CHAPTER H. 

 The Adaptive Ranges of Fruits in Japan^ 



Fruit trees growing in Japan comprise almost all kinds oi 

 warm and temperate origin. The climate and soil are varied 

 enough for tnem to flourish in the open air. Exotic fruits 

 have also been quite naturalized in various districts, and many 

 of them have borne gbod fruits. Amongst them, appleis, pears 

 and American grapes have found a wide field for adaptation 

 since their introduction some 30 years ago. Apple growing 

 now forms the leading industry or North Japan. 



Generally speaking, no fruits, except those of tropical and 

 sub-tropical origin, suffer from want of summer heat, but owing 

 to the high degree of humidity in summer, our fruits are 

 clearly different from those grown on the Continent or in drier 

 regions. Their flavour or aroma is markedly inferior to that 

 of the fruits grown in the continental climate. 



CRABS AND APPLES. 



" Ringo," a Japanese crab apple and " Rinki," a variety 

 of the Siberian crab, both of which are indigenous to Japan 

 grow wild in almost any part of the Ura-Nippon, north Japan 

 with Hokkaido and central Japan (Provinces of Kai and 

 Shinano). According to our old records and reports ov local ex» 

 perts, the fruits have never been found wild or naturalized in the 

 south east parts of Hondo, Shikoku and Kiushu, or in the 

 Omote-Nippon, except the North. 



Cultivated apples, most of which are of American origin, 

 thrive well in Hokkaido, north and north-west Japan. The area 

 of ^heir plantations in these centres amounts to several hundreds 



