VEGETABLES IN EASTERN YANKEEDOM. 



523 



without manure. Sweet corn is not grown, but field 

 corn is, and is eaten largely in a green state. The 

 Japanese squash is a miserable, small thing of little 

 account. Melons are extensively raised, and made 

 to produce 

 enormous crops 

 by pinching 

 back the later- 

 als. Long cu- 

 cumbers are 

 largely cultiva- 

 ted, but instead 

 of running 

 along the 

 ground, the 

 vines are raised 

 on brush like 

 peas. A field 

 of cucumbers is 

 spoken of as a 

 cucumber or- 

 chard ! Peas 

 with edible 

 pods are quite 

 extensively cul- 

 tivated. Celery 

 and asparagus 

 are neglected. 

 Young bamboo 

 sprouts, which 

 are very sweet 

 and wholesome, 

 take the place 

 of the latter. 



The Japanese 

 idea of planting 

 is to give each 

 plant just the 

 amount of light 

 and air that ex- 

 perience has 

 taught them 

 will produce the 

 largest yield. A 

 hoe, somewhat 

 like our grub- 

 hoe, is the chief 

 implement o f 

 cultivation. Its 

 blade is about 12 inches long, and five or six wide. 

 This tool takes the place of the plow; indeed, as there 

 are very few draft animals, the latter could not be 

 largely used. It is used very rapidly in cultivating, 

 and not a weed is allowed to thrive, as every atom 



A Japanese Produce Seller 



of fertility must go into the crop. Roots are har- 

 vested with the same handy implement, while grain 

 is reaped with a tool like our corn cutter. 



All kinds of manure, including the excrements of 



the people and 

 of their few do- 

 mestic animals, 

 are saved with 

 the greatest 

 care. The ex- 

 c r e m e n t s of 

 every family 

 are a source of 

 income, and the 

 farmer collects 

 them from the 

 non -productive 

 classes, and 

 carries them to 

 the mountains 

 in two buckets, 

 suspended from 

 the ends of a 

 long pole, bal- 

 anced across 

 the shoulders. 

 The price paid 

 is eight cents 

 per bucket. 

 Next in import- 

 ance for manur- 

 ial purposes is 

 fish. Huge piles 

 may be seen 

 along the sea- 

 shore. They 

 are carried into 

 the interior like 

 night-soil or on 

 pack-saddles, if 

 the farmer is 

 fortunate 

 enough to own 

 a beast of bur- 

 den. Sea-weed 

 is largely used 

 for manure, but 

 since some 

 sorts have been 

 cultivated for food, the business has been less ex- 

 tensive. The Japanese feed the plant rather than 

 the land, and the manure is applied several times 

 during the growth of crop. 



As regards individual wealth, a farmer worth ^50 



