64 EAMBLES OP A NATURALIST. [Oh. IV. 



for the representative of Great Britain ; for the inhabitants, 

 who are mostly of the Coolie class, and upon occasion can 

 show themselves a turbulent set, have a prejudice, forsooth, 

 against building houses more than one story high, and no 

 such dwelling exists in Tam-suy. 



Squalid, however, and unsightly as are the buildings of 

 Tam-suy, there is a very pretentious joss-house or temple, 

 in which the stone pillars, elaborately carved, represent, 

 with considerable cleverness, fantastic dragons encircling 

 the columns in high relief, and holding loose stone balls in 

 their mouths. Workmen were still engaged upon these 

 sculptures. 



The people of Tam-suy are poor and meanly clad, and 

 the same may be said of the other towns in this part of 

 Formosa. The males usually wear nothing more than a 

 short pair of drawers, or some substitute for them, many 

 of the younger male children going entirely naked. The 

 women and girls, however, are always decently clothed, very 

 few of the female children being bare even to the waist. 

 Bandaged or small feet are universal among them, the only 

 exceptions being a few among the lowest of the low. 



Bullocks, goats, and poultry are difficult to obtain, but 

 pigs are abundant, though few who had an opportunity of 

 witnessing their disgusting habits and foul feeding would 

 care to eat them. Ducks also are plentiful. 



Eice is abundantly produced in the neighbourhood, as 

 well as in other parts of Formosa, but its exportation is 

 forbidden on pretence that no more is produced than is 

 required for home consumpticm. This embargo was issued 

 by the Tao-tai of Tai-wan in 1864; but inasmuch as the 

 approbation of the foreign ministers of Pekin had not been 

 previously obtained, it appears to have been illegal. More- 



