Page:Korea (1904).djvu/175

Rh ; the peasant and his bull, knee-deep in water, plough the patches. Beans, peas, and potatoes are planted between the furrows of the cornfields, the land being made to produce to its full capacity. The crops are usually excellent.

The fields differ from the farms in China, where the farmers, preferring short furrows, grow their crops in small sections. The long furrows of the Korean fields recall Western methods, but here the analogy ends. The spectacle of these well-ordered acres is a revelation of the earnest way in which these down-trodden people combat adversity. In many ways, however, they need assistance and advice. If it were prudent to accomplish it, I would convert the mission centres of the inland districts into experimental farm-stations, and attach a competent demonstrator to each establishment.

The Koreans hold rice, their chief cereal, in peculiar honour. They state that it originated in Ha-ram, in China, at a period now involved in much fable and mystery—2838 B.C. to 2698 B.C. The name, Syang-nong-si, itself means Marvellous Agriculture. The name was doubtless given at a later time. The first rice was brought to Korea by Ki-ja in 1122 B.C. together with barley and other cereals. Before that time the only grain raised in Korea was millet.