93 



THE AQUAKIUM, JANUARY, 1894. 



price per ^Dound. In proof of this I 

 will quote from the Scientific Amej'ican: 

 ''The depletion of the lobster fisheries 

 has been especially noticeable in Can- 

 ada. The report of 1888 showed a de- 

 crease in the value of exports of $350,- 

 000 as compared with the previous year, 

 although there had been an advance in 

 price of 35 per cent. The value of the 

 Canadian lobster fishery in 1888 was 

 $1,483,388; in 1886, 13,638,394; in 

 1885, 13,613,731." 



Could figures speak plainer than 

 these ? 



Up to June 11, this year, we have 

 planted 85,350 young lobsters, and 

 have on hand 510,000 eggs. We can- 

 not keep the young many days, because 

 they are cannibals, and as they moult 

 about three times in the first ten days 

 and are then soft, their brethren de- 

 vour them. 1 have fed them crab and 

 lobster meat, clams and beef, with the 

 hope of bribing them to refrain from 

 eating their fellows, but did not suc- 

 ceed. They are i^ersistent cannibals, 

 and must be put out at a few days old 

 on rocky bottom, where there are al- 

 ways hiding places for a soft lobster to 

 remain until his skin hardens into a 

 new and larger shell. 



DWARFING PLANTS IN JAPAN. 



A paper read by Henry Izawa of Japan, at 

 the Xurserymen's Session at the World's Con- 

 gress, Chicago, 1893, 



The customs and circumstances con- 

 nected with every-day life in your great 

 country, the traditions and customs of 

 ours, makes the Japanese and American 

 nurseries as different as are the latitudes 

 of both countries. In America the mad- 

 dening rush of commercial seas, navi- 

 gated by the unsatisfiable children of 

 the world, demands the quickest re- 

 turns on all outlavs ; the taller vou can 



grow a seedling or a cutting in the 

 shortest possible time the better your 

 chances of success ; while the Japanese 

 nurseryman must exercise unlimited 

 patience and conform to the pojjular 

 arts of his country. 



The Japanese nursery trade is di- 

 vided into two great sections, one for the 

 cultivation of plants for export, which 

 are grown on the same principle as 

 those in this country, and one for 

 plants for home trade, which latter are 

 of an entirely different class. In Japan 

 we have very many beautiful species of 

 shrubs and herbaceous plants that are 

 little if at all known in this country. 



The nurseries of Japan are very ex- 

 tensive and well kept ; millions of 

 ]Dlants are yearly grown for home and 

 foreign trade, and I am pleased to note 

 the exjDort trade in Japanese nursery 

 stock is yearly increasing in very great 

 proportions. 



The art of dwarfing plants is so little 

 known in other lands that a short de- 

 scription of its process is not out of 

 place here A few examples will suffice 

 to give you a general idea. The suc- 

 cessful Japanese nurseryman must not 

 only be a good grower, but he must 

 also be an artist, conversant Avith the 

 general arts and customs of his country, 

 which differ very materially with those 

 of any other country. 



The pines may be considered the 

 most important of all trees in Japan, 

 and great care is taken of their cultiva- 

 tion and jDreservation. The most popu- 

 lar ones are Pinus densiflora, Pinus 

 parsiflora and Pinus Thunbergii. They 

 are generally grown from seed, and 

 great care is taken to select the choicest 

 qualities. In the Spring of the second 

 year, Avhen the seedlings are about eight 

 inches in height, tliey are staked with 

 bamboo canes and tied with rice straw. 



