November, 19i0.] 



418 



Edible Products. 



It is said that the plastered walls of old 

 buildings are frequently renewed for 

 the purpose of securing the debris for 

 fertilising purposes. On the sea coast 

 fish and seaweeds form valuable fer- 

 tilising material. In some sections they 

 are used exclusively. 



Notwithstanding all this careful hus- 

 banding of manurial material, the supply 

 would still be insufficient to meet the 

 needs were it not for the practically un- 

 limited canal and river muck which 

 perpetually accumulates wherever large 

 river populations exist. On the Canton 

 and Yangtse-kiang Rivers, and their 

 tributaries, and on innumerable canals, 

 an extensive business has been developed 

 of dredging: the muck for sale, numerous 

 specially equipped crafts being employe A . 

 Additional fertility is secured by rational 

 systems of crop rotations, and extensive 



Sractices of green manuring — even the 

 erbage of the hills and weeds along the 

 roadside are made to contribute their 

 part. 



Little need be said of the industry and 

 skill of the Chinese farmer. His practice 

 in tillage, irrigation, drainage, and 

 manuring is unique and well nigh per- 

 fect, though he may not always know 

 the reasons for his results. The secret 

 of his succss is found to be in small 

 holdings, long experience, thoroughness 

 and patience to a degree rarely seen, 

 even among the most successful orientals 

 in Hawaii, where the spirit of large 

 holdings and immediate returns takes 

 possession of all who come within its 

 influence. 



During my stay at Canton I made 

 special efforts to look into the matting; 

 industry. While considerable Cyperus 

 is grown along the river, beyond Canton, 

 it is in small and scattered patches. At 

 the time of my visit most of the crop 

 had been harvested and the cured 

 product was being shipped to the city 

 for manufacture into mats. The mat- 

 making is all done by hand in small 

 shops or in farm houses by the farmer 

 and his family. Labor costs ten to 

 fifteen cents per day. This cheap labour 

 in the Orient, combined with the rapidity 

 and neatness of the oriental workmen, 

 makes quite clear why it is impossible 

 for American weaving establishments to 

 compete with the oriental product, and 

 consequently why they cannot now 

 purchase our raw product at any price. 

 So far as I am able to judge, our yields 

 of Cyperus are equal to any I saw in 

 China, both in length of stem and acre 

 yields. The prevailing idea that the 

 Cyperus grows principally in brackish 

 water was not confirmed by anything I 

 saw. It flourishes along the river, 

 beyond tide-water, where it is rarely re- 



planted. When cultivated, it is planted 

 in rotation with rice, and is replanted 

 every year. The same fungus disease of 

 the stem which affects our plants, is 

 prevalent in both China and Japan. In 

 the former country some effort has been 

 made to lessen the injury caused by the 

 disease, by planting on new ground 

 and selecting healthy plants. In Japan 

 the disease has been thoroughly stu- 

 died, The fungus is one of the 

 Peronosporeae, and has been described 

 by Drs. Kaurikamis and Miyabe as a 

 new genus under the name of "Kawa- 

 kamia." No means has yet been dis- 

 covered to control it, although treating 

 with Bordeaux mixture has been found 

 helpful in Japan as well as here. 



At Hongkong my attention was called 

 to a plant similar to Cyperus in its uses, 

 and said to be superior for the manu- 

 facture of mattings, but I have not 

 yet been able to determine its botanical 

 name. It is called Shire Hing straw. 

 Seeds or plants have been applied for 

 to the Hongkong Botanical Gardens. My 

 attention was also called to numerous 

 other economic plants which might be 

 grown in Hawaii. Among these are 

 various wax and varnish-producing 

 trees, whose products form important 

 commodities. The U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture has now under way an in- 

 vestigation of the Chinese " varnish 

 tree." 



While at Canton, our Consul-General 

 accorded me the privileges of the Can- 

 ton Club library, which is unusually 

 rich in literature concerning China. 

 The following reference works of Chinese 

 agriculture were consulted, and are 

 recommended to those interested as the 

 most reliable authorities for central and 

 southern China : The "Chinese Reposi- 

 tory " in twenty volumes, published 

 during 1840-1850. Among the most valu- 

 able information obtained was that from 

 translations of the Encyclopaedia of 

 Agriculture, the most comprehensive 

 treatise on agriculture possessed by the 

 Chinese. This work is divided into 

 sixty chapters, each treating a parti- 

 cular subject. Although written during 

 1368-1628, an article on the culture of 

 cotton ( chapter 25 ), a translation of 

 which appears in Vol. 18 of the "Chinese 

 Repository " would compare favourably 

 with any modern work familiar to me. 

 Of this I made an abstract for personal 

 reference, but is too extensive to be 

 included here. The <l Popular Manual 

 of Agriculture " is another valuable 

 reference work. The Reports of the 

 Botanical and Forestry Department of 

 Hongkong also contain valuable data on 

 Chinese agriculture, 



