ENG-1952 — Page 95

PRODUCTION

Agriculture

The Colony's countryside consists mainly of moun- tains and hills, the more gradual slopes being covered with grass, ferns and sparse pinewood, the rocky ravines with evergreen trees and dense, thorny scrub. Very little of Hong Kong's 391 square miles is suitable for cultivation and practically all that is suitable has already been brought under cultivation. The main gentle slopes of the valleys are intensely cultivated, and where water is available for irrigation the lower shoulders of the hills have also been terraced. Some of these terraces and irrigation channels date back many years. On the higher slopes of mountains such as Tai Mo Shan there are the remains of terraces which were used for tea cultivation but which have long since been deserted, probably owing to high winds in summer and the cold experienced during winter.

Rice, the staple food of the Chinese, has been grown by settlers from early times. It was and still is the main crop of the Chinese farmers of the New Territories. Practically all the rent of farm land is paid. in terms of rice. The average rental per acre is 1,600 pounds which is about 40% of the total annual rice yield per acre. Fields dependent on rain and swamps irrigated with brackish water may produce only one crop of rice annually, while irrigated fields yield two crops each year. It is difficult to estimate the amount of milled rice produced annually but the figure of approxi- mately 20,000 short tons is considered to be a fair estimate of annual production. This represents a very small proportion of the total annual consumption of the Colony.

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