594 



NA TURE 



4pril 1 8, 1889 



in various ways is all imported — chiefly from the United Stages 

 of America, and fr )m Hainan and Kur;n-)sa. Till the overflow 

 of the Yellow River some time a^^o, no one paid the least atten- 

 !:on to this q'l.'stion ; bat now a proclamation of the liberal 

 Viceroy, Li IInn:j Chang, to the peoole of his thickly-populated 

 l)rovinces, s'viw-; that the subject will receive the attention it 

 dese:'ves. Hi-^ I'.xcetlency says that one of the first principles in 

 j:;overning a State is to watch over the agriculture of the State, 

 S-) that it may benefit both the individuals who till it and the 

 Sfate. In one of the provinces over which he rules — namely, 

 that of Chihli— arboricultun; is rendered especially easy by the 

 softnes-i and feriiiity of its alluvial plains. If we omit the 

 virious species of fruit-trees, such as the apple, pear, and apri- 

 ■ot, other kinds of trees are very rarely seen, and in consequence 

 vast tracts of fer'.ile plains are left barren. Some slight attempts 

 have been made to plant these extensive tracts with forest trees ; 

 but the strong northerly winds which prevail soon uprooted trees 

 ■which had not been planted to a sufficient depth nor in well- 

 chosen places. Amongst the peasants, the Viceroy says, the 

 principles of arboriculture are unknown, and therefore their 

 previous eftbrts have only resulted in labour and money uselessly 

 expended. In recent years the Viceroy has ordered the planting 

 of willow-trees along the banks of the streams and rivers in 

 -Chihli, with the object of protecting and strengthening the 

 embankments. 



If success'ul methods, His Excellency asks, have been found 

 for cultivating trees in s?ilt lands, how much more easy ought 

 they to be found in the rich level plains of Chihli ? Accordingly, 

 the authorities of the various prefectures and sub-prefectures of 

 ■Chihli are instructed to procure the necessary seed trees, and to 

 inform the people in their respective districts of the eight direc- 

 tions for tree-planting and the ten benefits to be derived from 

 the same. Steps are to be taken by the authorities to encourage 

 the people in their efforts at planting, but official agents, who 

 might oppress the people, are not to be sent among ihem. At 

 the end of each year a statement is to be submitted to the 

 authorities, by every person who has tried planting, of the number 

 -of trees he has received, the number successful, the species 

 which have thriven best, &c., si that the Government may 

 reward those who are most successful in these experiments ia 

 arboriculture, as well as gather information to guile them in 

 the future. Instructions are given to the local anthorities to 

 deal severely with any person who steals or cuts dowa the trees 

 -of others. The Viceroy says that his intentions in issuing this 

 proclamation are to afford aao'dier source of livelihood to the 

 ^peasants, to help in preventing droughts and checking floods, to 

 regulate the rainfall, and to baautify the country. 



The eight directions and the ten benefits are worth recording. 

 The directions are as follow : — [\) To fortify the roots against 

 injury from cold, which, on account of the loose nature of the 

 soil near the surface, readily injures the roots, a fertilizer, made 

 by burning a mixture of dung and grass, should be used when 

 planting trees, and when the fertilizer is p'j-t in, the roots should 

 ■be carefuLy covered. (2^ When a tree has bee i securely 

 planted, a small cumulus of earth should be placed around it, 6 

 or 7 inches high, and should be renewed before winter sets in 

 every year till the close of the third year. By this means the 

 wind and cold cannot reach the roots, nor will the necessary 

 natural nourishment in the earth escape. (3) In places exposed 

 to high winds the trees should be planted to a depth of at least 

 34 feet ; at this depth the rich part of the soil is reached. In 

 case of willows and other such trees, the outspreading and 

 ■dependent branches are to be carefully pruned. (4) Rich earth, 

 with a suitable fertilizer, is to be added to poorer soils. (5) To 

 prepare the ground for the reception of the seeds of such trees as 

 the oak, elm, poplar, cypress, &c., which are shed every year, a 

 trough is to be dug round each tree and filled with water to keep 

 the soil moist. (6) Willow and mulberry trees should be 

 planted in the spring, when there is rain. Before planting the 

 young shoots, the soil should be well loosened and fertilized, 

 and grafting should always take place after the rain, and the 

 graft-trees should be well watered every alternate day. (7) In 

 transplanting trees, the greatest care should be taken to preserve 

 the three vertically-projecting roots, which every tree has, from 

 the wind and sun. Wnen there is rain, a small hole is to be 

 -dug by the side of the tree, cutting away one of these roots ; this 

 operation is to be repeated in a fortnight if there is rain ; if not, 

 a month must elapse before the second root is cut, and similarly 

 in the case of the third root. When the roots are cut away, 

 innumerable little roots will be thrown out. If there is no rain. 



the ground must be well wntiM-ed before any transplnnting is 

 attempted. (8) In raising trees fro n the seeds of the o^ik, mul- 

 berry, &c. , some fertile spot -hould be prepared just as it would 

 be for a crop of grain, and the seeds are planted in the sime 

 way as grain is ]:)Ian!ed. Springtime is the best, and while 

 there is rain. When the young trees spring up and grow to the 

 height of one or two feet, they can easily be transplanted as 

 directed above. 



