1050 The American Naturalist. [December, 
Japanese. Early European travellers in Japan, like Thun- 
berg and Siebold, who were unable to penetrate far into the 
interior, finding a number of plants common in cultivation, 
naturally believed them to be indigenous, and several Chinese 
plants were first described from individuals cultivated in 
Japanese gardens. ` Later writers on the Japanese flora have 
generally followed the example of the early travellers, and in- 
cluded these plants in the flora of Japan. Indeed, it is only 
very recently that it has been possible to travel freely in all 
parts of the Empire, and to study satisfactorily the character 
and distribution of its flora.” 
“The list of Chinese and Corean trees cultivated in Japan, 
and usually enumerated in floras of the Empire, includes 
Magnolia conspicua, Magnolia parviflora, Magnolia watsonii, Ster- 
culia platanifolia, Cedrela sinensis, Zizyphus vulgaris, Koelreuteria 
paniculata, Sapindus mukorosi, Acer trifidum, Rhus vernicifera, 
Sophora japonica, Liquidambar formosana (maximowiczii), Cornus 
officinalis, Diospyros kaki, and probably Diospyros lotus, Chio- 
nanthus retusa, Paulownia imperialis, Catalpa ovata, ` Lindera 
_strychnifolia, Ulmus parvifolia, Thuya orientalis, Gingko biloba, 
Podocarpus nageia, Podocarpus macrophylla and Pinus koraien- 
sis.” 
In comparing the forests of Japan with those of other 
countries, after deducting the foregoing, it is still found that 
“the Japanese region for its area is unsurpassed in the num- 
ber of trees which inhabit its forests.” Comparing the Japan- 
ese forests with those of eastern North America, there are 139 
species in 53 genera in the former, and 155 species in 66 
genera in the latter. If now we take larger areas in each re- 
gion, the comparison is equally instructive. 
“In eastern North America, that is, in the whole region 
north of Mexico and east of the treeless plateau of the centre 
of the Continent, but exclusive of south Florida, 225 species of 
trees, divided among 134 genera, are now known. The Japan- 
Manchurian region includes. eastern Manchuria, the Kurile 
Islands, Saghalin, and the four great Japanese islands, but, for 
our purpose, does not. include the Loochoo group, which, 
_ although it forms a part of the Japanese Empire politically, is 
