The palm plantations are situated on flat alluvial lands about six to ten feet above the water of the rivers and creeks which run through the delta, and they are intersected with numerous open canals or ditches, four feet wide and more, for carrying off the surplus water in the rainy season, and for retaining it, by means of wooden sluices fixed in the banks which surround the plantations or fields, for purposes of irrigation.
The manufactory of the fans is carried on chiefly in the town of San Ui, but there are also some establishments in the country where this is done.
The dried leaves are subjected to a process of blanching by means of sulphur. They are then straightened and rendered shapely by being held and manipulated over a charcoal fire. The operator, as he finishes the fans, places them one by one on each other, making a heap on the floor; the heap is firmly pressed down by the weight of the operator who stands on a board placed on the top.
The land is not wholly given up to palm cultivation, but other crops, as Bananas, Plantains, Papayas, Oranges, Peaches, Ginger, Betel-pepper plant, and various vegetables occupy shares of the ground.
The cultivation of the palm and the manufacture of fans from its leaves is a most important industry. According to Mr. HENRY, the manufacture of the fans after the leaves have been cut gives employment to about one hundred firms and from ten to twenty thousand people.
When the plantations are made, the young seedlings are placed at various distances apart in order that the different kinds of leaves which are produced from plants growing at close and wider distances asunder may be obtained for the manufacture of fans, for which thick or thin, or large or small, leaves are required.
The most perfect plantation which I saw was about half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in width. It was drained by means of open canals as above described.
The main body of plants were in perfectly straight rows, and they were exactly four feet four inches apart. The stems were from two to four feet high, and they bore about six fully developed and perfect leaves, the petioles (stems) of which were five feet long, and the blade or leaf itself three feet long.
Next to and surrounding the main body of palms was a belt about a hundred feet wide of smaller palms which were growing at only two feet from each other. The stems were but one foot high; they bore the same number of leaves (six) as the larger plants, but unlike them, half the number of leaves were bad.
The leaves and their stems were each one foot shorter than those on the larger plants, and the petioles were much more slender.
Outside of this belt and on the extreme margin of the plantation, there was a second belt, which, however, was very narrow. It consisted of only three rows of palms, the plants being very close together, only one foot four inches apart. None of the leaves on this belt appeared good enough for fan manufacture.
The inner belt of plants was intended, by reason of thicker planting, to serve as a screen to protect the main plantation from the damaging effects of winds, while at the same time it affords finer leaves for smaller fans. The marginal and closely planted belt was placed on the river bank to serve as a fence to keep intruders out of the plantation. For this purpose, the palm, while in a young state, and when planted close together, is well adapted, the spines on the petioles presenting a barrier sufficiently offensive to the bare, stockingless, and shoeless legs and feet of the Chinese coolie.
The long, straight vistas, the regularity of the planting, and the canopy of the verdant leaves overhead produce on the visitor a delightful impression which is worth travelling some distance to experience.
Other plantations contained palms of all ages. Some had trees upwards of a hundred years old, according to the assertions of natives, but these plantations always contained trees of mixed ages, young plants having been constantly added to take the place of older ones as they died out, or were blown down by winds. The old trees were always of a very stunted appearance, a condition which would naturally ensue from the continued lopping of their leaves. The stems of these old trees I noticed were not more than half as thick as trees of the same height seen growing in Hongkong, where the natural growth of the tree is not restricted by the loss of its leaves. A parasitical fungus or lichen covered these old trunks and gave them the appearance of having been white-washed. The tallest trees seen were only about twelve feet high, but they were said to be upwards of a hundred years old.
The leaves on these old trees are larger and stouter than those on young plants, and the stems of the leaves are only about a foot long.
The palm begins to yield leaves suitable for fans when it is about six years old.
The first cutting of leaves takes place early in the year, and the leaves which are somewhat damaged by the winterly winds, and consequently of inferior quality, are used for thatch in the construction of the "matsheds" which are so extensively used for temporary purposes in China.
