AGRICULTURE OF CHINA. 113 



oil, and substances for other purposes, is frequently to be met with in the southern provinces. 

 This consists of a circular stone trough of forty or fifty feet in circumference, in which a heavy 

 stone wheel rotates. By reference to the figures, plate 4, the construction and operation of this 

 machine will be readily understood. The beam, to which the buffalo is yoked, is fulcromed to 

 a stake driven in the ground in the centre of the trough, and the buffalo walks in a circle on 

 the inside of the trough. The stone wheel, working freely on its axis in the beam to which the 

 buffalo is attached, is not only drawn around on the circular trough, but continually rotates 

 upon its own axis, crushing and triturating any substance placed in the trough. 



The preparation of rice for market employs a vast number of persons in China ; while with 

 one of our improved rice cleaners and hullers, no hand labor worth mentioning would be re- 

 quired, and the work performed in a thousandth part of the time, and with vastly more effi- 

 ciency. 



There are several varieties of mills in use for separating the hulls from rice. Figure 2, plate 

 1, represents one of these. It consists of two wooden circular blocks, so adjusted together that 

 the upper one is put in motion in contact with the surface of the other, by a boy or man, in the 

 same manner as the domestic grist-mills, before described. The rice is thrown through the 

 eye of the upper block, and passes out partially hulled at the peripheries of the blocks. This 

 machine is imperfect in its action, and the rice has to undergo several processes after passing 

 through it, to free the grains from hiisks, and make it marketable. Large stone mortars, and 

 very heavy-pointed pestles, are used for this purpose. These pestles are either worked by the 

 foot, (as in fig. 4, plate 1,) by hand, or by water-power, as the case may be. 



The contrivance used for ginning cotton, met with in the cottages in the vicinity of Shang- 

 hai, though not worthy of the genius of an Arkwright, are still more efficient in removing the 

 seeds of cotton than the old plan still practised in small country towns with us. It consists of 

 a frame, having at one end of it two uprights, forming the bearings of two small horizontal 

 rollers — the upper one resting upon the lower one with a slight pressure, so as to be rotated 

 by motion communicated to the former, and at the same time yielding so as to allow the cotton 

 to pass through or between the rollers. This is put in motion by a crank or leather strap, 

 operated by one hand of a man or woman, seated on the bench part of the machine, while with 

 the other hand the cotton is fed to the rollers. (See fig. 8, plate 1.) 



15 s 



