183 



walk carefully, as the ground is often undermined and lives have been 

 lost here. 



Japan exhibits many of these and other forms of volcanic action, 

 and there are several important volcanoes still more or less active. The 

 principal of these is Asama, nearly one hundred miles N. W. of Yoko- 

 hama. Mr. Harrington and his brother ascended this mountain 

 (8,280 feet high), and found that the present crater lies in the centre of 

 a much larger and older one, the broken rim of which is well marked, 

 although it has been nearly filled up. At the time of their visit the 

 volcano was more than usually active, the vapours filling the crater 

 (said to be one-quarter of a mile in diameter) and rising several hun 

 dred feet above it. After the ereat earthquake of 2Sth October the 

 mountain was emitting flames and ashes. This mountain, like many 

 of the others, evidences that the craters of re note times were much 

 larger than present ones, and in some cases a series of cones and 

 craters has been built up. 



Among the other mountains climbed by Mr. Harrington was the 

 sacred cone of Fuji, which rises to a height of 11.365 feet, with the 

 outline of an inverted fan. Although the slope is not very great, the 

 footing is for much of the way very trying, and toward the summit the 

 climb becomes difficult. Starting from Gotemba at 6.30 a.m., the top 

 was reached about 5.30 p.m., and the night was passed there. This 

 mountain is climbed annually by great numbers of pilgrims during the 

 months of July and August. It has not been in eruption since 1707, 

 but although the crater is partly filled with snow and ice, there are 

 signs that it is not completely extinct, as steam sometimes issues from 

 cracks outside the crater on the east side. 



Japan at first sight appears to be a very fertile country, but 

 closer examination shows that tillable land forms the smaller part of the 

 li^mpire, and that much of the land cultivated is of a very poor quality, 

 being largely composed of volcanic tufa and debris. According to 

 recent authorities, it was found that 37% (not including Yezo, which is 

 slimly populated), is classed as desert, including volcanoes, solfataras, 

 scoriae covered plains, etc. Mountain forests cover 23%, so that these 

 two divisions include about two-thirds of the country. Cultivated 

 forests cover 18%, and are an evidence of the attention paid to forestry, 



