INVESTIGATION OF JAPANESE LAQUOR. 253 



two at a glance. This tree grows more largely in warmer 

 climates than in cold ; therefore this tree abounds in the 

 south of the Empire, being one of the great agricultural 

 products, candles being manufactured from its seeds like 

 from those of laquor. Laquor-tree, on the contrary, is 

 mostly found in colder climates. 



These conditions made me suppose that the laquor-tree 

 and hage or hagi tree were originally one and the same 

 tree, but changed somewhat in property by change of 

 climate, soil, or cultivation. We have many instances of 

 plants being changed in character by the change of place. 

 It is the actual case in Japan that a certain kind of tree 

 called " youdsu," which in warm climates produces a 

 fruit which has a very pleasant fragrance, when carried up 

 to the north is changed to another kind of tree called 

 " ffedsu/' which is in all its outward appearance exactly 

 similar to youdsu, but produces an entirely different kind 

 of fruit. A plant called '' nasu" which is, I think, the 

 same thing as the English egg-plant, produces in the south 

 of Japan a fi'uit which is quite long, but when carried to the 

 north produces only round-oval-shaped fruit. It is also 

 the case that a cane-sugar plant which grows in the West 

 Indies, when brought to America forms no seed which is 

 capable of producing another plant. Again, hage or hagi 

 produces also a poisonous gas, the effect of which is exactly 

 the same as laquor, but rather less in power; and, further- 

 more, this tree produces a small quantity of laquor, but 

 the quantity is too small to be profitably extracted. 



Chemical Investigation. 



During a few months I have had the opportunity of ex- 

 amining roughly into the nature of " urushi " in the labo- 

 ratory of Tokio University. 



The specimen of " urushi '' which I have examined was 



