SUMMER MEETING. 91 



they are liable to be blown down by strong winds ; it is also not desirable to 

 transplant old trees, as they do not thrive, and although we treat them very 

 carefully, failure very often follows. Heavy clay is more suitable than light, 

 sandy soil ; they can be grown in all of our provinces, except in those where 

 the climate is excessively hot or cold. At Washington I saw our persimmons 

 growing in healthy condition and heavily loaded with fruits. The trees are 

 not bushy, they are slender, sometimes attaining a height of 50 feet, but may 

 be trained lower. Winter manuring is very highly recommended for young 

 plants of all kinds ; the manure is night soil, which is put into ditches dug 

 around the trees. 



There are many ways to make the astringent fruits sweet. 1st. Wait till 

 they are " dead ripe," just as tomatoes ; this is the method mostly used now 

 in this country ; but the fruits are so soft that they are liable to be bruised, 

 beaten by raiu, injured by insects, birds or wind. They should be handled 

 very cautiously ; but fruits in this condition are most delicious of all, so that 

 if it is to be used in this way, then they may be better gathered with branches 

 before dead ripe, and hang them in a sheltered, warm place, or put in a box, 

 the bottom of which has a layer of straw. There are varieties which are not 

 sweetened by either way above mentioned, when they are made into sawashika- 

 ki. 2d. Savvashikaki is made by packing the fruits in a tub, then pouring on 

 warm water with ashes, rice straw, and sometimes dried sweet potato haulms ; 

 these are well mixed up and then tightly covered with a lid. We are careful 

 not to pour on hot water, but just tepid water. After two or three days the 

 fruit should be converted into sweet. The fruit treated in this way is not so 

 delicious as that of " Tarunuki." 3d. Tarunuki is made by packing the half- 

 ripened fruit in new sake casks, (sake is a Japanese rice wine) and then Lightly 

 covering with a lid. If a sake cask is not at hand, or the cask is old, so that 

 the flavor of sake is weak, then sprinkle a little liquid over the fruit and then 

 keep air-tight for three or four days, when our most delicious fruits are found 

 to possess a slightly vinous flavor. Fruits used in this way are not at first 

 strongly astringent, and in all cases are largest. 4th. Hosbi kaki, or dried 

 persimmon, is made simply by peeling off the skin with a knife and then al- 

 lowing them to dry up. There are different kinds of dried persimmons, but 

 best of all are those dried for a week or two, which are soft and juicy, are 

 called amaboshi ; when well dried fruits are put into wooden cases and kept 

 tightly covered, a white saccharine substance appears on the surface of fruits ; 

 this is called korokaki. Sometimes they are dusted with flour or starch. In 

 some districts this drying the fruit is one of our important industries. 



Besides sweetening, as above mentioned, the astringent varieties are used for 

 another purpose. There are some varieties that are exceedingly astringent, as 

 Saru kwasu (literally means monkeys eat not.) Such fruits are advanta- 

 geously used for making kaki oil ; this is simply a juice pressed out of unripe 

 fruit, and kept in pots for use ; that is, as a varnish for many purposes. It is 

 regarded as indispensable for staining fish nets and our umbrellas. 



Prof. Beal : Seedling native persimmons kill nearly to the ground in winter 

 at the college, but some have borne fruit within ten miles of the college for 

 two years in succession. 



T. T. Lyon: At South Haven Japanese persimmons all died the first winter, 

 and the native suffers severely some winters. 



