176 



The fields in Japan do not therefore, as a 

 general rule, present that luxuriant aspect which 

 gratifies the sight occasionally at home. We see no 

 impenetrable forests of straw from six to eight feet 

 high, nor turnips weighing 100 Ibs. (with 99 Ibs. 

 of water in them). There is nothing extravagant 

 and superabundant in the sight of Japanese crops ; 

 but what distinguishes them most favorably as 

 compared to ours, is their certainty and uniformity 

 for thousands of years. The real produce of land 

 can be calculated only by the average crops of a 

 series of years. 



If additional proof were needed to show that the 

 state of cultivation is very superior, and that the 

 land yields abundant produce, I would point to 

 the fact that the Japanese Empire, which covers 

 an area similar to Great Britain and Ireland, but 

 of which one -half at the most (because of the hilly 

 nature of the country) can be looked upon as fit 

 for tillage, not only contains a greater population 

 than those countries, but maintains them without 

 any supply of food from other parts. Whilst Great 

 Britain is compelled to import corn to the extent 

 of many millions annually, Japan, since the opening 

 of its ports, actually exports no inconsiderable quan- 

 tities of food. 



TILLAGE or THE SOIL. 

 Deep cultivation of the soil has come to be 



