vm 



Tlie estiinaU'd lunount of rnvoniif« from alrnliolic liquor» for tin- year «'inline 

 SeptoinlKT 3()th, ISSl is l(),7!l.">,02r» yt'ii, tla- totjil e-stiiimUil n>v»;iin<! l>t'iii<; 

 yen. 5G,G1(>,907. The former estimate is inncli jjreatcr tluin the actual yicht of the 

 piist yeiir, owin^ to the cousidcnililc fluiiij^es whicli have Ikjou miide Uith in tlic- 

 amounts and in the mode of colltftin«; tlio taxes." The amouiil of the dilffrent 

 kiuils of mke n\vcn in the table alnivo is 5,2()7,y7i) koku, or 2tJC,7.')(;,4<>'J 

 gallons., but this nurnlier does not express the t^ital «juantity consnmo)!, for 

 without any tloubt, nuich sjike which is not tuxe<l, is pru|>ar»><l iu privuti- lioimeH 

 in tlie country. 'I'likitig into cunsidenition only the amount of ordinary sake 

 used, say 5 million koku, or 198 million gallons, the consumption corR«|Minda 

 to G g)\llüns |)er hoiul |>or annum reckoning the |iopulation at 33 millions. If it 

 Were diluted twice so lus to In- about the sjiine strength as l«vr, the cousumjitiou 

 would Lie doubled, that is 12 g-allons a head, whilst the consumption of i»eer in 

 England avemges 34 gallons per hca<l, nearly three times as much as in daiiiin. 

 The brewing of sake is, therefore, relatively of less imjiortance than that of litrr 

 in England, and this is doubtless to 1>« ivscriU'cl to the enormous consumption of 

 tea, which serves at all times, in summer and in winter, as the national Ix-vcnig«'. 



The study of the cheniical n'iictions involveil in the brewing ]iriMtt« 

 descriU'd in the following isxges ha« brought to light a fact of some im|K>rtan<'c 

 relating to the |)hysiology of planti, viz. that the growth of a inoidd over tin? 

 surface of perfectly dead rii-e grains causes a chang«; in the cbanu-ter of the 

 albumenoid matter of the grain resembling that which residts fmm the 

 germination of the embryo of similar grains. I «vnnot omit here to dniw 

 attention to the mutual advantage to lie derived from an assfviation of wr)rker9 

 in industrial and in jiure sciencr; the coö|x.*nition cannot but l>e of the greati-st 

 utility on the one hand, by suggesting new subjects for research to the the<»reticÄl 

 worker, and on the other, in aiding the pnwtical man to atfiiin the U-st results 

 ]>ossible. The student of science in .lajian has a wide field U-fon- him: that 

 system of isolation which has prevented the introduction of Western ktiowle«lg«* 

 till within the hist quarter of a century has not been entirely fruitless, for it lias 

 resulted in the development of industrial processes which an- as novel and 

 interesting to the Em-o|)t^in as those of the latter are to Jajiarat«'. '1 he scientilic 

 student« of the imiversity and colleges of .Ia|iiU) need not, therefore, look 

 very far in order to find subject« that require invt!stigation and explanation, and 

 this search will, without doubt, adil largely to the sum totjil of existing ktiowlwlgi-. 



• 'I'lip «•cliiimliij rcvcniio di'rivp«! from llii' iinxliiclinn niiil miIp of nloiholic Iii|uory (fivi-n «Ikivo 

 diffiTR gri'iilly rroiii tliat »tiirli ii|>|x>ur)< in tlii> K«liiiinli-R of llic Miliiiili-r of Kiiiiiiio- fur llie ji-nr 

 «•iiilint; June 3(Mli, \HHl. 'V\w iiiiiiilx-r iIkti- givi-ii in vi-n ri,y<;.",,ir2l), or v.-ry litll«- more ihnn oiif 

 half llic (■.stiiimtcx for tlio vc-iir eiicliiiK thn.-«- iiiuiilli'« Inter. The ex|ilniialioii of tho dilfcrpiico lip» 

 in till! fuel tliiil situ;« ih« Riliiiiatf.H of the Minister of tiiiunce were |>ul'likhe<l the tax«-« hme \»vu 

 (lonliltnl. 



