INSECT POWDER. 7 



used for killing insects, and was surprised to see such a plant growing wild in Japan. 

 He then imported from Austria a small quantity of the seeds which were sent to 

 Wakayama in 1886. 



4. While Professor Tamari, present director of Kagoshinia Higher Agricultural and 

 Dendrological School, was a student in the United States, he sent some seeds from the 

 California Agricultural School and the California Agricultural Experiment Station to 

 Komaba (near Tokyo) Agricultural College. The seeds were planted there, and were 

 thence distributed to every part of Japan. 



The plants are chiefly cultivated in the prefectures of Wakayama, Aichi, Okayama, 

 and Hiroshima, of which the plantations in Wakayama Prefecture are most progressive. 

 Hence the following method of plantation is principally taken from that of this 

 prefecture: 



The seed time is twice a year — spring and autumn. When the seeds are sown in 

 the spring the flower does not open in the same year, and therefore in warm districts 

 autumn planting is considered best. Generally in the latter part of September or Octo- 

 ber a cold bed is prepared, and one-half gill of the best selected seeds, mixed with ashes 

 of wood or fine sand, are sowed on each tsubo (about 4 square yards), covering the whole 

 surface slightly with well-sieved fine earth or sand. Then the surface is pressed with 

 boards and covered with straw or rice hulls, in order to keep the earth from becoming 

 too dry . About 10 days later, when germinated, the straw or hulls are taken off. The 

 seedlings are then thinned out 2 or 3 times, according to thickness, in order to make the 

 intervals between them from 1^ to 2J inches. Five or six weeks after budding, when 

 the seedlings have grown to a height of over 1 inch, a temporary nursery is prepared, 

 and the strong seedlings are planted at intervals of 4\ to 5^ inches and the weak ones at 

 intervals of 2^ to 4 inches. The following spring they are transplanted to a ridge 2 

 or 2i feet high, in a dry rice field, and to a ridge of 2 feet or of ordinary height in a 

 vegetable field. The intervals between the seedlings when transplanted should be 

 1 foot to 1 foot 3 inches. The fertilizers usually applied are 1,560 pounds of natiural 

 forest loam, 40 pounds of superphosphate of lime, 80 pounds of straw ashes, and 2,500 

 pounds of human excrement and urine for each quarter acre. There are no special 

 methods for plowing, weeding, and irrigation. The plants are propagated not only 

 by seedlings, as just explained, but also by dividing the roots of the plants and trans- 

 planting them. After 4 or 5 years the plants become too old, and will not bear many 

 flowers, making it necessary to divide their roots or to sow new seeds. 



Sticky or clayey soil should be avoided. Sandy soil is preferable, because the water 

 drains freely. The slope of a hill or reclaimed land may also be used when care is 

 taken and it is fertilized well. No analysis of the soil is obtainable. While in the 

 nursery, a solution of sulphate of ammonia in water is applied, in addition to the 

 fertilizers already mentioned. After transplanting in the spring, the same solution is 

 applied. The superphosphate of lime is also widely used. No manganese salt is 

 applied as fertilizer, but most of the soil in Japan contains a small quantity of 

 manganese. 



The flowers are generally harvested during the latter part of May or in June, during 

 which period they are picked over four or five times. When harvested before the 

 flowers are opened fully, the crop is comparatively small, but if harvested after full 

 bloom, the strength of the powder for killing insects is lessened. Care should be taken 

 to select the time of harvesting. The proper time is when the flower petals are fully 

 opened, until their ends are on a level with the top of the calyx and the pollen is 

 falling. Old men and women, carrying hand baskets, can easily pick the flowers 

 by holding them between the middle and fore fingers, and by pressing down at the 

 top of the flower with the thumb. By shaking up and down, the flowers are soon 

 separated from the stem. A woman generally can pick the flowers at the rate of about 

 40 to 50 pounds during the day. 



