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The palm plantations are situated on flat alluvial lands about six to ten feet above the water of the rivers and creeks which run through the delta, and they are intersected with numerous open canals or ditches, four feet wide and more, for carrying off the surplus water in the rainy season, and for retaining it, by means of wooden sluices fixed in the banks which surround the plantations or fields. for purposes of irrigation.
The land is not wholly given up to palm cultivation, but other crops, as Bananas, Plantains, Papayas, Oranges, Peaches, Ginger, Betel-pepper plant, and various vegetables occupy shares of the ground.
The cultivation of the palm and the manufacture of fans from its leaves is a most important industry. According to Mr. HENRY the manufacture of the fans after the leaves have been cut gives employment to about one hundred firms and from ten to twenty thousand people.
When the plantations are made the young seedlings are placed at various distances apart in order that the different kinds of leaves which are produced from plants growing at close and wider distances asunder may be obtained for the manufacture of fans for which thick or thin, or large or small, leaves are required.
The most perfect plantation which I saw was about half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in width. It was drained by means of open canals as above described.
The main body of plants were in perfectly straight rows, and they were exactly four feet four inches apart. The stems were from two to four feet high, and they bore about six fully developed and perfect leaves, the petioles (stems) of which were five feet long, and the blade or leaf itself three feet long..
Next to and surrounding the main body of palms was a belt about a hundred feet wide of smaller palms which were growing at only two feet from each other. The stems were but one foot high, they bore the same number of leaves (six) as the larger plants, but unlike them, half the number of leaves were bad.
The leaves and their stems were each one foot shorter than those on the larger plants, and the petioles were much more slender.
Outside of this belt and on the extreme margin of the plantation there was a second belt, which however was very narrow. It consisted of only three rows of palms, the plants being very close tagether, only one foot four inches apart. None of the leaves on this belt appeared good enough for fan manufacture.
The inner belt of plants was intended by reason of thicker planting to serve as a screen to protect the main plantation from the damaging effects of winds, while at the same time it affords finer leaves for smaller fans. The marginal and closely planted belt was placed on the river bank to serve as a fence to keep intruders out of the plantation. For this purpose the palm, while in a young state, and when planted close together, is well adapted, the spines on the ptioles presenting a barrier sufficiently offensive to the bare stockingless and shoeless legs and feet of the Chinese coolie.
The long straight vistas, the regularity of the planting, and the canopy of the verdant leaves overhead produce on the visitor a delightful impression which is worth travelling some distance to experience.
Other plantations contained palms of all ages. Some had trees upwards of a hundred years old, according to the assertions of natives, but these plantations always contained trees of mixed ages, young plants having been constantly added to take the place of older ones as they died out, or were blown down by winds. The old trees were always of a very stunted appearance, a conditon which would naturally ensue from the continued lopping of their leaves. The stems of these old trees I noticed were not more than half as thick as trees of the same height seen growing in Hongkong where the natural growth of the tree is not restricted by the loss of its leaves. A parasitical fungus or lichen covered these old trunks and gave them the appearance of having been white-washed. The tallest trees seen were only about twelve feet high, but they were said to be upwards of a hundred years old. The leaves on these old trees are larger and stouter than those on young plants, and the stems of the leaves are only about a foot long.
The palm begins to yield leaves suitable for fans when it is about six years old.
The first cutting of leaves takes place early in the year, and the leaves which are somewhat damaged by the winterly winds, and consequently of inferior quality, are used for thatch in the construction of the "matsheds" which are so extensively used for temporary purposes in China.
Leaves for fan making are obtained in April, one, two, or three leaves being taken from each plant, and the process is continued each month until November, when, I was informed, cutting is discontinued for a few months. The leaves are taken from the plantations to a clear space covered with short grass turf.
Here each leaf has a thin piece of bamboo placed across the blade where it is joined on the stem. Each end of the bamboo is secured in its place by the loose end of a segment of the leaf being dexterously bound round it. The bamboo prevents the leaf curling up while it is drying. The leaves are then laid out singly on the turf to dry in the sun, and collected and stacked at night. The process is continued daily until the leaves are quite dry, when they are either sent off direct to the town to be made into fans, or they are stacked for a time until the manufacturers are ready to
receive them.
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