﻿356 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  Although 
  coal, 
  oil, 
  and 
  natural 
  gas 
  are 
  used 
  in 
  China 
  as 
  sources 
  of 
  

   heat, 
  their 
  limited 
  distribution 
  and 
  the 
  high 
  cost 
  of 
  transportation 
  of 
  

   such 
  bulky 
  materials 
  prevent 
  their 
  general 
  use 
  throughout 
  the 
  country. 
  

   Instead 
  wood 
  and 
  charcoal 
  are 
  burned, 
  except 
  where 
  their 
  lack 
  forces 
  

   people 
  to 
  comb 
  the 
  countryside 
  for 
  whatever 
  will 
  give 
  off 
  heat. 
  Quan- 
  

   tities 
  of 
  rice 
  straw 
  and 
  kaoliang 
  stalks 
  are 
  likewise 
  used 
  for 
  fuel, 
  and 
  the 
  

   leaves, 
  grass, 
  pine 
  needles, 
  and 
  weeds 
  garnered 
  from 
  the 
  hillsides 
  find 
  

   their 
  way 
  into 
  the 
  stoves 
  in 
  quantities 
  just 
  sufficient 
  to 
  maintain 
  the 
  

   minimum 
  of 
  warmth. 
  This 
  combing 
  of 
  the 
  hillsides 
  removes 
  the 
  po- 
  

   tential 
  humus 
  and 
  protection 
  needed 
  for 
  seedling 
  trees 
  and 
  shrubs 
  

   and 
  prevents 
  the 
  restoration 
  of 
  the 
  woody 
  cover 
  (pi. 
  4, 
  fig. 
  1). 
  The 
  

   ashes 
  go 
  to 
  the 
  fields 
  for 
  fertilizer. 
  Charcoal 
  is 
  a 
  favorite 
  fuel 
  because 
  

   its 
  light 
  weight 
  enables 
  a 
  coolie 
  to 
  carry 
  on 
  his 
  shoulders 
  more 
  po- 
  

   tential 
  heat 
  than 
  if 
  he 
  were 
  carrying 
  wood. 
  Nothing 
  is 
  wasted 
  in 
  

   China. 
  Of 
  course 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  heat 
  problem 
  is 
  solved 
  by 
  the 
  wearing 
  

   of 
  more 
  clothes, 
  which 
  in 
  turn 
  is 
  related 
  to 
  another 
  plant, 
  cotton. 
  

  

  Besides 
  food, 
  medicine, 
  building 
  material, 
  and 
  fuel, 
  plants 
  also 
  

   furnish 
  fiber 
  for 
  clothing 
  and 
  other 
  textiles. 
  Cotton 
  is 
  by 
  far 
  the 
  most 
  

   important, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  economical. 
  Wool 
  is 
  less 
  economical 
  be- 
  

   cause 
  land 
  is 
  required 
  to 
  feed 
  the 
  sheep 
  or 
  goats, 
  but 
  cotton 
  grows 
  

   directly, 
  thus 
  producing 
  more 
  "warmth" 
  per 
  acre 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  its 
  lesser 
  

   insulating 
  properties. 
  Silk 
  is 
  a 
  luxury, 
  yet 
  probably 
  a 
  greater 
  re- 
  

   turn 
  per 
  acre 
  of 
  land 
  can 
  be 
  obtained 
  from 
  silk 
  than 
  would 
  be 
  possible 
  

   from 
  wool, 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  greater 
  value 
  and 
  the 
  export 
  demand. 
  Al- 
  

   though 
  the 
  silk 
  comes 
  from 
  an 
  insect, 
  the 
  industry 
  is 
  essentially 
  based 
  

   on 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  mulberry, 
  which 
  grows 
  well 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  warmer 
  parts 
  

   of 
  China, 
  but 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  delta 
  of 
  the 
  West 
  River 
  in 
  Kwangtung. 
  

   Here 
  the 
  long 
  growing 
  season 
  permits 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  sufficient 
  

   leaves 
  to 
  feed 
  three 
  and 
  sometimes 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  generations 
  of 
  silkworms 
  

   per 
  year. 
  In 
  some 
  places 
  in 
  north-central 
  China, 
  where 
  the 
  mulberry 
  

   will 
  not 
  grow, 
  silkworms 
  are 
  fed 
  on 
  certain 
  oak 
  leaves. 
  Many 
  other 
  

   fibers 
  are 
  grown 
  in 
  China. 
  An 
  important 
  crop 
  in 
  parts 
  of 
  Chihli 
  

   Province 
  is 
  the 
  ching 
  ma 
  or 
  American 
  jute 
  (Abutilon 
  theophrasti) 
  , 
  a 
  

   member 
  of 
  the 
  mallow 
  family 
  (Malvaceae). 
  This 
  is 
  grown 
  as 
  a 
  sub- 
  

   stitute 
  crop 
  when 
  others 
  have 
  failed 
  for 
  a 
  season. 
  From 
  it 
  is 
  produced 
  

   a 
  fiber, 
  which, 
  when 
  mixed 
  with 
  other 
  fibers, 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  manufac- 
  

   ture 
  of 
  brocades 
  and 
  silk 
  substitutes. 
  

  

  Many 
  kinds 
  of 
  plants 
  find 
  uses 
  in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  the 
  numerous 
  

   articles 
  used 
  in 
  China. 
  Much 
  thought 
  has 
  been 
  given 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   ages 
  to 
  their 
  cultivation, 
  selection, 
  and 
  adaptation 
  to 
  special 
  uses. 
  Al- 
  

   though 
  many 
  plant 
  sources 
  have 
  been 
  scientifically 
  determined, 
  many 
  

   others 
  remain 
  as 
  yet 
  unknown. 
  It 
  has 
  often 
  been 
  difficult 
  to 
  determine 
  

   what 
  plants 
  furnish 
  the 
  materials 
  from 
  which 
  even 
  well-known 
  manu- 
  

   factured 
  articles 
  are 
  made, 
  and 
  even 
  today 
  many 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  rightly 
  

  

  