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village of Kam Tin. The Un-Long river is navigable by small junks as far as Un Long, a market town three miles distant from Deep Bay to the north.
The Kam Tin river has a depth of froin three to six feet at high tide all the way from its mouth in Deep Bay to the town of Kam Tin, a distance of about six miles.
The first steamer that ever went up this river was the pinnace of H.M.S. Plover, which had no difficulty in conveying the members of the Commission as far as the market town of Kam T'in, with a cutter in tow.
Within the basins of these two river systems are found the most fertile soil and the most populous villages in the area about to be leased.
WATER SUPPLY.
The water supply appears to be excellent everywhere. During the month of August, when the inspection of the territory was made, there were streams of water pouring down the hill sides in every direction, and the village weils contained ample water, as a rule within six or eight feet of the surface. Sufficient water to raise two crops of rice a year seems always to be available throughout the district.
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 Hong Kong, where the average rainfall is 90 inches. Mr. Ormsby is of opinion that in many places the con- struction 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 in- creasing 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.
Ι
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 Hong Kong, so it will be necessary to secure the services of a suitable person at home.
SOIL.
The soil is formed from the decomposition of volcanic trap rock in the north-east and east, and is alluvial in the broad valleys drained by the Sham Chun and Ün-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, fully double these amounts are 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 1 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
* See Photographs, Album I., Nos. 10, 11, 14, 15.
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