412 
Through  the  courtesy  of  Jhe  officials  the  Hawaii  Experiment  Sta- 
tion has  been  fortunate  in  securing  a small  quantity  of  select 
seed  which  will  be  very  useful  for  experimental  work  here. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  Canton  is  also  situated  a great  mat-rush 
industry.  This  plant,  Cyperus  tegetiformis , is  already  intro- 
duced in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  where  it  grows  readily.  It  occurs 
indigenously  in  China  and  is  also  cultivated  in  marshes  along 
the  banks  of  rivers.  It  is  frequently  grown  in  rotation  with  rice 
and  is  suggested  as  a possible  substitute  for  this  crop  in  these 
islands,  in  situations  too  saline  for  the  cereal. 
A little  cotton  is  also  produced  around  Canton,  but  is  very  in- 
ferior both  as  to  quality  and  yield.  Although  the  agricultural 
methods  of  this  crop  are  primitive  and  crude  the  mills  are 
equipped  with  modern  machinery. 
A very  promising  government  experiment  station  is  in  opera- 
tion at  Canton  and  although  it  has  only  been  established  about 
one  year,  much  progress  has  been  made.  Its  director  is  a Chinese 
graduate  of  Cornell,  and  the  institution  itself  is  patterned  after 
that  at  the  latter  university. 
Lining  both  sides  of  the  Canton  river  are  groves  of  the  well 
known  Lichi  which  flourishes  with  little  or  no  care.  The  fruit 
is  sold  very  cheaply  and  great  differences  of  quality  are  encoun- 
tered. 
FERTILITY  OF  RICE  FIELDS. 
Although  the  Canton  rice  fields  have  been  in  cultivation  for  up- 
wards of  a thousand  years  and  produce  two  to  three  crops  an- 
nually they  are  abundantly  fertile  and  show  no  signs  of  decreased 
crops.  No  artificial  fertilizers  are  employed,  but  all  refuse  is  most 
carefully  made  use  of,  night  soils  being  the  main  source  of  supply. 
Sea  weed,  fish  and  ooze  from  canal  bottoms  which  are  regularly 
scraped  for  this  purpose  also  afford  much  of  the  fertilizer  for 
the  Chinese  rice  fields.  As  much  of  the  agricultural  land  of  this 
district  is  embraced  in  the  overflowing  delta  of  the  Canton  river 
it  is  to  a certain  extent  naturally  fertilized. 
CONSERVATION  OF  REFUSE. 
One  of  the  most  striking  lessons  to  be  learnt  from  an  enquiry 
into  the  economic  life  of  China  is  the  system  by  which  the  ulti- 
mate value  is  derived  from-  all  waste.  This  is  greatly  exemplified 
in  the  case  of  agricultural  fertilization.  Not  only  do  cities  control 
and  auction  the  privilege  of  disposing  of  public  sewage,  but  land- 
owners  maintain  along  the  highways  earthern  receptacles  for  the 
convenience  of  travelers.  It  is  not  extravagant  to  assert  that 
were  modern  sewage  methods  introduced  into  centers  of  popula- 
tion in  China,  many  cities  would  in  a very  short  time  be  reduced 
to  a condition  of  famine  by  reason  of  crop  diminution.  Although 
China  is  considered  as  an  overwhelminglv  populated  country  it 
would  seem  as  if  large  cities  there  are  largely  independent  of 
