 an  occasional          
power-pump driven by cattle2 and very   
commonly the  foot-power wheel where the
 man walks on the circumference1        
steadying  himself with a long pole1 as 
seen in the field1 ,fig4 #bca4 ,it was  
here that a considerable section of the 
hill slope had been very  recently cut  
over1 the area showing light in the     
engraving4 ,it was  in the vicinity of  
,hashimoto on this route1 too1 that the 
two  beautiful views reproduced in      
,figs4 #aea and #aeb were taken4    ,at 
the experiment station it was learned   
that within the prefecture  of ,nara1   
having a population of #eeh1cad1 and    
#ajg1egd acres of  cultivated land1     
two-thirds of this was in paddy rice4   
,within the  province there are also    
about one thousand irrigation reservoirs
  with an average depth of eight feet4  

,the rice fields receive #af4cb  inches 
of irrigation water in addition to the  
rain4    ,of the uncultivated hill      
lands1 some #bejj acres contribute green
  manure for fertilization of fields4   
,reference has been made to the         
production of compost for fertilizers on
 page #baa4 ,the amount  recommended in 
this prefecture as a yearly application 
for two crops  grown is3      ,organic  
matter       #c1gaa to #d1fdj lbs4 per  
acre  ,nitrogen               #aje to   
#aca lbs4 per acre  ,phosphorus         
#ce to    #dd lbs4 per acre  ,potassium 
#ef to    #gj lbs4 per acre      ,these 
amounts1 on the basis of the table1 p4  
#bad1 are nearly  sufficient for a crop 
of thirty bushels of wheat1 followed by 
one of  thirty bushels of rice1 the     
phosphorus being in excess and the      
potassium not quite enough1 supposing   
none to be derived from other  sources4 
,at the ,nara hotel1 one of the         
beautiful ,japanese inns where we       
stopped1 our room opened upon a second  

story veranda from which one  looked    
down upon a beautiful1 tiny lakelet1    
some twenty by eighty  feet1 within a   
diminutive park scarcely more than one  
hundred by two  hundred feet1 and the   
lakelet had its grassy1 rocky banks     
over-hung  with trees and shrubs planted
 in all the wild disorder and beauty of 
nature2 bamboo1 willow1 fir1 pine1      
cedar1 red-leaved maple1 catalpa1  with 
other kinds1 and through these1 along   
the shore1 wound a  woodsy1 well        
trodden1 narrow footpath leading from   
the inn to a half  hidden cottage       
apparently quarters for the maids1 as   
they were  frequently passing to and    
fro4 ,a suggestion of how such wild     
beauty  is brought right to the very    
doors in ,japan may be gained from ,fig4
  #bcb1 which is an instance of parking 
effect on a still smaller scale  than   
that described4    ,on the morning of   
,july #fth1 with two men for each of our
 rickshas1  we left the ,yaami hotel for
 the ,kyoto ,experiment station1 some   

two  miles to the southwest of the city 
limits4 ,as soon as we had entered  upon
 the country road we found ourselves in 
a procession of cart men  each drawing a
 load of six large covered receptacles  
of about ten  gallons capacity1 and     
filled with the city's waste4 ,before   
reaching  the station we had passed     
fifty-two of these loads1 and on our    
return the procession was still moving  
in the same direction and we  passed    
sixty-one others1 so that during at     
least five hours there  had moved over  
this section of road leading into the   
country1 away  from the city1 not less  
than ninety tons of waste2 along other  
roadways similar loads were moving4     
,these freight carts and those  drawn by
 horses and bullocks were all provided  
with long racks  similar to that        
illustrated in ,fig4 #ajh1 page #aig1   
and when the load  is not sufficient to 
cover the full length it is always      
divided  equally and placed near each   
end1 thus taking advantage of the       

elasticity of the body to give the      
effect of springs1 lessening the  draft 
and the wear and tear1    ,one of the   
most common commodities coming into the 
city along the  country roads was fuel  
from the hill lands1 in split sticks    
tied in  bundles as represented in ,fig4
 #bbd2 as bundles of limbs twenty-four  
to thirty inches1 and sometimes four to 
six feet1 long2 and in the  form of     
charcoal made from trunks and stems one 
and a half inches to  six inches long1  
and baled in straw matting4 ,most of the
 draft  animals used in ,japan are      
either cows1 bulls or stallions2 at     
least  we saw very few oxen and few     
geldings4    ,as early as #ahie the     
,government began definite steps looking
 to the  improvement of horse breeding1 
appointing at that time a commission  to
 devise comprehensive plans4 ,this led  
to progressive steps finally            
culminating in #aijf in the ,horse      
,administration ,bureau1 whose duties   
were to extend over a period of thirty  

years1 divided into two  intervals1 the 
first1 eighteen and the second1 twelve  
years4 ,during  the first interval it is
 contemplated that the ,government shall
  acquire #a1ejj stallions to be        
distributed throughout the country for  
the use of private individuals1 and     
during the second period it is  the     
expectation that the system will have   
completely renovated the  stock and     
familiarized the people with proper     
methods of management  so that matters  
may be left in their hands4    ,as our  
main purpose and limited time required  
undivided attention to  agricultural    
matters1 and of these to the long       
established practices  of the people1 we
 could give but little time to          
sight-seeing or even  to a study of the 
efforts being made for the introduction 
of  improved agricultural methods and   
practices4 ,but in the very old  city of
 ,kyoto1 which was the seat of the      
,mikado's court from before  #hjj ,a4   
,d4 until #ahfh1 we did pay a short     

