JAPANESE HORTICULTURE. 



19 



and flowers has not much occupied the people's attention. Moreover, 

 only ten years after the last Chino- Japanese war, we have been again 

 called upon to fight against a certain Power for our national existence 

 as well as for securing permanent peace in the Far East. And we have 

 not, for this reason (which, I trust, will evoke your warm sympathy), been 

 able to do as much as we should wish for the cultivation of this peaceful 

 art ; but I sincerely hope the conclusion of this terrible war will bring 

 the much-desired peace in the East, in which case our horticulture will 

 not be slow in benefiting by it. 



To avoid misunderstanding on the part of my audience, I must 

 mention the locality in which I have been engaged in this art, as 

 Japan, which stretches over many degrees of latitude, greatly varies in 

 its climate. In the course of my lecture, if I do not particularly mention 

 the name of the district, it will be understood to be Tokyo where I was 

 working. 



Horticulture in Japan is not yet treated as a different subject from 

 agriculture, and it forms a branch of that science. The most advanced 

 course of study is provided at the Imperial University in Tokyo, and 

 below this there are three schools — one being under the direct super- 

 vision of the above University, and the others are under the Sapporo 

 and Iwate prefecture in the northern part of Japan. I may also add 

 that to complete the University education takes nineteen years, starting 

 from the elementary school at the age of six. The term of education 

 at the second-grade school is sixteen years (including the boys' school). 

 Besides the above mentioned there are about thirty agricultural schools 

 throughout the country, chiefly of a practical nature, and in those 

 the term of study is eleven or twelve years, according to the different 

 districts. Large experimental grounds for agricultural purposes, in- 

 cluding horticulture, are provided in six districts under the direct 

 management of the Government, the one at Tokyo being the largest. 

 But I am glad to say that a new experimental ground was opened 

 the year before last in the Shizuoka prefecture. Besides these, many 

 districts have their own grounds on a small scale, supported by the local 

 rates. As regards private undertakings, with a view to promote an in- 

 terest in agriculture, there are several organised bodies, one of which is 

 the " Agricultural Society of Japan," with its head office at Tokyo. 

 These societies occasionally hold shows of vegetables and fruit. In 

 addition to the numerous agricultural societies throughout the country, 

 there is one organised body, called "Nihon Engai Kai " (Japan Horti- 

 cultural Society), which is solely interested in horticulture. Also there 

 are various societies of different character, chiefly consisting of dealers 

 in certain flowers and plants, which are generally concerned with one 

 species of plant or flower. The kinds of plants and flowers which con- 

 stitute the objects of these Societies are as follows : — 



Kiku 



Asagao 



Ran 



Omoto 



Sakuraso 



Bara 



Chrysanthemum sinense 

 Pharbitis hederacea 

 Cymbidium ensifolium 

 Rhodea japonica 

 Primula farinosa 

 Rosa indica. 



