384 
Farming for Pleasure and Profit. “Eighth Séction— 
Market Garden Husbandry for Farmers and General 
Cultivators. By William H. Ablett. (London : 
Chapman and Hall, Limited, 1881.) 
THAT there isa certainamount of pleasure infarming culture 
as there is in every other occupation in life no one will deny, 
but whether the pleasure goes hand in hand with profit is 
another question. In these days of agricultural depres- 
sion anything that can conduce to either pleasure or profit 
in farming would, we doubt not, be hailed by thousands ; 
for farmers, however, to take up with market gardening 
in all its details as laid down by Mr. Ablett, would be to 
revolutionise the practice of farming as generally ac- 
cepted, and to constitute themselves into market gardeners 
pure and simple, this the author seems to have considered 
impracticable, except in the neighbourhood of London or 
large towns where in the markets the produce can be 
quickly disposed of. To adopt a legal phrase we may 
say we do not think the author has made out a case for 
the more general adaptation of farm lands for market 
garden produce, because while fully believing that many 
of the more important vegetables might be cultivated on 
a much more extended scale, we do not see that the 
crops would be more profitable to the grower than those 
with which he is more accustomed, and which, instead of 
requiring an immediate sale, can be stored and disposed 
of at any time. But while many vegetables. more par- 
ticularly root crops, as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, 
turnips, &c., may with profit be grown by farmers, we 
very much doubt whether mushrooms would be generally 
taken up or prove advantageous, and still less so the 
morell and truffle, all of which are included in Chap. X., the 
two latter of which the author says are not objects of cul- 
tivation in this country, a remark that is quite true, and 
therefore it does not form the slightest excuse for admit- 
ting even a notice of them into the book. Still less can 
any excuse be found for the occupation of three-quarters 
of a page by the Fly Agaric (Agaricus muscarius), a 
well-known poisonous species. 
The final chapter of the book concludes with some 
remarks on flower growing, a branch of cultivation that 
would, we should think, seldom or never be united with 
that of farming proper. The bcok is well printed, and is 
freer from typographical errors than is usually the case ; 
nevertheless there are errors in spelling that ought not to 
have occurred, such, for instance, as Solanum tuberosam 
for S. tuberosum, Lepidum for Lepidium, and Cochlearia 
armorica for Cochlearia armoracia. Notwithstanding 
that many other works exist which give full cultural 
details for growing market garden produce, we have no 
doubt that this latest production will be found of use to 
some growers. 
The Land of the Morning; an Account of Japan and its 
eople. By William Gray Dixon, M.A. (Edinburgh : 
James Gemmell, 1882.) 
GENERAL works in Japan have increased so rapidly in 
recent years that the claims of every new writer on the 
subject may well be examined with attention. Those of Mr. 
Dixon are that he resided four years in T6kié as Professor 
in the Engineering College there, that he travelled over 
nearly four thousand miles of the country, including many 
remote and mountainous districts, and that he was thrown 
into contact with representatives of all classes of Japanese 
society from Cabinet Ministers to peasants. To these 
may be added the further circumstance that really accu- 
rate and valuable books, such as those of Sir Edward 
Reed and Miss Bird, are somewhat expensive, while Mr. 
Dixon desired to furnish a moderate-sized volume at a 
moderate price. In this we think he has succeeded. “ The 
Land of the Morning” is a handsome volume of nearly 
700 pages, with numerous illustrations. When we ex- 
amine the contents of the work, we find that they are in 
NATURE 
every way worthy of their handsome exterior. After a 
brief and apparently accurate sketch of Japanese history, 
and especially of the troubles whfch led to the revolution 
of 1868, Mr, Dixon describes new Japan, its institutions, 
and people. This he does with a sympathy which is all 
the more praiseworthy that it is the result of four years’ 
close observation, and not the newly-developed ardour of 
a casual visitor. We turn with especial interest to Mr. 
Dixon’s account of Japanese students. Many young 
men from Japan have shown themselves matches for 
brilliant European students, notwithstanding the initial 
obstacle which they have to overcome in acquiring the 
language ; these, however, are clearly exceptions, and we 
therefore look to Mr. Dixon's experience for an account 
of the average Japanese student. He has devoted a whole 
chapter to the subject, and the picture is in some respects 
not a pleasant one. 
Devotion to study, which frequently leads to overwork 
and permanent ill-health ; attention and respect for the 
teacher ; good-humour; an extraordinary development of 
memory; some originality, a high sense of honour and 
much gratitude, are all found in the average student ; but 
with these we find a self-conceit which is ridiculous, a 
mind clear rather than deep, and a “ narrow intellectual- 
ism”? which blinds him to the necessity for moral as well 
as intellectual development. If there is a rapid develop- 
ment there is also a rapid decay. The picture, we believe, 
is a true, albeit somewhat melancholy one. 
The popular idea that Japanese isolation, which was 
first rudely broken by the American Commodore Perry 
in 1853, was the result of hostility and prejudice towards 
foreigners, will receive a shock from Mr. Dixon’s chapter 
on the subject. ‘‘ The real cause,’’ he says, “ of Japan’s 
exclusiveness was a fear that free intercourse with the out- 
side world might lead her into subjection to some foreign 
power.” Mr. Dixon is indignant that “an American 
gentleman of considerable fame in biology and cognate 
subjects "— Prof. Morse, of Salem, we believe—“instead of 
keeping within his own province,” preached “atheistic evo- 
lution” in a temple at Asakusa in TOkié ; in other words, 
lectured on evolution and the Darwinian theory, and 
founded among his students a biological society which 
is still active and vigorous. The really good work 
which Prof. Morse did for education and science in Japan 
cannot be dismissed by a few abusive epithets, and we 
cannot help thinking that Mr. Dixon would have acted 
more discreetly, and more in accordance with the general 
tone of the work, had he omitted references such as these. 
This, however, is but a minor blot in a work of such 
general excellence. 
A Study of the History and Meaning of the Expression 
“ Original Gravity.” By J. A. Nettleton, of the Inland 
Revenue Laboratory, Somerset House. (London: A, 
Lampray, 1881). 
THis little treatise, the substance of which appeared in 
the Brewers’ Guardian, has been compiled mainly for the 
information of brewers and distillers, and for the use of 
the officers in the Inland Revenue Department, in order 
to permit of the original gravity of a sample of wort of 
beer or of distillers’ wash to be determined after fermenta- 
tion with a view of fixing the amount of drawback, in con- 
formity with the Act 10 Vict, cap. 5, 1847, and the Inland 
Revenue Act, 1880. There are four different methods in 
more or less common use for determining “original 
gravity” These are very fully described and the inci- 
dental errors carefully noted ; preference is very properly 
given to the distillation process of Dobson and Phillips, 
with the modifications in the tables rendered necessary 
by the investigations of Graham, Hofmann, and Red- 
wood, made at the instance of the Board of Inland 
Revenue. We can recommend the work as a thoroughly 
trustworthy guide to the brewer and distiller in a matter 
of great practical importance to their trades. 
