NOTES AND QUERIES
201
equals 12-20% if expressed in terms of the percentage of the crop that would need to be sold to realise the cash for the Crown Rent.
Rice Price
The above assumes a rice retail price of $2 per catty ($2 per picul) and a sale price to the farmer producer of 50%, ie $1 per catty ($1 per picul). This price was discussed with Yu Look-yau, J.P., who was a rice retailer in Tsimshatsui in 1930s. From late 1930s this price was an enforced (successfully) retail price standardised by Government: earlier this was the usual price, and was enforced as a standard when profiteering began to appear when the Japanese took control in Canton. Mr. Yu considered $2 per picul standard (subject to minor variations) from early in the century. [Note: confirmed again later with Mr. Yu.]
Poorest land
In Tai Wai the poorest land was on mountain slope, susceptible to wind, typhoon, floor in Wong Chuk Yeung all lands, even the worst, were reasonably sheltered, hence higher "poorest land" yield figures in Wong Chuk Yeung. (Note: this may reflect Wong Chuk Yeung's shorter history than Tai Wai.) The lowest figure quoted by Wai H.L. (0.7 per tau) for this upland rice would give a phenomenally low return, viz. for 1 tau:
yield 0.7 x 2 harvests = 1.4 picul
less 0.2 picul for seeds = 1.2 picul
less 30% (by volume) for hulling = almost exactly 1 picul
less 17.5% Crown Rent = 0.83 picul
less 3% wastage = 0.8 picul
0.8 picul = 3 taels per day (400 day year) or
37.5% of 1 adult's requirement
if 40% hullage and 5% wastage figures used as elsewhere in Tai Wai, final yield figure = 0.69 picul = 2.7 taels a day or 34% of 1 adult's requirement.
At this rate a small family would need to till 11-1/3 tau or 12½ tau to survive. It is, however, obvious that these very poor fields were only supplementary to other, better land. While Wai H.L. clearly indicated that they could take 2 rice crops, and that he had seen them doing so (under the Japanese?) it seems clear that except in times of great stringency they were used only for occasional snatch crops of rice and were often left fallow. Wai H.L. said that it was often more profitable
NOTES AND QUERIES
201
equals 12-20% if expressed in terms of the percentage of the crop that would need to be sold to realise the cash for the Crown Rent.
Rice Price
The above assumes a rice retail price of $2 per catty ($2 per picul) and a sale price to the farmer producer of 50%, ie 41 per catty ($1 per picul). This price was discussed with Yu Look-yau, J.P., who was a rice retailer in Tsimshatsui in 1930s. From late 1930s this price was an en- forced (successfully) retail price standardised by Government: earlier this was the usual price, and was enforced as a standard when profiteer- ing began to appear when the Japanese took control in Canton. Mr. Yu considered $2 per picul standard (subject to minor variations) from early in the century. [Note: confirmed again later with Mr. Yu.]
Poorest land
--
In Tai Wai the poorest land was on mountain slope, susceptible to wind, typhoon, floor in Wong Chuk Yeung all lands, even the worst, were reasonably sheltered, hence higher "poorest land" yield figures in Wong Chuk Yeung. (Note: this may reflect Wong Chuk Yeung's shorter history than Tai Wai.) The lowest figure quoted by Wai H.L. (0.7 per tau) for this upland rice would give a phenomenally low return, viz. for 1 tau:
yield 0.7 x 2 harvests = 1.4 picul
less. 2 picul for seeds = 1.2 picul
less 30% (by volume) for hulling = almost exactly 1 picul
less 17.5% Crown Rent = 0.83 picul
less 3% wastage = 0.8 picul
0,8 picul = 3 taels per day (400 day year) or
37.5% of 1 adult's requirement
if 40% hullage and 5% wastage figures used as elsewhere in Tai Wai, final yield figure = 0.69 picul = 2.7 taels a day or 34% of 1 adult's requirement.
At this rate a small family would need to till 11-1/3 tau or 121⁄2 tau to survive. It is, however, obvious that these very poor fields were only supplementary to other, better land. While Wai H.L. clearly indicated that they could take 2 rice crops, and that he had seen them doing so (under the Japanese?) it seems clear that except in times of great stringency they were used only for occasional snatch crops of rice and were often left fallow. Wai H.L. said that it was often more profitable
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