388 



THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF JAPAN. 



ties ot c/aikon scattered over the country, many of them 

 known only in small districts here and there, to which 

 their culture is confined. Most of them are white in 

 color, but one may also occasionally see red, black or 

 purple varieties. As an article of food the daikon con- 

 tains but little nourishment, nearly 95 per cent, of the 

 root being water. It is eaten raw or boiled and pickled, 

 but particularly in the latter form, as okoko. There are 

 many brands of this condiment, which, however, differ 

 chiefly in the time they have been in pickle. Ordinarily 

 the white radish is colored yellow in the pickle by the 

 addition to the brine of certain quantities of rice-bran. 

 For this preparation the roots are pulled in September, 

 and being tied in small bundles with straw-rope they are 

 hung on poles to dry for about six weeks. At the end 



Trichosanthes Japonica. 



of that time nearly half the water has evaporated and 

 the roots can be bent and twisted without breaking. 

 They are then carefully washed and at once packed in 

 tubs of suitable size between layers of a mixture of rice- 

 bran and salt. When the tub is full, warm water is 

 poured over the contents and the roots are weighted 

 down with stones. A fermentation soon sets in, con- 

 verts the roots into a sort of sauer-kraut, and at the same 

 time develops a strong and disagreeable odor, which 

 most foreigners regard as unbearably repulsive. When 

 the okoko is designed to be used in from 30 to 40 days 

 every 100 roots of the yierima variety requires nine she 

 ot salt (a sho is about equal to 1 5^ quarts) to seven she 

 of niika (rice-bran). If to be used during the following 

 summer, it requires five sho of salt and five sho of mtka 



to every loo roots, and if it is to be kept for a couple of 

 years, it being claimed that the flavor improves with age, 

 the proportions are seven sho of salt and five sho of 

 uiika to 100 roots. In all cases the roots must be kept 

 completely covered with the brine. I am not aware that 

 the ricc-bran has any effect on the flavor. It gives the 

 roots the rich yellow color which is considered essential, 

 and it facilitates closer packing. When used the roots 

 are cut into thin slices which are eaten with boiled rice. 

 The flavor is not readily described. The strong radish- 

 flavor which is still prominent is tempered by the fer- 

 mentation, the brine and the strong peculiar odor. Let 

 it suffice to say that the taste for it must be acquired be- 

 fore it can be relished. By another method in which no 

 rice-bran is used, the okoko remains white. For this 

 kmd the roots are not dried, but can be pickled 

 as soon as they are pulled and washed. Two 

 sho of salt are used in packing 100 roots, and 

 after eight days four sho of koj'i (the ferment 

 used in making rice-wine) are added to the 

 pickle, which is ready for use in a month. 



Sagittaria sagitT/SFOLia, L. ; Jap. Kmuai, 

 Gocuai, Suita-giitvai, Agi-nashi. (Arrow- 

 head.) Wild in ponds and marshes all over 

 the country. It produces edible 

 corms, which form an important 

 article of diet for Japanese peo- 

 ple. It is quite generally culti- 

 vated where suitable places are 

 found, and it has been 

 under culture in Japan 

 for upwards of 2,000 

 years. This being the 

 case, we might natur- 

 ally look for many va- 

 rieties. The number is, how- 

 ever, not great, and there is 

 ittle difference between most 

 them. They must be grown 

 in shallow water, either in 

 ponds or sluggish streams. Propagation 

 takes place from the small corms, which 

 are set in rows in the mud two feet apart and 

 18 inches between the plants, early in May. 

 The yield is claimed to be best when they are planted 

 with the base turned upward. Once planted they re- 

 quire but little further attention, and will continue in the 

 same place for an indefinite length of time. Of culture, in 

 the sense of working the bed, they receive none, and any 

 weeds that spring up are disposed of by tramping them 

 into the mud. Each plant produces from 15 to 20 bulbs 

 or corms, which are pulled up with the old plant in the 

 fall or winter. Enough bulbs will always remain to 

 stock the bed with young plants, and often these are 

 marshaled in rows after they start to grow. 



Stachys affinis, Bunge {S. Sieboldi, Miq ); Jap. 

 Chorogi. The roots of this plant produce numerous 

 small, curly tubers, which are highly esteemed as a vege. 

 table. Though the plant has been known to botanists 



