Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/155

Rh of what it means to transplant the rice crops of all our village farmers. Then, too, when you remember that this nation of ten or twelve millions of people live largely on rice, you may get some idea of the amount that is required. But this does not tell all the story, since our village farmers grow rice not only for their own country but also for export to Japan, which gets much of her rice from Korea. The rice is transplanted about six inches apart, so that it has much the appearance of being sown broadcast in the fields. The fact that it is thus sown prevents the use of the plow for cultivation, and only a small hoe is used. This hoe is a small instrument not at all like its cousin of the West, the handle being only long enough to hold with one hand. The rice remains in water from the time it is planted till it is harvested. Though it is weeded several times, it is all done in water and with the hoe. When the crop is ripe and ready for the harvester, the farmer comes rejoicing and literally puts in the sickle, probably the same sort that was used by the reapers of Boaz when they reaped the golden grain, the scattered heads of which the beautiful Moabitess was permitted to glean for herself. This sickle is a slightly curved blade about a foot in length, with a wooden handle long enough for the hand to grasp it tightly. With the sickle in one hand, the farmer grasps with the other hand a bunch of the standing grain, and it is quickly cut off just above the ground. It is then tied into bundles about the size of ordinary bundles of wheat and carried on the backs of cows and men to the thrashing floor. You will remember reading about