FORMOSA THE BEAUTIFUL 



261 



PUSH-CARS BEARING IMPERIAL JAPANESE MAIL 



All the baggage push-cars are third class. The passenger cars are first class and have 

 the right of way. The third-class cars have to be derailed to allow the first-class cars to 

 pass, although it would be far more convenient if the first-class cars were derailed, as the 

 others are usually heavily loaded. 



seeing that there was no hope of relief, I 

 resigned myself to the rather meager con- 

 solation of playing the innocent's role in 

 suffering for the guilty. However, when 

 I was told that the Japanese have insti- 

 tuted a ruling whereby all music of this 

 nature must cease at midnight, I felt a 

 more substantial basis for thankfulness. 



THE TEA-PICKING GIRLS AT WORK 



During the summer months Daitotei 

 presents its busiest face, for it is then that 

 the tea season is in full swing. The col- 

 onnades of the tea hongs, if such an im- 

 posing architectural term as colonnades 

 can be fittingly applied to such unimpos- 

 ing structures, are ahum with the stac- 

 cato accents of chattering tea-pickers. 

 These are generally young girls, as old 

 hands are too numb for the deft manipu- 

 lation of the tea leaves. 



Seated on low stools before wide wicker 

 trays, these bright-eyed maids, in their 

 peacock-blue smocks, their front hair 

 clipped in bangs, and with a gay posy or 



two stuck in the braided knots at the 

 backs of their necks, are in animated con- 

 trast to their rather drab surroundings. 



With flying wisps of fingers, at least 

 one of which on each hand has a long, 

 carefully trained nail, a rather inconven- 

 ient concession to a fashion which origi- 

 nally spelled leisure, they separate the 

 coarser twigs from the partially fired tea 

 leaves ; and, just as in all probability well- 

 bred western matrons will exchange a few 

 words of gossip over their cups of tea, 

 these cheerful tea-picking girls start the 

 ball a-rolling on this side of the globe. 



Not so many years ago the tea-chests 

 were decorated by lightning artists with 

 tropical-looking birds and beasts, but now 

 designs are stenciled on sheets of paper, 

 which are pasted on the boxes and glossed 

 over with varnish. 



Everywhere we saw coolies packing 

 these gaily-flowered, lead-lined boxes that 

 carry their sensitive freight of tea to 

 America. I say America, for about go 

 per cent of Formosa Oolong goes to the 