The ten benefits of planting trees are thus enumerated by His 

 Excellency :— (i) By ()lanting trees at the river-banks the loose 

 and sandy soil is strengthened by the roots, and the banks 

 increase in height. (2) A large and profitable industry will 

 spring up if pine, elm, willow, t^rc, are planted in the mountains 

 on the borders. (3) The planting of trees around fields and 

 farms will do away with the superfluous moisture and preserve 

 a fair equilibrium of wind and fluid influences. (4) Where trees 

 are in abundance, droughts will be unknown. (5) Abundance of 

 trees also help to ward off epidemics, and in thickly-populated dis- 

 tricts trees should be specially planted for this purpose. (6) Where 

 there is abundance of trees, travellers and families can find rest and 

 shelter in the summer. (7) The operations of highwaymen and 

 banditti are hindered where trees and forests are plentiful. (8) 

 The snows on the mountains of .the border will be absorbed by 

 forests. (9) The p-orer peasants will have sufficient fuel from 

 the branches, which are pruned every year. (lo) Many of 

 these trees, as the Qiiercus mongolica, afford food to the silk- 

 worm, which, in the mountainous regions, weaves a cocoon 

 which makes much cheaper and more durable silk than that of 

 the mulberry silk-worm. 



SUPERSTITION- AND SORCERY IN NEW 

 . GUINEA. 



TN the Report to the Colonial Office of the Special Commis- 

 ■*■ sioncr for British New Guinea during the past year, 

 there is a long and very interesting account of some of the 

 superstitions of the natives of that country, written by Mr. 

 H. H. Romilly. One of the most sacred obligations, he 

 says, on the relatives of a deceased man is to place in his 

 grave, and in his accustomed haunts, food and water for the 

 spirit of the departed. It is thoi'ght that this spirit is all that 

 remains of the deceased, and the human appetites take posses- 

 sion of it, or, rather, remain in existence, just as if the body 

 had not died. If, however, he is killed in battle, there is not the 

 same necessity of constantly feeding his spirit ; the head of one 

 of the tribe or race who killed him is sufficient. If the slayer is a 

 white man, the angry spirit can be laid by a large payment of 

 goods to the relatives of the deceased, and this constantly hap- 

 pens. Dreams are, to them, voices from the land of spirits, 

 telling them what to do, for whom to work, from whom to steal, 

 and what to plunder. White men are ab\ ays attended by a 

 familiar spirit, which is blamed f >r any mischief that befalls the 

 natives in a locality where a white man happens to be. If the 

 white man is a friend of theirs, they merely demand compensa- 

 tion, which he will pay, says Mr. Romilly, if he is a wise man ; 

 if he is unfriendly to them, the unfortunate white man may pre- 

 pare for the worst. His attendant spirit will not help him, for 

 it flies at the sound of a gun. On the death of a relative, there 

 is a great drumming and burning of torches to send the spirit 

 safely and pleasantly on its travels. In some parts of the 

 country, certain trees have spirits, and on feast-days a portion 

 of the food is set apart for these spirits. It is worthy of remark 

 that all their spirits are malignant, and these have to be over- 

 come by force of arms, by blessings, or by cursings. They 

 cannot grasp the idea of a beneficent spirit, but regard them all 

 as resembling Papuans generally — that is, vindictive, cruel, and 

 revengeful. Consequently, these spirits are much feared ; though 

 they cannot be seen, yet they constantly use arrows and spears 

 when they are vexed. The great opposer of spirits is fire, and 

 hence, on every possible occasion, bonfires and torches are em- 

 ployed. Strange to say, though fire is thus all-powerful with them, 

 they have no god or spirit of the fire. In this they are at least 

 true to their belief, for no spirit can be, with them, beneficent. 

 Sorcerers are implicitly believed in, and they generally do a 

 good trade in the sale of charms, which are made, not on any 

 fixed principle, but according to the freaks of fancy of the sor- 

 cerer or the purchaser. Sometimes it is a bit of bark, sometimes 

 a crab's claw worked in the most fantastic way. These are pro- 

 tectors against all injuries or accidents that may happen to a 



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