Leaves for fan making are obtained in April, one, two, or three leaves being taken from each plant, and the process is continued each month until November, when, I was informed, cutting is discontinued for a few months. The leaves are taken from the plantations to a clear space covered with short grass turf.
Here each leaf has a thin piece of bamboo placed across the blade where it is joined on the stem. Each end of the bamboo is secured in its place by the loose end of a segment of the leaf being dexterously bound round it. The bamboo prevents the leaf curling up while it is drying. The leaves are then laid out singly on the turf to dry in the sun, and collected and stacked at night. The process is continued daily until the leaves are quite dry, when they are either sent off direct to the town to be made into fans, or they are stacked for a time until the manufacturers are ready to receive them.
The heap is firmly pressed down by the weight of the operator who stands on a board placed on the top of the heap while he is working at succeeding fans. When a heap of twenty or thirty fans have been thus treated, they are removed and another series is begun.
The next process is sewing on the bindings at the edge of the fans; this is done by women and children, chiefly at their own homes, and the fans returned when finished to the manufacturer. The more expensive fitting on of horn and bamboo handles is done at Canton.
The portion of the leaf stalk which is not required as a handle for the fan is not wasted. It is composed of a fibrous material that is utilized in making short lengths of rope used as slings to suspend baskets from carrying poles.
Around the stem and bases of the leaf stalks, there is a quantity of fibrous substance somewhat resembling coir fibre. This is carefully collected and also used for making ropes.
GINGER.
Some doubt has existed as to whether the Chinese have not one or more kinds of plants in use as ginger that are unknown elsewhere. I have taken steps for collecting together and cultivating all the kinds of plants generally included by the Chinese as ginger, with the hope that when in cultivation, they can be studied and observed in such a manner as to secure all possible information in connection with this subject.
While at San Ui, I was fortunate in being able to obtain from cultivated plants good flowering specimens. These I dried, and together with specimens of the roots (properly rhizomes), forwarded to the Director of Kew Gardens for a study of them to be made there, where they can be compared with other kinds, or with specimens of the same kind from other places.
The specimens which I procured were, without doubt, Zingiber officinale, the species commonly in cultivation in other parts of the world.
It is, however, possible that some other plant, which is not a true ginger, may be used in making the celebrated Canton preserved ginger, but all the information which I have yet obtained points to the species Zingiber officinale as the only kind which the Chinese use for this purpose.
The ginger cultivated on the Lo-Fau mountains has a wide reputation amongst the Chinese as being of unusual efficacy in medicine; this superior quality may, however, be derived merely from peculiarity of soil or climate, which communicate to the plant exceptional properties.
GLYCOSMIS CITRIFOLIA.
Near the town Kom Chuk, I observed growing rather abundantly amongst the mulberry plantations, a shrub which had been cut down (coppiced) a good deal. On approaching nearer, I found it to be Glycosmis citrifolia, a shrub indigenous in Hongkong. An inquiry as to the purpose for which it was used elicited the information that the leaves are pounded, made into cakes, and then used for making a strong kind of wine known as Chow-peng-sze. I regretted not being able to successfully pursue inquiries and gather further information on a subject of some interest. Possibly some traveller will be able to supplement the knowledge with further particulars.
The shrub is a species of the natural order Aurantiacæ, to which the orange belongs. It bears a small, sweet, jelly-like, edible fruit about the size of a large pea.
ORANGES.
I inspected plantations of the orange which Mr. HENRY mentions in "Ling-Nam." It is known by the name Tim Kom. No orange which I have tasted in China equals it for sweetness; it is also very juicy and of a fine flavour. Amongst the Foreign community, I believe this orange is not so well known as it deserves to be. It has a high market value, the price in Hongkong being thirteen cents per pound.
While alluding to oranges, I may mention that I was recently favoured with an opportunity of tasting an orange from the North, known as the Quinine Orange. This has a distinct bitter taste resembling quinine.
Mr. WM. COOPER, Her Majesty's Consul at Ningpo, also kindly forwarded me a Chinese lemon of large size, but of shape nearly round, quite unlike the European lemon.
CHARLES FORD, Superintendent,
Botanical & Afforestation Department,
Page 357