Kashing, Sept. 24.
After the recent typhoon, farmers said the rice crop was almost ruined, but the hot sunshine and war: n weather since has greatly improved the situation. Chinese farmers are not unlike those of the west, in one respect, they seldom admit that crops are good. They have always just had or about to have a failure, the weather is their favourite enemy. In the Tunghsianghsien section large lots of tobacco leaf have been marketed at good prices, one dealer made $40,000. Japanese have been intelligent and successful buyers.
To show how the times have changed, it is remembered here that when the missionaries built a two storeyed: house for the hospital the city people threatened to burn it down as it would affect the feng shui of the place: now one of the merchants is. building a four storeyed dry-goods emporium using reinforced concrete. The business men of Sinchang ten miles away have opened a fast motor boat cer-vice with telephone (Tong distance) to this city. To insure the lives of passengers. some wealthy old ladies built a series of octagon stone pillars along the canal with the
carved on it, This has soothed the magic name of {heir favourite idols water demon so that no one has yet been drowned on the fast boats.
For every step forward in China there seems to be a reactionary moveuient. To expel cholera, the people brought out the city idol. two in the party were stricken with cholera and brought to the mission. hosnitnl one recovered. the other died. The reason one died was because he stumbled while carrying the idol and it was the displeasure of the deity that brought death.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.