246 AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY 



ways ; for the manufacture of boxes for pills, tooth powder, paper, 

 cloths, bric-a-brac, also for getas^ or wooden shoes, cabinet drawers, 

 light and pleasing lacquer wares, playthings and many other 

 articles. 



Fam. Bignoniace^. 



74. Catalpa Kaempferiy S. and Z. {Bignonia catalpa, Thunb.), 

 Jap. Raiden-giri, Shira-giri. The wood is like the Kiri though 

 darker, and similarly employed. The name Shira-giri, " White 

 Kiri," comes from the light colour of the blossoms. 



Fam. Oleace^. 



75. Fraxinus longicuspis, S. and Z., Jap. Toneriko, like our ash, 

 loves the deep, damp soil of the hollows and ridges of the valley. 

 It is found in the mountain foliaceous forests from Kiushiu to Yezo, 

 but most frequently of all in the North. Its wood resembles our 

 indigenous ash, is of a greyish white colour, fine grained, with 

 numerous tiny pith-rays and distinct year-rings. Each of these 

 rings is sharply separated, by one or two rows of somewhat darker 

 pores, from a compact girdle that encloses them on the outer side. 

 The wood is much used in joinery for boxes, like that of both the 

 foregoing species. 



"j^. Olea fragrans, Thunb., Jap. Mokusei, an ornamental shrub 

 in Southern Europe, and 



yy. O. aqidfolumi, S. and Z., Jap. Hira-gi, growing wild, and 

 also an ornamental plant. It has a fine, whitish, and light brown 

 marbled wood, which under the lens shows small pores, clear but 

 close year-rings, and numerous small pith-rays. 



y^. Ligustrum japonicimi, Thunb., Jap. Nedzumi-mochi, like the 

 foregoing, a large bush or small tree, an ornamental plant, and 

 growing wild. The yellowish brown wood is also similar, and is 

 used in the same way for making boxes and other small articles. 

 The same is the case with Ibota, Sieb. (Z. vulgare^ Thunb.), Jap. 

 Ibota (see also p. 164). 



Fam. Styracace^. 



There are many members of this family in the different low 

 mountain foliaceous forests of Japan. They are good-sized de- 

 ciduous shrubs or small trees which in early summer are covered 

 with five-pointed, white, bell flowers. The wood is distinguished 

 by its close grain, hardness, and durability. It is used moderately 

 in joiner-work and turnery. The most remarkable of all is : 



80. Styrax japo7iicnm, S. and Z., Jap. Chisha-no-ki, Yego. It 

 is found extensively on the edge of forests, also in moats, and re- 

 sembles, in its general bearing and the colour of its bark, a finely 

 branching beech from 4 to 6 m. high. Its beautiful white, long- 

 stemmed flowers form a row of bells hanging along the lower side 

 of the branches. 



