136 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



appears astonishing, is perhaps exceptional, but all the plantations I saw gave 

 evidence of extremely rapid growth, and showed a larger proportion of clean useful 

 poles and timber than any plantations which I have seen in other countries.' 



Timber 



The wood is used for almost every purpose in Japan, but especially for tubs, 

 staves, and building. Though not as valuable as the best wood of Cupressus obtusa 

 for high-class buildings and internal work, it is, when properly selected, sawn, and 

 planed, highly ornamental both in colour and grain, easy to work, durable, and strong 

 enough for most purposes. It has also a most agreeable odour due to the presence 

 of a volatile oil called sugiol hy Kimoto,^ who gives an analysis of it, and states that 

 the wood on this account is used for making sak^ casks, the sak^ acquiring a peculiar 

 pleasant aroma. 



It varies very much in colour and figure, the most valuable being the wide 

 planks sometimes 3 to 4 feet wide and over which are used for doors, ceilings, and 

 partitions in the best houses. The darkest in colour comes from the southern island 

 of Kiusiu, and is known as Satsuma sugi. When it shows a very fine red grain in old 

 gnarled butts it is known as Osura-moko, the best of this colour being very valuable. 

 There is also a grey-coloured variety known as Gindai sugi, which appears to be 

 taken from trees which have died before felling, but I could not get very definite 

 information on this point. 



The finest example I know of the ornamental use of Cryptomeria wood is the 

 ceiling of the large dining-room in Kanaya's Hotel at Nikko, which is composed of 

 panels about 30 inches square, cut from the butts of trees which show very curly and 

 intricate graining, and without polish have a natural lustrous gloss. The Japanese 

 never paint or varnish the wood in their houses inside or out, and attach more 

 importance than European builders do to its quality, colour, and figuring. It seems 

 very strange that none of the numerous travellers and writers on Japan have, so far 

 as I can learn, as yet paid any attention to the beauty of the Japanese timbers. 

 As a rule Cryptomeria is spoken of by English-speaking Japanese and Europeans 

 as cedar, but sugi is the native name. 



The bark of the tree is also largely used, when taken off in large sheets, for 

 covering outbuildings of secondary importance, but does not appear to be so much 

 valued or so durable as the bark of Cupressus obtusa, Thujopsis dolabrata, or 

 Sciadopitys verticillata. An ounce of the seed contains about 50,000 seeds. For 

 raising trees to plant in the colder parts of Europe I should certainly prefer seed 

 from the natural forests of the north to what is grown in the subtropical climate of 

 South and Central Japan, and I should therefore warn anyone wishing to plant this 

 tree largely to be very careful about the origin of the seed or plants. 



The value of this wood varies considerably in Japan according to locality and 



' Tables of Production and Rate of Growth in Japan are given by Honda in Bull. Coll. Agric. Tokyo Imp. Univ. ii. 335 

 (1 894- 1 899). ' Bull. Coll. Agric. Tokyo Imp. Univ. iv. 403 (1 900- 1 902). 



