194
NOTES AND QUERIES
of rice varieties were selected by the growers. The first group was sown in early March, transplanted in April and harvested in July. The second group was sown in mid-June, transplanted in August and harvested in November. The seeds were sown in a nursery which enabled the grower to sow the seed for the late crop before the harvest of the early crop. Seedlings were transplanted in puddled soil. Weeds were tramped in the wet mud with bare feet. Most of the local varieties matured from 100 to 135 days. The crop was reaped by sickle and dried under the sun. The grain had to undergo the process of winnowing before storage.
The land was prepared through ploughing and harrowing by draft animals, usually cattle. The plough was made of three pieces of wood with an iron head and shear, and the harrow was made of iron similar to a rake, with ten teeth of about 12 inches long spaced 4 inches apart, and a wooden handle was fixed on top of two iron rods extended from the toothed bar. These implements were light and small and could be carried conveniently by a farmer from one field to another. They are still in widespread use.
Vegetables planted for subsistence farming were: Preserved Mustard, Chinese Radish, Leaf Mustard, Chinese White Cabbage, Spring Onion, Sweet Potato, and Taro. Any surplus of these vegetables was preserved either by sun-drying or by salt.
At the end of the last century, the demand for fresh vegetables increased, due to the increase of population in the local towns or markets. Fresh vegetables for cash were produced in the suburban areas. In addition to the above-mentioned species, the market gardeners produced a much wider range of vegetables, namely Flowering Cabbage, Chinese Kale, Chinese Gourds, String Bean, Lettuce, Tomato, Spinach, Chinese Celery, etc.
Lichi, longan, tangerine, pummelo, wangpei, guava, and banana were the important fruits grown in this territory. Generally, fruit trees were planted in the vicinity of the villages. Lichi, tangerine, pummelo, and guava were propagated by air-layering; longan by approach grafting; wangpei by grafting, and banana by separation of young suckers to maintain the quality of the fruits. These techniques of fruit tree propagation have been used since before 544 A.D. (Ka 533-544 A.D.) A large number of small orchards was established in the early twenties of this century. They adopted close planting and used longan and lichi as shelter plants.
194
NOTES AND QUERIES
of rice varieties were selected by the growers. The first group was sown in early March, transplanted in April and harvested in July. The second group was sown in mid June, transplanted in August and harvested in November. The seeds were sown in a nursery which enabled the grower to sow the seed for the late crop before the harvest of the early crop. Seedlings were transplanted in pud- dled soil. Weeds were tramped in the wet mud with bare feet. Most of the local varieties matured from 100 to 135 days. The crop was reaped by sickle and dried under the sun. The grain had to undergo the process of winnowing before storage.
The land was prepared through ploughing and harrowing by draft animals, usually cattle. The plough was made of three pieces of wood with an iron head and shear, and the harrow was made of iron similar to a rake, with ten teeth of about 12 inches long spaced 4 inches apart, and a wooden handle was fixed on top of two iron rods extended from the toothed bar. These implements were light and small and could be carried conveniently by a farmer from one field to another. They are still in widespread use.
Vegetables planted for subsistance farming were; Preserved Mustard, Chinese Radish, Leaf Mustard, Chinese White Cabbage, Spring Onion, Sweet Potato and Taro. Any surplus of these vege- tables was preserved either by sun-drying or by salt,
At the end of the last century the demand for fresh vegetable increased, due to the increase of population in the local towns or markets. Fresh vegetables for cash were produced in the suburban areas. In addition to the above-mentioned species, the market gar- deners produced a much wider range of vegetables, namely Flower- ing Cabbage, Chinese Kale, Chinese Gourds, String Bean, Lettuce, Tomato, Spinach, Chinese Celery, etc.
Lichi, longan, tangerine, pummelo, wangpei, guava and banana were the important fruits grown in this territory. Generally, fruit trees were planted in the vicinity of the villages. Lichi, tangerine, pummelo and guava were propagated by air-layering; longan by approach grafting; wangpei by grafting, and banana by separation of young suckers to maintain the quality of the fruits. These techniques of fruit tree propagation have been used since before 544 A.D. (Ka 533-544 A.D.) A large number of small orchards was established in the early twenties of this century. They adopted close planting and used longan and lichi as shelter plants
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