96
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
slaughter was in excess of $1,800,000. Over 1,439 farmers have been helped to acquire better-type animals either by gifts from the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association or by loans from the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund, a fund started in 1955 with equal contribution by the Government and Messrs. Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie.
Poultry. The curtailment of imports of live poultry and hatching eggs from China brought about a considerable improvement in the economic position of the local poultry industry during the year, though the establishment of a stable poultry industry in Hong Kong is difficult in the absence of control over imports from China.
Ducks and Geese. Ducks are raised for home consumption and export in the water areas of the Colony and along the banks of streams, and over the past three years the rearing of geese for the local market has spread. Reliable statistics on local sales are not available, but a conservative estimate places the year's total in excess of $3,000,000.
Pigeons. Pigeon keeping is now a thriving industry and prices in 1959 ranged up to $7.00 a pair for squabs. One of the most popular types of table birds is the White or Blue King crossed with the Homer. The sales of squabs in 1959 at an average price of $6.00 a pair, were in excess of $1,500,000.
Milk. The dairy cattle in the Colony consist mainly of Friesians but there are also Ayrshires, Jerseys and Illawarra Shorthorns. These animals are concentrated in three areas, one large farm in Hong Kong, one large group of farms in the Diamond Hill area of Kowloon, and one smaller group in the Tsuen Wan district of the New Territories. There is also a small private farm on Lantau Island maintained by Trappist monks. All these animals have passed the single intradermal (comparative) test for tuber- culosis. 10,902,890 pounds of milk were produced during 1959 valued at $9,812,601.
Peasant farmers are increasingly availing themselves of the advisory service of the Animal Industries Division. The Colony remained free during 1959 from rabies and rinderpest, but foot and mouth disease continued to occur in quarantine stations in