AGRICULTURE. China is essentially an agri cultural country. the bulk of the people being tillers of the soil. Agriculture is held in the highest honor, the farmer ranking, in theory at least, next to the scholar, and before the merchant and artisan, in the four classifications of the people. With solemn ceremonies the Em peror. in the Temple of Agriculture in l'eking, annually inaugurates the farming season at the spring equinox. China has a more equal distri bution of land than any European or Ameriean nation, estates of a few thonsand acres being rather rare, and n plot of I() acres being con sidered a good-sized farm. Nominally the land belongs to the Emperor, and as a matter of actual practice a man's title to his land ceases as soon as lie fails to cultivate it. Owing- to the great congestion of population, extremely small subdivisions of acreage is the rule. How ever. as it results in a highly intensive method of cultivation. it is by no Means an unmixed evil. for the land is cultivated with a care and an intelligence unrivaled in the world. The sys tem of rotation of crops has been adopted since time immemorial, and such a high appreciation is shown of the value of fertilizers that no part of the animal and vegetable refuse is wasted. Not satisfied with cultivating every inch of fer tile land, the Chinaman proceeds with wonderful patience and endurance to create artificial fields wherever he can find pimp for a layer of soil. Thus, it is a matter of common occurrence to meet in Chinese waters floating fields consisting of large rafts covered with earth. Another and more important extension of arable land is by means of the so-called terrace fields, which are formed by covering the mountain slopes with fertile soil. Even the shifting sand-fields are gradually converted into rich ground. The im
plements of the Chinese are crude and clumsy in construction. Irrigation is as highly de veloped as fertilization, and the whole country is covered with a network of canals and ditches --even the terrace fields on the mountain slopes are provided With an abundant supply of Water.
The chief agricultural products of China are grain, cotton, and tea. Of grain, rice is the most important staple. and is raised largely in the middle and southern parts. In the north, wheat, corn, buckwheat., oats, and a little rice are produced. Tea is grown mostly in the south, although its cultivation is carried as far north as latitude 31° N. It is planted, as a rule, on mountain-sides sloping to the south, and in soil composed mainly of loam. The tea-hushes yield three crops a year—April, .lulu, and Au gust. ( For further details, see article on TEA.) Cotton is raised as far north as the Province of Shan-si, but only in the low valleys here. The provinces in which it is considerably crown are Shensi. Kiang-su, Ngan-hwei.Chc-kiang.
Ilia-nan, and Kwang-si. Tobacco is cul tivated throughout China, and the opium-smok ing habit is responsible for an extensive cultiva tion of the ). )ppy. Cane-sugar is sueeessfully produced in four southern provinces—('he-kiang, Fukien, Kiang-si, and Kwang-tung; indigo in Che-kiang and Kiang-si and hemp in two middle provinces—Ilmnan and Shensi. The silkworm culture centres in the Province of Ktaunysn. The vegetables include carrots, peas, cabbage. pepper, garlic, and beans. Stock-breeding claims little at tention. butter, and cheese are practically unknown, and eggs, fish, and game are consid ered more important than the flesh of domestic animals.