Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/157

Rh material that the farmer can afford that will take the place of this straw for covering his house. Then, too, the bags into which the grain is put are made of the same rice straw. As said before, the traces are made of straw, and most of the rope for leading the oxen and tying the loads on their backs is made of straw. The farmer's shoes for himself and family are made of this same material. In building his house, where you would fasten a piece of timber with a nail, the farmer ties it with a bit of his cunningly made straw rope. The housewife prepares her eggs for market by binding them in straw, so that she sells them by the string instead of by the dozen. There are ten eggs in a string, and they may be carried in the arms much as a boy carries stovewood; In addition to these and many other uses to which it is put, it is used as food for cows and horses. I said horses, but it is hardly fair to dignify these ponies with the name of horse. There are many ponies in the country, but they do not cut much figure in the farmer's stockyard. He does not use them very much; in fact, he never plows them nor drives them, for he has nothing in the shape of a carriage or wagon. They are used for carrying packs on their backs. The farmer comes to market with a load of brushwood on his pony or cow, the load almost completely hiding the animal, so that it has the appearance of a moving brush heap.

Our village farmer, while making rice his principal crop, also gives much attention to beans, peas, millet, buckwheat, etc., which are much used as food for both man and beast. The beans take the place of corn in