268 EARTHQUAKES. Chap. XVI. 
winds come up loaded with moisture which the^f 
have acquired in their passage over the sea 
through warm latitudes. This moisture is sud- 
denly condensed into thick fogs as it comes in 
contact with the land, which has been cooled 
down to a low temperature by the long-continued 
northerly winds.* 
In 1860 hut little snow fell on the low lands, 
although it was plentiful upon the adjpining 
mountains. But if Dr. Hepburn’s table shows 
little snow, it is most prolific in earthquakes. In 
June there were no less than eleven shocks, and 
during the year the total number felt was thirty- 
two ! When we take into consideration the num- 
ber that occurred during the hours of sleep, which 
were not felt and registered, we may have some 
idea of the activity of the volcanos which lie under 
this extraordinary country. 
Having thus given some idea of the climate of 
Japan, of “its summer and winter, its seed-time 
and harvest,” I shall now endeavour to give a 
description of its agriculture. As a profession 
agriculture does not hold the same rank in Japan 
as it does in China. The Tycoon does not here 
mark his sense of its importance by putting his 
hands to the plough and throwing the first grains 
of rice into the ground, as is done by the “ Son of 
Heaven.” In social rank the farmer is said to be 
below the Buddhist priest, the soldier, the mer- 
* Sir John Davw’s ‘ Chinese.’ 
