AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES. 219 



found from Yezo to Southern Kiushiu, there appear constantly 

 towards the south and lower altitudes, ' more evergreen trees. 

 Among them evergreen oaks, camellias and other Ternstromiaceae, 

 the camphor-laurel, and some varieties of cinnamon are the most 

 noticeable. On Shikoku and the peninsula of Yamato the camellia 

 is found with the beech, deciduous oak and some kinds of maple. 

 In Hiuga I saw lUicium religiosum and evergreen Daphne shrubs 

 in company with Quercus cuspidata. In still other parts of South- 

 ern Kiushiu and reaching to 300 meters above the sea, we find, 

 near this and other kinds of evergreen oaks, lofty trees of different 

 species of cinnamon, and among others, Buxus japonica in the 

 underwood. 



We must, however, classify all these forests under the head of 

 wild or natural, for they are not the product oi any cultivation 

 for a particular purpose, but grow independently. We can find also 

 in all of them another and still more interesting feature, This is 

 their marked relationship to the woods of the Atlantic States in 

 North America, and to the forests of the tertiary period in middle 

 Europe. It does not lie within the purpose of this work to con- 

 sider more closely their kinships, and is the more unnecessary here, 

 as those who are particularly interested in them will find a full 

 account of them in vol. i. pp. 168-174. 



Hitherto I have treated only of the natural deciduous forests of 

 the mountains. I must note here, however, a group of Coniferae 

 which connects itself more or less with the deciduous forest and in 

 general within the altitudes of from 1,500 to 2,000 meters. Where 

 the last height is exceeded (up to 2,400 m., see vol. i. p. 157) 

 the development of the trees is far behind the normal state, 

 except where the ground of an old crater or a ridge gives protection 

 from the violent winds, and affords a better soil. For example, 

 Abies Tsuga and A. polita are found from 3 to 6 meters in height 

 near the peak of Nantaisan, 2,500 meters high, in the Nikko Moun- 

 tains while the same species, of no greater age, grow four or five 

 times as high lower down. Of the six most common conifers in 

 this region, Tsuga is without doubt the most frequent, and by itself 

 often covers a wide extent of territory. With it one finds Abies 

 finna and Larix leptolepis in the lower, A. polita, A. Alcockia7ia^ 

 and A. VeitcJiii in the higher elevations. 



As a rule, only a i^w deciduous varieties of trees are found in 

 these dark, high mountain forests (Kuro-ki, or Black Forests), and 

 these are only exceptionally brought to a high state of develop- 

 ment. They are birches, alders, and mountain ash (Betula alba, 

 Alnus viridis, A. incanay Pyriis sambiicifolia), with different kinds 

 of shrubs. 



Apart from Yezo, the relative proportions of the entire Japanese 

 Coniferae, are given by Dupont ^ as follows : 



^ " Les Essences forestieres du Japon," p. 8. 



