Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/218

Rh gous, souchongs, &c. The taste of this tea is reported to he very fair; but the objection to it is owing to the coarse mode in which the leaves are prepared and packed. As the hills, however, are no great distance from the harbour, this could be improved by energetic speculators, who might themselves visit the spot on which the article is grown and make their own arrangements.

Rice.—It is owing to the abundant production of this article that Formosa has justly earned the title of "the granary of China."

Sugar.—Taiwanfoo has the advantage over Tamsuy in this commodity, as it is grown in much larger quantities in that neighbourhood; and they understand there the refining process. The land at Tamsuy is well adapted for the growth of the cane; and were it not for Swatow and Amoy usurping the market for North China we might expect a good business in the exportation of this article from Formosa.

Jute is exported to the opposite ports on the Chinese coast for the manufacture of rope and cord.

Grass-cloth Fibre, consisting of the bark of a species of hemp, is grown and exported to China to weave into the summer-grass cloth. It is twisted for the trade into large skeins of different quality. Manufactured grass-cloth and other cloths are sent to Formosa to be dyed with the fresh Formosan indigo, which is famed for its bright and lasting tints. Much of this cloth is also dyed black in a solution of coarse sugar and alum; and some is dyed yellow with turmeric-powder dissolved.

Rice Paper, used largely in China for paintings and fancy-work, is a production peculiar to Formosa. It consists of the pith of the Aralia papyrifera, which grows wild in abundance on the Tamsuy Hills. The pith is pared continuously round and round with a sharp knife, and the thin sheet so produced moistened and flattened. The sheets are then cut in squares of different sizes, and used for the manufacture of artificial flowers, as well as for painting on. In the International Exhibition I exhibited specimens of this pith in the different stages of manufacture.

Rattans of rather a coarse kind are found in all parts of Formosa. A small trade is done in them with the Chinese coast, where their low price often affords them a market more readily than the finer but dearer kinds from the Straits.

Barley and Wheat are grown during the winter months. The flour produced by the latter is whiter and finer than that of the corn grown in South China.

Camphor.—The manufacture of camphor has for some years been monopolised by the Taotai (or head mandarin) of the island, and its sale farmed out to wealthy natives. In former years a good deal of the drug was clandestinely produced and smuggled across to China, where it was largely bought up by foreign speculators.