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sweet potato and vegetable crops. The firewood and beancurd industries also did well. Cattle, pigs and poultry, chiefly produced at Tsun Wan and Tai O, were reported very satisfactory. Prices generally were well sustained.
Fisheries.
18. Catches this year were very successful. The Wong Fa and shrimp catches were particularly good and prices were fair.
Transport.
19. The Hong Kong and New Territories Ferry Company maintained a regular schedule throughout the year. The Tsun Wan line did badly this year for the 4th year in succession owing to the competition of the bus service. A bridge and pier enabling persons to land at all states of the tide were constructed in the shallow harbour of Tung Chung, thus overcoming the principal difficulty of navigation in this locality.
Registration of Births and Deaths.
20. Registration commenced in 1932. The Police Stations at Tsun Wan, Cheung Chau, and Tai O are the registry offices for their respective districts. 668 births and 671 deaths in all were registered as against 938 and 554 respectively for 1935. Death registration has increased every year since the beginning but birth registration showed a sharp drop last year for the first time. There were no prosecutions during the year 1936.
Sanitation.
21. The scavenging work has been satisfactorily maintained in Cheung Chau, Tai O, Hang Hau and Tsun Wan. The efficiency of the sanitary coolies paid by Government has been greatly increased by the cement concrete paving constructed in recent years in these villages. A public latrine with accommodation for 24 men and 12 women was constructed to plans approved by the Medical Officer of Health at Cheung Chau, where the large floating population and the presence of a European reservation renders such provision especially needful. Government furnished $1,050 out of the total cost of $1,840. A caretaker is in regular attendance.
Hygiene.
22. The Government medical service was maintained, consisting of a travelling dispensary on the mainland, routine visits by a Medical Officer to the islands, and resident midwives with dispensaries at Tai O and Sham Tseng.