108 POPULAR GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



But to pass on: we find, as we wander through the 

 woods and forests, several kinds of Firs and Cypresses, 

 which are commoner here than any other trees; and the 

 sight of the Fir-trees, and the merry song of a lark over- 

 head, raise visions of English scenes in our minds ; though, 

 to be honest, we must allow that, whilst for some reason we 

 cannot help liking the English larks best, these foreign 

 brothers of theirs are certainly more finished performers. 

 We meet with two species of Oak too (neither of them the 

 same as our own), and with two different varieties of Maple, 

 both possessing the same peculiarity of the leaves changing 

 to a purple tint; with this difference only, that the leaves 

 of one turn purple in the spring, and of the other in the 

 autumn. 



Several kinds of the true Laurel, or Bay-tree, are natives 

 of Japan, and the Camphor-tree, which is one of the same 

 family. But one of the most important amongst the trees 

 is the Mulberry (both black and white), which is to be met 

 with in most parts of Japan, but particularly in the northern 

 provinces. Its value arises, not from the fruit, which is 

 insipid and unfit to eat, but from its leaves, on which the 

 silkworms feed which supply the extensive silk manufac- 

 tures, a trade by which not only many villages but many 



