AMURIA KOREA SAKHALIN HOKKAIDO 15 



Sakhalin has the same extreme climate with severe and 

 prolonged winters, a fact due to the cold sea-current 

 which bathes its shores, and to the continental north- 

 west winds. The island is thrown into a succession of 

 longitudinal valleys and ridges, and is entirely wooded, 

 except for the floor of the valleys and the naked ridges. 

 Here again, owing to the cold, damp, foggy atmosphere 

 and bad natural drainage, the floor of the valleys is 

 swampy, and peaty bogs of great depth recall the high 

 moors of Ireland and Scotland, indeed, the bleak coast- 

 belt seems to be an outlier of the subarctic tundra. 



The Pacific slopes show the influence of the cold sea- 

 currents and winds in their mixed coniferous forests of 

 larches, pines, and spruces. Numbers of dead trees are 

 left standing, and the litter of dead branches, together 

 with the dense tangle of brambles, roses, and shrubs, 

 make these forests almost impenetrable. 



As a contrast, at a moderate elevation, the interior 

 slopes, especially on the south-west, shelter a temperate 

 vegetation of a mild character with broad-leaved forests, 

 including walnuts, elms, maples, vines, yews, and even 

 bambus six feet high, with fine hydrangeas and shrubby 

 bilberries, recalling the vegetation of Japan. Similarly 

 a verdant park-landscape, recalling that of Amuria even 

 in its bogs, lies along the margins of the rivers of the 

 inland valleys. Sakhalin proves thus to be a land of 

 contrasts in its vegetation as well as in its climate. 



It may remain chiefly a timber country, but it is 

 possible that a good drainage may remove the blanket 

 of peat from the valleys, and open them at least to 

 grazing and dairying industries. 



Yezo, the northern island of Japan, shares in some 

 measure the conditions of south Sakhalin and the 

 adjacent mainland, and is also densely wooded. 



