The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-05-21
Rich Territory Which Will be Coded
to Japan by China
TEA EXPORTED IN QUANTITIES.
Commodities of Various Kinds Raised.
Sugar Cane Observation-Disclosures
scsnery-LOng Been an Object OF Eu-
ropean AmbitiOn-RaiIwayB Building.

Formosa, which is to be coded to
Japan by the peace treaty, lies
between q deg. 80 min. and %
deg. . min. y. lat, and Is about 100
miles to the southeast of China proper
and forty miles to the south of Yoron-
to, the southernmost island of Okina-
wa-ken (the Loochoos). The Lesser
Luzons and Pescadores all belong to
it, the whole area comprising about
5000 square miles. It is rich in
sceneries as the name Formosa (beau-
tifuI) shows, and the soil being fertile
produces abundantly. 1t has been,
therefore, long an object of European
ambition. The mountain range run
ming through the center of the island
is covered with luxuriant forests, of
camphor and other useful trees. The
southern part has rainy season dur
ing summer, and the northern part
during winter and spring.
The fertility OF the soil has attracted
numerous emigrants from. Fukien
and Kwangtung. Rice Is chiefly Gull
tivated, the methods of farming being
entirely Chinese, except among the
aborigines, but far better than on the
continent. Farmers are very dill
gent, and get crops twice or thrice
year, but no improvements in their
agricultural arts or in other arts have
been made.
Next TO rice, sweet potatoes are
chiefly cultivated, but wheat and bar.
ley are raised in winter only on q
small scale. Indigo-plants are Guilt
waited largely in Northern FormOsai
but as good indigo cannot be extract
ed except from young leaves, it is
usual to plant g new crop every year.
Peanuts and sesame are planted for
getting oils. Ginger, turmeric and
sweet melons are abundantly pre-
duced; banana, pineapple, nutmeg
and lemon all grow very well.
The most important agricultural
products are sugar and tea. III the
western lowland of Formosa, sugar
cane plantations extend as far as the
eye can reach, in luxuriant growth,
especially in the plain along the river
Tamsui-ho and its tributary Hsin-
chwang-su-ho in the north and around
Takow in the districts to the south of
Tai-wan-fu. But the methods of cul-
tivation being very defective, new
canes must be planted every two
years.
Tea cultivation has made rapid pro-
gtess during the past ten years, the
districts best adapted to it being in
the northern half of the island, where |
there are two rainy seasons each year.
In the southern districts, drought con-
tinues too much for tea cultivation.
One travelling in the northern districts
will see the plains and valleys COW
cred with rice and sugar cane, and
high lands with tea plants. Emigrants
from the continent of China settling
in these districts have cut down trees
and planted tea in their place, so that
all the districts around Ta-tao-cheng,
tea manufacturing center, have been
turned into tea plantations. The rain
and mist there are so powerful in
growing tea plants that no manure is !
used, yet the leaves are gathered six !
or seven times year. The first, sec |
Ond and third crops are, however, the /
best in quality.
How much Formosa can produce |
yearly can be gathered from the fol- |
lowing trade returns in the northern 1
part: