AGRICULTURE AND DENDROLOGY. 
43 
Tho preceding investigations are far from claiming 
to represent anything like a complete knowledge of the 
feeding stuffs of this country. They have been merely 
undertaken chiefly to train a number of students of our 
college in the methods of experimental research in the hope 
that they may accomplish what time and opportunity refuse 
to us at present. Nevertheless, the number of trials being 
not inconsiderable, some general conclusions may be drawn 
from an examination of our results. 
In her present condition of agriculture, Japan is very 
poor in good kinds of coarse fodders, especially hay. The 
flora on the uncultivated land (hara) is composed of long- 
stalked harsh grasses (Eulalia and Imperata, frequently also 
low kinds of Bambusa) with only a sparse admixture of legu¬ 
minous plants. Short soft grasses and nutritious papilio- 
nacea are hardly met with to a notable extent in central 
Japan on those places where cattle farms and horse raising 
establishments have been or can be founded. The grasses 
produced there at present may suffice during the warm part 
of the year for the adult animals, which, wandei’ing over a 
large area, may pick up the most nutritious parts of the 
vegetation, but in winter, when, as is usual, concentrated 
fodders are not procurable, or too expensive, the poor 
hay made in those places, which has hardly the value of 
good fodder straw, is not capable of keeping the animals in 
a good condition. In the towns and villages the animals 
are not in a much better situation, as forage crops are almost 
unknown to the Japanese farmers. 
A good food is the principal factor, not only in im¬ 
proving a breed but also in maintaining good breeds. Thus, 
if the offspring of the imported animals are not supplied 
with suitable fodders they will soon degenerate. Under 
the present conditions of food raising in Japan it is quite 
impossible to improve the indigenous breed and still more 
fruitless will be the task to maintain the foreign, highly 
