5
"As to the relative amounts of fuel
required to keep one warm as between
Hong Kong and home, most of the China
hands would, I think, say that it takes
as much in one place as in the other.
I know of nothing to distinguish Hong
Kong fireplaces from those in this
country; they are as large ană (in
the winter) they are as often used.
Why
this should be, seeing that the temperatures
never drop to freezing point, I do not
exactly know. The War Office reasons
are the "popular science" version most
generally accepted: to which can be
added the fact that coal in Hong Kong
(which mostly comes from north China) is
generally of poor quality as compared with
home and does not give out a comparable
heat. (The War Department in Hong Kong
may, of course, have their own sources
of supply).
All I can say is that if I were limited
throughout the Hong Kong winter to half the
amount
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