visit to the ,kiyomizu  temple1 situated
 some three hundred yards south from the
 ,yaami  hotel1 which faces the         
,maruyaami park with its centuries-old  
giant  cherry tree1 having a trunk of   
more than four feet through and wide    
spreading branches1 now much propped up 
to guard against accident1  as seen in  
,fig4 #bcc4 ,these cherry trees are very
 extensively used  for ornamental       
purposes in ,japan with striking effect4
 ,the tree does  not produce an edible  
fruit1 but is very beautiful when in    
full  bloom1 as may be seen from ,fig4  
#bcd4 ,it was these trees that were     
sent by the ,japanese government to this
 country for use at  ,washington but the
 first lot were destroyed because they  
were found  to be infested and          
threatened danger to native trees4      
,kyoto stands amid surroundings of      
wonderful beauty1 the site  apparently  
having been selected with rare acumen   
for its  possibilities in large         
landscape effects1 and these have been  

developed with that fullness and        
richness which the greatest artists     
might be content to approach4 ,we are   
thinking particularly of the            
,kiyomizu-dera1 or rather of the        
marvelous beauty of tree and foliage    
which has overgrown it and swept far up 
and over the mountain  summit1 leaving  
the temple half hidden at the base4 ,no 
words1 no  brush1 no photographic art   
can transfer the effect4 ,one must see  
to  feel the influence for which it was 
created1 and scores of people1  very old
 and very young1 nearly all ,japanese1  
and more of them on  that day from the  
poorer rather than from the well-to-do  
class1 were  there1 all withdrawing     
reluctantly1 like ourselves1 looking    
backward1 under the spell4 ,so potent   
and impressive was that  something from 
the great overshadowing beauty of the   
mountain1 that  all along up the narrow1
 shop-lined street leading to the       
gateway of  the temple1 seen in ,fig4   
#bce1 the tiniest bits of park effect   

were  flourishing in the most impossible
 situations2 and as ,professor  ,tokito 
and myself were coming away we chanced  
upon six little  roughly dressed lads   
laying out in the sand an elaborate     
little  park1 quite nine by twelve feet4
 ,they must have been at it hours1  for 
there were ponds1 bridges1 tiny hills   
and ravines and much  planting in moss  
and other little greens4 ,so intent on  
their task  were they that we stood     
watching full two minutes before our    
presence attracted their attention1 and 
yet the oldest of the group  must have  
been under ten years of age4    ,one    
partly hidden view of the temple is seen
 in ,fig4 #bcf1 the dense  mountain     
verdure rising above and beyond it4 ,and
 then too1 within  the temple1 as the   
peasant men and women came before the   
shrine and  grasped the long depending  
rope knocker1 with the heavy knot in    
front of the great gong1 swinging it to 
strike three rings1  announcing their   
presence before their ,god1 then        

kneeling to offer  prayers1 one could   
not fail to realize the deep sincerity  
and faith  expressed in face and manner1
 while they were oblivious to all else4 
,no ,christian was ever more devout and 
one may well doubt if any ever  arose   
from prayer more uplifted than these4   
,who need believe they  did not look    
beyond the imagery and commune with the 
,eternal ,spirit8    ,a third view of   
the same temple1 showing resting places 
beneath the  shade1 which serve the     
purpose of lawn seats in our parks1 is  
seen  in ,fig4 #bcg4    ,that a high    
order of the esthetic sense is born to  
the ,japanese  people2 that they are    
masters of the science of the beautiful2
 and  that there are artists among them 
capable of effective and  impressive    
results1 is revealed in a hundred ways1 
and one of these  is the iris garden of 
,fig4 #bch4 ,one sees it here in the    
bulrushes  which make the iris feel at  
home2 in the unobtrusive semblance of a 
log that seems to have fallen across the

 run2 in the hard beaten  narrow path   
and the sore toes of the old pine tree1 
telling of the  hundreds that come and  
go2 it is seen in the dress and pose of 
the  ladies1 and one may be sure the    
photographer felt all that he saw  and  
fixed so well4    ,the vender of ,oumi's
 lily that ,margaret ,johnson saw1 is in
 ,fig4 #bci4  ,there another is         
bartering for a spray of flowers1 and   
thus one sold  the branch of red maple  
leaves in our room at the ,nara inn4    
,his  floral stands are borne along the 
streets pendant from the usual  carrying
 pole4    ,when returning to the city   
from the ,kyoto ,experiment ,station    
several  fields of ,japanese indigo were
 passed1 growing in water under the     
conditions of ordinary rice culture1    
,fig4 #bdj being a view of one of       
these4 ,the plant is ,poligonum         
tinctoria1 a close relative of the      
smartweed4 ,before the importation of   
aniline and alizarin dyes1  which       
amounted in #aijg to #afj1eeh pounds and

