AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES. 241 



singly as far as Southern Kiushiu, is found in the middle and 

 northern portions of Japan, often in groups, and with a circum- 

 ference of 3 to 4 m. 



48. Q. glandulifera, Blume, Jap. Nara, 0-nara, Midzunara, is like 

 the foregoing and often found in its company. The leaves how- 

 ever are much larger, as is indicated by the name 0-nara, great 

 oak. Both have a fine wood like ours, but do not reach the same 

 imposing dimensions. 



49. Q. serrata, Thunb., Jap. Kunugi and Kunugi-nara, very 

 widely distributed on Yezo and Hondo, also in Corea and China, 

 as well as in the Indian slopes of the Himalayas to a height of 

 1,500 m. (See Brandis, ** Forest Flora of India," p. 486). The leaves 

 are very like those of the edible chestnut and are the food of the 

 oak-spinner silkworms. (See Silk Culture, p. 210.) 



Among the many evergreen oaks, the following are most pro- 

 minent ; 



50. Q. cuspidata^ Thunb., Jap. Shii-no-ki, of all the evergreen 

 Japanese oaks, is the least susceptible to the cold of winter ; it is the 

 most widely spread and most important, often forming dense 

 forests, e.g.^ in the vicinity of Atami at the foot of the Hakone 

 mountains. It furnishes a valuable wood. It is a great favourite 

 as an ornamental tree, especially in Tokio. In spring, when the 

 leaves change, the tips of its twigs are white and red with young 

 leaves, which little by little become a deep green. In May it 

 puts forth catkin blossoms, which in colour and position more re- 

 semble those of our edible chestnut than of the deciduous oak. 

 The edible acorns (Shii-no-mi) have been already mentioned on 

 page 94. 



51. Q. acuta, Thunb., Jap. Aka-gashi, red oak. This tree de- 

 rives its name from the redness of its wood, which deepens often to 

 a reddish brown. It is rather more susceptible to cold than the 

 foregoing, and sometimes has a trunk of considerable thickness. 



52. Q. glauca, Thunb., Jap,, Shira-kashi, i.e. white oak. This 

 wood is the lightest in colour of all the Japanese varieties, grey- 

 white, very dense, firm, tough, and therefore much prized. It is 

 preferred for making lance handles, bearers' poles and rudder posts, 

 as well as handles to various implements. The Shira-kashi loves 

 a warm climate, and only in the mild South develops to a sightly 

 tree. 



53. Castanea vulgaris, Lamark, Jap. Kuri. ^ The light brown 

 wood is used in the forests for making charcoal ; but is otherwise 

 not much in demand. In its structure it is like the foregoing oak, 

 but is more porous, lighter, and less durable. 



54. Fagus Sieboldi, Endl., resembles very much our ordinary 

 beech, and is probably only a variety of the same. The Japanese 

 call it Buna. Its distribution and importance in the Japanese 



^ For further particulars concerning this variety, and its distribution, see p. 

 93, also p. 210. 



II. R 



