1892.] ESSAYS. 93 



American. It is altogether different from the hirge chestnut 

 of old Japan. The Japanese have a proverb which says, 

 translating literally, " The chestnut in three years, the persim- 

 mon in seven," indicating that trees of these fruits will become 

 productive respectively in three and seven years. When 

 planted in Yesso, however, the southern chestnut fails to justify 

 its claims to such precocity, requiring usually fully twice the 

 number of years just mentioned. The chestnut of Yesso can 

 never be of any value here but the southern varieties, because 

 of the habit of early bearing and the large size of the fruit, 

 must prove valuable. 



The Yesso walnut closely resembles the English walnut, but 

 is inferior in both size and quality to the best specimens of 

 that nut found in our markets. Neither is it anywhere very 

 abundant. 



The native grape is Vitis Labrusca, the same species, you 

 will recognize, as our own common wild and cultivated varieties. 

 In Yesso, however, the wild species does not vary as does our 

 own. I have never seen more than one form, a medium to large 

 bunch of small, hard, seedy, and very sour berries, of a purple 

 or almost black color with comparatively little bloom. The 

 vine is, however, remarkably rank and vigorous in habit. A 

 specimen with stem fourteen inches in diameter was found near 

 Sapporo, and I have many times noticed leaves nearly two feet 

 across. If anything shall be discovered, able to withstand the 

 phylloxera, or calculated to infuse new disease-resisting vigor 

 into our failing vines, it would seem that we have it here in 

 Yesso. Already French and Swiss wine growers have taken 

 measures to test this vine. 



Of that fruit, the Kokuwa (Actinidio arguia)^ which is 

 peculiar to Japan, and which finds its most perfect and al)un- 

 dant development in the primeval forests of Yesso, I presume 

 you have all heard. Much has been written and said about it 

 within the last few years ; though, strangely enough from my 

 point of view, it has been urged upon the public attention as an 

 ornamental climber. Now far is it from my wish to detract 

 from its merits as such. It is certainly a vigorous, not to say 

 a rampant, grower, and its luxuriant dark-green leaves and 