 #g1agj1cbj pounds  respectively1 the   
cultivation of indigo was much more     
extensive than  at present1 amounting in
 #ahig to #afj1dfj1jjj pounds of the    
dried  leaves2 but in #aijf the         
production had fallen to #eh1fif1jjj    
pounds1  forty-five per cent of which   
was grown in the prefecture of          
,tokushima in the eastern part of the   
island of ,shikoku4 ,the  population of 
this prefecture is #gjg1efe1 or #d4d    
people to each of  the #aei1dej acres of
 cultivated field1 and yet #ai1ifi of   
these acres  bore the indigo crop1      
leaving more than five people to each   
food-producing acre4    ,the plants for 
this crop are started in nursery beds in
 ,february and  transplanted in ,may1   
the first crop being cut the last of    
,june or  first of ,july1 when the      
fields are again fertilized1 the stubble
  throwing out new shoots and yielding a
 second cutting the last of  ,august or 
early ,september4 ,a crop of barley may 
have preceded one of  indigo1 or the    

indigo may be set following a crop of   
rice4 ,such  practice1 with the high    
fertilization for every crop1 goes a    
long  way toward supplying the necessary
 food4 ,the dense population1 too1  has 
permitted the manufacture of the indigo 
as a home industry among  the farmers1  
enabling them to exchange the spare     
labor of the family  for cash4 ,the     
manufactured product from the reduced   
planting in #aijg  was worth #a1cjd1faj1
 forty-five per cent of which was the   
output of  the rural population of the  
prefecture of ,tokushima1 which they    
could exchange for rice and other       
necessaries4 ,the land in rice in  this 
prefecture in #aijg was #gc1haf acres1  
yielding #aad1chj1jjj  pounds1 or more  
than #afa pounds to each man1 woman and 
child1 and  there were #fe1ffe acres    
bearing other crops4 ,besides this there
 are  #hgd1bjh acres of mountain and    
hill land in the prefecture which       
supply fuel1 fuel ashes and green manure
 for fertilizer2 run-off  water for     

irrigation2 lumber and remunerative     
employment for service  not needed in   
the fields4    ,the journey was         
continued from ,kyoto ,july #gth1 taking
 the route  leading northeastward1      
skirting lake ,biwa which we came upon  
suddenly on emerging from a tunnel as   
the train left ,otani4 ,at many  places 
we passed waterwheels such as that seen 
in ,fig4 #bda1 all  similarly set1      
busily turning1 and usually twelve to   
sixteen feet in  diameter but oftenest  
only as many inches thick4 ,until we had
  reached ,lake ,biwa the valleys were  
narrow with only small areas in  rice4  
,tea plantations were common on the     
higher cultivated slopes1  and gardens  
on the terraced hillsides growing       
vegetables of many  kinds were common1  
often with the ground heavily mulched   
with straw1  while the wooded or        
grass-covered slopes still further up   
showed the  usual systematic periodic   
cutting4 ,after passing the west end of 
the  lake1 rice fields were nearly      

continuous and extensive4 ,before       
reaching ,hachiman we crossed a stream  
leading into the lake but  confined     
between levees more than twelve feet    
high1 and we had  already passed beneath
 two raised viaducts after leaving      
,kusatsu4  ,other crops were being grown
 side by side with the rice on similar  
lands and apparently in rotation with   
it1 but on sharp1 narrow close  ridges  
twelve to fourteen inches high4 ,as we  
passed eastward we  entered one of the  
important mulberry districts where the  
fields are  graded to two levels1 the   
higher occupied with mulberry or other  
crops not requiring irrigation1 while   
the lower was devoted to rice  or crops 
grown in rotation with it4    ,on the   
,kisogawa1 at the station of the same   
name1 there were four  anchored floating
 water-power mills propelled by two pair
 of large  current wheels stationed fore
 and aft1 each pair working on a common 
axle from opposite sides of the mill1   
driven by the force of the  current     

flowing by4    ,at ,kisogawa we had     
entered the northern end of one of the  
largest  plains of ,japan1 some thirty  
miles wide and extending forty miles    
southward to ,owari bay4 ,the plain has 
been extensively graded to two  levels1 
the benches being usually not more than 
two feet above the  rice paddies1 and   
devoted to various dry land crops1      
including the  mulberry4 ,the soil is   
decidedly sandy in character but the    
mean  yield of rice for the prefecture  
is #cg bushels per acre and above  the  
average for the country at large4 ,an   
analysis of the soils at  the           
sub-experiment station north of ,nagoya 
shows the following  content of the     
three main plant food elements4         
,nitrogen ,phosphorus ,potassium        
,pounds per million                     
,in paddy field  ,soil                  
#aebj      #gfi        #hje  ,subsoil   
#haj      #gef        #hhh              
,in upland field  ,soil                 
#ajfj      #fhf       #aafb  ,subsoil   

#eaj      #fgc       #abjd      ,the    
green manure crops on this plain are    
chiefly two varieties of  the pink      
clover1 one sowed in the fall and one   
about ,may #aeth1 the  first yielding as
 high as sixteen tons green weight per  
acre and the  other from five to eight  
tons4    ,on the plain distant from the 
mountain and hill land the stems of     
agricultural crops are largely used as  
fuel and the fuel ashes are  applied to 
the fields at the rate of #aj kan per   
tan1 or #ccj pounds  per acre1 worth    
#a4bj1 little lime1 as such1 being used4
    ,in the prefecture of ,aichi1       
largely in this plain1 with an area of  
cultivated land equal to about sixteen  
of our government townships1  there is a
 population of #a1geb1jdb1 or a density 
of #d4g per acre1  and the number of    
households of farmers was placed at     
#baa1jcc1 thus  giving to each farmer's 
family an average of #a4ge acres1 their 
chief  industries being rice and silk   
culture4    ,soon after leaving the     

