THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF JAPAN— IX.* 



PLANTS USED lOR 



VERY long list of plants can 

 be classed under this head. I 

 have notes o"a nearly one hun- 

 dred species, and it is probable 

 thattheie are many otheis, put 

 to the same uses, which have 

 escaped my attention. The 

 production of sufficient food 

 for the 40,000,000 inhabitants of the empire is an 

 all important question ; the margin of surplus food 

 products, over and above what is required for actual 

 consumption, being but narrow even in fruitful 

 years. So it happens that .vhile rice is the staple 

 article of food, it is supplen\eated by a lon;^ and 

 varied list of other vegetable products which, es- 

 pecially among the poor, assist materially in mak- 

 ing both ends meet. Many of them are favorite 

 vegetables, which always may be found in their 

 season ; others are drawn upon only as neuessity 

 compels their use. 



Foremost in the list, as of most general importance, 

 must be placed the Chinese cabbage, Brassica Chinen- 

 sis, L. [B. orientalis, Thunb.); Jap., Ahura-na , A'ataiie- 

 na , Clnri)ncu-na . No other vegetable of this class is so 

 universally grown, or is represented by so many varie- 

 ties. It is a kind of rape which has been transformed 

 by cultivation. Certain varieties of it are grov/n only 

 for their seed, from which an oil is expressed, formerly 

 much used as lamp oil. This class of illuminating oil 

 is, however, rapidly passing out of date, its place being 

 taken by American kerosene. 



A free translation of the word na would mean greens ; 

 and alnita meaning oil, the name Abiira-na indicates its 

 use as an oil plant. iVulaite means rape seed, and Cku'- 

 iniL'u (meaning crape) refers to the crimped leaves of 

 certain varieties. The term cabbage is a misnomer, as 

 its resemblance to that vegetable is quite remote. The 

 plants are merely bunches of large, smooth, more or less 

 spreading leaves, with broad fleshy midribs. They do 

 not bear their leaves on a well defined stem, as do 

 the cabbage, the kale, etc., but look more like the cos 

 lettuce, the leaves having their origin at the surface of 

 the ground. 



They are usually cultivated as a fall crop and grow 

 very rapidly, some varieties attaining a height of two or 

 tl^ree feet in two months from the seed. The seed is 

 usually sown early in September. When large enough, 

 the plants are set out in rows like cabbage, the distance 



* Copyrighted by the Author. 



SALADS AND GREENS. 



varying with the size of the varieties. For rapid growth 

 they require a rich soil, and good cultivators stimulate 

 their plants by applications of liquid manure every eight 

 or ten days. By the end of October the crop is ready 

 for use and it is cut and marketed before frost. In taste, 

 all varieties are much alike. They have the character- 

 istic flavor of the Cruciferse in a wild form. This flavor 

 is impro\ed by blanching, which is commonly done 

 either by simply tying up the leaves or by heaping the 

 earth up about them. Thus treated, the leaves make a 

 crisp and palatable salad. They are also boiled for 

 greens, and enter into ttie composition of many dishes. 

 Why might not this class of cabbage find similar uses in 

 this country ? It would especially compare favorably 

 with the " collards " so largely grown for the southern 

 markets, and which are merely varieties of non-heading 

 cabbage of tough fiber and strong taste. Some of the 

 larger varieties might also be of value for stock feed. 



This species is not hardy ; it must be harvested before 

 frost. It is, in fact, chiefly grown for winter use. For 

 this purpose it is packed closely in tubs, with thin layers 

 of common salt scattered through the mass. It soon 

 undergoes a fermentation, which converts it into a kind 

 of sauerkraut called Na/suk:, which can be kept all 

 winter and drawn upon at pleasure. There are many 

 varieties, the following being some of the leading ones : 

 Hakiisai , S/iirakuki-iiu , To j in-iia , Saii/osni , AIika7vasJiiuia- 

 ua, Koiiialsii-na and Uguisliii-im . 



Koiiitilsu-na is a variety which originated in the village 

 of Komatsugawa, near Tokio, after which place it takes 

 its name. It is often sown very thickly in drills, and 

 cut when three or four inches high. It is then called 

 Tsiuiia iiii-na , which means to take with the fingers. 

 Certain varieties are grown for spring use, and are usu- 

 ally sown between the rows of some other crop as we 

 occasionally sow radishes or cress. The Ugiiis/ni-iia 

 (literally, nightingale greens) is a favorite variety for 

 this use. 



The common cabbage of this country in all its 

 forms, and the kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc., 

 are all of recent introduction, and are not usually to be 

 found in Japan except near the open ports, where they 

 are grown for the foreign custom. In the interior these 

 plants are regarded as curiosities, and stray cabbage 

 plants are sometimes grown for ornament. The name 

 for cabbage, Ila-boinu (literally, leaf peony), is sugges- 

 tive of an ornament. A traveler informed me that he 

 had likewise seen cauliflower grown for ornament, and 

 that it was pointed out to him by the happy possessor as 

 a rare plant of much beauty. Strange as it may be, 

 this whole tribe, so much esteemed here, is making but 



