1038 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



UU.Mi; Ol' A CHI.VESE COLONIST 



This family has been established in tlie stand of pine, a few trees of which are to be seen in 

 the picture. The house is built of stones, reeds and grass and is typical of the residences 

 of this class of Chinese. 



livelihood. They were, therefore, given 

 the task of building roads to and around 

 Purple Mountain and of putting the 

 waste land on its slopes and foothills 

 into a productive condition. The intro- 

 duction of agricultural crops on the 

 rich land at the base of the mountain 

 was the first object, but it was soon found 

 that as such areas were naturally lim- 

 ited, reforestation must be depended 

 upon for the utilization of the great 

 body of land on the upper slopes. It was 

 also realized that in order to make the 

 plans permanent and adequate, Chinese- 

 sympathy and cooperation must be ob- 

 tained. The formation of the "Coloniz- 

 ation Association of the Republic of 

 China" was the first natural outgrowth. 

 Readers of American Forestry will 

 doubtless find much of interest in the 

 following petition sent to Governor Gen- 

 eral Cheng of Kiangsu Province by His 

 Excellency, Chang Chien (at that time Minister of Agri- 

 culture and Commerce and still chairman of the Coloniza- 

 tion Association), and others: 



"Your Excellency : 



"We (Chang Chien, Ma Liang, Chiu Chiheng, Ku Chi, 

 and Chang Tzu-lin), rei)resenting the Board of Trustees 

 of the Colonization Association of the Republic of China, 

 respectfully present this ])ctition, requesting your exami- 

 nation and permission for registration. 



"The Chinese nation was built up on farming. As 

 early as the medieval times, the "well" system of land di- 

 vision had been organized on a sound basis confonning to 

 the principles of modern socialism. Unfortunately, with 

 the wars and the feudal states and the tyrannical rule of 

 the Chin Dynasty, this system degenerated and finally 



went out of existence. The fertile lands 

 lying both in the north and in the west 

 were then laid waste, to .say nothing of 

 the already barren regions where culti- 

 vation and improvement were never 

 thought of. With natural resources thus 

 undeveloped, our people have been led 

 from idleness to poverty, which is mainly 

 re.s])onsible for China's weakness a con- 

 dition truly deplorable ! 



"It is for this reason that we have 

 started the Colonization Association with 

 a view to relieve the poor through the 

 cultivation of the waste plains and val- 

 leys. Under the guidance of Joseph 

 Bailie, an English professor specializing 

 in agriculture, the colonists shall be 

 taught farming along modern lines. The 

 details of our scheme are contained in 

 our regulations. All the executive ofili- 

 cers of our Association are elected from 

 among the Chinese Committee. Four 

 thousand mozv (700 English acres) of 

 land have been secured on Purple Moun- 

 tain, outside of Nanking, for the pur- 



CHINESE FORESTRY STUDENTS 



The type of bright enthusiastic young men who are being trained to be the future foresters 

 of China. They are making rapid progress in their studies. 



pose of experimentation, which, if successful, will lead 

 to further extension. 



"We therefore enclose our Regulations for your exam- 

 ination, with the request that proper registration be per- 

 mitted to us, that order be given to the local officials to 

 issue proclamations, and that the Boards of Agriculture 

 and Finance be notified to that effect, so that all province-^ 

 may know what we aim to accomplish. 



"This is our Petition." 



The Governor General replied as follows: 



"To Chang Chien and other Trustees of the Coloniza- 

 tion Association of the Republic of China: 



"Your petition has had my attention. It is true that 

 the Chinese nation was built up on farming. The "Well" 

 System, so well organized during the Medieval Ages, 

 found some traces in the two Hans when they made 

 efforts to encourage agriculture. It was not until after 