,agricultural ,experiment ,station of   
,aichi  prefecture at ,an ,jo we crossed
 the large ,yahagigawa1 flowing between 
strong levees above the level of the    
rice fields4 ,mulberries1 with  burdock 
and other vegetables were growing upon  
all of the tables  raised one to two1   
feet above the rice paddies1 and these  
features  continued past ,okasaki1      
,koda1 and ,kamagori1 where the hills in
 many  places had been recently cut     
clean of the low forest growth and      
where we passed many large stacks of    
pine boughs tied in bundles for  fuel4  
,after passing ,goyu sixty-five miles   
east from ,nagoya1 mulberry  was the    
chief crop4 ,then came a plain country  
which had been graded  and leveled at   
great cost of labor1 the benches with   
their square  shoulders standing three  
to four feet above the paddy fields2 and
  after passing ,toyohashi some distance
 we were surprised to cross a  rather   
wide section of comparatively level land
 overgrown with pine  and herbaceous1   

plants which had evidently been cut and 
recut many  times4 ,beyond ,futagawa    
rice fields were laid out on what       
appeared to  be1 similar land but with  
soil a little finer in texture1 and     
still  further along were other flat    
areas not cultivated4    ,at ,maisaka   
quite half the cultivated fields appear 
to be in mulberry  with ponds of lotus  
plants in low places1 while at          
,hamamatsu the  rice fields are         
interspersed with many square-shouldered
 tables  raised three to four feet and  
occupied with mulberry or vegetables4   
,as we passed upon the flood plain of   
the ,tenryugawa1 with its nearly  dry   
bed of coarse gravel half a mile wide1  
the dwellings of farm  villages were1   
many of them surrounded with nearly     
solid1  flat-topped1 trimmed evergreen  
hedges nine to twelve feet high1 of  the
 umbrella pine1 forming beautiful and   
effective screens4    ,at ,nakaidzumi we
 had left the mulberry orchards for     
those of tea1  rice still holding       

wherever paddies could be formed4 ,here1
 too1 we  met the first fields of       
tobacco1 and at ,fukuroi and ,homouchi  
large  quantities of imported           
,manchurian bean cake were stacked about
 the  station1 having evidently been    
brought by rail4 ,at ,kanaya we passed  
through a long tunnel and were in the   
valley of the ,oigawa1 crossing  the    
broad1 nearly dry stream over a bridge  
of nineteen long spans  and were then in
 the prefecture of ,shizuoka where large
 fields of  tea spread far up the       
hillsides1 covering extensive areas1 but
 after  passing the next station1 and   
for seventeen miles before reaching     
,shizuoka we traversed a level stretch  
of nearly continuous rice  fields4      
,the ,shizuoka ,experiment ,station is  
devoting special attention to the       
interests of horticulture1 and progress 
has already been made in  introducing   
new fruits of better quality and in     
improving the native  varieties4 ,the   
native pears and peaches1 as we found   

them served on  the hotel tables in     
either ,china or ,japan1 were not       
particularly  attractive in either      
texture or flavor1 but we were here     
permitted  to test samples of three     
varieties of ripe figs of fine flavor   
and  texture1 one of them as large as a 
good sized pear4 ,three varieties  of   
fine peaches were also shown1 one       
unusually large and with  delicate deep 
rose tint1 including the flesh4 ,if such
 peaches could  be canned so as to      
retain their delicate color they would  
prove very  attractive for the table4   
,the flavor and texture of this peach   
were  also excellent1 as was the case   
with two varieties of pears4    ,the    
station was also experimenting with the 
production of marmalades  and we tasted 
three very excellent brands1 two of them
 lacking the  bitter flavor4 ,it would  
appear that1 in ,japan1 ,korea and      
,china there  should be a very bright   
future along the lines of horticultural 
development1 leading to the utilization 

of the extensive hill lands  of these   
countries and the development of a very 
extensive export  trade1 both in fresh  
fruits and marmalades1 preserves and the
 canned  forms4 ,they have favorable    
climatic and soil conditions and great  
numbers of people with temperament and  
habits well suited to the  industries1  
as well as an enormous home need which  
should be met1 in  addition to the large
 possibilities in the direction of a    
most  profitable export trade which     
would increase opportunities for labor  
and bring needed revenue to the people4 
,in ,fig4 #bdb are three views  at this 
station1 the lower showing a steep      
terraced hillside set  with oranges and 
other fruits1 holding out a bright      
promise for the  future4    ,peach      
orchards were here set on the hill      
lands1 the trees six feet  apart each   
way4 ,they come into bearing in three   
years1 remain  productive ten to fifteen
 years1 and the returns are #ej to #fj  
yen  per tan1 or at the rate of #ajj to 

