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Permanent Famine Prevention ©

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Famine Relief |

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R eforesting China

Permanent Famine Prevention

VeTSUS

Famine Relief

By JOHN H. REISNER

University of Nanking, Nanking, China

A STUDY
under the auspices of the
CHINA SOCIETY OF AMERICA

International Headquarters:
Thirteen Astor Place, New York City

1921

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Copyright 1921 by
China Society of America

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Printed privately for Members of the Society

SEP ie iQ2h Ol A6227838

Reforesting China

Permanent Famine Prevention
Versus

Famine Relief

There is no substitute for forestry as a factor in
the permanent prevention of famines in China. The
reforestation of her millions of unwooded acres alone
will not prevent famines but there can be no perma-
nent prevention without it.

China’s forests are spent, her hills are denuded, an

| adequate supply of forest products is lacking. Modes

' oi living have had to be adjusted. Her agriculture
has been forced to assume responsibility for furnish-
ing fuel to her population, in,addition to food and
clothing, making impossible the replenishment of the
supply of organic matter in the soil. Fertility and
production have been lowered.

The season’s rainfall has been dissipated in riotous
runoffs, causing ruinous floods. Stream beds on one
hand are all but dried up, there being little or no
supply of ground water to replenish them by slow
regular seepage, while other streams are silted up,
unable to carry off the load of soil that has been
brought to them from the barren, unproductive hills.
Destruction of life and property, and untold suffer-
| ing have resulted. “Beware of mountain water” read
\ signs in many canyons in China, posted as a warning

4 REP ORES (ite Cone

to travelers against the sudden rise of torrents during
storms. Agriculture for many has become an all too
hazardous occupation.

The people are affected not only economically, their
productive efficiency being lessened, but they have
suffered physically, and socially as well, where her
forests are gone.

China Makes a Beginning in Reforestation.

Aiter centuries oi neglect, China last year “spent
about a quarter of a million dollars in forestry work—
planted about one thousand nurseries, relorested
about one hundred thousand acres of otherwise use-
less land and produced about one hundred million
young trees. About one-quarter of her eighteen
hundred districts have forest nurseries for the upkeep
of which they are taxed. Several of the provinces
have developed Provincial Forest Services. Arbor
Day is increasing in popularity and its observance
is being greatly extended each year. Forestry educa-
tion is being rapidly developed, until there are now
not only forestry schools but forestry is taught in
many of the secondary, particularly the agricultural
schools.

These facts indicate clearly that China is making
progress in her forestry development, that she is
beginning to appreciate the need of reforestation and
the relation of forests and forest products to her
national life.

America Helps.

_ America’s help in this notable Chinese development
1s not with money invested directly in forestry pro-
jects, but through educational channels. The larger

REPORESTING CHINA 5

share of important forestry enterprises in China
to-day, both practical and educational, is in the
hands of men trained in the forestry schools of
America, or of graduates of American-manned schools
Meomna and the Pililippines. There have’ been
twenty-five graduates, and there are now over thirty
students enrolled in the forestry course of the College
of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of
Nanking, an American missionary institution in

China.

There are Chinese forestry graduates of Yale,
Harvard, Cornell, Syracuse and Michigan. Yale leads
the number with more than a half dozen men includ-
ing their 1921 graduates. Ngan Han, a Michigan
graduate, for seven years has been identified with the
most important forestry work of the Central Govern-
ment and is now directing head of the forestry work
of the Pekin-Hankow Railway. D. Y. Lin, a Yale
man and China’s premier forestry propagandist last
year organized the Forestry Service for Shangtung
Province and has just become director-in-chief of this
work.

China’s Forestry Development Dependent Upon Chinese.

The future of China’s forestry development is very
largely in the hands of these Chinese who have come
under the influence, directly and indirectly, of Ameri-
can foresters and the advance along forestry lines
noted above is due chiefly to the activities of these
young men. They have come to know the problems
and significance of forestry to China and that the
responsibility for adequate forestry developments is
their own.

6 iE PoOuURE S TLN GG Eine

American Famine Funds of 1913 Permanently Invested.

