The spring has been as unusually wet one, and the warm weather longer delayed than usually, consequently the wheat crop has suffered. There were also several sandstorms which helped to damage it, so the crop is only about seven-tenths up to standard. The tice promises excellently, though that too would benefit by warmer and brighter weather.
"Oaronine em Youn."
The fish spawn industry is now in full swing all along the north bank of the Yangtze for many miles. With the rise of the river the operations are commenced. staging is run out into the river from the bank, often 50 ft. to 80 ft. in length, and on this staging are placed very fine mesh nets, open at the mouth, and running to a point, This' small end is placed in a kind of box, also made of very fine mesh, and the fish spawn is thus collected. The tiny fish are almost invisible to the naked eye, yet the workers are able to distinguish the various kinds, and place them in earthenware p20s till they grow to an inch or so in size.
Vendors visit these collecting places, and carry the fish inland, in. baskets made of wicker covered with oiled paper, and' sell them to the farmers for replenishing their ponds and streams. There are at least 20 of these fish spawn collecting places within a mile of the town, and quite a large business is done in this way, lasting over a couple of months.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.