ZOOLOGY IN JAPAN. ICQ 



friendly competition in devising a small brass tube which will bring 

 up samples of the bottom, when used in place of the small stone. 



The method used by the Misaki fishermen for fixing a locality 

 in these seas is somewhat interesting, and has been adopted by 

 us for identifying the locality of a specimen. It is done by a 

 method very similar to a system of longitudes and latitudes. What 

 correspond to the longitudes are fixed by sighting a certain moun- 

 tain peak which is plainly visible in every part of these seas. The 

 lines are known by the names of the spots on shore over which 

 the peak is sighted. The latitudes are determined by the extent 

 to which the Cape of Sunosaki overlaps the mountains of Mera in 

 Boshyia. For instance, when the locality of a specimen is mentioned 

 as the line of Iwado with the three peaks of Mera visible, the spot 

 is easily identified. This is so accurate that when their fishing-lines 

 become entangled or are caught, fishermen often leave them with a 

 small float on overnight, and are able to find the spot next day 

 without much difficulty. 



Nowadays it is very rare to read of the pleasures of a naturalist 

 roaming through woods and fields in search of animals and plants. 

 Zoology and botany have become too serious a business to leave 

 much margin for pleasure. But I have known some of the greatest 

 pleasures of my life, wandering about these seas in small boats not 

 more than twenty-five or thirty feet long, with these fishermen, 

 quick, alert and eager. It has made me know Nature in one of 

 its most genuine aspects. 



I have spent so much time in speaking about Misaki that I have 

 only a little time left for other subjects. I shall point out to you 

 on this map some of the facts which may be of zoological interest. 



One of the best known animals from Japan is the giant 

 Salamander. This is found in the cool mountain streams of Iga 

 and other provinces of the middle Japan. Although not common, 

 it is not very rare. My colleague. Professor Ishikawa, is trying to 

 obtain materials for its embryological investigation. 



The Japanese ptarmigan, whose existence has been under some 

 doubt in Europe, lives on the Mitake, Norikura and other high 

 mountains of central Japan. 



The Inland Sea, famous for the beauty of its scenery, is 

 zoologically an interesting body of water. Its shores have a very 

 rich littoral fauna. It is also the home of Limiihis lojigispimcs. It 

 is the breeding ground of many kinds of fishes {e.g. the species of 

 Pagrus, which enter from the two channels and spawn in about the 

 middle of the sea). The plankton of the Inland Sea is quantita- 

 tively the richest that I know, and the accurate determination of 

 it by modern methods may bring out some interesting results. The 

 region around Hiroshima on the Inland Sea is famous for a very 

 perfect system of oyster-culture that has been carried on for at least 

 1 80 years. In the Bay of Kojima, the cultivation of Area granosa 

 and Area subcreiiata has been very successfully inaugurated within 



