22 IRE IRRLGAJION AGE 



small dams, but on the great plain of China this cannot be done. It is 

 not well understood by us, and I may add by people from other coun- 

 tries, that a large portion of China is a rich alluvial plain. By draw- 

 ing a line from Hang Chow on the 120th meridian and about 15 minutes 

 north of the 30th parallel to the 114th meridian, about 30 minutes 

 south of the same parallel, thence south to the 28th parallel, thence 

 west, to the lllth meridian, thence north to the 31st parallel, thence 

 east to the 1 14th meridian, thence north to the 40th parallel, thence 

 east to the 114th meridian, thence southwest to the place of beginning, 

 comprising an area of over 250,000 square miles, will be found the al- 

 luvial or level portion of China, which is irrigated by lifting water 

 principally by hand. There are in this vast area thousands of acres 

 of land that lie under water a great portion of the year, and are there- 

 fore, not cultivated. At a small expense these lauds could be re- 

 claimed, and with the use of American wind-mills made available. 

 There are wind-mills in China, such as *>hey are, but it would hardly 

 be a sin to worship them, as they are not in the likeness of anything 

 on the face of the earth, the heavens above or in the waters beneath. 

 What China requires is an invasion of modern appliances to help their 

 millions of people, who are, as a whole, quiet, domesticated and gifted 

 with infinite perseverance, industry and sobriety, together with pa- 

 tience and endurance beyond comprehension. Our modern system of 

 irrigation would save them millions. There are no power mills for 

 grinding grain in that country. When rice flour or cornmeal is want- 

 ed they resort to hand grinding, which is done with two stone wheels, 

 about thirty inches in diameter and eight inches wide, which are at- 

 tached to a horizontal shaft about thre^ feet in length. This shaft 

 works on a pivot set in the center of a thick stone about five feet in 

 diameter, upon which the two wheels roll. These wheels are pro- 

 pelled by girls, who grind the grain to the proper consistency for cul- 

 inary purposes. All industries in China are carried on in the most 

 primitive manner, and will never be changed from within, as the gen- 

 ius for inventing has never been developed and never will be without 

 an inducement such as protection, by patents or premiums from the 

 government would give. The field is open for American manufacturers 

 if they will but send their agents there with examples of their goods 

 and wares, that the Chinamen may know from ocular demonstration 

 that the things they are told about do really exist. Printed descrip- 

 tions and illustrated catalogues are of no use in China. -It is a waste 

 of time and money to send them there. 



To send samples to established houses in the treaty ports of China 

 means to hide our lights under a bushel, as there are few, if any pure- 

 ly American houses there, and other foreign houses always press their 

 home productions in preference to all others. This, of course, is nat- 



