CHINESE STREET-CRIES IN HONG KONG
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After the sellers of vegetables come the hawkers of meat and fish. Fresh beef, pork and fish are generally bought in the market, but sometimes sold in the street. Dogs are not allowed to be slaughtered in Hongkong, either in the slaughter houses or in private dwellings. They are killed and eaten secretly, however, and although their meat is generally considered not very healthy, it is a treat to coolies. Hám' yü, salt fish forms a great portion of Chinese street commerce. Mr Overbeek's special Catalogue shows that he has exhibited in Vienna some 60 different kinds of salt fish. A little piece of it is in many cases the only meat on the table. There are sellers of fresh and dried oysters, of dried fish, shrimps, crabs, sharks' fins and a variety of marine delicacies.* Others go about with baskets of living fowl, ducks, geese; others sell these animals dried or cured with oil. In Canton, hawkers of mince-meat go about who have a show-box, called the "Western mirror,"† by which they attract customers. I have not seen them here; perhaps the Police do not allow them as the exhibited pictures are, for the most-part, of a licentious character.
We will now notice the hawkers of fruit. They are divided into two classes. The one class go about with baskets slung over their shoulders, and cry out their fruit, which generally consists of one kind only. They sell it by the catty. The other class are retail-dealers; they sell single fruits of different kinds and cut up pieces of fruit for one or more cash. They have a nicely spread transportable table before them and a basket with stock at their side. The price is marked by little bamboo slips. They will go about until they find a shady place and remain there as long as shade and trade are favourable.
In summer we are supplied with loquats, pine-apples, mangoes, melons, rose apples, guavas, peaches, lichees, whampees, apples, pears, plums, different plantains, carambola etc.; in autumn with persimmons, olives, walnuts, chestnuts, peanuts, lemons etc.; and in winter with different oranges, sugar-cane, Tientsin pears etc.
Of Confucius it is said, that he did not eat anything which was not in season. The Chinese in this as in other respects do not
*海味
†中西洋鏡
*****Lun Yu X. 8.