June 2, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



907 



horseradish, red peppers, sesame, sunflowers, etliljle sarsa- 

 parilla. edible bamboo, shiro (leaves used for colouring 

 pickles), chestnuts, pomegranates, oranges, kumquat {the 

 small orange used for preserves), pears, grapes, jujube fruit, 

 persimmons, tobacco, cotton, hemp, tea-plants, mulberry 

 tree (for feeding silkworms), and mushrooms. From the 

 same, or contiguous soil, had been gathered already wheat, 

 barley, rape seed (for making oil), peas, strawberries, water- 

 melons, musk-melons, lettuce, appricots, peaches, plums, 

 and fruit of the loquat tree. The pools of water were also 

 filled with lotus (the root of which is eaten very largely), 

 water chestnuts, the water tare, and watercresses. 



Less than one-tenth of the land is under cultivation, and 

 it is estimated that twice or three times the jiresent popul- 

 ation could subsist comfortably in Japan. Kice is the most 

 important product, one of the names of the island meaning 

 *' the land of the prosperous ears of rice for 1,600 autumns.'* 

 Both swamp and upland rice are grown in many varieties. 

 Kice lauds are estimated at 3,922,000 acres, and dry fields at 

 y,511,000 acres, making a total of nearly 7A millions of acres 

 under cultivation. The annual yield of the rice fields is 

 caiculateil to be about 138,907,000 bushels, or about 35 2-5 

 busliuls per acre. The annual yield of the dry fields is estim- 

 ated to be 91.675,()00 bushels of wheat, barley, &c., 

 32,175,000 bushels of beans and peas, and 32,175,0rH3 bushels 

 of millet. ^A'hile the popidation has increased and the till- 

 able sm'face is somewhat enlarged, the crop has changed 

 bv^ slightly in bulk during the past 250 years. This large 

 production from 'and that has mostly been under a continu- 

 ous state of cultivation for centuries is owing to the great 

 care that has been exercised in cultivating and manuring the 

 soil and the systi.-m of growing the plants in rows, which 

 allows the prouuction of two crops, whilst a short time of 

 fallowness is given to one part of the field. This shows 

 that the Japanese have studied and mustered to good purpose 

 the true economy of land tillage in all its bearings. 



Rotation of crops is diligently attended to, undergoing 

 modification according to soil and climate. Eice is generally 

 sown in beds thickly, and afterwards transplanted in tufts 

 of eight or ten plants about S in. apart. Fertilisers of all 

 kinds are used. Among these are shells, ashes, residue of 

 oil cake, decomposed vegetable materials, seaweed, dried fish, 

 bones, stable manure, and night soil. The last-named is the 

 most common, and is every where carefully preserved. It is 

 applied in a liquid state during the younger stages of the 

 gi'owing crops, being poured upon the grain by means of a 

 ladle. 



The implements in use are very crude and inefficient. A 

 mattock or hoe is the usual tool for digging and preparing 

 the land for seed, and both sexes help in the work. Cows 

 and horses are sometimes used for ploughing, but the im- 

 plement used is only a forked stick with an iron point at- 

 tached. The farmers there are very conservative, and reject 

 all mechanical improvements ; nor do they attemi>t to grow 

 new or improved varieties of fruit or graia, but keep on 

 with the same that have been|produced for many generations. 

 The country Ls void of fences, the fields being divided by 

 slight ridges of earth, which are hidden by growing crops, 

 so that a whole district has the appearance of one large 

 field. 



Much of the fruit grown is eaten green and is as much 

 relished in that state as when fully ripe. Peaches, plums, 

 and persimmons are all used thus, and this perhaps ac- 

 counts for the fact that little effort is put forth to introduce 

 or grow finer varieties. The soil and climate are admir- 

 ably adapted for fruit growing, and of the kinds grown per- 

 simmons, grapes, peaches, plums, and melons are the best. 

 The apples are small and inferior, but very good quinces 

 are foimd in some places, A striking feature of every 

 Japanese farm is the cleanliness and order everywhere pre- 

 valent. Each man seems to take a pride in keeping his 

 land in perfect order, and clear of everything in the way 

 of weeds. Upon lands unsuitable for cultivAtion, pine and 

 ash trees are planted, and after fifteen jears of growth 

 they aie cut for firewood, and then set out with trees 

 ^gain. In spade husbandry, the Japanese have little to 

 learn. In stock-rearing, fruit-growing, and producing hardi- 

 er grains than rice, there is much room for improvement. 



