Agriculture and Cattle Raising.
Climatic Conditions.-Manchuria suffers from extremes of heat and cold.
The
rainy season is from July to August, and snow falls from November to March of the following year.
The soil of the plains is good, and harvests are almost always plentiful.
As most of the fertile districts are more or less connected with the Sungari and its branches, they may for convenience of reference be divided into the following
five sections :--
1. The upper waters of the Sungari River region.
2. The area between the Sungari and the Amur,
3. The middle waters of the Sungari region.
4. The Hulan River region.
5. The lower waters of the Sungari region.
1. The upper waters of the Sungari are in Kilin Viceroyalty. The ground here is nearly all cultivated, the soil being light and fertile, save in the neighbourhood of Petune where it is sandy. Between Petune and the Lalin River the soil is heavy.
2. Of this region only a small part near Tsitsihar is as yet cultivated. The area in question is about 45 miles long (north and south), 34 miles broad (east and west). The soil is of fair quality, but much spoilt by the floods of the rainy season and by the sandy deposits from the rivers. It is unlikely that this district will come under development for some time.
3. In Kilin Viceroyalty includes the whole of the two local Governments of Shuang Cheng Pu and Pinshuchan. Harbin, Shuang Cheng Pu, and Ashihho, all important towns, are in this section. The soil is heavy about Pinshuchan, light near Harbin and Shuang Cheng Pu.
4. Hula River area is in the Amur Viceroyalty. In the south the soil is light, gradually getting heavier as one advances north.
5. Mainly in Kilin Viceroyalty.
It will be seen from the above remarks that the soil of Manchuria is, generally speaking, fertile. Except, however, along the rivers no attempt has been made so far to bring it under cultivation. Settlers are proportionately few, and the means of communication primitive and unsatisfactory. The cattle used by the natives are likewise of very poor breed, fit only for field work. The oxen are however good, particularly those used in distilleries and bean-oil mills.
Land,
Owing to the secrecy maintained by the Chinese officials, it is very difficult to ascertain the area of the land under cultivation, but it is probably about 4,417,000 shan* (about 13,000 square milest), divided as follows:-
Kilin Amur
Sban.
2,897,000
1,520,000
4,417,000
(
5
In the Amur Viceroyalty 1,140,000 shan of land have been put under cultivation recently. According to statements made by officials in that province, land tax is at this moment paid on 1,000,000 shan only of developed land, but it is expected that sooner or later this will be changed to 3,000,000. There is no doubt that, what with the carelessness of the officials themselves, what with the recent inrush of settlers and the consequent rapid bringing into cultivation of waste lands, instances of evasion in paying land tax are very numerous. In 1904 an Agricultural Department was established in the Amur Viceroyalty, and energetic efforts are being made by it to attract settlers. The following table shows the areas of waste land sold since 1904 :---
1904
1905
1906
:::
Total
:::
Shan.
Acres.
800,000
837,500
600,000
675,000
4,100,000
4,612,500
5,000,000
5,625,000
Land of this kind is granted on a six years' lease free of all taxes and charges of any kind. At the expiration of this period it is subjected to inspection by the Agricultural Department's officials, and, if the result is satisfactory, proper title-deeds are issued. If, on the other hand, the land is still undeveloped, the grant is annulled and the land itself confiscated. Land tax is levied during the sixth year.
The prices of waste land per shan are as follows:—
1st class
201
57
3rd
4th
-
Dollars.
2.08
2:01
1'04
·07
In Kilin, according to the most recent records, there are only 10,660 shan of waste land. Of this area 2,100 shan represents land once cultivated, but allowed to revert to its original condition, 8,560 shan land which has never been touched.
In this province the prices of land are as follows:-
A. (Once cultivated hut allowed to become waste)-
1st class
2nd
04
3rd
71
B. (Waste land proper)
1st class
2nd 3rd
19
ל
Dollars.
6.60
4.40
2.20
3.30
2.20
1.10
290
Total
The estimated average harvest of 35,730,000 koku (177,210,875 bushels) may be divided approximately as follows :-----
Kaoling..
Millet
Beans
Wheat
Barley
Buckwheat
Indian corn, &c.
Total
Koku.
Bushels.
8,800,000 8,510,000
43,670,000 42,230,875
6,790,000
33,695,375
6,130,000
5,480,000
30,420,125
27,194,500
35,710,000
177,210,875
* "Shan" 1.86 acres.
†This is more likely to be correct than the figures given on p. 2, 19,000 square miles.
The land in Manchuria was originally meant by the Central Government to be apportioned among the banner men only. Their grants varied from 50 to 60 shan per household, and with the grant went various privileges, which were expressly denied Chinese if they by any means obtained ownership. Their tenure indeed was attended by certain disabilities and burdens; but, these notwithstanding, it was into their hands ultimately that the land came. They were more than a match for the banner men at a bargain, and in the end Peking itself was obliged to acquiesce in the changed condition of things. The bigger land-owners, who are as a rule either engaged in business or officials, live for the most part in the towns, the farmer himself being generally a mere tenant paying his rent in kind.
There are two kinds of land-tax, the greater and the less. The former is paid into the National Treasury, the latter is a contribution towards the expenses of local administration. There are in addition separate charges for police, educa- tion, &c.
The chief agricultural products of North Manchuria are kaoliang, millet, beans, tobacco, and hemp. The first named is to the Chinaman what rice is to the Japanese. The grain is used as a foodstuff or for the distillation of spirits, and the stalks for folder, fuel, roofing, plastering, grain bags, and lastly for matting in the "Kiang" or Manchurian store. Millet, which has a higher market value than the grain just
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