#abj per acre4 ,the usual  fertilizers  
for a peach orchard are the             
manure-earth-compost1  applied at the   
rate of #ccjj pounds per acre1 and fish 
guano applied  in rotation and at the   
same rate4    ,shizuoka is one of the   
large prefectures1 having a total area  
of  #cjbi square miles2 #bjij of which  
are in forest2 #dch in pasture and      
genya land1 and #eja square miles       
cultivated1 not quite one-half of  which
 is in paddy fields4 ,the mean yield of 
paddy rice is nearly #cc  bushels per   
acre4 ,the prefecture has a population  
of #a1bic1dgj1 or  about four to the    
acre of cultivated field1 and the total 
crop of  rice is such as1 to provide    
#bcf pounds to each person4    ,at many 
places along the way as we left         
,shizuoka ,july #ajth for  ,tokyo1      
farmers were sowing broadcast1 on the   
water1 over their rice  fields1 some    
pulverized fertilizer1 possibly bean    
cake4 ,near the  railway station of     
,fuji1 and after crossing the boulder   

gravel bed  of the ,fujikawa which was a
 full quarter of a mile wide1 we were   
traversing a broad plain of rice paddies
 with their raised tables1  but on them 
pear orchards were growing1 trained to  
their overhead  trellises4 ,about4      
,suduzuka grass was being cut with      
sickles along  the canal dikes for use  
as green manure in the rice fields1     
which on  the left of the railway1      
stretched eastward more than six miles  
to  beyond ,hara where we passed into a 
tract of dry land crops  consisting of  
mulberry1 tea and various vegetables1   
with more or  less of dry land rice1 but
 we returned to the paddy land again at 
,numazu1 in another four miles4 ,here   
there were four carloads of beef  cattle
 destined for ,tokyo or ,yokohama1 the  
first we had seen4    ,it was at this   
station that the railway turns northward
 to skirt the  eastern flank of the     
beautiful ,fuji-yama1 rising to higher  
lands of  a brown loamy character1      
showing many large boulders two feet in 

diameter4 ,horses were here moving along
 the roadways under large  saddle loads 
of green grass1 going to the paddy      
fields from the  hills1 which in this   
section are quite free from all but     
herbaceous  growth1 well covered and    
green4 ,considerable areas were growing 
maize and buckwheat1 the latter being   
ground into flour and made  into        
macaroni which is eaten with chopsticks1
 ,fig4 #bdc1 and used to  give variety  
to the diet of rice and naked barley4   
,at ,gotenba1 where  tourists leave the 
train to ascend ,fuji-yama1 the road    
turns  eastward again and descends      
rapidly through many tunnels1 crossing  
the wide gravelly channel of the        
,sakawagawa1 then carrying but  little  
water1 like all of the other main       
streams we had crossed1  although we    
were in the rainy season4 ,this was     
partly because the  season was yet not  
far advanced2 partly because so much    
water was  being taken upon the rice    
fields1 and again because the drainage  

is  so rapid down the steep slopes and  
comparatively short water  courses4     
,beyond ,yamakita the railway again led 
along a broad plain  set in paddy rice  
and the hill slopes were terraced and   
cultivated  nearly to their summits4    
,swinging strongly southeastward1 the   
coast was reached at ,noduz in a  hilly 
country producing chiefly vegetables1   
mulberry and tobacco1  the latter crop  
being extensively grown eastward nearly 
to ,oiso1  beyond which1 after a mile of
 sweet potatoes1 squash and cucumbers1  
there were paddy fields of rice in a    
flat plain4 ,before ,hiratsuka  was     
reached the rice paddies were left and  
the train was crossing a  comparatively 
flat country with a sandy1 sometimes    
gravelly1 soil  where mulberries1       
peaches1 eggplants1 sweet potatoes and  
dry land  rice were interspersed with   
areas still occupied with small pine and
  herbaceous growth or where small pine 
had been recently set4 ,similar         
conditions prevailed after we had       

crossed the broad channel of the        
,banyugawa and well toward and beyond   
,fujishiwa where a leveled plain  has   
its tables scattered among the fields of
 paddy rice1 this being  the southwest  
margin of the ,tokyo plain1 the largest 
in ,japan1 lying  in five prefectures1  
whose aggregate area of #a1gci1bjj acres
 of  arable lands was worked by #feg1bce
 families of farmers2 #ffa1fac  acres of
 which was in paddy rice1 producing     
annually some #ai1aih1jjj  bushels1 or  
#afa pounds for each of the #g1aid1jde  
men1 women and  children in the five    
prefectures1 #a1hah1fee of whom were in 
the  capital city1 ,tokyo4    ,three    
views taken in the eastern portion of   
this plain in the  prefecture of ,chiba1
 ,july #agth1 are seen in ,fig4 #bdd1 in
 two of  which shocks of wheat were     
still standing in the fields among the  
growing crops1 badly weathered and the  
grain sprouting as the result  of the   
rainy season4 ,peanuts1 sweet potatoes  
and millet were the  main dry land1     

crops then on the ground1 with paddy    
rice in the  flooded basins4 ,windsor   
beans1 rape1 wheat and barley had been  
harvested4 ,one family with whom we     
talked were threshing their  wheat4 ,the
 crop had been a good one and was       
yielding between #ch4e  and4 #da4c      
bushels per acre1 worth at the time #ce 
to #dj4 ,on the  same land this farmer  
secures a yield of #ceb to #cfa bushels 
of  potatoes1 which at the market price 
at that time would give a gross  earning
 of #fd to #ff per acre4    ,reference  
has been made to the extensive use of   
straw in the  cultural methods of the   
,japanese4 ,this is notably the case in 
their  truck garden work1 and two phases
 of this are shown in ,fig4 #bde4 ,in   
the lower section of the illustration   
the garden has been ridged and  furrowed
 for transplanting1 the sets have been  
laid and the roots  covered with a      
little soil2 then1 in the middle        
section1 showing the  next step in the  
method1 a layer of straw has been       

