476 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



AGRICULTURE IN JAPAN. 



I. 



The Agricultural Bureau of the Department 

 of Agriculture and Commerce has issued an 

 interesting and instructive volume* dealing with 

 the agriculture of this little state so renowned 

 for the industry of its people. As the preface 

 by the Director announces, the work has b-jen 

 compiled for the information of the outsider 

 rather than for the edification of the indigenous 

 population. 



The book, consisting of 132 pages, opens with 

 an introduction dealing with the Geography, 

 Topography and Climate of Japan; part I. treats 

 of the conditions of agriculture; part II. with 

 agricultural products; part III. with agricul- 

 tural administration ; and part IV. is specially 

 devoted to Formosa and Karafuto. 



The chief characteristics of Japanese agri - 

 culture are (1) that the first place is given t° 

 the cultivation of rice, that cattle are used for 

 all agricultural operations, and that with the 

 cultivation of crops is combined the subsidiary 

 industry of sericulture; (2) that cultivation is 

 conducted on a small scale and is intensive in 

 character (70 per cent of the faraiers cultivating 

 an area of not more than 2 acres each, 3 percent 

 cultivating not more than 7js acres each)— a con- 

 dition due to the small size of the country and 

 the denseness of its population, necessitating 

 high cultivation and the raising of two crops in 

 a year. 



In Ceylon the need for emulating the example 

 of the Japanese, or even of the South Indian, 

 does not exist, and hence the complacency of 

 the husbandman, who, with all the frailties of 

 an imperfectly educated human being, does not 

 labour more than is absolutely necessary 

 for his sustenance, and often fails in this. 

 In manuring he does little or nothing worthy 

 of the name, while in this respect it is 

 computed that the Japanese annually use 

 200,000,000 yen (equivalent to about £2,000,000) 

 largely consisting of soya-bean cake — the residue 

 of soya-beans after the expression of the oil. 



From the tables furnished it appears that not 

 only is the area under various products increas- 

 ing, but the rate of increase of the output per 

 unit of land is very high. During the past 20 

 years the output of rice has increased by 37 per 

 cent., barley by about 40 per cent , soya-bean 

 by 13 per cent., sweet potatoes by 64 per cent., 

 buckwheat by 10 per cent., while potatoes have 

 increased 4| times, and the output of cocoons 

 3 times. This is a notable record, and proves 

 the value of a well-organised Agricultural 

 Department of which Japan is the happy pos- 

 sessor. 



The cultivation of rice, which is described as 

 " the very life of Agriculture in Japan f must be 

 referred to in a separate article. When com- 

 pared with the Japanese cultivator, our Ceylon 

 goiya may be said to be only playing at lice 

 growing. There is also much for us to learn as 

 regards agricultural organisation, co-operative 

 societies, &c, from Japan. 



* Outlines of Agriculture iu Japan (Department of 

 Agriculture and Commerce, Tokyo.) 



The work under review is well printed and 

 illustrated, but is marred by the poor quality of 

 its English. Still as a record, and an instruc- 

 tive manual, the book is a distinctly valuable 

 contribution to current agricultural literature. 



II. 



One of the most interesting subjects treated 

 of in this work is that of rice growing. 



There, as here, the bulk of the rice crop is 

 raised on fields under irrigation, but with this 

 difference— that in Japan, as a rule, two crops 

 are raised each year on the same field, of which 

 rice is one the other beiug more or less a dry 

 crop. 



The annual output of rice is valued at about 

 £81,000,000, and the protection and encourage- 

 ment of its production, form the chief problem 

 of agricultural administration, the Government 

 employing every possible means for improving 

 the cultivation. 



Rice is distinguished as nonglutinous and 

 glutinous, but the output of the latter does not 

 exceed l-10th of the former. Glutinous rico is 

 boiled and eaten, while the nonglutinous 

 variety is converted into flour for making cake, 

 and also employed in the nanufacture of the 

 spirituous liquor called " sake." 



In improving the quality of rice, as well as 

 the method of preparing and packing the grain, 

 so as to give it the best value in the market, a 

 system of rice inspection has been established 

 with a view to producing a uniform quality. 

 There are also institutions known as '• common 

 rice depots " for the storage of rice. The pre- 

 pared grain may be consigned by a cultivator to 

 these warehouses where a rigorous inspection is 

 made with a view to grading the grain so that 

 ail of one quality may be bulked together. Re- 

 ceipts are issued to the consignors, and these 

 may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the 

 holders. This arrangement has been instru- 

 mental not only in improving the quality of 

 rice, but also in greatly facilitating tran- 

 sactions. Rice is packed for sale in bags made 

 of straw. 



The details of cultivation do not vary much 

 from those in vogue in Ceylon as regards their 

 sequence, but in other respects there is a 

 material difference. The seed is never broad- 

 casted, but first planted in a nursery and after- 

 wards transferred to the field, where the plants 

 receive proper fertilising, weeding, &c, so that 

 high yields may be secured. 



Upland rice (or what is known in Ceylon as 

 Hill paddy) is cultivated in high lands and is 

 coming to take the place of the millets usually 

 grown in such situations. The proportion of 

 upland rice does not, however, exceed 3 per 

 cent, of the total rice output, though there is a 

 tendency for this proportion to increase. 



Japanese rice finds its way chiefly to Hawaii, 

 to the United States and to Canada, as well as to 

 Russia in Asia, Chiua and even England. There 

 is some importation of rice, but Indian grain is 

 looked upon as inferior in quality and is chiefly 

 consumed by the poorer classes. 



