212 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[July, 



Tilia cordifolia ; the other smaller, with flowers 

 more erect, is Tilia mandschurica. The inner 

 bark of both is used for making strong ropes 

 (Aino name : Nibesh ni). It is equally used by 

 Ainos and Japanese. Coniferous trees only grow 

 in the higher elevations. They consist of two 

 kinds, " Yesso matsu," Abies Yesoensis, and 

 "Todo matsu," another long-leaved Abies with a 

 white bark, growing taller than the former, and 

 much used for timber in the saw-mill of Sap- 

 poro. On the borders of streams I noticed three 

 different kinds of shru1)by Vil)urnnm growing in 

 great abundance. A large lily of peculiar ap- 

 pearance forms together with the Lilium gigan- 

 teum a separate section of this genus, as it differs 

 from other lilies. It is frequently found near 

 water, and in swampy places aroimd Sajjporo. 

 It bears large heart-shaped leaves of a dark 

 green color, and its flower stalks very often 

 attain a height of 10 feet and mf)re, bearing large 

 flowers of a greenish white color outside ; the 

 inside is pure white, with purple spots at the 

 base of each petal. It seems to differ from other 

 lilies in propagating solely from seed. My ob- 

 servations in this respect were confirmed by my 

 Japanese companions, who, I have reasim to 

 believe, possessed some knowledge of vegetable 

 life. It flowers only after the bulbs have attained 

 a considerable size, from tliree to four years; 

 and when it is done flowering it dies with the 

 stock. According to Siebold's Flora Japonica, 

 Tabula 14, it is Lilium cordifolium. Siehold 

 hardly can have had an opportunity of having 

 seen this lily in its native hal)it, or his figure 

 would have been of much larger dimensions. I 

 also noticed several hand.some herbaceous Spi- 

 rseas, one bearing red berries, which, when 

 mature, turn black ; another I foiuid with white 

 flowers about 6 feet high. Here also grows in 

 the grass under the shade of trees a Campanu- 

 lacea of climbing habit, with flowers r(?sembling 

 a diminutive Coboaea : Campanumsea lanceolata. 

 In the mountains I found a number of terrestrial 

 orchids Cypripcdium, Epipactis, Liparis, and 

 other small, evidently interesting species. In 

 ferns the woods abound, and more particularly I 

 was struck with a large smooth leaved Scolopen- 

 drium. A climbing Hydrangea, the Schizo- 

 phragma, the Ampelopsis a kind of Virginian 

 creeper, and Vitis labrusca, the wild grape, as 

 well as an Actinidia with edible fi'uit (Kokuwa) 

 are here frequently met with. 



From Sappora I started for the east coast on 

 the 14th of August. The road leads through a 



well-wooded country skirting the foot of a range 

 of hills. All along the road, and wherever horses 

 have been travelling, I noticed an herb very 

 common in these latitudes, a Plantago. The 

 seeds of this Plantain if boiled forms a mucilage 

 which has been found to act as a remedy in cases 

 of dysentery. The forest trees principally consist 

 of maple trees, of which I noticed and collected 

 three kinds. One of them resembles the Ameri- 

 can sugar-maple, and attempts have been made 

 with some success to produce sugar from them. I 

 saw crude samples of it during my stay at the 

 capital, but have no doubt that with proper 

 manipulation it could be made available for 

 d(jmestic purposes. Another of them is remark- 

 able for its curious leaves, resembling more a 

 Crataegus than a maj)le ; and, if it had not been 

 in flower, I should have mistaken it for one. It 

 never attains more than 25 feet in height and 1 

 foot in diameter. 



From Shimamappu, descending gradually to- 

 wards Chitose, the formation of the ground 

 changes from the rich loam hitherto met with 

 into a mixture of black soil and pumice of an 

 extinct volcano. As the soil changes the vegeta- 

 tion also presents different appearances. Decidu- 

 ous oak trees form the principal feature on the 

 more elevated ground. The Mistleto is found 

 growing abundantly on these trees. The lower 

 ground sloping towards the rivers is occupied by 

 a shrub resembling, at first sight, a Avild apple. 

 It bears red fruit, and is called by the Japanese, 

 " Sansivshi " Pyrus toringo of Siebold. I found an 

 excellent engraving of it in the "Kwawi,"a cele- 

 brated Japanese botanical work published a hun- 

 dred years ago. Among plants of smaller growth 

 I noticed several kinds of Spiraea which were in 

 flower at the time, and a shrubby Aralia with 

 small green flowers and black berries. Three 

 terrestrial Orchids are found .growing in the 

 grass under the shaile of forest trees. One, the uni- 

 versally known Spirantbes australis, a pretty 

 Li])aris, and another peculiar looking Orchid 

 with large leaves and flowers, probably a Bletia. 

 Shallow ponds of some extent are formed in 

 the woods, and possess a vegetation of their owti. 

 Rushes and small ferns and the blue flowering 

 Pontederia are the principal occupants of these 

 moist localities. The deeper ponds are covered 

 with the leaves of Nymphaea tetragona, already 

 noticed before at Oshamambe. Birch and Alder 

 are found of all sizes in the more rugged locali- 

 ties. 



(To contiDue in next number.) 



