-396
EXHUMATIONS.
76 permits were issued to exhume human remains for removal to China or for reburial in the colony.
HOSPITAL DEATHS.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
this
Ordinance a permit must be obtained before a branches and leaves were quickly made, and in body can be sent out of the colony,
some instances trees which flower usually only once a year produced a second crop of flowers on the new shoots.
Lawn Caterpillars. These appeared again
year
at about the usual time, but instead of using expensive liquids, which are trouble some in application, for the destruction of the numberpest I tried the experiment of daily rolling the grass, where the insects appeared, from about 3 p.m. until rightfall. that being the feeding time of the caterpillar. This was so far success- ful that very little injury was done to the lawn by the pest.
The number of deaths in hospitals amounted to 2,270 or 38.74 per cent. of the total of deaths registered during the year.
Table IV. E gives particulars regarding the Tung Wa Hospital. The number of patients under treatment during the year was 2,214 as compared with 2,840 in the year 1895 and 2,969 in the year 1893. Of these 1.290 were discharged and 792 died. The percentage of deaths to admissions during the year is 38.80. In the preceding year the percentage was 42.61. The number of out-patients during the year
Was ****
Males Females
...
84,217 45,478
129,695
This number is less by 30,000 than that for the year 1895, and the diminution is no doubt due to the precautions necessitated by the plague.
GENERAL.
The subjects which have probably attracted greatest attention among the Chinese during the last year are the Light and Pass system, and the enquiry into the Tung Wa Hospital.
With regard to the Light and Pass system, a strong objection seems to exist among many Chinese residents to carrying a light at night after dark, as required by the holder of a quarterly pass. Quarterly passes are now
issued to the extent of 14 or 15 thousand, and, as there is no means of detecting the tranfer of these passes to persons who are not really the holders of them, there appears to be a danger of the pass becoming a protection for rather than a safeguard against persons who are on evil bent. In the opinion of many the time has now arrived when the pass system might be with advantage abolished in ordinary times and enforced only on occasions of an unusual nature The Tung Wa Hospital has been the subject of an enquiry by a Commission appointed by the Governor. All the members of the Com- mission were unanimously agreed that the Hospital has done good work in the past and that the Committee of Management elected yearly is deserving of great praise for the time and attention devoted to the charitable work of the Hospital. The Commissioners, however in addition to other recommendations of a minor nature, recommended that a Chinese dootor trained in Western medicine should reside permanently in the Hospital as Resident Surgeon and that the daily inspection by an officer of the Government Medical Department should be maintained. In accordance with the recommendations, of the Commission, Dr. Chang, formerly House Surgeon at the Alice Memorial Hospital, has been appointed Re- sident Surgeon, and Dr. Thomson Visiting Surgeon.
THE BOTANICAL AND A | FORESTA-
1ION DEPARTMENT. :
The following are extracts from the report of Mr. C. Ford, Superintendent of the Botanical and Afforestation Department, for 1896:-
BOTANIC GARDENS.
Typhoon. The typhoon which swept over the Colony on the 29th July was the severest, experienced here since the disastrous one of 1874 The gardens suffered very greatly by the loss and injury of trees and shrubs, which, together with the losses in 1894 from successive typhoons of that year, left traces which will take many years to recover from. The plant houses and other structures received but a small amount of damage, owing to timely and efficient precautions having been taken to secure movable parts in such a secured their safety. Portions which were carried away were renewed in a more substantial manner. The glass-houses came out of the storm unscathed, with the exception of a few pieces of glas broken by material falling on them.
manner as
Many trees and shrubs were completely stripped of their foliage, but new growths of
Workmen's Cottages.-The old buildings in Garden Road in which some of the workmen were housed, and in which tools, &c., were kept were condemned early in the year and a new building was sanctioned; this is situated on a new site close to the old buildings and its con- struction is considerably advanced.
Vegetable Garden.-The sudden demand for building sites to the eastward of the Botanic Gardens led me to recommend the removal of the vegetable garden which has existed in cou- nection with this department for about 30 years to the site adjoining that which was used as a storage ground for composts, manures; and garden fuse. The recommendation was approved, a contract was made for the work, and its execution nearly completed when I received instructions to abolish the vegetable garden and make other arrangements for the storage of manure, Aç., so that the whole of the land might be vacated. A. saving in the cost of some labour has been effected by the abolition of this garden, but it will not be more than sufficient to defray the greatly increased cost of the transport of man- ure, and other new arrangements which have to be made for the gardens in consequence of the loss of this land.
|
[May 20, 1897.
