ABSTRACT
The Chinese at Fuhchau are shorter than the generality of foreigners, mild in character, and timid in appearance. The fields are cultivated by means of the plough and the harrow, drawn by the water-ox or domesticated buffalo, and by the hoe and light pickaxe. When it is necessary to transport the bundles from one part of the field to another for any purpose, they are carried in the usual manner of carrying other articles, by a pole laid across the shoulder, never on carts or wagons. The grain requires to be passed through the mill several times before the flour is fine enough for baking purposes. Mr. Fortune gives a very entertaining account of a visit to an old farmer, famous for hatching ducks. “There are few sights,” says Mr. Fortune, “more pleasing than a Chinese family in the interior engaged in gathering the tea-leaves, or indeed in any of their other agricultural pursuits.
