FRANKLIN HIRAM KING
(1848 - 1911)
His documents related to EAST ASIA
at the
University of Wisconsin - Madison


QUOTE from Prof. W.H. Beal, in the Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science (1911): "His [F.H. King] work is characterized by a thoroughness and finality which inspires confidence in its scientific reliability. In his tireless, patient, open-minded pursuit of truth and uncompromising fidelity to it when discovered, he evinced in high degree the qualities of the true scientist."

Main location of documents: UW-Madison - State Historical Society
Author: King, F.H. (Franklin Hiram)
Archive Title: Papers, 1899-1929
RLIN ID-Number: WIHV94-A161
Precise Location: Archives Main Stacks
Call #: Wis MSS NC
Shelf Location: MAD 3/27/B6
This collection is contained in two boxes. The one containing documents relating to Farmers of Forty Centuries is in the smaller box.

Folder 1909, January-April

*The letters of correspondence between Prof. King and his family during his trip to Asia are in this folder. None of the letters are in envelopes (it is safe to assume that their place of destination is Madison, WI because that is where King’s home was at the time, all postcards in this collection were sent to his family in Madison).*King always wrote front to back on stationery, so one "sheet" equals one fully written upon piece of stationery.

Jan. 23, 1909. Letter to Prof. King from T.C. Chamberlin (Thomas C.), written from the S.S. Siberia (at sea). King should be almost on his trip or at the very beginning of it. It is unclear as to whether or not Chamberlin mailed these letters to King’s home in Madison or to perhaps Shanghai or Yokohama where he spent substantial time. 2 sheets.
Jan. 25, 1909. Letter from Prof. King to his wife, Carrie. Written during first leg of trip (He seems to be writing from a train waiting in St. Paul, MN). 2 sheets.
Jan. 29, 1909, letter to Prof. King from T.C. Chamberlin, written aboard the S.S. Siberia, 4 sheets.
January 1909. Letter from Prof. King to Carrie. Still on train, notes location as beyond St. Paul. 3 sheets.
Feb. 1, 1909. Letter from Prof. King to his wife and sons. Written from the Hotel Savoy, Seattle, WA. 6 sheets.
Small postcard stamped: "Victoria, B.C., Canada." No handwritten date, only postmark, which is Feb. 2, 1909. From Prof. King to Carrie. Written aboard the ship: "Tosa Maru."
Long letter written over a period of time, broken into several parts, probably mailed all at once. From Prof. King to Carrie.
Feb. 2, 1909, written aboard the Tosa Maru, 1 sheet.
Feb. 3, 1909, written aboard the Tosa Maru, 1 sheet
Feb. 4, 1909, written aboard the Tosa Maru, 1 sheet
Feb. 5, 1909, Tosa Maru, 1 sheet.
Feb. 6, 1909, Tosa Maru, 1 sheet.
Feb. 7, 1909, Tosa Maru, "1250 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 8, 1909, TosaMaru, "1461 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 9, 1909, Tosa Maru, "1722 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 10, 1909, Tosa Maru, "1973 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 11, 1909, Tosa Maru, "2255 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 12-13, 1909, Tosa Maru, "2534 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 14, 1909, Tosa Maru, "2823 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 15, 1909, Tosa Maru, "3115 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 16, 1909, Tosa Maru, "3411 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 17, 1909, Tosa Maru, "3671 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 18, 1909, Tosa Maru, "3945 miles from Vancouver," 1 sheet.
Feb. 19, 1909, Tosa Maru, docked at Yokohama, 2 sheets.
Feb. 20, 1909, Tosa Maru, still docked at Yokohama, 5 sheets.
Feb. 21, 1909, postcard from Prof. King to Carrie. Written from the Tosa Maru.
Feb. 23, 1909, postcard from Prof. King to Carrie. Written from the Tosa Maru.
Feb. 23, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from the Tosa Maru. 3 sheets.
Feb. 24, 1909, postcard from Prof. King to Carrie, written from another boat, the "Yamaguchi Maru."
Feb. 25, 1909, postcard from Prof. King to son Charles Howard. Appears to be from a boat called the "Amaguchie Maru."
Feb. 26, 1909, Letter doesn’t say who it is to, but it can be assumed it is to his family (or Carrie), from Prof. King, written on the Yamaguchi Maru, sheets.
Feb. 27, 1909, letter from Prof. King to family, written from the Yamaguchi Maru, 6 sheets.
Mar. 3, 1909, letter from Prof. King to his family, the stationery says: "Astor House, Shanghai [China]," 2 sheets.
Mar. 4, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from the Tosa Maru, 8 sheets.
Mar. 8, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from a hotel in China, the name of which is unreadable.
Mar. 10, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from the S.S. "NanNing," (first page numbered as "2") 15 sheets.
Mar. 17, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, or family, written from the Tosa Maru, 6 sheets.
Mar. 18, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, stationery reads: "Astor House, Shanghai," 2 sheets.
Mar. 23, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, stationery reads: "Astor House, Shanghai," 5 sheets.
Mar. 24, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, stationery reads: "Astor House, Shanghai," 5 sheets.
Mar. 28, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and their sons, stationery reads: "Astor House, Shanghai," 8 sheets.
Apr. 3 or 9 (difficult to distinguish), 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, mailed from "Marlborough House," 11 sheets.
Apr. 10, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and sons, no location is given, 1 sheet.
Apr. 13, 1909, postcard from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shanghai.
Apr. 13, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shanghai, 9 sheets.
Apr. 18, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and family, written from Shanghai, very short, ½ page.
Apr. 18, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from a houseboat, 6 sheets.
Apr. 22, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and family, written from Shanghai, 8 sheets.
Apr. 28, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Soochow, 5 sheets.

