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Show n NORTH CHINA MISSION information in the whole field on the following points: the real name of the village (the local patois is sometimes misleading as-to the characters); number of families, number of individuals, Dumber of Taoist or Buddhist priests; number of schools, both private and public, with names of school trustees and teachers, and the number of pupils iu each school; number of Catholic families; dates of fairs, markets and theatres. In addition they constructed maps of the several sections of the district drawn to scale. As a result, the population was found to be larger by ioo,coo than had been previously estimated. Evangelistic work varies^iu close dependence upon the seasons. Tbe best times for preaching to the village farmers, whether in their own villages or in the market- A T* T "1- T T A 7^ T „ „ T T__T " towns where they do all their trading, are GELISTIC _, , , , . "'. CALENDAR February and March, before they begin serious work in their fields, and October and November, when the rush of the harvest is ended. December and Jaimarv are too cold for meetings out of doors in the villages, (which boast no room for indoor assemblies), and the throng on market days in town is much more disposed to attend to its business, and go promptly home, both on account of the cold and on account of the shortness of the days, without dropping, into the chapel. Nevertheless, a stove with a cheerful fire and the unescapable Chinese tea-pot do not fail to provide a fair audience for the preacher in the middle of the day. Better knowledge of the districts, and the new organization of the stations has led to some changes in methods of adininistra- ADMINISTRATIVE t i o " ' In WNTSING, l h e fiekl has been READJUSTMENT divided into five districts and a standard of contributions from the Christians has-been suggested. PAOTINGFU, like many of our other stations, has followed the line of least resistance in the development of its country fields, by following up inquirers, and as a consequence 'The Rush of the Harvest" |
