Ofiiavientals. 63 



from that charming little country. But can we expect more 

 from that quarter ? The answer is a distinct affirmative. It 

 has still many gems to offer which now are unknown to us or 

 known only to botanists, and many which we do possess are 

 not appreciated. 



" The writer does not pretend to know all that may be found 

 there, but will call attention to a few things that have come 

 under his observation. Japan's ability to contribute to our 

 horticulture is especially strong in the line of ornamental 

 plants. It is not that it lacks vegetables and fruits unknown 

 or unsuited to American gardens, for the list of these is long 

 and interesting, but their adoption here is more a matter of 

 fashion and caprice than is the case with ornamental plants. 

 A handsome new shrub or tree is always and readily appreci- 

 ated by everybody, but when a new vegetable becomes a can- 

 didate for favor, its success depends largely on the art of cook- 

 ing, and perchance its use involves an alteration in our ac- 

 customed diet, which is almost sure to prove fatal to its gen- 

 eral culture. The public stomach is exceedingly conservative. 

 The finocchio of Italy and the celeriac of Holland and Ger- 

 many have never become favorites in America, although their 

 value is conceded here, and they are highly esteemed at home. 

 We should probably not relish Japanese radishes which are a 

 foot and a half in length and four inches thick throughout, but 

 prepared as they are in Japan in a kind of pickle and eaten as 

 a condiment with rice, I can testify that one can learn to like 

 them. It would not be difficult to enumerate a score of vege- 

 tables worthy of culture for their intrinsic merits, but I shall 

 here confine myself chiefly to their ornamental plants, their 

 culture at home, if cultivated at all, and the merits which re- 

 commend them to this country. And in order that we may 

 understand their taste in landscape work, and the better ap- 

 preciate the plants they grow, let us first take a brief glance 

 at the conditions under which these have been developed. 



" We of the western hemisphere are apt to consider Japanese 

 efforts at dwarfing trees and shrubs as bad taste and a trifling, 

 inexcusable waste of time and energy, and we cannot under- 

 stand their love for miniature representations of natural scen- 

 ery in their gardens. Nevertheless, a Japanese garden has a 

 grotesque charm about it which grows in strength as one dis- 

 covers the motive of the arrangement. The development of 