Folder 1909, May-December

May 3, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and children, written from Anking, 5 sheets.
May 6, 1909, letter from T.C. Chamberlin to Prof. King. Stationery readys: "Nisshin Kisen Kaisha: Hankow." 5 sheets.
May 7, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shanghai, 6 sheets.
May 12, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shanghai, 3 sheets.
May 15, 1909. Letter from T.C. Chamberlin to Prof. King, written from "Chen Kiatcheou." 3 ½ sheets.
May 17, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and their children, written from the "S.S. Sikiang," 4 sheets.
May 25, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Tsingtao (I think aboard the S.S. Sikiang), 13 sheets.
May 29, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shanghai, 2 sheets.
(No date given, but believed to be sometime in between May 29-31, 1909), letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from the Astor House in Shanghai, 6 sheets.
June 5, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shanghai, China, 2 sheets.
June 3 or 8, 1909 (difficult handwriting), letter from Prof. King to Carrie, 6 sheets.
June 6, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written aboard a steamer called the "Stasseekretor Kraetke," 8 sheets.
Small postcard with stamped date "10-6-09: Tsingtao, China," from Prof. King to Carrie.
June 12, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie and family, written from Tientsin, China, 8 sheets.
June 17, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from the "Shanhai Kwan," 5 sheets.
June 20, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from "Tsaoko Kou," 7 sheets.
June 25, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Nagasaki, Japan, 5 sheets.
June 29, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Hakata, Kyusho (Japan), 5 sheets.
July 15, 1909, postcard from Carrie to Prof. King, mailed from Madison to Yokohama (sent back from Yokohama to Madison again)
July 3, 1909, postcard from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Nara, Japan, 4 sheets.
July 6, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Kyoto (Yaami Hotel stationery), 5 sheets.
July 9, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Shiruoka, Japan, 3 sheets.
July 10, 1909, letter from Prof. King to Carrie, written from Tokyo (stationery reads: "Imperial Hotels, Ltd."), 1 sheet.
July 10, 1909, letter from Prof. King to "Grandpa Grandma Carrie," written from Tokyo (stationery reads: "Imperial Hotels, Ltd."), 14 sheets.
July 11, 1909, letter from Carrie to Prof. King, written from Madison and sent to Japan, 3 sheets.
One separate postcard that says "Tango Maru," Dated Aug. 1, 1909, written from Prof. King to Carrie, no postmark, no stamp, perhaps enclosed in an envelope and mailed.

ADDITIONAL LETTERS
King from this point is now home in Madison; letters are attached to one another.

    Sept. 9, 1909, letter from Prof. King to a Prof. K. Yokito at the Tohaku Imperial University, College of Agriculture, Sapporo, Japan.
    Sept. 2, 1909, letter from a man at the Central Chinese Young Men’s Christian Association of Shanghai to Prof. King in Madison, ½ sheet.
    Aug. 25, 1909, letter from Prof. King to the Customs House, Seattle, WA, 1 sheet.
    Aug. 4, 1909, letter from the American Consulate-General in Yokohama, Japan to Prof. King in Madison, 1 sheet.
    July 26, 1909, letter from the Bureau of Foresty in Tokyo to Prof. King, 4 sheets.
    Letter from a hospital in Soochow, China, to Prof. King, date unreadable (sometime in 1909), 1 sheet.
    Letter from Prof. King in Shanghai (Astor House stationery) to Prof. Shosuke Satu at the College of Agriculture in Sapporo, Japan, 5 sheets.
    Apr. 14, 1909, letter from Prof. Sato (at the College of Agriculture) to Prof. King (probably in Shanghai), 1 sheet.
    Mar. 9, 1909, letter from Prof. Sato to Prof. King, 2 sheets.
    Letter from College of Agriculture in Madison, to Prof. King (probably in China), 1 sheet.
    Letter from Prof. King to a "Mo Cho Seng," somewhere in China (Sikiang Road), written from the Marlborough House, 1 sheet.
    Mar. 5, 1909, letter from a professor at the Agricultural College of Tokyo Imperial University to Prof. King (in China), 1 sheet.
    *A few letters follow in folder, but from an earlier date.

