﻿350 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  have 
  demanded 
  adjustment, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  timber 
  and 
  plant 
  cover, 
  

   the 
  exposure 
  of 
  the 
  hills 
  to 
  erosion 
  (pi. 
  1, 
  fig. 
  1), 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  

   agricultural 
  lands 
  through 
  washing 
  away 
  and 
  silting, 
  and 
  a 
  host 
  of 
  

   other 
  consequences. 
  As 
  in 
  other 
  countries, 
  the 
  demand 
  for 
  increased 
  

   crops 
  and 
  more 
  tillable 
  land 
  has 
  fallen 
  on 
  individuals 
  and 
  small 
  

   groups, 
  who 
  in 
  many, 
  if 
  not 
  most, 
  cases 
  have 
  been 
  unable 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  

   resulting 
  larger 
  problems 
  and 
  who 
  have 
  in 
  time 
  been 
  reduced 
  to 
  the 
  

   direst 
  poverty 
  or 
  been 
  driven 
  away 
  from 
  the 
  lands 
  they 
  so 
  urgently 
  

   need 
  to 
  areas 
  where 
  they 
  can 
  only 
  eke 
  out 
  a 
  bare 
  subsistence 
  and 
  repeat 
  

   the 
  destructive 
  processes. 
  Thus, 
  next 
  to 
  agriculture, 
  reforestation 
  is 
  

   the 
  most 
  urgent 
  economic 
  botanical 
  problem 
  in 
  China. 
  Many 
  refer- 
  

   ences 
  have 
  already 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  this 
  subject, 
  but 
  its 
  importance 
  

   justifies 
  separate 
  consideration. 
  

  

  The 
  major 
  cause 
  of 
  forest 
  destruction 
  in 
  most 
  areas, 
  at 
  least 
  in 
  the 
  

   past 
  when 
  there 
  were 
  extensive 
  forests, 
  was 
  the 
  need 
  for 
  agricultural 
  

   land 
  rather 
  than 
  for 
  the 
  products 
  of 
  the 
  forests. 
  The 
  same 
  is 
  true 
  in 
  

   some 
  regions 
  today, 
  as 
  is 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  wanton 
  abandoning 
  of 
  thou- 
  

   sands 
  of 
  board 
  feet 
  of 
  merchantable 
  timber, 
  as 
  was 
  observed 
  by 
  W. 
  C. 
  

   Lowermilk 
  in 
  his 
  studies 
  in 
  Shansi. 
  After 
  the 
  lowlands 
  were 
  cleared, 
  

   this 
  demand 
  for 
  more 
  land 
  could 
  be 
  met 
  only 
  by 
  terracing 
  the 
  hillsides 
  

   (pi. 
  1, 
  fig. 
  1) 
  , 
  progressing 
  gradually 
  higher 
  and 
  higher 
  until 
  the 
  slopes 
  

   became 
  too 
  steep 
  for 
  cultivation 
  even 
  by 
  these 
  means. 
  Even 
  on 
  the 
  

   still 
  steeper 
  and 
  higher 
  slopes 
  agriculture 
  is 
  often 
  possible 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  

   years 
  without 
  terracing 
  by 
  growing, 
  at 
  least 
  in 
  north 
  China, 
  special 
  

   crops 
  such 
  as 
  maize 
  or 
  Indian 
  corn 
  and 
  potatoes, 
  both 
  originally 
  from 
  

   America. 
  Soon, 
  however, 
  the 
  soil 
  washes 
  away 
  and 
  the 
  fields 
  must 
  be 
  

   abandoned. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  most 
  important 
  cause 
  for 
  the 
  forest 
  removal 
  is 
  the 
  need 
  

   for 
  forest 
  products, 
  especially 
  timber. 
  With 
  the 
  gradual 
  removal 
  of 
  

   the 
  timber 
  near 
  centers 
  of 
  population 
  the 
  quality 
  of 
  the 
  lumber 
  de- 
  

   creased 
  and 
  the 
  price 
  went 
  up, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  standard 
  of 
  living 
  fell 
  lower 
  

   and 
  lower. 
  Much 
  of 
  the 
  timber 
  now 
  seen 
  rafted 
  to 
  market 
  in 
  China 
  

   would 
  not 
  be 
  transported 
  in 
  America 
  even 
  for 
  fuel 
  or 
  pulpwood. 
  

   When 
  the 
  huge 
  wooden 
  pillars 
  of 
  the 
  Temple 
  of 
  Heaven 
  in 
  Peiping, 
  

   originally 
  brought 
  down 
  from 
  Manchuria, 
  were 
  destroyed 
  by 
  fire, 
  

   they 
  could 
  only 
  be 
  replaced 
  from 
  the 
  fir 
  forests 
  of 
  the 
  northwestern 
  

   United 
  States. 
  But 
  the 
  common 
  man 
  cannot 
  rebuild 
  with 
  imported 
  

   lumber 
  ; 
  he 
  must 
  use 
  sun-dried 
  bricks 
  or 
  mud 
  plastered 
  over 
  kaoliang 
  

   stalks. 
  3 
  Every 
  stick 
  of 
  available 
  wood 
  must 
  be 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  best 
  pur- 
  

   pose 
  to 
  which 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  put. 
  The 
  ever-increasing 
  demand, 
  as 
  the 
  

   population 
  has 
  grown, 
  has 
  led 
  to 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  cutting 
  of 
  the 
  forests, 
  

   then 
  to 
  scratching 
  the 
  treeless 
  hillsides 
  for 
  whatever 
  would 
  serve 
  as 
  

  

  ■ 
  Kaoliang 
  is 
  a 
  variety 
  of 
  Sorghum 
  nervosum 
  resembling 
  kafir 
  corn 
  which 
  is 
  sparingly 
  

   grown 
  in 
  America. 
  Kaoliang 
  fields 
  in 
  Shantung 
  remind 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  vast 
  cornfields 
  of 
  

   Illinois 
  and 
  Iowa. 
  

  

  