most people have it brought home in the original brewery tub. There
are five sorts of _sake_: _seishu_ (refined), _dakushu_ (unrefined or
muddy), _shirozake_ (white _sake_), _mirin_ (sweet _sake_) and
_shochu_ (distilled _sake_). _Sake_ may contain from 10 to 14 per
cent. of alcohol; _shochu_ is stronger; _mirin_ has been described as
a liqueur. Japanese beers contain from 1 to 2 per cent. less alcohol
than English beers and only about a quarter of the alcohol in _sake_.
More than four-fifths of it is sold in bottles. Beer is replacing
_sake_ to some extent, but owing to the increase in the population of
Japan the total consumption of _sake_ (about 4,000,000 _koku_) remains
practically the same. In 1919 beer and _sake_ were exported to the
value of 7,200,000 and 4,500,000 yen respectively.

MINERAL PRODUCTION [XXXVIII]. In 1919 the production was as follows:
gold, 1,938,711 _momme_, value 9,681,494 yen; silver, 42,822,160
_momme_, value 11,131,861 yen; copper, 130,737,861 _kin_, value
67,581,475 yen; iron, steel and iron pyrites, 169,545,050 _kwan_, the
value of the steel being 72,666,867 yen; coal, 31,271,093 metric tons,
value 442,540,941 yen.

JAPAN AS SILK PRODUCER [XXXIX], In exportation of silk, Japan, which
in 1919 had under sericulture 8.6 of her total cultivated area and
17.1 per cent, of her upland, passed Italy in 1901 and China in 1910.
Her exportation is now twice that of China. In production her total is
thrice that of Italy. France is a long way behind Italy. The
production of China is an unknown quantity.

As to the advantages and drawbacks of Japan for sericulture the
Department of Agriculture wrote in 1921: "Japan is not favourably
placed, inasmuch as atmospheric changes are often very violent, and
the air becomes damp in the silk-culture seasons. This is especially
the case in the season of spring silkworms, for the cold is severe at
the beginning and the air becomes excessively damp as the rainy season
sets in. The intense heat in July and August, too, is very trying for
the summer and autumn breeds. Compared with France and Italy, Japan
seems to be heavily handicapped, but the abundance of mulberry leaves
all over the land and the comparatively rich margin of spare labour
among the farmers have proved great advantages."

The length of the sericultural season ranges from 54 days in spring to
31 or 32 days in autumn, but there are variations according to
weather, methods and seed. The season