    Note: Some of King’s photographs were lost in Scotland, related to his book Physics of Agriculture, it is not sure though if they were related to his research in China.

    Letters Concerning Prof. King’s articles (Folder May-December):

    Sept. 30, 1909. Letter from Farm and Fireside (agricultural publication) to Prof. King. Confirming that King will write a series of articles (regarding farming in China, Japan, and Korea) beginning in Dec. 1909. 1 sheet.
    Dec. 6, 1909. Letter from Farm and Fireside to Prof. King about proposed changes to a photograph of a Chinese farmer to be used with an article. 1 1/8 sheet.
    Dec. 31, 1909. Letter from Farm and Fireside to Prof. King regarding first article (series to be titled "Agriculture of Three Ancient Nations"). 1 sheet.
    Simply dated "1909." Typed agreement to write eight articles for Farm and Fireside.
    Dec. 1, 1909. Letter from Prof. King to a Mr. Collingwood at the Rural New Yorker (agricultural publication). Attached to it is a response to questions posted to the magazine about earth mulches, talking about Chinese farming. Letter – 1 sheet, response – 5 ¾ sheets.
    Dec. 1, 1909. Letter and accompanying article from Prof. King to editor of Country Gentleman (agricultural publication). Article titled: "The Utilization of Waste and Soil Fertility Maintenance in the Far East." Letter – 1 page, Article – 5 ½ pages.

    Folder 1910 – 1929:

    Jan. 8, 1910. Letter from Farm and Fireside to Prof. King acknowledging a check for payment on the first article of "Agriculture of Three Ancient Nations."
    Jan. 20, 1910. Article cut out of The Country Gentleman, titled: "Maintaining Fertility in Asia: the Utilization of Wastes." Written by Prof. King.
    Jan. 29, 1910. Article cut out of the Rural New Yorker, titled: "Dry Farming in China: Saving the Manure." Written by Prof. King.

    F.H. King Material At Steenbock Library Archives:

    Manuscript, Farmers of Forty Centuries, 1911
    Series no. 9/22/3 Box. No. 2

    Typed list of photographs for reproduction. Numbered with notation regarding reproduction sizes for publication.

    Handwritten table of contents.

    What looks like original type-written draft of Farmers of Forty Centuries. Handwritten on cover: "Manuscript." Most of this copy is typed, although there are a few hand-written pages. Each type-written page has numerous corrections in King’s handwriting. This appears to have been the rough-draft manuscript. There are pages and spaces where photos are to be inserted.

    A final draft of the manuscript for Farmers of Forty Centuries. This one is without any corrections. Contains the reproduced photos. 248 photos in the book itself.

    Steenbock Library Archives - Location 11H: F.H. King General Files
    Series 9/22/3 (yet unprocessed).
    Paper called: "The Agriculture of Three Ancient Nations." It begins on page 176 of a packet of bound papers titled: "Lectures and Papers on Soil Management." (This packet does not give any date or name of publication.)

    Franklin Hiram King at other Internet websites:

    Link to King biography: http://www.soils.wisc.edu/soils/poets/fh_king.htm

    Links to published reviews of Farmers of Forty Centuries found online:
    http://www.jstor.org/fcgi-bin/jstor/viewitem.fcg/00130133/di983252/98p0486e/(click on "article")Farmers of Forty Centuries; or Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan. F. H. King Review author[s]: A. D. Hall The Economic Journal, Vol. 37, No. 147. (Sep., 1927), pp. 453-455.
    http://www.jstor.org/fcgi-bin/jstor/viewitem.fcg/00223808/di950546/95p0036b/ (click on "article") Farmers of Forty Centuries F. H. King' The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 20, No. 5. (May, 1912), pp. 534-535.

    Archival research supervised by former UW-Madison East Asian Bilbliographer, Thomas H. Hahn, compiled and written by former student assistant, Sarah L. Allen.
    Last update    : May 2000.