Front Our Own Commsronoest Wutingtu, Sung, June 20.
'The practical control of rainfall, like' the determination of sex, still baffles man's ingenuity, Last' year cur people waited for rain which @idn't come, and their crops suffered bedly, This year our first rain fell in early April, and by May 15 we had some splendid showers, so work began early in the fields, and wheat i being harvested. But' the heat Is getting intense, and should the heavy Fains be too long delayed the autumn crops will wither. On June 14 T Fegistered 100" in the shade, which is equal {o the highest, temperature recorded here during six years, Last year the Machiaho, which like all our "ho" Is not a river but a bed for flood water, was dug out to take care of the amount of water expected, In the Lading magistracy this was satisfactory, but north of Wuti It was not dug deep enough and large areas of land were flooded and crops Turned. To avoid a re~ currence of such a catastrophe, this year 50,000 men were employed and the work well done "in ten days! time, The Shaho, which will coneet up with the Machiaho on the tone hand and the Huangho (Yellow River) on the other, is to be dug out by the Provincial "Board of Communications. This will bring con-ection with the sea to within a few li of Wutingtu, and make for cheaper transport, specially of coal and building materials.
Other public utility work is being done in the steady improvement of the ity streets, Leaders from the main public otices and schools ted the students and scholars in road making: 540 workers did the work. sel in three days and showed " good example of public spirit.
The New Life Movement con Unues its efforts to improve.the tot of the people. Apart from regula tions about girls' sleeves being cut below the elbow and boys' trousers below the knes, attempts are being made to. improve sanitation, The education authorities specially, by means of students, are instituting an investigation into every home in the city. All wells are to be covered, private conveniences whitewashed and flies and rats attacked. The head of the Sanhsiaossu has been (wie warned that his buildings are not elean, and if a third warning Is Fequirsd, he will be dismissed, Edict Against Foot-binding In an effort to cope with the custom of foot-binding, the Provin-lal Government has Issued a decree that any woman of 20 years or under who wishes o start litigation, must first unbind her fect and then walt a month before she can lodge 9 complaint, 'Smuggling into North China seems to have had little direct influence up to date, but in Chowtsun, 70 miles south, a thriving centre of silk: culture, 400 to 500 boxes of silk goods, worth $220 a box, were dumped to the serious loss' of the local industry.
"Tne special issue of local paper money to the total of $60,000, to finance, as already reported, the marketing of cotton grown from American seed, has served its pure pose, and the notes were collected and burnt.
Watingfu, that 1s Hwelminhsien, is now one of the experimental hsien in the social reconstruction scheme.
Vitlage agricultural schools have Been opened in each of the ton districts of the hsien. There are 150 students in the city school, The resent course is for four months, Dut this is liable to change. Last year it was a three months course and there was only the one city school, the Lienchuanghwel. The ten head "teachers were appointed from Tsinanfu. Military exercises and reading are emphasized.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.