pressed firmly  above the roots1 and in 
the final step this would be covered    
with  earth4 ,adopting this method the  
straw is so placed that 7#a7 it acts  as
 an effective mulch without in any way  
interfering with the  capillary rise of 
water to the roots of the sets2 7#b7 it 
gives deep1  thorough aeration of the   
soil1 at the same time allowing rains to
  penetrate quickly1 drawing the air    
after it2 7#c7 the ash ingredients      
carried in the straw are leached        
directly to the roots where they  are   
needed2 7#d7 and finally the straw and  
soil constitute a compost  where the    
rapid decay liberates plant food        
gradually and in the  place where it    
will be most readily available4 ,the    
upper section of  the illustration shows
 rows of eggplants very heavily mulched 
with  coarse straw1 the quantity being  
sufficient to act as a most  effective  
mulch1 to largely prevent the           
development of weeds and to  serve      
during the rainy season as a very       

material fertilizer4    ,in growing such
 dry land crops as barley1 beans1       
buckwheat or dry  land rice the soil of 
the field is at first fitted by plowing 
or  spading1 then furrowed deeply where 
the rows are to be planted4 ,into  these
 furrows fertilizer is placed and       
covered with a layer of earth  upon     
which the seed is planted4 ,when the    
crop is up1 if a second  fertilization  
is desired1 a furrow may be made        
alongside each row1  into which the     
fertilizer is sowed and then covered4   
,when the crop  is so far matured that a
 second may be planted1 a new furrow is 
made1 either midway between two others  
or adjacent to one of them1  fertilizer 
applied and covered with a layer of soil
 and the seed  planted4 ,in this way the
 least time possible is lost during the 
growing season1 all of the soil of the  
field doing duty in crop  production4   
,it was our privilege to visit the      
,imperial ,agricultural ,experiment     
,station at ,nishigahara1 near ,tokyo1  

which is charged with the  leadership of
 the general and technical agricultural 
research work  for the ,empire4 ,the    
work is divided into the sections of    
agriculture1 agricultural chemistry1    
entomology1 vegetable  pathology1       
tobacco1 horticulture1 stock breeding1  
soils1 and tea  manufacture1 each with  
their laboratory equipment and research 
staff1 while the forty-one prefectural  
stations and fourteen  sub-stations are 
charged with the duty of handling all   
specific  local1 practical problems and 
with testing out and applying           
conclusions and methods suggested by the
 results obtained at the  central       
station1 together with the local        
dissemination of knowledge  among the   
farmers of the respective prefectures4  
,a comprehensive soil survey of the     
arable lands of the ,empire has  been in
 progress since before #ahic1 excellent 
maps being issued on a  scale of #a to  
#ajj1jjj1 or about #a4eg inch-to the    
mile1 showing the  geological formations

 in eight colors with subdivisions      
indicated by  letters4 ,some eleven soil
 types are recognized1 based on physical
  composition and the areas occupied by 
these are shown by means of  lines and  
dots in black printed over the colors4  
,typical profiles of  the soil to depths
 of three meters are printed as insets  
on each  sheet and localities where     
these apply are indicated by            
corresponding numbers in red on the map4
    ,elaborate chemical and physical    
studies are also being made in the      
laboratories of samples of both soil and
 subsoil4 ,the ,imperial  ,agricultural 
,experiment ,station is well equipped   
for investigation  work along many lines
 and that for soils is notably strong4  
,in ,fig4  #bdf may be seen a portion of
 the large immersed cylinders which are 
filled with typical soils from different
 parts of the ,empire1 and  ,fig4 #bdg  
shows a portion of another part of their
 elaborate outfit  for soil studies     
which are in progress4    ,it is found  

that nearly all cultivated soils of     
,japan are acid to  litmus1 and this    
they are inclined to attribute to the   
presence of  acid hydro-aluminum        
silicates4    ,the ,island ,empire of   
,japan stretches along the ,asiatic     
coast through  more than twenty-nine    
degrees of latitude from the southern   
extremity of ,formosa northward to the  
middle of ,saghalin1 some #bcjj  statute
 miles2 or from the latitude of middle  
,cuba to that of north  ,newfoundland   
and ,winnipeg2 but the total land area  
is only #age1dbh  square miles1 and less
 than that of the three states of       
,wisconsin1  ,iowa and ,minnesota4 ,of  
this total land area only #bc1fih square
 miles  are at present cultivated2 #gaea
 square miles in the three main  islands
 are weed and pasture land4 ,less than  
fourteen per cent of  the entire land   
area is at present under cultivation4   
,if all lands having a slope of less    
than fifteen degrees may be  tilled1    
there yet remain in the four main       

