182 



returned a -supply of manure to balance the export 

 of produce. 



I have, however, also visited farms situated on 

 hilly parts at great distances from the highroad, 

 and only recently reclaimed and cultivated. (But 

 the Japanese farmer, as a general ru^t, prefers the 

 valleys to the hilly ground, the supply of manure 

 here being more restricted and difficult, and any 

 addition to it from towns or by travellers being 

 almost altogether out of the question.) Here I 

 found occasionally only one crop on the ground ; 

 yet the rows were so wide asunder that another 

 crop could have found ample space between them. 



With this system it is at least possible to till 

 properly and repeatedly the intervening spaces 

 intended to receive the next crop ; besides, 

 the constant supply by raking, of fresh earth 

 to the present crop, places a larger store of soil 

 at its disposal than could be done otherwise. In 

 this manner, only half the field (corresponding 

 to the limited supply of manure) is actually cul- 

 tivated ; but the system of planting the crop in 

 drills wide apart always returns a much more 

 abundant yield than could possibly be obtained 

 if half the field as a continuous plot were com- 

 pletely sown, the other half being allowed to lie 

 fallow. As the home production of manure, or its 

 importation from other parts,, increases, the farmer 



