Chap. XL 
RETURN TO JAPAN. 
171 
CHAPTEK XL 
Return to Japan — Kite-flying at Nagasaki — Spring flowers — Field 
crops — Gale of wind in Van Dieman’s Strait — Arrive at Yoku- 
hama — Insect and shell collecting — Reported difficulty in getting 
assistance from the natives — How to manage Orientals — Rare 
beetle — Dr. Adams’s account of its capture — Curious mode of 
catching fish — Visit Kanagawa — Agriculture in spring — Paddy 
cultivation — Mode of manuring the land — Winter crops nearly 
ripe — Trees and flowers — “The Queen of the Primroses.” 
In the spring of 1861 I returned to Japan, my 
object being to inspect the natural productions of 
the country during the spring and summer months, 
as I had already done in the autumn and winter. 
The steam-ship 1 Scotland/ Captain Bell, in which 
I had taken my passage, was bound for Kana- 
gawa, but called at Nagasaki on her way. The 
day of our arrival at Nagasaki was a holiday with 
the natives, and all were dressed up in their gayest 
clothing. One of the chief sources of amusement 
appeared to be kite-flying. In the air above the 
town, and all over the country, there' was a swarm 
of paper kites, which I at first sight mistook for a 
flock of seagulls. The kites were generally of a 
diamond shape, and were painted in gay colours of 
red, white, and blue. In every street, on the 
house-tops, on the hill-sides, and in the fields, there 
