And this he did, but he
was careful that he did not give away much information regarding the
progress that the Yuen-nanese, essentially sons of the soil, are making
in agriculture. For this School of Agriculture is an important adjunct.
Scholars are taken on an agreement for three years, during which time
they are fed and housed at the expense of the school; if they leave
during the specified period they are fined heavily. No less than 180
boys, ranging from sixteen to twenty-three, are being trained here, with
about 120 paid apprentices. Three Japanese professors are employed--one
at a salary of two hundred dollars a month, and two others at three
hundred, the latter having charge of the fruit and forest trees and the
former of vegetables.
In years to come the silk industry of Yuen-nan will rank among the chief,
and the productions will rank among the best of all the eighteen
provinces. There are no less than ten thousand mulberry trees in the
school grounds for feeding the worms; four thousand catties of leaves
are used every day for their food; five hundred immense trays of
silkworms are constantly at work here. The worms are in the charge of
scholars, whose names appear on the various racks under their charge,
and the fact that feeding takes place every two hours, day and night, is
sufficient testimony that the boys go into their work with commendable
energy.
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