e, but the
tenants evidently thought it paid better to forgo these benefits and
market their best rice. This raises the question whether rent ought
nowadays to be paid in kind. Rural opinion as a whole is in favour of
continuing in the old way, but there is a clear-headed if small
section of rural reformers which is for rent being paid in cash.

One thing I found in my notes of my talk with the landowner-oculist I
hesitated to transcribe without confirmation. Speaking of the physique
of the people, he had said that few farmers could carry the weights
their fathers and grandfathers could move about. But later on a high
agricultural authority mentioned to me that it had been found
necessary to reduce the weight of a bale of rice from 19 to 18
_kwamme_ and then to 15--1 _kwamme_ is 8.26 lbs.

In the _oaza_ in which I was staying there were eighty families.
Seventy were tenants. Under a savings arrangement initiated by my
host, the hamlet, including its five peasant proprietors, was saving
120 yen a month. On the other hand, more than half the tenants were in
debt "in connection with family excesses," such as weddings, births
and burials. But there might be unknown savings. I should state that
the villagers seemed contented enough.

For some reason or other I was particularly struck by the sturdiness
of the small girls. This was interesting because Chiba had for long an
evil reputation for infanticide, and under a system of infanticide in
the Far East it would be supposed--I have heard this view stoutly
questioned--that more girls die than boys. The landowner-oculist was
of opinion that in stating the causes of the low economic condition of
his tenants the abating of infanticide must be put first. People no
longer restricted themselves to three of a family. The average area
available locally was only 6 _tan_ of paddy and 1.2 _tan_ of dry land.
In a one-crop district in which there was work for only a part of the
year this area was obviously insufficient and there was not enough dry
land for mulberries. Then taxation was now 2-1/2 yen per bale of rice
(_hyo_). A third of the rice went in rent.

I tried to find out what the _oaza_ might be spending on religion. The
Shinto priest seemed to get 5 sen a month per family, which as there
are eighty families would be 48 yen yearly. The Buddhist priest had
land attached to his temple and money was given him at burials and at
the _Bon_ season. The _oaza_ might spend 100 yen a yea