CULTIVATION OF MARINE AND FRESH-WATER ANIMALS IN JAPAN. 261 



fields. The occupation of the family was that of collecting and selling river fishes 

 Mich as tlic mrp. the eel, and the crucian carp, and of raising gold-fishes, in addition 

 to the ordinary farmer's work. As far hack as in the forties of the last century, the 

 high price commanded by the " suppon "' seems to have suggested to the father and 

 the uncle <>f the present Hattori the desirability of cultivating it. and this idea, once 

 started, seems never to have been lost sight of, although lying in abeyance for a long 

 time. 



In L866 the first large turtle was caught, and from then on additions were made 

 by purchase from time to time, so that in 1868 there were fifteen, and by 1874 the 

 number reached fifty, which were all very healthy, with a good admixture of males 

 and females. In 1*75 these were placed in a small pond of :!<> tsuhos". with an 

 island in the center which was intended for the turtles to lay eggs on. They. 

 however, seemed to prefer for this purpose the space between the water edge and the 



RIVER 



('it 1.— Plan 



I' a tiulli' farm. 



outer inclosure; hence, to suit the tastes of the reptile, the pond was hastily modi- 

 fied into a form very much like the one in use at the present day. That year over 

 one hundred young were hatched, but, unfortunately, they were allowed to enter the 

 pond in which the adults lived, and all hut twenty-three of them were devoured, 

 making it evident that some means were necessary to protect them from their 

 unnatural parents. Thus was gradually evolved the present system of cultivation. 



In general appearance a turtle farm is at a first glance nothing but a number of 

 rectangular ponds, large and small, the large ones having a size of several thousand 

 tsuhos. The ponds are undergoing constant modification, being united or separated 

 just as need arises, so that their number may vary considerably at different times. 

 Cut 1 gives the plan of the Hattori turtle farm at Fukagawa as at present laid out. 

 There pass through the farm two small canals which communicate on the one hand 



" i Ine tsubo, an area 6 feet square, is the unit in i In' measurement of small land surfaces. 



