Farmers of forty centuries; or, Permanent agriculture in China, Korea and Japan . nd on adjacent similar areas they hadsmall patches of wheat nearly ready for the harvest, all plantedin hills, hoed, and in astonishingly vigorous condition consideringthe extreme drought which prevailed. The potatoes were beingplanted under these extreme conditions in anticipation of the rainyseason which then was fully due. The summer before had been 204 IN THE SHANTUNG PROVINCE one of unusual drought, and famine was threatened. The govern-ment had recently issued an edict that no sheep should be soldfrom the p
Farmers of forty centuries; or, Permanent agriculture in China, Korea and Japan . nd on adjacent similar areas they hadsmall patches of wheat nearly ready for the harvest, all plantedin hills, hoed, and in astonishingly vigorous condition consideringthe extreme drought which prevailed. The potatoes were beingplanted under these extreme conditions in anticipation of the rainyseason which then was fully due. The summer before had been 204 IN THE SHANTUNG PROVINCE one of unusual drought, and famine was threatened. The govern-ment had recently issued an edict that no sheep should be soldfrom the province, fearing they might be needed for food. An oldwoman in one of the villages came out, as we wallced through, andinquired of my interpreter if we had come to make it rain. Suchwas the stress under which we found these people. One of the large farmers, owning 10 acres, stated that his usualyield of wheat in good season was IGO catty per mow, equivalentto 21-3 bushels per acre. He was expecting the current seasonnot more than one-half this amount. As a fertilizer he used a. Fig. 109. - Getting water to trans[)lant sweet potatoes. A Standard Oil can isbalanced against Chinas ancient stone jar. prepared earth compost which we shall describe later, mixing itwith the grain and sowing in the hills with the seed, applyingabout 5,333 pounds per acre, which he valued, in our currency,at $, or $ per ton. A pile of such prepared compost isseen in Fig. 110, ready to be transferred to the field. The viewsshow with what cleanliness the yard is kept and with what careall animal waste is saved. The cow and donkey are the work team,such as was being used by the ploughman referred to in Fig. mounds in the background of the lower view are graves; thefence behind the animals is made from the stems of the large millet, A SHANTUNG HOME 205
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