2 3 2 



NA TURE 



{July 5) 1883 



consequently we become vegetarians. We cannot en- 

 tirely agree with him, but rather lay more stress upon the 

 influence of the Buddhist religion, which once wielded 

 sway over us. As to the unfavourableness of the climate 

 due to the monsoon, he is unfortunate in selecting as an 

 example the Hakone region. The volcano of Fuji San 

 (3784 m.) is a high peak covered with everlasting snow, 

 and at the foot of this lies the Hakone Pass (804 m.). 

 Here Dr. Liebscher had seen on the western side (toward 

 Fuji) around the Lake Hakone, a dreaiy sterile slope; 

 while the opposite mountains, lying on the south, are 

 covered with a luxuriant growth of forest. He ascribes 

 the cause of the sterility of the northern to the 

 cold winter monsoon, and the thickly wooded ranges 

 to the summer monsoon. I explain this striking con- 

 trast quite in another way. Fuji San is an active 

 volcano, and at the foot of this lies the region referred 

 to. It is natural that no tree will flourish at or 

 near recent volcanoes, which send out an enormous quan- 

 tity of scoriae. Moreover the Hakone Pass is situated 

 at a high altitude (804 m.). We find thick forest at the 

 top of the Brocken in the Harz mountains. Could we 

 expect the same at the summit of Vesuvius ? The 

 climate of Japan is not so ineffective as Dr. Leibscher 

 has depicted in his work ; in reality it is far more con- 

 ducive to fertility than that of Germany. 



The second chapter deals with the soil and its influence 

 upon the agriculture. " A large tract of plain not far 

 from Tokio is left uncultivated," says the author ; " while 

 the mountain slopes are turned into useful land. Such 

 an irrational course is not difficult to understand when I 

 consider the other deeds done by the Government and 

 people." This is not so serious as it seems ; he did not 

 understand the irrigation of soils, which is of particular 

 importance in the rice-producing countries. He mentions 

 in another page that the total area of the empire is 

 38,243,640 hectares, of which the cultivated land occupies 

 4,508,482 hectares, i.e. 1 1 '8 per cent. ; while the area of 

 Prussia is 34,823,420, with 17,435,605 hectares, i.e. 507 

 per cent, of the cultivated land. The balance is evidently 

 against Japan. I must here remark that Prussia is not 

 mountainous. The only notable range in the heart of 

 Prussia is the Harz ; the Thuringian forest, the Riesen 

 and Sudeten mountains lie at the southernmost boun- 

 daries of that country ; all the rest forms what is called 

 the " North German Plain," levelled down uniformly by 

 the Scandinavian glaciers in the Diluvial period. On 

 the contrary, Japan is very mountainous. Moreover, it 

 must be taken into account that we have newly taken 

 possession of the Riu-Kiu Islands. The island Hok- 

 kaido, Chi-Sima (the Kurile Islands) were neglected till 

 thirteen years ago. They are now substantially incor- 

 porated into Japan, and the present Government is 

 energetically striving to convert these into utility. 

 From these circumstances the author is not ju sti- 

 lled in jumping to the conclusion as to the present 

 state of things. We are glad to find that the yield per 

 hectare in Japan is 35 '62, while in Germany it is only 

 6"n (Dr. E. Naumann). As to the geology, the bearing 

 of which is of great importance to the sod and subsoil, 

 Dr. Liebscher closely follows Rein's "Japan," without 

 contributing his own observations. The chief rock-groups 

 are: (1) the crystalline massive rocks (granite, diorite, 

 diabase, porphyries); (2) the palaeozoic schists; (3) the 

 more recent volcanic rocks (trachyte, rhyolite, andesites, 

 dolerite, basalt) ; (4) the alluvium and diluvium. Among 

 the first group are phosphates, salts of potash and soda in 

 the form of felspar, and apatite ; and the same minerals 

 are richly contained in the third group. In Rein's 

 palaeozoic schists, recent trias and cretaceous formations 

 are ascertained by geologists of the Geological Survey, 

 and must be separated from the second group of Rein's 

 geological category. The author lays great stress upon 

 the sterility of soils, to the extensive development of the 



talc and chlorite schists and so-called "tuff soils" — a fine 

 volcanic ejectamenta poured from the vent, and sediment 

 under water. Indeed, I saw, myself, in the provinces of 

 Musasi, Sanuki, and Rii, the phyllite system, in which 

 the talc and chlorite schists form an essential member ; 

