no SECTION A. GENERAL ZOOLOGY. 



recent years. This place, together with another up north in the 

 Miyagi Prefecture, enjoys the unenviable reputation of having an 

 abundant supply of Distomunt eudeiniaivi or spatlmlatum^ which 

 infests the human liver and proves fatal in so many cases. 



Amphioxiis has been found in Japan in three places, all on the 

 island of Kyushu, viz.: (i) in the Inland Sea, off the province of 

 Bungo, (2) near the island of Shikajima, in the province of Chikuzen, 

 and (3) in Amakusa, in the province of Higo. The animal has not 

 so far been found in any place further north, although a larva has 

 once been found in the surface collection in the Inland Sea. 



As we approach the southern extremity of Kyushu, the fauna 

 becomes subtropical, and this becomes more and more marked as 

 we pass on to the Loo Choo Islands. 



Coming back further north, the Pacific shores of the island 

 of Shikoku and the peninsula of Kii are famous for their mild 

 climate. The warm Black Current (Kuroshiwo) sweeps by, and at 

 Shiwo-no-Misaki (lit. Cape of Current) comes very close to the 

 shore, influencing the fauna to a marked degree. Here, as indeed 

 all along the Pacific shores of Japan, the fishes like the bonito and 

 the tunny, which come with the current, are caught in a large 

 number. 



The river Nagara, in the province of Mino, is famous for the 

 fishing of Pkcoglossiis with the cormorant. The art — for it cannot 

 be called anything else — is here carried to perfection. A skilful 

 fisherman can hold a dozen or more birds by separate strings, and 

 can manage to keep the lines all disentangled and clear in spite of 

 the complex movements of the birds. The fishing is carried on in 

 dark, moonless nights in the summer. A fleet of these cormorant- 

 fishers descending the river, with their torches burning, amid the 

 peculiar cries of the men urging the birds to do their best, is one of 

 the most interesting sights to be seen in Japan. 



In the town of Gifu, the centre of this cormorant-fishing, lives 

 also an enthusiastic entomologist, well known in Japan — Mr Nawa. 

 He owns a very extensive collection of Japanese insects, and is 

 making a very interesting study of insects injurious to agriculture in 

 that country. 



The Bay of Mikawa is famous for the good quality of the 

 holothurian, Stichopus japonicics^ which is eaten largely in Japan, 

 and, as dried trepang, is exported to China. Certain experiments 

 with a view to the cultivation of this holothurian, or at least to 

 keeping its supply undiminished, are here going on. 



In the Bay of Agu, in the province of Shima, there occurs 

 an abundance of the pearl-oyster, Avicida Martensii, and there has 

 lately been formed a large establishment for the cultivation of this, 

 which promises to give very good results. 



In the Bay of Suruga, the water is very deep close up to the 

 shore, and here has been found a very remarkable oceanic plankton, 

 including many Siphonophora, Heteropoda, Medusae, and Oceanic 



