•^06 On the Agriculture and Horticulture oj Japan. 
number of cattle which they have, are always kept the ^^■hole year in 
yards. They have no sheep, and but few horses, oxen, or cows, as 
they do not eat animal food, or use milk. The Wheat and Barley is 
sown in beds of about a foot in width, and the same space is left be- 
tween each bed. The corn is either somii in two drills, the length of 
the bed, or in ro\^'s across it : when the plants are from eight inches 
to a foot high the earth is dug out of the space between the beds, and 
laid between the rows of corn, so that the fields have the appearance, 
when the corn is young, of cabbage seed beds, with trenches between 
them. The Wheat is sown in November, and is ripe in June, — the 
Barley is sown either in October or November, and is ripe the end 
of May. 
As there are so few quadrupeds kept in Japan every possible care 
is taken of whatever will form manure. The economy in this respect 
often rendering the countiy disagreeable, and even unhealthy. All the 
refuse of the houses, even all the human ordure and lu-ine so saved, 
either in large earthen jars, or in holes, all collected together, is form- 
ed into a liquid hodge-podge manui'e, which is carried in pails, and 
poured from a ladle on the corn when it is about six inches high. 
This operation is performed twice to each crop of corn. Keemper 
says that the great use of human ordure as manure, gives to many of 
the cultivated vegetables a rank unpleasant taste ;* and Thunberg 
complains that the methods of saving all kinds of manure in pits by 
the side of the roads, produces often an intolerable stench, and is sup- 
posed to occasion several disorders, particularly a soreness of the eyes, 
to which the Japanese are very subject. The Japanese weed the 
crops with the greatest industry, so much so, that Thunberg complains 
that in a long journey, when he had expected to collect a great number 
of new plants, he could hardly discover the trace of a weed, even in 
whole ])rovinces. 
Rice, being the principal article of subsistence in Japan, the greatest 
pains is taken with its culture. There are several modes of culti\'a- 
ting it, according to the nature of the ground. The most common 
method is, in April, to tiu'n over the gi'ound with a hoe, somewhat 
crooked, about a hand's breath and a foot long, with a handle of 
wood, then by means of raised borders the land is laid under water. 
The rice is so\\'n in beds, and Avhen the plants are six inches high 
they are taken up in tufts or small clusters, contahiing several plants. 
These are planted in the rice grounds, about six inches between each 
tuft ; this work is always performed by the women, who Avade about 
* I have known many persons who think that where night soil is used as a manure the 
vegetahles have a very unpleasant taste, and that the too high dressing with other manure, 
near London, often gives them an iin|)leasant flavour; — perhaps some of your correspondents, 
who have considered the subject, will give you the result of their observations on the effects of 
the very high dressing for ^inc of the crops, as now practised. 