but owing to the partial failure of some of the nurseries of the man who contracted to supply trees for planting the plans could not be com pleted. A row of camphor trees was planted along the side of the mountain road from Shankiwan to Tytam-tuk. The length of this road is 34 miles. Of the Japanese pine, Pinus Thunbergii, which succeeds better at higher and more exposed positions than where the ordinary pine thrives, about 2,000 were planted on the southern side of Wanchai Gap. About 1,000 of Pinus densi- flora, another Japanese pine, were also planted in the same locality. Further supplies of the former were reared for planting this year. An indigenous tree found in the Happy Valley and Little Hongkong woods which has fur- nished seeds for sowing during the last few years has been entered in the returns as Spon- dias Mangifera, which it was supposed to be both by others and myself who had seen the tree in fruit only. About 16 years ago I found the male flowers on a dioecious tree in the Happy Valley woods which were sufficient to create an interest in it as they showed it to be a tree not hitherto recorded. In the early part of last year I instituted a search for the female flowers of the same tree and was for- tunate in discovering them for the first time on the tree which had been supposed to be Spondias Mangifera. These flowers proved that the tree was a species of Poupartia, a genus of which only two species were hitherto known, one of them in Mauritius and the other in Rodriguez. Complete specimens were sent to Kew for fur- ther examination and the tree was there named by Mr. Hemsley Poupartia Fordii. The fruit, which resembles the Hog Plum, is edible, and is sought for by the natives, but it is not very palatable to others. In the Little Hongkong woods the tree is very conspicuous in winter by reason of its leaves being deciduous and its ex- posod branches having a whitish appearance.
Protective Service.-Trees cut and stolen amounted to 467, not quite half those of the The number of convictions previous year. obtained by the forest guards was 70, and the amount of fines paid was $118.50, the highest being $25, and the lowest 50 cts., the latter being double the amount of the lowest fine in 1895.
Orchids and Ornamental Plants.-Those
Thinning of Plantations and Sale of Pro- plants which are too tender to live or thrive through the cold and desiccated air of the ducts.-The total number of trees cut out was a little less than in the previous year, but the winter season and the heavy rains and storms
gross receipts for forestry products was about of the wet one, and which are housed, some during the whole and others during a part14 per cent. greater than in that year. of the year, in glass-houses provided with artificial heat in winter continue to flourish, but many of them require larger and more structures for their development suitable and accommodation. The structures in use are situated in the nursery, which is the most. convenient place for management and supervision, but the position is one rather inaccessible to visitors, and consequently not taken full advantage of by them. These struc- tures are very suitable for the purposes they were designed, for, ie, the propagation and plants in their early life, but cultivation` artistic and roomy glass conservatories placed in an easily accessible part of the gardens and filled with natures', treasures would afford a delightful promenade, and would be a source of interest and instruction which would, no doubt, be much appreciated by visitors. The structures should be of such an artistic and im: posing design that they themselves, as well as the plants within them, would be an attractive extinguishing fires in that neighbourhood. feature in the gardens. Their construction Typhoon.-The typhoon of July 29th de. |would be somewhat costly, but not beyond the stroyed many large trees in the streets and means of the colony, and the outlay would pro-roads, and a very great number of young trees bably meet with the general approval of the on the hills were forced into prostrate positions which employed an average of 27 coolies per community.
day until the 5th of November, about three months, to place them upright again. The cost of this work was $402.26. The violence of the storm was so great that the leaves on pine trees on very exposed slopes and ridges were killed, and a great quantity of trees of as much as ten years old died from the loss of their leaves.
Rainfall-The rainfall for the year was 77.62 inches.
Correspondence. Requests from different parts of the world for information become more The information numerous year by year. sought is both scientific aud economic in rela- tion to the flora and vegetable products of China. The economic is chiefly for commercial purposes, the applicants being merchants and others in trade. Whenever possible the re- quired information is given.
Plant Sales.-The receipts for plants sold were $843.75. The number of plants sold was 3,834, that is, 777 more than in 1895.
Loan of Plants. The demand for the loan of plants for decoration was greater than in the preceding year. The receipts were $177.80. an increase of $49.30 over those of 1895. The number of plants lent was 8,454.
FORESTRY.
Planting. The total number of trees of all kinds which were planted was 29,949. Flans were prepared for planting a larger number,
Fires.-There were only 17 fires compared with 51 in the previous year; 11,760 trees were destroyed by them; 11,660 being destroyed by one fire at Tylam-tuk on December 27th. The great prevalence of fires at Tytam-tuk and its distance from any station which can render assistance in extinguishing fires led me to recommend the permanent stationing of forest guards at Tytam-tuk during the dry season and placing it in electric signalling communica- tion with the Stanley Police Station, which His Excellency the Governor has approved, so that assistance can be more quickly brought to bear in
Caterpillars.-This pest-Eutricha punctata -again appeared and operations for its destruc- tion were carried on from February 27th to July 8th, during which time 15 tons 16 owt. 2 qrs. of caterpillars were destroyed at a cost of $736,46. The island of Hongkong was almost free of caterpillars, the pest having been driven back to the peninsula of Kowloon on the main- land. It appears likely that the continuance of caterpillars at Kowloon was partly caused by the flight of the moth from Chinese terri tory, where the Chinese take no steps for destruction. What few caterpillars, its cocoons, &c. remained after operations were suspended on July 8th were apparently
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