COPY.
AGRICULTURAL
SUB-DEPARTIZET.
106
The area of the Colony is approximately 350 square miles, quod of which is sount:incus «nd unsuited to intensive agriculture. In the plains and lower slopes of the valleys, it is possible to grow three crops a year, usually two of rice and one of veget-bles.
RICE.
The principal summer erop ie rice; the first crop is sown and planted at the beginning of the ousser rains in April, the second crop is planted soon after the first is Barvested and is itself harvested in October and November. The rice is of good quality, « nd prior to the war was exported to the U.2.A.1 in olden times the rice from the She Tin ve«lley we sent to tue Emperor of Cuins. Prob.bly sacred of different str ins of rics re grown e euch farver saves bio own seed; all cannot be equally good; no selection and no sciantiflo tri:le of nee rieties have been made. The fərzere use nigat coil, xuen »♥ Lluble, nad cattle senure as fertilizera, but the main coures of essenti«l elements is obtained from tam fine wilt wished off the hillsides by the aprin r-ins and deposited in the fields. This largely conelata of worm casts,
though this fact le not sppreciated.
SUGAR CAC.
On land unsuited to rice cultivation, often due to lack of water, auger one is grown – Ping 34an, Shune Chun Valley. Tue orop sould probably not be worth growing but for the fact that sugar is expensive in Cuine and it is profitable to smuggle it over the border.
SCYMER VIETABLES. Espoelslly near the villages sweet potefoes are grown (chiefly a pig food) and mmol) krase are devoted to vagatsblea. These include turo, yama, ginger, turneric, arrowroot, arrownend, water chestnut, lotus, string beɛne, cucumbers and other gourds, weter spinsch, und in eendy soil near the be..., groundnuts. Other crope grow in moll
mounts include soy be as and jute.
VINTZA VITALS
In the winter
great variety of
fue fɛotore which
foreign and Chinese vegetables can be grown. limit the quantities ore: (1) 1. bour, it des suca more labour to cultivate winter veget:blas than rice; (2) water, the rinfall is so nty and often there is insufficient water
vilable; (3) fertilizers, after two crops of rice it la impossible to grow i winter crop without the use of plenty of fertilizers, e.g. night soil; (4) transpurt, vegetables must be transported to the city to be sold. Prior to the war, approximately 1/5 of the vegetables consumed in the Colony were grown in the New Territories. Tala frection could be increased conaider:bly if attention were paid to the four limiting factora.
FOR IGN VRO STABLES.
With the exception of onions (the number of Moure daylight are too few), lmost every foreign vaget ble o
e grown. of potatoes, erots and beet, only 8-11 zount ∙re grown, though the letter two do extremely well. Large quantities of cabbages, a-uliflowers, sprouting broccoli, calary, Imperial lettuce and tomatoes are grown – more than enough for the foreign community.
CHINES. VEGETABLES.
of Chinese cabbagen, pak t'aol, pak taol Bun, kai issa end ki t'soi are grow in guantities, leau of song ngapack (Tierin o.bbage); of spinaches, ti true spinach, Chinese spinson, Spinach beet and annual carysanthemum zre grown. Other vaget bles include Chin@we radias, watercress, and sweet potato. A little finger aillet end was: Are grown in some distri
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CATTLE.
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