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It is probable that the high mountain ranges attract more rain clouds from the China Sea during the south-west monsoon than is the case at Hongkong, where the average rainfall is 90 inches. Mr. ORMSBY is of opinion that in many places the construction of storage reservoirs, if required, will be a simple matter. He considers that the construction of such a reservoir on the southern or eastern slope of Taimò Shán for the supply of Kowloon is very desirable, in order to meet the wants of the rapidly increasing towns on that peninsula, by gravitation, and thus set free the large acreage now reserved as a catchment area, and render it possible to dispense with the present expensive pumping establishment.

IRRIGATION.

Irrigation of the paddy fields is effected simply by leading the water along the sides of the hills by means of channels, from which the water is allowed to run on to the terraced fields as required. In addition to the ordinary paddy fields in the valleys, works of reclamation have been carried out, by which a large quantity of land has been reclaimed from the sea. Walls of rough rubble, backed by earth, have been constructed to keep out the water. Along the top of these embankments there is a foot path, and sluices made of timber planking sliding in grooves cut into the stone side walls enable the villagers to keep out the sea and get rid of their surplus fresh water at low tide. By the improvement and extension of such works of reclamation, many large areas could be brought under cultivation.

GEOLOGY.

An interesting report by Mr. ORMSBY on the geology of the district will be found in Appendix II.

I agree with him that a mining expert should be deputed to examine and report on the minerals in the territory. There is no such expert at present resident in Hongkong, so it will be necessary to secure the services of a suitable person at home.

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SOIL.

The soil is formed from the decomposition of volcanie trap rock in the north- east and east, and is alluvial in the broad valleys drained by the Sham Chun and Un-Long rivers. It is generally fertile, and yields annually two crops of rice. Even the hillsides are in many places brought under cultivation, and rice was found growing at a height of over 1,200 feet.

By the Chinese the soil is divided into three classes, and is taxed according to its quality. The first class is supposed to pay about 36 cents per acre; the second class about 24 cents, and the third class about 15 cents per acre. In reality, much more than these amounts is levied, though not officially accounted

for.

Payment in kind is also made, but this payment is commuted for a money payment at the rate of 4.8 taels, or $6.67 per picul of rice (a picul is equal to I bushel 2 pecks 2 quarts).

PRODUCTS.

Rice is the principal article of cultivation and the quality of this product is so highly esteemed that a quantity of it is exported to San Francisco for the use of the Chinese resident there. There is also a large area of land devoted to the growing of sugar cane, indigo, hemp, peanuts, potatoes of different varieties, yam, taro, beans, sesainum, pumpkins, and vegetables of all kinds.

Experiments are now being made to ascertain whether the cotton plant will flourish in the newly-leased area, and there seems to be no reason, as far as soil and climate are concerned, why these experiments should not succeed. If they are successful, the cotton mill which is now being erected in Hongkong would find this a convenient source of supply for at any rate a portion of its raw material.

FRUITS.

The fruits are pumeloes, pineapples, oranges, lungngans, pears, lichis, persim- mons, pomegranates, wongp'is, and mangoes.

VEGETATION.

The mountain ranges and lower hills are covered with vegetation, and culti- vation is found high up on the hill sides. In some places a crop of rice was growing at an elevation of 1,300 feet, and on the northern slope of the Taimò