FOOD CROPS, JAPAN. 



13 



and its cultivation presents many interestintr prol)loms. First, about 

 45,000,000 people must be sustained largely by the product of 7,0()(>,<»00 

 acres of rice. This allows nearly (5^ persons to the acre and on the 

 basis of the crop of 181)0 furnishes 4 bushels of hulled rice, or about 

 240 pounds of milled rice, for each person. This indicates that Japan 

 has attained a density of population which allows only a narrow mar- 

 gin between home consumption and possible production. 



ACREAGE AND YIELD OF FOOD CROPS. 



It must not, however, be inferred that rice is the sole food of the 

 people. The dailv ration includes a variety of foods of a highly 

 nitrogenous character, which, with vegetables, supplement the rice. 

 The following official report of the number of acres of food crops pro- 

 duced annually in Japan will correct to some extent the impression 

 that the Japanese subsist almost solely on rice: 



Food crops of Japan, as reported for 1896.n 



Food crops. 



Acres. 



Total 

 product. 



Rice l> 



Wheat 



Rye 



Barley 



Peas and beans 



Millet. l)uckwheat, and rape. 



Irish potatoes 



Sweet potatoes 



6,967,461 

 1,104,200 

 1,681.267 

 1,626,260 

 1,343,191 

 2,077,982 

 57,790 

 195, 25i 



Bn!<lieli<. 

 180, 99S, 855 

 17, 763, 945 

 14,608,117 

 39,246,425 

 18, ()C3, 070 

 28,002,330 

 6, 862, 469 

 68,402,579 



Product 

 per acre. 



Buslu'h. 

 26 



16.09 



8.7 



24.1 



13.4 



10.6 



118. 75 



350. 33 



^Tl^lr^lSent'rSdiS^"- refers to this product with hulls removed, and for comparison with 

 paddy about 20 per cent should be added. 



The acreage devoted to rice in Japan can not be very much increased. 

 The islands are of volcanic formation, and in a general way it may 

 be stated that a rather bold range of mountains traverses them from 

 the southwest to the northeast, occupying seven-eighths of the terri- 

 tory. The remaining one-eighth consists of fertile valleys, widening 

 toward the sea until they gradually expand into coastal deltas of con- 

 siderable extent. The narrow valleys are terraced on each side;^ at 

 the base of the mountains canals are made to receive the descending 

 rivulets and convey the water to the various fields as required for 



irrigation. i. j. \ ^ ^ 



Frequently the surplus water is used to turn an overshot wheel tor 

 milling rice or for manufacturing purposes in the native villages, or 

 it may be allowed to flow into some creek or river, but as far as possi- 

 ble sufficient mountain water for irrigation is conducted by canals at a 

 level somewhat higher than the rice field. (PI. I, fig. 1.) The inge- 

 nuitv displayed in devising the elaborate system of irrigating canals 



