324 The National Geographic Magazine 



plat of ground within the space of a 

 year. 



There are no reliable data respecting 

 the proportion of independent and tenant 

 farmers, the latest published estimates 

 being based on returns made fifteen 

 3 r ears ago. According to these esti- 

 mates, a little more than half the culti- 

 vated land was leased to tenant farmers, 

 the remainder being worked by the own- 

 ers. The lot of the tenant farmer is far 

 from easy, the high price of land forcing 

 him to lease on terms which leave him a 

 very small return for his labor after he 

 has paid for the necessary fertilizers. 

 These conditions tend to retard the ad- 

 vancement of agriculture by preventing 

 the purchase of new tools and hindering 

 any effort the farmer may make to adopt 

 improved methods. 



The government has attempted to aid 

 the progress of agriculture by laws re- 

 specting irrigation, the protection of for- 

 ests so as to control the flow of rivers in 

 the interest of the farmer, the formation 

 of farmers' guilds, the rearrangement of 

 farm boundaries, and the improvement 

 of drainage systems. Small as the farms 

 are, their parts are usually separated so 

 that a farm of 2 acres may consist of sev- 

 eral nonadjacent lots, the average size 

 of a lot being about one-eighth of an 

 acre. A law which went into force in 

 1900 provides for the rearrangement of 

 boundaries by farmers exchanging fields 

 for those owned by others so as to make 

 the farms more compact and enlarge the 

 fields to permit the use of horses and 

 machinery, at the same time increasing 

 the tillable area by straightening some 

 boundaries and removing others. About 

 20,000 acres have already come under 

 the operation of this law. 



For the purpose of further promoting 

 agricultural interests the government 

 maintains a state experimental farm 

 and nine branch farms. The work at 

 these farms is largely theoretical, and 

 is divided into eight departments, viz., 

 seed, saplings, agricultural chemistry, 



entomology, vegetable physiology, to- 

 bacco, horticulture, and general affairs. 

 The results of the investigations are 

 submitted to thirty-eight experimental 

 farms, created and carried on by the 

 provinces with the help of a subsidy 

 from the general government, and the- 

 ories are here subjected to the test of 

 practical application before general pub- 

 lication. Among the results already 

 accomplished by this method are im- 

 provement in the quality and quantity 

 of crops through more careful selection 

 of seeds and better understanding of the 

 varieties suited to the conditions in dif- 

 ferent localities ; more efficient modes 

 of destroying injurious insects ; ability 

 to minimize the injury from plant dis- 

 eases, such as smut, mildew, pear clus- 

 ter-cups, etc. ; increased skill in the 

 application of fertilizers, and the dis- 

 covery of indigenous grasses suitable 

 for meadows, all meadow grasses hav- 

 ing formerly been imported. 



The general government aids the local 

 treasuries to maintain six local agri- 

 cultural schools for the instruction of 

 farmers' sons in the general principles 

 of agriculture, surveying, veterinarj r 

 science, and related subjects. The gov- 

 ernment also carries on an experimental 

 tea farm, on which is a curing work- 

 shop ; a laboratory for investigating 

 the diseases of cattle and poultry ; a 

 cattle-breeding pasture for improving 

 the native breeds of cattle for meat and 

 dairy purposes, and two horse-breeding 

 pastures for promoting the introduction 

 of better horses. 



Efforts have been made to introduce 

 sheep raising and swine raising, but 

 with only partial success. It is claimed 

 that the conditions of climate and food 

 supply present no serious obstacles to 

 the success of sheep farming, but the 

 statistics of 1901 showed only 2,545 

 sheep in the country. Swine raising 

 has succeeded better, but can not yet 

 be spoken of as an established industry 

 of much importance, the number of 



