GEOGRAPHIC NOTES 



PEARL AND TURTLE FARMS IN 

 JAPAN 



ONE of the most interesting ad- 

 dresses before the recent Con- 

 gress of Arts and Sciences was made by 

 Prof. K. Mitsukuri, of the University 

 of Tokyo, on ' ' The Cultivation of Ma- 

 rine and Fresh Water Animals in Ja- 

 pan." The time is fast approaching 

 when the increase of population on the 

 earth and the question of food supply, 

 which must arise as a consequence, will 

 compel us to pay most serious attention 

 to the utilization for this purpose of 

 what has been termed the ' ' watery 

 waste." 



For man to overfish and then to wait 

 for the bounty of nature to replenish, 

 or, failing that, to seek new fishing 

 grounds, is an act to be put in the same 

 category with the doings of nomadic 

 people wandering from place to place in 

 search of pasturage. America has fore- 

 seen this and is ahead of other nations 

 with her efficient fish commission. Nor 

 is it from the utilitarian point only that 

 more attention is likely to be paid in 

 future to the cultivation of aquatic or- 

 ganisms. We have been apt to forget 

 that animals are living entities and not 

 simply a collection of dead tissues. But 

 we are beginning to realize that animals 

 must be studied living in order to arrive 

 at the correct interpretation of many 

 biological phenomena. 



The speaker described the methods 

 of cultivation of various marine and 

 fresh-water organisms practiced in Ja- 

 pan. He first described the successful 

 cultivation of the snapping turtle, which 

 takes in Japan the place occupied by the 

 terrapin in American gastronomy. Tur- 

 tle farms in Tokyo and elsewhere are 

 now able to raise tens of thousands of 

 these luscious reptiles and to keep the 

 supply constant. Methods and plans 

 of turtle farms were described. The 

 speaker next described the cultivation 

 of the goldfish, which are wonderful, 



not only for their beauty, but are a 

 source of endless surprises to the scien- 

 tist. Various breeds were described and 

 their extraordinary peculiarities. 



The pearl-oyster farm was also de- 

 scribed. In 1890 the speaker suggested 

 to a Mr Mikimoto the desirability of 

 cultivating the pearl-oyster, and also 

 pointed out the possibility of making 

 the pearl-oyster produce pearls by giv- 

 ing artificial stimuli. The idea was 

 taken up with enthusiasm, and the re- 

 sults are beyond expectations. Today 

 the pearl-oyster farm, put on a commer- 

 cial basis, has millions of pearl-oysters 

 living on the culture grounds, and is 

 able to place annually a large crop of 

 what has been termed ' ' culture pearls ' ' 

 on the market. 



THE ZIEGLER POLAR EXPEDITION 



THE auxiliary steamer Frithjof, of 

 the Ziegler Polar Expedition, in 

 command of W. S. Champ, has returned 

 to Norway after two unsuccessful at- 

 tempts to reach Franz Josef Eand, owing 

 to the almost unprecedented heaviness 

 of the ice. Mr Champ saw no traces of 

 Captain Fiala's party. The latter are 

 amply supplied with provisions, etc. ; 

 so that no anxiety is felt on their being 

 compelled to spend a second winter in 

 the north. The Frithjof reached lati- 

 tude 79 degrees 1 1 seconds, which is 

 within 40 miles of Cape Flora. Mr 

 Champ says in a letter to the National 

 Geographic Society, which it will be 

 remembered has a special representative 

 with the expedition in the person of 

 W. J. Peters, of the U. S. Geological 

 Survey, who is second in command and 

 director of the scientific work of the 

 party : 



' ' In accordance with the plan of the 

 expedition, Mr Fiala was to put down 

 signals for us at this cape (Flora) on his 

 northward voyage last year and again 

 this past spring. It was also included 

 in the plan to .send down a light sled 



