Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/345

  CHAPTER XIX HE predominant industry of Korea, as of most civilised countries, is agriculture. The silent processes of nature make less stir in the newspapers, but even in such a feverishly industrial country as America we find that wheat, corn, tobacco and cotton are the dominant factors of our wealth. But in Korea agriculture holds a relatively higher place than in most countries. They realise fully that the soil is the source of wealth, and that the safest investment is a good paddy-field. It is the farmer who is expected to bear the brunt of national taxation, perhaps on the theory that nature does more than half the work for him. What would life on the farm be in America if almost the total revenue of the country was collected from the farmer, while the merchant, manufacturer and house-owner went free? This government has always, and successfully, reckoned upon the passionate love of the Korean for the soil. A gentleman of the purest blood can engage in farming without soiling his escutcheon, but to be a merchant or manufacturer or broker would be beneath his dignity. Agriculture is so dignified an occupation that it stands quite alone among Korean industries.

The implements used are of the crudest. The plough is a very primitive affair with a single handle and is drawn by a bullock. The ploughshare is of iron, and the work is fairly effective, though subsoiling is not possible. For the most part human excrement is used as a fertiliser, and, where this is not obtainable in sufficient quantities, grass or leaves are substituted. After the ploughing all agricultural processes are carried on by hand, - cultivating, reaping, threshing and winnowing. A study