Estimates Much Below Those of Last Year: Difficulty of Arriving at Figures BrP, One of the greatest diticuities to be met with in estimating the crop prospects of cereals in North Manchuria has always been the question of the sown area, as owing to the {otal absence of a land authority and the distribution of land amongst arear number of separate owners, whose interest is to show less ground than they have actually sown, for the purpose of paying Tess land "tax, this has constantly led to the fact that there was always great uncertainty as to the approximation of sowings in every region, besides which there was a great diversion in the gures received from various sources. Added to the above facts, military actions, bandits and flood have very seriously interfered with the normal trend of local agriculture. At' one time it was possible to arrive some fairly reasonable data, basing Same on the Increase in colonization and area, but now this has become absolutely impossible, Tt has also to be taken into consideration that under present condi tions it is dimeult to get into contact with the villages In the main centres, and, consequently, much Jess Is known of the conditions of jeulture than in former days. Changes. in local administration and the closing up of many of the old rain firms has further aggravated the situation, as the newcomers, both oMcials and' settlers, are but "tittle Acquainted with local conditions.
Tu consequence of this, the most contradictory. statements have been received this year regarding the sown area and the prospects of the crop for 1934, Taking Tsinkang as fan example, the administration of that district states that there has been slight Increase In the sown area in 1994196438 shan in 1933 and. 202,065 shan' In 1984—but the coal agricultural society gives cone trary gures, stating that there were 103,000 shan' sown in 1939, and that this year the sown area has fallen 107,800 shan. There are many examples of a similar nature, which there Is a great difference of opinion between the district admin-Iatration and agricultural societies, while the figures of grain firms are most uncertain and express the most contradictory views.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.