CULTIVATION OF WASABI. 21 



on in running water, but this is not absolutely correct, for near Nara, 

 in the little village of Kiriyama, there are patches of wasabi which 

 have been grown for many generations by the same family in a loca- 

 tion not flooded with water. 



With Mr. K. Yendo of the Tokyo Botanic Gardens as interpreter, 

 the writer visited, in June, 1902, one of the cultivators of wasabi and 

 gleaned from him a number of facts about the culture of the vege- 

 table. Mr. Kawakita, whose father and grandfather before him had 

 grown wasabi, carried on its cultivation — as the growers of Fourche 

 Maline do the horse-radish — only as a secondary crop. His patches 

 of the plant were in a narrow valley, shaded by persimmon trees, 

 where the soil was wet by underground springs, just such a place as 

 one would expect to find ferns in were the ground not cultivated. (See 

 PI. VI, tig. 2.) 



Owing to the ravages of a small caterpillar which had riddled the 

 leaves with holes, the plants presented a sorry enough appearance, and 

 the owner took no pride in showing them. The general appearance of 

 the slopes of the little valley was as if the}' had been covered with a 

 coarse, broad-leaved dock like the Petasites, which is common in parks 

 in Europe. 



THE CULTIVATION OF WASABI. 



The method of culture practiced by Mr. Kawakita is a simple one 

 enough, the chief point being the selection of a suitable location for 

 the patch. Moisture is essential, and the borders of a mountain brook 

 or a bit of "springy""' meadow in the hills would form a suitable situ- 

 ation. Shade is likewise looked upon by this gardener as necessary, 

 and that cast by the kaki or Japanese persimmon trees is preferred. 

 The soil is a stiff clay, mixed with gravel, which retains moisture for 

 a long time. 



In the month of June, when the 2-year-old plants which are ready 

 for market are dug, the young suckers are carefully removed from the 

 marketable roots and are planted out in the field. They are set in 

 rows that are 1£ feet apart and are put only 10 inches from each other 

 in the rows. Weeding is done as found necessarv, and in February 

 or March the plants are hilled' up to make them produce longer and 

 larger roots for the market. 



Liquid manure and rape-seed cake are two of the principal fertilizers 

 of the country, and these are applied judiciously in November and 

 March in quantities varying according to the soil conditions. 



For two years the young wasabi plants are cared for in the held, at 

 the end of which time their roots are large enough to be dug. Over 

 2 tons of these roots are said to be harvested from an acre. 



The roots are prepared for market by washing off the dirt, cutting 

 back the tops, and binding into bundles. They keep for some time, 



