1892.] ESSAYS. 95 



A fruit which, from the extent to which it is collected and 

 used in Yesso, perhaps deserves mention next, is that of the 

 rose (Rosa rugosa) called by the Japanese "beach pear." It 

 is so called, doubtless, from the fact that it is especially abun- 

 dant on the upper reaches of sandy beaches. The hip of this 

 species of rose, now not uncommon here, is usually large and 

 handsome, as many of you may know. In size, it averages 

 larger than the common crab-apple, and the color is deep 

 scarlet. It is chiefly eaten by the children ; though halved, 

 seeded, and slightly salted, it is esteemed a delicacy by many 

 adults. I have tasted it and found it really not so bad as I had 

 expected. Its ornamental qualities are not lost' sight of by the 

 Japanese, who have fixed upon a special holiday in July when 

 it is considered eminently the thing both to display this fruit 

 and to partake of it. 



A species of apple (Pyrus Toringo) is common all over 

 Yesso. In rich lands the trees average about as large as crab- 

 apple trees here ; in poor sandy soils it is reduced to a shrub. 

 The fruit is small ; it will hardly average as large as the cran- 

 berry. The stem is long and slender, the shape that of our 

 apple, and it is puckery and very sour. This species has been 

 commonly used as a stock for grafting our American varieties 

 and answers the purpose excellently. The trees began bearing 

 at the age of about four years, and trees which begun to pro- 

 duce fruit abundantly about 1879, were still producing large 

 crops of fine fruit annually, where well cared for, ten years 

 later. At that time, where trees were planted twenty by 

 twenty-five feet apart, the branches were beginning to meet, 

 and the trees were still very thrifty. It is yet too early to say 

 how long-lived such trees will prove. 



There is no pear native to Yesso, but the earlier varieties of 

 the pear commonly cultivated in Southern Japan (Pyrus com- 

 munis) are raised to a limited extent. This is a fruit of mag- 

 nificent appearance, large, obtuse, russet in color. In texture 

 it is hard or breaking and coarse ; in flavor sweet and insipid. 

 A friend of mine has told me that once, in company, he likened 

 these pears to " turnips in disguise; " l)ut the company unani- 

 mously disapproved the comparison. They thought it was 