There is no good pasturage in the i.sland and very few 

 stock. It is estimated that the total number of horses and 

 cattle is only about one million of each, or little more than 

 two head to evecy one huntlred people. Almost all tho 



grain and other products are transported on the backs o f 

 horses and cattle. Sheep are very few, an 1 do not thrive 

 owing to the coarse and innutritious grasses of the country. 

 Swine are common, and meat is slowly becoming the diet 

 of the Japanese instead of fish and vegetables. Thus far 

 religion has prevented the free use of meat, which has also 

 been scarce and high priced. The land is virtually owned 

 by the people, but theoretically it belongs to the Mikado, 

 A land tax is the chief source of Government revenue, 

 and agricultural products form the chief wealth of the 

 country. It will be seen from tho above that, while Japanese 

 cultivators show a large amount of skill, Industrie and 

 perseverance in the practice of their art, they are never- 

 theless far behind the times, and could afford to take some 

 lessons from those nations where labolu•-sa^^ng implements 

 are employed to do the bulk of the work. — Qneenslander. 



IS AGRICULTURE A SCIENCE OR AN ART. 



BY EUSTICUS. 



Much that is saiil and written on this subject now, is 

 ambiguous and misleading, I think. Are we to define agri- 

 culture an art, and not a science ; strictly a science, or 

 made up of both ? This pertinent enquiry will arouse vary- 

 ing responses. Opinions mil be coloiu*ed much by the degree 

 of culture and learning of the respondents. I regard it 

 as no easy problem. Hut its solution is rendered some- 

 what easier, in the present age, than it was centuries ago. 

 When agriculture was almost entirely guess-work, " fiiiug 

 at random," so to speak, neither of the above mentioned 

 definitions would obtain. "With the steady advance of know- 

 ledge, growing out of research, experiment, discovery, greater 

 precision of statement can be made. A distinguished scholai* 

 has recently laid down the dictum that agriculture is an 

 art, not a science. Shall we wholly accept his teaching? 

 A study of the terms, arts and science will aid us in our 

 determination. But first let us bear in mind that they are 

 synonymous now. An expression is strictly a synonym of 

 another expression, when the two " so nearly approach 

 each other, that in many or most cases, they can be used 

 interchangably. Words may thus coincide in certain con- 

 nections, and so be interchanged, when they cannot be 

 interchanged in other connections.'* — (Webster.) One of 

 the synonyms of art is science. Art, of necessity, runs 

 into science; .science, perforce, draws upon art. The word 

 art is derived from the Latin ars^ denoting skill in execu- 

 tion, taken from the Greek, apetr, conveying like mean- 

 ing. It involves the idea of doing, of accomplishing. " The 

 employment of means to accomplish some desired end : the 

 application of knowledge or power to practical purposes 

 (Ibid). Now, this meaning, unquestionably, is alike to a 

 certain degree, the meaning of science, that is, operative 

 science, science in practice. Purely theoretically, there is 

 a wide difference in the terms. Science implies speculative 

 principles. Science comes from the Latin ^r/re, to know, 

 scienticty knowledge. Science is a complement of cognitions, 

 having, in point of form, the character of logical per- 

 fection, and in point of matt'.r. the character of real truth." — 

 (Sir Wm. Hamilton.) " The comprL h insion and understand- 

 ing of truth or facts."^Drydeu.) "'Specifically, science is 

 knowledge duly arranged, and referred to general truths 

 and principles on which it is founded, and from which it 

 is derived. Science is literally knowledge, but more usually 

 denotes a systematic and orderly arrangement of know- 

 ledge. Science inquires for the sake of knowledge, art for 

 the sake of production." — (Webster.) "In science, .•icimns 

 %it sciamus (we know that we may know), while in art, 

 scimns ut producamus (we know that we may produce)." — 

 (Karslake.) Does agriculture embrace in any souse the 

 two? Beyond controversy. Science is either pure or ap- 

 plied. The former is purely speculative, apart from applic- 

 ation: the latter is, speculative principles carried out in 

 practice. The one is simply rules, principles, deductions ; 

 the latter, these in operation. We see, then, how science 

 belongs to the domain of art; that is to say, science iu 

 its practical working is art. Agriculture is science in the 

 sense of being "knowledge duly arranged, and referred to 

 general truths and principles, on which it is founded : 

 systematic and orderly arrangement of knowledge." 



Agriculture is art iu the sense of these principles, thi"? 

 knowledge being utili^sed. But is agriculture entirely a 

 science? In other words, has it reached that point that 



