204 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



company of Mr. Shirasawa in June, and after passing through the flat rice-fields 

 which extend from the sea to the foot of the hills, entered the forest, which consists 

 mainly of Thujopsis naturally reproduced, though here and there, trees of Quercus 

 glandulifera. Magnolia hypoleuca, and other species occur, whilst Cryptomeria and 

 Cupressus obtusa are planted in the valleys, and Larix leptolepis on those parts of 

 the hills where the natural forest has been destroyed by fire. From observations 

 taken at the meteorological observatory of Aomori, it appears that the climate of this 

 part of Japan is cold in winter and the snowfall heavy, the thermometer falling in 

 February to 15 Centigrade, and rising in September to sa's" Centigrade; the 

 average temperature for the whole year being 9, and the average moisture 78 

 per cent. The average height of the trees here is about 70 to 80 feet, attaining 

 in deep shady valleys 100 feet or perhaps more, and about 2 feet in diameter when 

 closely grown, at the age of 150 to 180 years when it is considered ripe for felling. 



The stems are often much curved at the butt from the pressure of the snow on 

 the young seedlings, which require eight to ten years to get above its surface in 

 winter, and these butts are usually cut separately and used for special purposes. 

 The tree does not seem to have the power of reproducing itself from the stool, but 

 produces abundant seed, which in dense shade germinates freely, though the 

 growth of the seedlings is very slow at first. 



The undergrowth of the forest is very different from what I saw in other parts 

 of Japan, bamboo-grass {Arundinaria Veitchii) being much less prevalent, but in the 

 damp places tall herbaceous plants were numerous, with Aucuba, Skimmia, and Ilex, 

 and other evergreen shrubs on the drier ground, and many pretty liliaceous plants 

 and orchids in places. 



Goto says of this tree,* that it formed under the old regime, together with 

 Cupressus pisifera, C. obtusa, Thuya japonica, and Sciadopitys, the so-called " Goboku " 

 or Five Trees, which enjoyed careful protection at the hands of the feudal autho- 

 rities ; he also says that it is rarely planted, being regenerated naturally by seed, 

 and that it forms extensive forests in a mixture with other conifers such as 

 Thuya japonica and Pinus parvifiora, in the mountains on the northern frontier of 

 the province of Rikuchu, in Goyosan, and in the mountains of the Tone districts, 

 Kozukd. It has lately come to be in great demand for railway sleepers. 



Plate 60 (in Vol. I.) represents a dense growth of trees of this species in the 

 forest of Uchimappe very similar to what I saw in the Kisogawa district at about 

 3000 feet. I am indebted to the Japanese Forest Department for the negative from 

 which it was made. 



The wood of Thujopsis is highly valued in those parts of Japan where it grows, 

 on account of its great durability. This is proved by specimens shown at the 

 St. Louis Exhibition, one of which had been used as a gate-post for eighty-three 

 years, another as a plank in a fishing-boat for eighty-four years, others as railway 

 sleepers in use for fourteen years. The wood has an aromatic smell, takes a fine 

 lustrous polish when planed, and is yellowish white in colour, showing a fine grain, 

 which makes selected planks from the butt length very ornamental. Exceptional 



' Forestry of Japan, :8 (1900). 



