Cuar. X1V.]. REAPING AND GATHERING. ST 
their own, and the more productive it is, the greater 
number of comforts they will be able to afford. Of 
course there are many cotton farms of larger size, 
where labourers are employed in addition to the 
farmer’s family, but by far the greater number are 
small and worked in the way I have just described. 
It is no unusual sight to see the family goat too, 
doing their share of the work. Several of these 
animals are kept on almost every farm, where they 
are, of course, great favourites with the children, 
and often follow them to the cotton fields. Al- 
though the children with their little hands can 
gather the cotton as well as their elders, they are 
not strong enough to carry it about with them, 
and it is amusing to see their favourites the goats, 
_ with bags slung across their backs, receiving the 
deposits of cotton, and bearing it home to the 
houses, evidently aware that they too are working 
for the general good. 
However fine the crop may be, the Chinese are 
never sure of it until it is actually gathered in. 
Much depends upon a dry autumn, for, if the 
weather is wet after the pods begin to burst, they 
drop amongst the muddy soil, and are consequently 
much injured, if net completely destroyed. When 
the cotton reaches the farmyard, it is daily spread 
out on hurdles raised about four feet from the 
ground, and fully exposed to the sun. As the 
object is to get rid of all the moisture, it is of 
course only put out in fine weather, and is always 
taken into the house or barn in the evening. 
