1U6 EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 



ings; collections of offal of all sorts, and of all refuse matter, seem to be carefully made, 

 and used when fermented. Whether urine or mineral manure of any kind is employed, did 

 not come under notice ; though doubtless i-t might be, with great advantage. In addition to 

 the above, human excretions, both fluid and solid, are universally employed — perhaps to a 

 greater extent than in any other country. No measures for deodorizing are observed; conse- 

 quently, the effluvium, from its collection, distribution, and employment, is one of the most 

 prominent disagreeables encountered by strangers, whether in cities or highways, or in the 

 fields. In cities, there are receptacles at various distances, on the street side, resorted to by 

 passers-by, and so open as to be offensive to the eye as well as to the nose. The contents of 

 these reservoirs, and the same from private houses, are carried through the stre«ts in open 

 buckets, China-fashion, to boats for transportation — much to the annoyance of foreigners ; 

 though the natives, "to the manner born," exhibit a most stoical indifference. With this, and 

 slop and mud, in narrow streets, it would be difficult to find a more filthy and disgusting place 

 than a China city — Shanghai being the example. Conveyed to its place of destination, it is 

 put into any capacious earthenware or other receivers, protected by light coverings from sun 

 and weather, and reserved for the time of use — being sometimes watered. It is thus very like 

 Swiss guile. The time of applying it seems to be one of the most important, if not the most 

 important, peculiarity in its use — being applied either to the germinating or to the very young 

 growing plant. This forces the plant forward at a critical period, upon which its whole subse- 

 quent development and maturity very much depend. This manure appears to be always used 

 in a liquid, almost dilute state, and to be distributed, by means of small dippers, to each in- 

 dividual plant. Its powerful nature is too well known to require any enlargement upon its 

 effects. In speaking of manures, it may be remarked, that the first idea produced by the 

 numerous mounds (before mentioned) on the plains of the Woo-sung, was, that they were ma- 

 nure heaps, covered with earth, and reserved until needed ; but their size and number, and 

 the abundance of verdure upon them, cast a doubt upon this impression. They are the graves 

 or cemeteries of the dead, which require to be placed upon the surface of the earth, in this low, 

 wet region. Near Canton they are buried in excavations made into the sides of hills and moun- 

 tains. Yet, although graves, they are not entirely without use in an agricultural point of 

 view, inasmuch as the grass upon them is given as food to cattle. This is either cut and fed 

 to stock, or the animals are tethered upon the mounds. 



Domestic animals, like those around Canton, are found near Shanghai, including the water- 

 buffalo. The milk of this animal is used, even by the foreign population. Besides the usual 

 China hog, we meet here with an ugly little black pig, with a dished face and curiously wrin- 

 kled nose — of the Java breed, I believe. There are sheep, also, at Shanghai; they are of 

 two kinds, the broad-tailed and a common sort, not very unlike, in shape and appearance, the 

 Dorset sheep of England. Both make very good mutton ; the first, however, the best. This 

 meat is superior to any other we met with in China ; and the mutton is sent from hence 

 to Hong-Kong, for the foreigners, where it commands a high price — some STg cents per pound. 

 These sheep are probably brought from the hill-country near Ningpo, where, according to some 

 accounts, there is good grass for pasturage. The wool of the broad-tail is coarse; that of the 

 other is coarse hair rather than fine wool. It is said there is fine wool in China: can this 

 be it? 



Ducks are not common here. They appear to have been superseded in popular favor by 

 gallinaceous fowls. These are of all the various sizes found elsewhere; but the largest have 