 still they sink into insignificance when compared with the 

 other rock groups. Moreover, the so-called talc schist is 

 in reality micaceous clay slate, and the pseudochlorite 

 schist is chloride epidote hornblende schist. These facts 

 will somewhat modify the author's conclusion. As to the 

 " tuff soil," he discusses and repudiates the uncertain 

 analyses of Prof. E. Kinch and Herr von Korschelt. 

 Neither of these gentlemen, I think, are correct, supposing 

 that their analyses have been carefully prosecuted. They 

 select as samples the " tuff soils " from the flneighbour- 

 hood of Tokio. This city lies in the plain, surrounded by 

 lofty volcanic chains — Fuji, Asama, Sirane, and many 

 other ranges of volcanic nature, bounded on the south- 

 east by sandstone mountains of the Awa province. Tuff 

 and sandstones, a priori, could not produce fertile soils, 

 and indeed "tuff soils" are the poorest in Japan. It is 

 not found everywhere in that country, and appears exclu- 

 sively confined to the neighbourhood of Tokio. I doubt 

 very much the nature of the so-called " tuff soil." It 

 may perhaps be an accumulation of diluvial sand and 

 gravels. If samples for chemical analyses were obtained, 

 the soils from the Mino province among others, we should 

 be able to get a true insight into the Japanese soils. The 

 author's conclusions, based upon these unfortunately ill- 

 chosen samples, could, of course, not be correct, because 

 the premises are already wrong. It is remarkable that 

 Dr. Liebscher, as a professional agriculturist, after travel- 

 ling through the greater part of Japan, should not be able 

 to throw some new light on this point. 



On the third chapter I have little to say, for the de- 

 scription relates to the bygone world prior to the year 

 1868. At present, our social condition assumes quite a 

 new phase. Moreover the facts are compiled from the 

 Transactions of ilie Asiatic Society of Japan and from the 

 Mitthtilungen der deutschen Gesellschaft fur Natur und 

 Volkerkunde Ostasiens. Most of the Transactions are 

 translations from old obscure Japanese documents under 

 the guise of new titles. One thing cannot however be 

 passed unnoticed, that is the footnote on p. 72, which 

 runs as follows : — " The Mikado may have, according to 

 the Land Statute, 12 wives ; the nobles, 8 ; the samurai, 

 2; the commons, 1." No such law ever existed in Japan. 

 We are neither Mormons nor Mohammedans ! 



The fourth chapter deals with the political and social 

 changes since the year 186S. It presents nothing new, 

 except some odd remarks of a fanciful nature. The 

 full accounts are already worked out by Le Gendre in 

 " Progressive Japan," in Griffis's" Mikado's Empire," and 

 lastly in Rein's "Japan." On p 105 it is stated that the 

 Japanese Government lays a heavy tax upon the farmer 

 which may amount to half what he has won by patient 

 labour ; this oppressive measure would hinder future 

 agricultural progress. In reality the legitimate tax is 

 only 2i per cent, of the net product. 



The last (fifth) chapter treats of the historical develop- 

 ment of foreign commerce and the balance of exports 

 and imports. It is seen from the elaborately compiled 

 tables that Japan is now in a favourable condition. In 

 spite of the author depreciating and underrating what 

 the Japanese have done, and the apparently incurably 

 unfavourable physical conditions of the country, the author 

 has, in the concluding chapter, a somewhat reassuring 

 statement. He says that Japan will gradually produce more 

 and more agricultural products if the heavy tax is taken off 

 and serviceable roads are constructed throughout the inte- 

 rior. If this should be the case, the buying power of the 

 country will be increased, and Germany will have to look 

 for an opportunity to engross the export commerce. I 

 must remark, lastly, that the author seems to me not fair- 



