Sessional_Paper_1894 — Page 271

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The caterpillars were discovered in the latter part of the summer on trees from 3 feet to 15 feet in height which they completely stripped of all their leaves. Remedies were at once attempted, but nothing except handpicking or knocking them off the trees and then killing them while on the ground was effective, and this method of dealing with them was impracticable on account of its cost and the impossibility of discovering the caterpillars shaken off the trees when they fell in long grass. More- over coolies refused to continue the work on account of the great irritation of their skin caused by the caterpillars' hairs which found their way under loose clothing. At Quarry Bay the men also suffered so severely from fever that they could not be kept there; two men came back and died of fever after a few days spent on the hills.

The coolies were living in tents. Coolies employed by our contractors are generally housed in matsheds for some kinds of work. These methods of housing have to be adopted in a good deal of work in distant parts. Tents and sheds are moved from place to place as work progresses. Coolies in sheds and tents alike in many parts of the Colony are greatly subject to sickness, but in some places much more than in others. The neighbourhood of Quarry Bay is not more unhealthy than a great many other places where men have been located.

25. It was anticipated that pine trees generally could not recover after their leaves were entirely eaten away, and time has now proved the correctness of that view. At the time of now writing the removal of dead trees at Quarry Bay has just been completed, the number being 30,219.

26. This scourge, I am informed, is not unknown on the mainland, but the year before last was the first appearance of the caterpillar which I have observed in Hongkong. In that year only one small spot in Kowloon was effected.

27. While I am writing (April, 1894) another visitation of caterpillars of a different species to the two which infest lawns, and the one which has destroyed pine trees is actively at work stripping “banians? (Ficus retusa) of their leaves. They have suddenly appeared in Kowloon, at East Point, West Point, and other places in Hongkong; many large trees having been reduced to the appearance of dead ones.

A large staff of men are being employed to beat the branches and thus knock off the caterpillars which are then swept up on the roads beneath the trees and destroyed.

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This is also the first appearance of caterpillars in such vast numbers on these trees. These enormous increases of caterpillars are difficult to account for, but it is possible that the enemies of the Pinus and Ficus tree caterpillars and moths may have succumbed to the severe cold weather which was experienced in January of 1893.

Thinning of Plantations, &c.

28. The usual work has been carried on satisfactorily by the contractor throughout the year. The plantations dealt with were chiefly in the districts around Aberdeen and Little Hongkong. The number of trees cut out was 31,643.

29. The total income from forestry products was $577.06, of which, however, $24 was a sale of purchased seeds.

Appendix D gives the usual statistics of this work.

Transplanting Trees.

30. The completion of the section of the Praya Reclamation opposite the Cricket Ground added a piece of land to that recreation ground at its north-west corner, and this necessitated the removal of six large, so called "banian" trees,-Ficus retusa. Five of these trees were, although very large (being about 25 feet in diameter and the same in height), worth an effort to transplant them to the margin of the new ground. The trunks of the trees were about six feet in circumference.

I had the branches cut back and the trunks and large branches wrapped in straw-bands, then their roots were bared and likewise cut back. While this was being done scaffolding was erected around the tree and when the latter was carefully prepared it was lifted out of its site by means of a Weston's Block and Chain capable of raising 4 tons, then dragged to its new site by means of a winch and lowered carefully into its place by the same block and chain which had been brought and placed on scaffolding over the new hole into which the tree was placed. Each tree was treated in the saine manner, and afterwards carefully stayed and watered. The work was perfectly successful; all the trees have made vigorous shoots from the old wood, and good heads are already formed.

Camphor Trees.

31. These trees, which have been regularly planted for some years past amongst the pines in older plantations, having made very fair progress were being interfered with by pines in too close proximity, therefore the whole of the plantations were examined, all encroaching pines removed, and the camphors pruned. Camphors planted eight years ago which are in good soil are now about 14 feet high, but those of the same age in poor soil are only about 3 feet, the trees vary in height between these two measurements according to their more or less favourable environments.