The Forestry Fund Committee of Shanghai has
been the financial sponsor for the education of the
Chinese students sent to the Philippines and has pro-
vided generously for the forestry work at Nanking,
where in addition to paid scholarships they have pro-
vided a revolving forestry scholarship loan fund of
$5,000 and make an annual grant of $5,000, Chinese
currency. An interesting fact about the Foresaiy
Fund Committee is that it is administering left-over
funds from the Hwai River famine relief of 1912-1913.
These funds arrived in China too late to be used in
relief work and it was decided by the relief commit-
tee in charge to use the money to provide permanent
relief. It was a wise decision and the plan is already
bearing fruit through the work of competent young
men in responsible forestry positions throughout
China. The returns on this investment in permanent
famine relief are increasing rapidly and will be of
ever greater value and influence throughout the years.

Forestry in China Is Developing From the Bottom Up.

Forestry in China is not developing as it has in
Western countries. In them the Central Government
assumes a very large share of financial control and
responsibility. In China it has been more largely by
individuals, societies, or companies, districts and
provinces. This condition may be expected to con-
tinue even in the face of a marked activity @ayjeue
part of the Central Government. Individuals, com-
panies, and small political units in China will have
from the outset a much more important place in
reforestation projects than similar bodies have had
ia thie) West.

RE RORES TING CHAIN A 7

Famine Prevention Includes Many Factors

In addition to forestry, there are other important
factors which must be recognized as essential to any
comprehensive program of famine prevention, such as:

River Conservancy.

Development of transportation facilities.

Underground water supply for irrigation pur-
poses.

Distribution of population through colonization.

Industrial development.

The development of granaries.*

The establishment of rural credit and saving
societies.

Improvements in agriculture.

oa SS Li an ae Sa

Reforestation Gives Permancy to Relief Measures

Watersheds must be reforested if wise conservancy
is to be most effective. The water holding capacity of
forests provides valuable control of surface runoff of
rainfall. The development of coal mines to relieve
the fuel shortage and the demands now made on her
agriculture for fuel products need timber, which must
be either imported at high cost or grown locally.
Furthermore, until coal and wood fuel become cheaper
than the fuel products of the farm the soil will not
be relieved of its present additional burden, for
millions of Chinese make their fires of the stalks and

* China for many centuries had a system of granaries very
similar to that organized by Joseph for the Egyptians. Accord-
ing to the Honorable Alfred K. Sze, Chinese Minister to the
United States, during the years of heavy harvest the excess
food products were bought up by the Government and _ placed
in the granaries until needed in years of short production.
There were also communal granaries in charge of the village
elders with or without official supervision, and charitable
granaries maintained and operated purely by. charity.

8 REFORES TING CHine

roots of farm crops. In the construction of railroads
and rolling stock and in their maintenance and repair
forest products will be in great demand. The im-
provement of her agriculture and the conditions of
living of a large share of the agriculture population
are, very directly dependent on an adequate produc-
tion and supply of forest products.

Popular Education in Reforestation Effective
Economical

While all these factors of famine prevention are
important, reforestation must be considered basic and
can be accomplished by the masses of the people
through processes of education—and with a minimum
outlay of money. It is evident also, that certain of
the factors given can only be handled by Govern-
ment, not merely because of their political character
but because of the huge sums of money which will
be involved. There are other factors, however,
which can be made to function very largely and more
directly through education, and it is such factors that
would form a legitimate sphere of activities for
American friendly interests. Forestry education par-
ticularly is a project which will call forth the hearty
co-operation of the Chinese, both officially and in-
dividually, and at the same time be wholly free from
political impediments.

A Ten-Year Forestry Education Program

Ten years of modest investment in reforestation
would produce powerfully effective results for famine
prevention. Such a program should be developed
along these lines:

RBROR ESTING \CA INA 9

1. Training of Foresters.—The training of leaders is
the first step. A strong group should understand the
principles and practices involved in the larger prob-
lems of forestry in China. They will provide leader-
ship for Chinese enterprises,—both educational and
practical,—which shall at once be national, provincial,
corporate and individual in their scope and interest.
To provide such training, teachers are obviously re-
quired who are capable of interpreting their own
knowledge secured in one country or one part of the
country in terms of the needs arising out of the
conditions under which they find themselves in the
new country with a fundamentally different forestry
environment. Teaching should be confined to college
grade and post-graduate work. Not only would such
a forestry training attract many students of their own
accord, but it should not be difficult to have students
sent by the various provinces on government scholar-
ships.

