222 PAST AND PKESKNT. 



earthen fire-places in the centre. The body is just 

 placed across the clay fire-place, and attended to by an 

 old man with a long stick, who keeps poking it into its 

 place, as it gradually disappears by this slow, grilling 

 process. No bad odour arises during the operation. 



The population of Japan is put down at over 

 30,000,000. Judging from my own experience, I should 

 say this must be far too high a figure. A single example 

 will go far to prove the justice of my view. Yedo, or 

 Tokio as it is now called, used to be put down at over 

 2,000,000 inhabitants, but on counting heads it turned 

 out only 800,000. There are immense tracts of the 

 country uninhabited, and likely to be so, being nothing 

 but a succession of ranges of mountains. The plains, 

 and those parts of the country which can be utilised, 

 most certainly are thickly peopled. 



With the poorer classes the mortality amongst the 

 children must be great. Not that the parents are care- 

 less, indifferent, or unfeeling to their little ones, and 

 consequently neglect them ; far from it, — they are 

 exceedingly gentle and kind to them ; but owing to the 

 woman being almost as much a labourer as the man, 

 the children have to take care of themselves and each 

 other from a very early age. 



Although the bath arrangements are so good, and it 



