106 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



irrigation ; second, fertilization by liquid manures repeatedly 

 applied to the growing crop ; third, cleanliness of culture ; 

 fourth, thoroughness of tillage ; fifth, constant cropping of 

 lands without deterioration ; sixth, extreme simplicity and 

 economy of method, involving the minimum of expense for 

 seed, manure, and tools; seventh, the extraordinary scarcity 

 o: domestic animals and teams with agricultural machinery. 



For more than twenty centuries the construction of expen- 

 sive works for the irrigation of rice-lands has Ijeen goiug on 

 in Dai Nippon ; and their aggregate value at the present time 

 is enormous, more than ten millions of acres being furnished 

 with abundance of water as required. To accomplish this 

 invaluable result, mountains have been tunnelled, immense 

 reservoirs constructed, thousands of miles of canals and 

 millions of miles of smaller water-courses du<j, and the 

 whole vast territory terraced, levelled, and enclosed. Begin- 

 nins: at the heads of the valle'vs in the mountains, the land 

 is divided into small, irregular plats, each containing an area 

 of from a few rods to several acres, and surrounded by a 

 low embankment of earth about a foot wide, and somewhat 

 more in height. The size and form of these plats depend 

 upon the natural surface and the amount of labor available 

 for the work of levelling. Into each one water flows from a 

 distributing ditch, and then moves slowly on to another plat 

 at a slightly lower level. Finally, near the level of the sea, 

 immense fields are often found which require comparatively 

 little labor for preparation, but which are often too wet for 

 any other crop than rice. Sometimes on these lowlands it 

 is necessary to raise water from the ditches on to the young 

 rice by artificial means, and for this purpose a portable tread- 

 mill is used, of very simple construction, but which lifts 

 water rapidly for two or three feet. The water is also some- 

 times raised by means of an ordinary well-sweep and bucket. 



While the Japanese understand the value of ashes, plaster, 

 lime, fish-pomace, seaweed, grass, and other green crops, in 

 the fertilization of land, and use them freely when attaina- 

 ble, sfill they rely chiefly upon night-soil. This is carefully 

 saved and collected, and usually kept in a fermented state, in 

 a liquid form, in large tubs or tanks, which are either sunk in 

 the earth, or kept above ground in some convenient spot. 

 This is distributed frequently over the cultivated fields by 



