ABSTRACT
BESIDES agriculture, the people of Yuts’un have some other important economic activities. One of these is the raising of ducks in large flocks. This is supposed to be a somewhat discreditable occupation, carried on only by the poor. The villagers say: “These people are rotten rascals, dead dogs.” The ducks harm the crops, and for this reason those who raise them are always abused. “Only those who don’t care about face can engage in this occupation,” it is said. But is this true? Let us examine the matter in a little detail. There are nineteen households that raise ducks—about 12 per cent of the total number. Five of these nineteen are in the middle class; twelve of them are in the poor class; and two are from among the landless people. They are, it appears, mostly from the lower middle class. But of the five households of the middle class, the average income from the land amounts yearly to $3,650, which is higher than the average of their class. For the twelve households of the poor class, the average annual income from land is $1,400, which is also higher than the average. Of the two from the landless class, one does not rent land. Another rents land and has an annual income of about $900, which is better than the average income of his class. The rich folk do not like to raise ducks, and the poor who have no capital cannot do so. So we find that the people who engage in this occupation are mostly those who have a little money and also those who don’t mind carrying on an occupation that is considered somewhat disreputable. Thus, duck raising is engaged in mainly by those who are somewhat more prosperous among the poorer class.
