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middle for the upper part of the grinder to turn on.
They then filled the baskets with a kind of very fine earth called "Wong Nei" (黃泥) (which contains no sand grains) which was available only in some places like Au Tau (凹頭) in Yuen Long. Kei Lun Wai (雞卵圍) in Tuen Mun and Pak Fan Chin (白粉田) in Lam Tsuen. They crushed and tamped the earth with wooden poles until the basket was packed. On the surface of the earth they then drew some geometrical patterns according to which the grinder teeth (*) would be placed. The grinder teeth were made of bamboo strips two to three inches long and 2/3 inch wide. These were made from a different type of bamboo. The bamboo teeth were inserted vertically into the earth with a wooden hammer according to the pattern drawn on the earth surface. When all the bamboo teeth were fixed side by side with one another into the earth, the worker had to make sure that there was no room for the teeth to move. If the teeth still had room to move, they either set more teeth into the earth or filled the grinder with very fine silt and packed it with the wooden hammer again until the teeth stayed very firm. They usually finished the work of the lower part of the husk remover first and then started work for its upper part. A hole would be reserved in the middle to accommodate the axis. It took about three days' time of two skilled workers to produce a husk-grinder.*
Riden Sung Chi-Pui
THE BRITISH MERCHANTMAN “NORNA”
On the 24th of April 1862, the Hong Kong China Mail reported that the sailing barque Norna had been wrecked on an uninhabited atoll in the Caroline Islands. The facts surrounding the rescue of her crew highlight the tenacity and application of the naval authorities of the China Station in Hong Kong.
The Norna was built in Sunderland in 1851 and, although no complete details of her exist today, it is known that she was barque rigged and measured 460 tons gross. Her length was about 100 feet.
* See Plates 10-13.
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middle for the upper part of the grinder to turn on.
They then filled the baskets with a kind of very fine earth called "Wong Nei" (QE) (which contains no sand grains) which was available only in some places like Au Tau (KJ) in Yuen Long. Kei Lun Wai (HUM170) in Tuen Mun and Pak Fan Chin (Á§Ã) in Lam Tsuen. They crushed and tamped the earth with wooded poles until the basket was packed. On the surface of the earth they then drew some geometrical patterns according to which the grinder teeth (*) would be placed. The grinder teeth were made of bamboo strips two to three inches long and 2/3 inch wide. These were made from a different type of bamboo. The bamboo teeth were inserted vertically into the earth with a wooden hammer according to the pattern drawn on the earth surface. When all the bamboo teeth were fixed side by side with one another into the earth, the worker had to make sure that there was no room for the teeth to move. If the teeth still had room to move, they either set more teeth into the earth or filled the grinder with very fine silt and packed it with the wooden hammer again until the teeth stayed very firm. They usually finished the work of the lower part of the husk remover first and then started work for its upper part. A hole would be reserved in the middle to accommodate the axis. It took about three days' time of two skilled workers to produce a husk-grinder.*
Riden Sung CHI-PUI
THE BRITISH MERCHANTMAN “NORNA”
On the 24th of April 1862, the Hong Kong China Mail reported that the sailing barque Norna had been wrecked on an uninhabited atoll in the Caroline Islands. The facts surrounding the rescue of her crew highlight the tenacity and application of the naval authorities. of the China Station in Hong Kong.
The Norna was built in Sunderland in 1851 and, although no complete details of her exist today, it is known that she was barque rigged and measured 460 tons gross. Her length was about 100 feet.
* See Plates 10-13.
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