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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The Forestry Division, with its headquarters at Tai Lung, near Fan Ling, is organized into five district branches covering the New Territories. In four districts semi-independent district organizations are now functioning smoothly; in the fifth division, which mainly covers Lantau, nursery work has started, an access road made and plans prepared for offices and staff quarters near Pui O on the Mui Wo-Cheung Sha road.
In each district a Forestry Supervisor is responsible for all branches of forestry work including afforestation, forestry lot work, amenity planting, and protection. The total permanent staff of the Division is 299, including in the technical service a Forestry Officer, a Senior Forestry Supervisor, 5-Forestry Supervisors, 2 Overseers, a-Foreman, 10 Forest Rangers, 28 Foresters and 141 Forest Guards. Five officers of the Division are graduates, the balance of the subordinate staff have been trained under service
conditions.
AGRICULTURE
Rice. The area under two-crop paddy has fallen from 20,191 acres in 1954 to 19,050 acres in 1958. This land has not gone out of production but is now being used for permanent vegetable culture. A further area of 2,915 acres is used for one-crop brackish water paddy and 245 acres for one-crop upland paddy. On a milling percentage of 68, a total of 22,395 metric tons of rice was produced in 1958 at an average price of $56 per picul; the money value of the crop was $20,730,714. The average yield of rice from one acre of two-crop paddy land is about 1.1 metric tons. With seed of approved varieties, good irrigation and the use of fertilizers, production reaches 1.5 metric tons an acre on average land and up to 1.8 metric tons on better soils.
Vegetables. The permanent vegetable area has increased from 2,254 acres in 1954 to 3,615 acres in 1958. This increase of 1,361 acres is due mainly to 1,141 acres of rice land which has gone over to vegetable culture, and the further development of 220 acres of marginal land. An additional area of approximately 1,000 acres of two-crop paddy land is used for the cultivation of European vegetables during the rice fallow following the harvest of the second rice crop.