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a single farmer can harvest about 500 piculs of salt within a year. Most of the salt farmers of this type are natives of Lantau island and leaching is the only method inherited from their remote ancestors.
Salt-farmers of the other type are mostly natives of Swabue, Haifong district, who, being not quite familiar with the leaching method, employ the ordinary solar process exactly as they used to practice it in their native land. With a man as their head, a group of 18 to 20 salt-farmers is engaged by the company, or by the capitalist. These men receive no wages but a share of the harvest and do not receive the money until all the salt manufactured within a year is completely sold and the value collected. The company, as a general rule, pays each farmer engaged $9.00 each month for board and sometimes advances him some money when needed; but all these monies are placed on his account and will be subtracted from his share of the harvest. Whilst the share of one-third of the total harvest of the year must be divided equally among all the farmers, the head-man usually receives 10% extra. San Hui has only two unit-salines in which salt is prepared by the leaching method.
In Shataukok, about 20 acres of low-lying land are available for salt preparation; the leaching method is used. The salt company leases the land from Government and then engages workers to make the salt, which is divided equally between the company and the workers. The workers receive no pay but are free to sell their own shares of salt. The rental of one unit saline, consisting of a vat, six concentrating fields, storage tanks, and crystallization ponds, paid to Government varies between 18 and 25 dollars per year, depending on the size of the saline.
The two simple local methods are described as follows:
I. THE LEACHING METHOD.
This is the oldest method practiced in Tai O, Shataukok, San Hui, and perhaps in most salt-producing districts of China as well. At Tai O, there are thirty-three salines, built side by side on the low-lying flat land adjoining the bay, which are enclosed by high dykes to prevent flooding at high tide or by storms. Each unit saline occupies one acre; around each are constructed
SALT MANUFACTURE IN HONG KONG
139
a single farmer can harvest about 500 piculs of salt within a year. Most of the salt farmers of this type are natives of Lantau island and leaching is the only method inherited from their
remote ancestors.
Salt-farmers of the other type are mostly natives of Swabue, Haifong district, who, being not quite familiar with the leaching method, employ the ordinary solar process exactly as they used to practice it in their native land. With a man as their head a group of 18 to 20 salt-farmers is engaged by the company, or by the capitalist. These men receive no wages but share of the harvest and do not receive the money until all the sale manu- factured within a year is completely sold and the value collected. The company as a general rule, pays each farmer engaged $9.00 each month for board and sometimes advances him some money when needed; but all these monies are placed on his account and will be substracted from his share of the harvest. Whilst the share of one-third of the total harvest of the year must be divided equally among all the farmers, the head-man usually receives 10% extra. San Hui has only two unit-salines in which salt is prepared by the leaching method.
In Shataukok about 20 acres of low-lying land are available for salt preparation; the leaching method is used. The salt- company leases the land from Government and then engages workers to make the salt which is divided equally between the company and the workers. The workers receive no pay but are free to sell their own shares of salt. The rental of one unit saline consisting of a vat, six concentrating fields, storage tanks and crystalization ponds paid to Government varies between 18 and 25 dollars per year, depending on the size of the saline.
The two simple local methods are described as follows:
I. THE LEACHING METHOD.
This is the oldest method practiced in Tai O, Shataukok, San Hui and perhaps in most salt producing districts of China as well. At Tai O there are thirty-three salines, built side by side on the low-lying flat land adjoining to the bay, which are enclosed by high dykes to prevent flooding at high tide or by storms. Each unit saline occupies to acre, around each are constructed
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