islands1 #ae1djj square  miles to bring 
under cultivation1 which is an addition 
of #fe4d per  cent to the land already  
cultivated4    ,in #aijg there were in  
the ,empire some #e1had1cfb households  
of  farmers tilling #ae1bja1ifi acres   
and feeding #c1ebb1hgg additional       
households1 or #ea1gdb1cih people4 ,this
 is an average of #c4d people  to the   
acre of cultivated land1 each farmer's  
household tilling an  average of #b4f   
acres4    ,the lands yet to be reclaimed
 are being put under cultivation        
rapidly1 the amount improved in #aijg   
being #fd1ddh acres4 ,if the new  lands 
to be reclaimed can be made as          
productive as those now in use  there   
should be opportunity for an increase in
 population to the  extent of about     
#ce1jjj1jjj without changing the present
 ratio of #c4d  people to the acre of   
cultivated land4    ,while the remaining
 lands to be reclaimed are not as       
inherently  productive as those now in  
use1 improvements in management will    

more  than compensate for this1 and the 
,empire is certain to quite double  its 
present maintenance capacity and provide
 for at least a hundred  million people 
with many more comforts of home and more
 satisfaction  for the common people    
than they now enjoy4    ,since #ahgb    
there has been an increase in the       
population of ,japan  amounting to an   
annual average of about #a4a per cent1  
and if this  rate is maintained the one 
hundred million mark would be passed in 
less than sixty years4 ,it appears      
probable however that the  increased    
acreage put under cultivation and       
pasturage combined1 will  more than keep
 pace with the population up to this    
limit1 while the  improvement in methods
 and crops will readily permit a second 
like  increment to her population1      
bringing that for the present ,empire up
  to #aej millions4 ,against this view1 
perhaps1 is the fact that the  rice crop
 of the twenty years ending in #aijf is 
only thirty-three  per cent greater than

 the crop of #ahch4    ,in ,japan1 as in
 the ,united ,states1 there has been a  
strong movement  from the country to the
 city as a natural result of the large  
increase in manufactures and commerce1  
and the small amount of land  per each  
farmer's household4 ,in #aijc only 4#bc 
per cent of the  population of ,japan   
were living in villages of less than    
#ejj1 while  #gi4jf per cent were in    
towns and villages of less than #aj1jjj 
people1 #bj4g per cent living in those  
larger4 ,but in #ahid #hd4cf per  cent  
of the population were living in towns  
and villages of less  than #aj1jjj1 and 
only #ae4fd per cent were in cities1    
towns and  villages of over #aj1jjj     
people2 and while during these ten years
 the  rural population had increased at 
the rate of #fdj per #aj1jjj1 in  cities
 the increase had been #f1agd per       
#aj1jjj4    ,japan has been and still is
 essentially an agricultural nation and 
in #aijf there were #c1hgb1aje farmers' 
households1 whose chief work  was       

farming1 and #a1eha1bjd others whose    
subsidiary work was farming1  or #fj4b  
per cent of the entire number of        
households4 ,a like ratio  holds in     
,formosa4 ,wealthy land owners who do   
not till their own  fields are not      
included4    ,of the farmers in ,japan  
some #cc4cd per cent own and work their 
land4  ,those having smaller holdings1  
who rent additional land1 make up       
#df4jc per cent of the total farmers2   
while #bj4fc per cent are  tenants who  
work #dd4a per cent of the land4 ,in    
#ahib only one per  cent of the land    
holders owned more than twenty-five     
acres each2  those holding between      
twenty-five acres and five acres made up
 #aa4g  per cent2 while #hg4c per cent  
held less than five acres each4 ,a man  
owning seventy-five acres of land in    
,japan is counted among the  great      
landholders4 ,it is never true1 however1
 except in the  ,hokkaido1 which is a   
new country agriculturally1 that such   
holdings  lie in one body4              

,statistics published in ,agriculture in
 ,japan1 by the ,agricultural  ,bureau1 
,department of ,agriculture and         
,commerce1 permit the following         
statements of rent1 crop returns1 taxes 
and expenses1 to be made4  ,the wealthy 
land owners who rent their lands receive
 returns like  these3                   
,for paddy field1  ,for upland field1   
per acre4         per acre4  ,rent      
#bg4ih            #ac4ec  ,taxes        
#g4cd              #a4ih  ,expenses     
#a4gb              #b4dh  ,total        
expenses     #i4jf             #d4df    
,net profit         #ah4ib              
#i4jg      ,it is stated1 in connection 
with these statistics1 that the rate of 
profit for land capital is #e4f per cent
 for the paddy field1 and #e4g  per cent
 for the upland field4 ,this makes the  
valuation of the land  about #cch and   
#aei per acre1 respectively4 ,a land    
holder who owns  and rents ten acres of 
paddy field and ten acres of upland     
field  would1 at these rates1 realize a 

net annual income of #bgi4ij4           
,peasant farmers who own and work their 
lands receive per acre an  income as    
follows3                        ,for    
paddy field1    ,for upland field1      
per acre4            per acre4  ,crop   
returns          #ee4jj                 
#cj4gb  ,taxes                   #g4cd  
#a4ih  ,labor and expenses     #cf4bj   
#bd4jj                       -------    
-------  ,total expense         #dc4ed  
#be4ih  ,net profit             #aa4df  
#d4gd        ,the peasant farmer who    
owns and works five acres1 #b4e of paddy
 and  #b4e of upland field1 would       
realize a total net income of #dj4ej4   
,this is after deducting the price of   
his labor4 ,with that included1  his    
income would be something like #ia4     
,tenant farmers who work some #da per   
cent of the farm lands of ,japan1  would
 have accounts something as follows3    
,for paddy field1  ,for upland field1   
#a crop4  #b crops4                     
per acre4        per acre4  ,crop       

