THE ECONOMIC PLAXTS OF JAPAN— II. 



8i 



The Pomegranate {Piiiiua graiiatinii, L.); Jap., 

 Zaknro. The pomegranate is grown rather more com- 

 monly than the fig, and is found quite as far north. It, 

 too, is an introduced plant, probably also brought by 

 the Portuguese from the shores of the Mediterranean. 

 They utilize this 

 shrub or small 

 tree in a three- 

 fold manner. It 

 is, perhaps, first 

 and foremost es- 

 teemed for orna- 

 ment. Its large 

 and beautiful 

 scarlet flowers 

 are often seen on 

 the flower ped- 

 dlers' stands, as 

 well as in the 

 gardens. The 

 flower vender 

 carries his stock 

 of goods on two 

 light wooden 

 trays, or in bask- 

 ets, suspended 

 from the ends of 

 a pole that is 

 slung over t h e 

 shoulder. Flow- 

 ering branches, 

 often several feet 

 long, of the 

 plum, cherry, 

 pomegranate 

 and others, are 

 thus peddled 

 from door to 

 door. The flow- 

 ers are always 

 cut with long 

 stems and a lib- 

 e r a 1 allowance 

 of leaves, and 

 they are never 

 made into bou- 

 quets. Those 

 which fade eas- 

 ily are often 

 stuck into a joint 

 of bamboo filled 

 with water and 

 tied to this port- 

 able stand, thus presenting a novel appearance. 



Again, the pomegranate is valued for its fruit, and 

 lastly, the young leaves are sometimes fed to silk worms 

 when the crop of mulberry leaves is short. The fruit 

 is about the size and shape of a Bartlett pear, though 

 some varieties are more apple-shaped ; purple or red- 



dish-yellow in color, and when ripe, it bursts open, dis- 

 playing the little bags of crisp, juicy flesh, each of 

 which encloses a seed. They pick them usually too 

 early, as in the case of their plums and peaches, and 

 for this reason the foreign buyer is apt to misjudge 



Fig. 8. Myrica rubra. Full Size. (See page 82.) 



the quality of the fruit. If allowed to ripen fully, few 

 fruits are more delicious. They have several varieties 

 — some quite sour, others very sweet and high flavored. 



In this connection it may be well to mention three 

 other fruits which are grown only in the extreme south, 

 namely, the pineapple, the guava and the rose apple, 



