462 



ROADSIDE GARDENS. 



/ 



work, fishing nets and many articles made of paper. 

 This varnish is called Sliibu. It is really an excellent 

 preservative, and is used very extensively throughout 

 the country. It is used as a paint for 

 new houses, and stains the woodwork 

 to a dark brown color, very pleasing 

 to the eye, two or three coats being 

 as good, or even a better protection, 

 than so many coats of paint. In fact, 

 the houses are never painted with 

 anything else. It is estimated that 

 nearly 10,000 gallons of shibu are used 

 annually in Tokio alone. 



For this purpose they use only the 

 astringent and otherwise inferior va- 

 rieties. Especially is Diospyros Lo- 

 tus, L. {D. Kaki, Thunb. ; D. Japon- 

 ica, Sieb. andZucc.) ]^'p.,3Iam^-gaki, 

 Shinano-gaki, a favorite for this pur- 

 pose. It is found wild somewhat 

 abundantly in central Japan, and par- 

 ticularly in Shinano, hence the name 

 Shinano-gaki. Fig. 13, p. 260, shows 

 a twig with fruit and leaf natural 

 size. The fruit, as will be seen, is 

 very small, but exceedingly abundant 

 and very puckery. They are not edible at all, even 

 after frost, but they yield shibu of the best quality. 

 Usually, the fruit is gathered for this purpose when it 

 is three-quarters grown, or at least before it begins to 

 show signs of ripening. It is then placed in a huge 

 wooden mortar and crushed, the pulp put in coarse 

 bags, and the juice pressed by leverage of some sort. 

 A good American cider press would answer the purpose 

 admirably, but as yet the old methods are followed. If 

 the juice thus obtained equals twenty per cent, of the 



volume of the fruit used, it is called a good yield. 



The pure shibu as it runs from the press is somewhat 

 milky in appearance, but on exposure to the air it turns 



■ """" 

 Fig. 18. Shimo-Maru 



(See page 459.) 



dark. Of the solid matter it contains, more than thirty 

 per cent, is tannic acid. The pomace is treated with 

 water, and a second quality of shibu is obtained, which 

 is used for rough painting. It has a very pungent and 

 singularly disagreeable odor, which will adhere to the 

 varnished articles for some time. It would seem likely 

 that our native persimmon could furnish a similar arti- 

 cle of varnish ; our ordinary varnishes are now made 

 from foreign gums. 



Kansas Agricultural College. C. C. Georgeson. 



ROADSIDE GARDENS. 



GOOD RO.A.DS AS TRACKS FOR THE WHEELS : THEN 

 THE ROADSIDES THUS WE WILL HAVE IN 



HILE discussing the 

 improvement of our 

 country roads we 

 must not overlook 

 the fact that the con- 

 struction of solid 

 roadbeds for hauling 

 and driving is not the 

 only end in view ; for 

 our highways also 

 furnish a magnificent 

 opportunity for aesthetic culture. The six rod road 

 is not needed for teams beyond a strip of about 

 thirty feet; that is, about two rods. Onerod more will 

 more than cover the ditches and walks. We have, 



TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES IN PROPER ORDER ALONG 

 DEED THE FINEST ROADS IN THE WORLD. 



then, three rods for lawn, shrubs and flowers. 

 Why not make this use of it ? Imagine the miles of 

 beauty stretching from village to village and in- 

 tercepting all towns ; that might as well exist as the 

 avenues of weeds and brush and the general appear- 

 ance of neglect. The enforcement of stock laws over 

 the greater part of the Union has prepared the way 

 for this next innovation. There is no reason why 

 our public land should not constitute a continuous 

 park from the Atlantic to the I^acific. 



I would not be satisfied with getting rid of mire and 

 dust, and the building of rock roads to save wear of 

 horses and wagons ; that is a practical matter, wholly eco- 

 nomical and wise, but not beautiful. Whatever comes 

 short of beauty fails of the highest end. I want to see 



