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NOTES AND QUERIES
(Arthur Grimble Return to the Islands (London, John Murray, 1965) 159-167, first printing 1937).
Another case in which firecrackers did the trick is described in some detail by Carl Crow. It concerned an advertising sign for cigarettes placed near a village outside Shanghai, credited with causing harm to its residents. In this instance, the writer found himself in a very difficult situation, between a wealthy, influential client and village feeling, and the case was only settled for good when the man lost interest in the product and turned to other lines of business. (Carl Crow, 400 Million Customers (New York, Pocket Books Inc., 1945) 99-102, first printing 1937).
But we need more examples from Hong Kong. Now that village handbooks are being collected in greater numbers, and the work of interviewing old persons and experienced senior local leaders is being done across the territory by the energetic team of researchers in the Chinese University, there is every likelihood that more local examples of this and other aspects of village rules in the settlement of disputes will come to light. This note is intended as an indication of the scope and importance of the subject.
Hong Kong, 1982.
JAMES HAYES
CANTON WATER PINES (GLYPTOSTROBUS PENSILIS (LAMB)) AT TAI HANG VILLAGE, NEW TERRITORIES
The rapid development of the New Territories in the last decade has posed threats not only to many sites and buildings of historical and cultural interest but also to plant and wildlife habitats of scientific significance. Considerable effort has been made by the authorities concerned to conserve the best of these, with varying degrees of success.
In the 1972 issue of this Journal, an account was given by D. C. Shen on two mature trees, Canton Water Pines, growing in the Tai Hang Village near 183 Milestone, Tai Po Road. Readers may be interested to know of conservation efforts made since then, and the present condition of the trees.