2. Forestry Extension Work.—Such work should be
emphasized. All the following projects can, and
should be, carried out simultaneously :

(A) Illustrated lectures with charts and demon-
strations;

(B) Preparation and distribution of bulletins and
circulars, both scientific and popular ;

(C) Newspaper propaganda. — (An immense
amount of excellent publicity can be secured through
the Chinese newspapers. This has been demon-
strated) ;

(D) Collection and distribution of tree seeds to
schools and nurseries at cost;

(E) The development of school nursery clubs.—
Thousands of schools could be enrolled, as they have
been enrolled for school gardens in the United States.

10 REFORES TING wWegdiw a

Such a development would have a marked effect on
the extension of Arbor Day;

(F) Arbor Day which in many places is celebrated
as a national holiday and is being more widely ob-
served each year in China, should be furthered;

(G) Extension Forestry course—more particu-
larly courses that would include demonstrations of
nursery practices and actual tree planting operations
—should be developed. Many of these extension
projects could carry at least a good share of their
expenses through co-operation with official agencies,
particularly travelling expenses in connection with
lecture tours in the various provinces.

3. Investigation.—There are numerous investigations
along the lines of Forest Botany, Wood Technology,
Silvics, Silviculture, Forest Products and Utilization,
Management, Forest Finances and the like which
should be carried on. Our general knowledge of
Chinese Forestry conditions must be reduced to more
specific facts and much detail which can only be
secured through careful scientifically-conducted in-
vestigations. Much of such work can be carried on
by teachers, but the services of outstanding forestry
investigators should also be made available.

Organization and Staff for Ten-Year Program.

The organization of the proposed program should
be under one administration, connected with an insti-
tution which could offer much in the way oi sup-
plementary instruction in subjects such as botany,
entomology, soils, etc., which are closely allied to
technical forestry courses. Facilities should also be
offered for teaching and investigation and in the de-
velopment of extension work.

Re. OR BST EN GCA TNA 11

China at Work

To know what China is actually doing in reforest-
ing her hills, will help to give us a better picture of
what there is to do, and how the Chinese are going
about to do it. The accounts of what Chinese gradu-
ates of forestry schools under American administra-
tion have done will indicate in what a very real way
America is helping China.

Local Officialdom at Work.

The Kao-Yi district of Chihli province has its own
nursery, with a budget of $1,080 which is raised
from local tax on cotton. The second nursery of
Shensi province, with three local nurseries under its
direction, has a budget of $2,400, with a production
of five million seedlings. This nursery has adopted
the policy of giving free to anyone in their nursery
area 50 trees and up to 5 Ibs. of tree seeds. For
larger amounts a slight charge is made. The Lin-
Cheng district (Chihli) industrial deputy with his
central nursery and four sub-stations, his budget of
$1,350 raised from house and land taxes, and 3,000
mow of land reforested to date, is planning to have
every family plant five trees annually for each male
member. The second Chekiang provincial nursery
supplies free of cost over a million trees, to 16 dis-
tricts in addition to schools, farmers and others, from
its 190 mow nursery containing more than four
million transplants and seedlings, on its budget of
$2,934 raised from local taxes. Such instances as
these can be duplicated many times.

A Yale Forestry School Graduate at Work.

Or). Is. Lin, one oi the first Chinese graduates
of the Yale Forestry School, after returning to China,
carried on forestry propaganda (for several years)

12 REFORES Twn G 7C tii

under the auspices of the International Committee of
the Y. M. C. A... Then for three years he gagame
forestry in the College of Agriculture and Forestry
of the University of Nanking. While at the Uni-
versity Mr. Lin co-operated with the Governor ol
Shantung in organizing the Shantung Provincial
Forestry Service, and later resigned to become Chief
Forester of the Province. Work was prosecuted so
vigorously that the first planting season saw the
organization of three forestry stations, the establish-
ment of three nurseries with plans for two more for
the following season, over 550,000 trees planted on
2,000 mow of land and an additional 3,000 mow oi
land seeded. The budget calls for about $22,000,
payable through the Provincial Treasurer.

