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a pioneer vineyard with foreign methods. Owing to the good 

 climate the farm has been successful and wine-making promises 

 to be a lucrative industry. Of late years, viticulture of this 

 kind has sprung up in many districts. Among them I may 

 mention the following as the largest and most reliable ones: 

 Iwanohara Vineyard, province Echigo ; Fujita Vineyard, 

 .Hirosaki, Province Mutsu. Besides, smaller ones in the 

 environs of Yonezawa, Province Uzen ; and those in Kai, Shi- 

 nano and Niigata, and finally their culture in cold vineries in 

 Kaidani near Okayama are all brilliant examples of success 

 of the cultivation of European vines for the market. Cultiva- 

 tion under glass has been carried on for about two decades in 

 the Emperor's Garden. Moreover, in gardens of amateurs, 

 colleges and experimental stations, it has been tried with fair 

 results. Though the vinifera grapes easily grow and fruit 

 under glass structures, they are not perfectly healthy and set 

 freely in the open air in some parts of Japan, particularly in 

 the south and south-east Japan. So it is difficult to get ripe 

 fruits from them, even when the soil conditions are favourable. 



The causes of failure have been often discussed by 

 growers and specialists. It is my opinion that the principal 

 cause lies in the weakening of the vines, owing to diverse 

 climatic conditions, especially by poor illumination, dampness 

 both in the air and soil and by the prevailing rain during the 

 flowering period. Lack of heat is responsible only m some 

 varieties like Muscats in north Japan and Hokkaido. It is 

 needless to say that the vinifera typs of grapes has attained 

 the highest perfection in the Mediterranean countries, Califor- 

 nia, and other arid States in the United States. 



Similar types of vegetation flourish under similar 

 oecological conditions. Generally speaking, dry summer and 

 moist winter prevails in these countries. This is a radical 

 difference as compared with our own climate. The soils, 

 though variable in texture and in fertility indifferent districts, 

 appear, however, to be adapts 1 to a proper growth of vinifera 



