2 FORESTRY OF JAPAN. 



The Empire of Japan consists of old Japan (the general 



name adopted for the sake of convenience throughout this 

 work) comprising Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa 

 islands including the adjacent islands and of Hokkaido, 

 Taiwan (Formosa), the new territory added in 1895, and the 

 southern half of Karafuto (Sagalien) which came into our 

 possession in 1905. It is doubtful whether the forests in the 

 so-called old Japan will be able to maintain their beauty 

 permanently thus remaining transcendentally superior to other 

 changes. The Restoration of 1868 resulted in the introduc- 

 tion of new knowledge, and the breaking up various old 

 customs and manners. The eastward march of the western 

 civilization stimulated a steady progress in the method of 

 mechanical applications which brought about the enlarge- 

 ment of the sphere of economic activities. These activities 

 further led to numerous changes in forest administration 

 affecting seriously at the same time the method of utilizing 

 forests. Under these circumstances, the supply of the forest 

 products is not confined simply to the supplying of timber 

 for mining and industrial purposes as well as for articles of 

 daily use but there arose a large demand of timber for railway 

 sleepers, telegraph posts, various wood works, the material for 

 paper and other branehes of industry. The development of 

 marine transportation makes it our mission to open up market 

 abroad for our forest products, especially to supply the want 

 of timber in China and Korea. The sudden increase of the 

 demand for forest products produced a certain abnormal 

 condition in our forests, giving us for the time being great 

 cause for uneasiness. 