returns    #di4jc   #gh4fb       #da4cf 
,tenant fee       #bc4hi    #ca4eh      
#ac4eb  ,labor            #ae4gh        
#be4gi        #ad4fi  ,fertilization    
#g4hb    #ag4cj        #aj4bb  ,seed    
4#hb     #a4dj         #a4eg  ,other    
expenses    #a4fi     #b4hb             
#a4ff                    -------------  
-------  ,total expenses   #ej4jj       
#gh4hi       #da4ff  ,net profit        
--4#ig   --4#bg        --4#cj           
,this statement indicates that tenant   
farmers do not realize enough  from the 
crops to quite cover expenses and the   
price named for their  labor4 ,if the   
tenant were renting five acres1 equally 
divided  between paddy and upland field1
 the earning would be #gc4jj or  #ii4gc 
according as one or two crops are taken 
from the paddy field1  this representing
 what he realizes on his labor1 his     
other expenses  absorbing the balance of
 the crop value4    ,but the average    
area tilled by each ,japanese farmer's  
household is  only #b4f acres1 hence the

 average earning of the tenant household
  would be #cg4ie or #ea4hf4 ,a clearer 
view of the difference in the  present  
condition of farmers in ,japan and of   
those in the ,united  ,states may be    
gained by making the ,japanese statement
 on the basis  of our #afj-;acre farm1  
as expressed in the table below3        
,for paddy field4 ,for upland field4    
,total4                   ,for #hj      
acres4    ,for #hj acres4   #afj acres4 
,crop returns      #d1djj4jj            
#b1deg4fj     #f1heg4fj                 
----------        ----------            
----------  ,taxes               #ehg4bj
           #aeh4dj       #gde4fj        
,expenses           #a1fcc4fj           
#gdd4hj      #b1cgh4dj  ,labor          
#a1bfb4dj          #a1age4bj            
#b1dcg4fj                    ---------- 
----------    ----------     ,total cost
     #c1dhh4bj         #b1jgh4dj        
#e1efa4fj  ,net return           #iaf4hj
            #cgi4bj      #a1bif4jj      
,return    including labor  #b1agi4bj   

#a1eed4dj      #c1ghc4fj        ,in the 
,united ,states the #afj-;acre farm is  
managed by and supports a  single       
family1 but in ,japan1 as the average   
household works but #b4f  acres1 the    
earnings of the #afj acres are          
distributed among some #fa  households1 
making the net return to each but       
#ba4be1 instead of  #abif1 and including
 the labor as earning1 the income would 
be  #ci4if more1 or #fj4fg per household
 instead of #cgcc4fj1 the total  for a  
#afj-;acre farm worked under ,japanese  
conditions4    ,these figures reveal    
something of the tense strain and of the
  terrible burden which is being carried
 by these people1 over and  above that  
required for the maintenance of the     
household4 ,the tenant  who raises one  
crop of rice pays a rental of #bc4hi per
 acre4 ,if he  raises two crops he pays 
#ca4eh2 if it is upland field1 he pays  
#ac4eb4 ,to these amounts he adds       
#aj4cc1 #ba4eb or #ac4de  respectively  
for fertilizer1 seed and other expenses 

making a total  investment of #cd4bb1   
#ec4aj or #bf4ig per acre1 which would  
require  as many bushels of wheat sold  
at a dollar a bushel to cover this      
cost4 ,in addition to this he assumes   
all the risks of loss from  weather1    
from insects and from blight1 in the    
hope that he may  recoup his expenses   
and in addition have for his services   
#ad4ha1  #be4eb or #ad4ci for the       
season's work4    ,the burdens of       
society1 which have been and still are  
so largely  burdens of war and of       
government1 with all nations1 are       
reflected  with almost blinding effect  
in the land taxes of ,japan1 which range
  from #a4ih1 on the upland1 to #g4cd   
per acre on the paddy fields1  making a 
quarter section1 without buildings1     
carry a burden of #cjj  to #aajj        
annually4 ,japan's budget in #aijg was  
#acd1ida1aac1 which is  at the rate of  
#b4fj for each man1 woman and child2    
#h4ij for each  acre of cultivated land1
 and #bc1 for each household in the     

,empire4  ,when such is the case it is  
not strange that scenes like ,fig4 #bdh 
are common in ,japan today where1 after 
seventy years1 toil may not  cease4     
,there is a bright1 as well as a        
pathetic side to scenes like this4  ,the
 two have shared for fifty years1 but if
 the days have been full  of toil1 with 
them have come strength of body1 of mind
 and sterling  character4 ,if the       
burdens have been heavy1 each has made  
the other's  lighter1 the satisfaction  
fuller1 the joys keener1 the sorrows    
less  difficult to bear2 and the        
children who came into the home and have
  gone from it to perpetuate new ones1  
could not well be other than  such as to
 contribute to the foundations of       
nations of great  strength and long     
endurance4    ,reference has been made  
to the large amount of work carried on  
in  the farmers' households by the women
 and children1 and by the men  when they
 are not otherwise employed1 and the    
earnings of this  subsidiary work have  

materially helped to piece out the      
meagre  income and to meet the          
relatively high taxes and rent4