A Philippine Forestry School Graduate at Work.

The outstanding forestry development in China
continues to be that of the first Kiangsu provincial
forestry station started in 1916 and located near the
famous Ming tombs at Nanking. Soong Ding-moo, a
graduate of the Philippine School of Forestry with
twenty-one assistants, two of whom are receiving
their forestry education in the Philippines, is at the
head of this work. His budget last year was $34,000,
voted by the provincial assembly and paid wholly by
the province through the Provincial Department of
Finance. 34,000 mow of land (1 mow—% acre) have
been replanted to date with two and one-half million
of trees. Three nurseries were maintained, with an
area of 371 mow carrying 1,275,000 transplants and
about 3,000,000 seedlings divided among seventy-
three different species. Trees and seeds for nurseries
and over 50,000 trees for transplanting and for use
in the observance of Arbor Day, were distributed to

PERO STEN GCM PNA 13

one hundred and eighty-six district officials, agricul-
tural societies, and agricultural and forestry stations
and companies or individuals. There are three sub-
stations already located in important parts of the
province, with two more stations being planned for.
Sixteen students are also being given practical train-
ing to fit them to go out into the province and de-
velop the same kind of work that is being done at
the Central Station.

A University of Nanking Graduate at Work.

Mr. Peng Ko-chung is Overseer of the forest plan-
tations of the Lunghai Railway. His duties consist of
supervising the head nurserymen, gardeners and
workingmen, managing the central and four sub-
nurseries, collecting herbian specimens, writing the
regular reports, making all purchases of materials
needed in the work of the nurseries. The Central
Chengchow nursery occupies 900 mow of land. The
total number of seed beds, including the four sub-
@ucserics, ts 3,300, and contain more than three
hundred species. Last year about one million seed-
lings were produced. The expenditure on the
nurseries is $10,000.

China Is Not a Treeless Country

China does have some forests, but only because
they are largely inaccessible; and there are trees
everywhere, even in North China, though very
eearee, As a: whole, China is not a treeless country
by any means. The influence of Buddhist priests
has been very great in preserving small wooded areas
and tree species which otherwise would have been

14 REFORES TING (Oni Na

done away with in the general destruction of the
forests. Without the few trees in the villages and
the evergreens about the graves of the ancestors,
North China would be infinitely less inviting than
it is. But the presence of a few trees only mitigates
what would otherwise be a calamitous situation and
the need of reforesting her millions of barren acres
persists.

Reforestation Is a Good Investment

Looked at from almost any standpoint the reforest-
ation of China’s denuded areas would be a good in-
vestment. If there were no other considerations it
would be attractive as a financial investment. From
a social standpoint there is probably no one thing
that will have a greater effect on raising standards
of living in North China particularly utilizing large
areas of land suited to no purpose other than forestry,
and providing employment to millions of people than
an adequate and cheap supply of forest products.
This will affect commerce and trade. With her for-
ests renewed, China will be a better place to live in.
No less important, reforestation will not only amelior-
ate but will help permanently in the prevention of
famines by relieving agriculture and indirectly effect-
ing fertility and production of the soil, by supple-
menting river conservancy measures, and influencing
the surface runoff of rainfall, increasing the moisture
capacity of the soil and greatly lessening the fre-
quency and severity of floods and their consequences.

Pere OUR Site DUNG Gr Cu DN A 15

Co-Operating in Reforesting China Provides Against
the Necessity of Flood and Famine Relief

Undoubtedly it was a good investment to bring
relief to China during the recent famine. Would it
not be an infinitely better investment, not particu-
larly for what we could get out of it, but from the
standpoint of the opportunities for friendly service
to work together with China in the development of
preventive measures against the too-oft recurring
calamity of floods and famines which befall her? A
very small investment on the part of America would
add tremendously to the impetus which is now de-
veloping in China toward meeting the needs and
solving the problems of reforestation, as a chief
means to permanent famine prevention and providing
against the necessity of famine relief. )

The nation that helps China reforest her naked hills
will be a friend indeed.

Note.—This discussion refers more particularly to North
China, where serious floods and famines have occurred most
often. It does not refer to China as a whole though many
statements so apply.—J. H. R.

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