Farmers of Forty Centuries; Or, Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and JapanKing, F. H. (Franklin Hiram)
Science
Farmers of Forty Centuries; Or, Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan
King, F. H. (Franklin Hiram)
Agriculture -- China; Agriculture -- Japan; Agriculture -- Korea
The Shizuoka Experiment Station is devoting special attention to the
interests of horticulture, and progress has already been made in
introducing new fruits of better quality and in improving the native
varieties. The native pears and peaches, as we found them served on
the hotel tables in either China or Japan, were not particularly
attractive in either texture or flavor, but we were here permitted
to test samples of three varieties of ripe figs of fine flavor and
texture, one of them as large as a good sized pear. Three varieties
of fine peaches were also shown, one unusually large and with
delicate deep rose tint, including the flesh. If such peaches could
be canned so as to retain their delicate color they would prove very
attractive for the table. The flavor and texture of this peach were
also excellent, as was the case with two varieties of pears.
The station was also experimenting with the production of marmalades
and we tasted three very excellent brands, two of them lacking the
bitter flavor. It would appear that, in Japan, Korea and China there
should be a very bright future along the lines of horticultural
development, leading to the utilization of the extensive hill lands
of these countries and the development of a very extensive export
trade, both in fresh fruits and marmalades, preserves and the canned
forms. They have favorable climatic and soil conditions and great
numbers of people with temperament and habits well suited to the
industries, as well as an enormous home need which should be met, in
addition to the large possibilities in the direction of a most
profitable export trade which would increase opportunities for labor
and bring needed revenue to the people. In Fig. 242 are three views
at this station, the lower showing a steep terraced hillside set
with oranges and other fruits, holding out a bright promise for the
future.
Peach orchards were here set on the hill lands, the trees six feet
apart each way. They come into bearing in three years, remain
productive ten to fifteen years, and the returns are 50 to 60 yen
per tan, or at the rate of $100 to $120 per acre. The usual
fertilizers for a peach orchard are the manure-earth-compost,
applied at the rate of 3300 pounds per acre, and fish guano applied
in rotation and at the same rate.
Shizuoka is one of the large prefectures, having a total area of
3029 square miles; 2090 of which are in forest; 438 in pasture and
genya land, and 501 square miles cultivated, not quite one-half of
which is in paddy fields. The mean yield of paddy rice is nearly 33
bushels per acre. The prefecture has a population of 1,293,470, or
about four to the acre of cultivated field, and the total crop of
rice is such as, to provide 236 pounds to each person.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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