ful cultivation.

[Illustration: NATIVE PLOUGHING RICE-FIELDS]

[Illustration: IRRIGATING A RICE-FIELD]

[Illustration: RICE-FIELDS]

Tea has become the staple crop, and is cultivated from Formosa to the
forty-fifth parallel. Tea-farms occupy nearly every acre of the
cultivable hill-side areas in some of the islands, and the soil is
enriched with a fertilizer made from fish and fish refuse, dried and
broken. Most of the tea product is made into green tea, and on account
of its quality it commands a high price. Formosa tea is considered the
best in the market.

Silk culture is confined almost wholly to the island of Hondo. The raw
silk is of superior quality, and the exported material is used mainly in
the manufacture of ribbons and brocades. A limited amount of cotton is
grown, but the staple is short, and its cultivation is not profitable
except in a few localities.

Among the forestry there is comparatively little timber suitable for
building purposes, and a considerable amount of timber is purchased from
the mills of Puget Sound. Bamboo is largely employed for buildings.
Camphor is the product of a tree (_Camphora officinarum_) allied to the
cinnamon and the sassafras. It is cultivated in the island of Kiushiu.
The best gum, however, is now obtained from Formosa, and this island now
controls the world's supply. The camphor product is a government
monopoly leased to a British company.

The lacquer-tree (_Rhus vernicifera_) grows mainly in the island of
Hondo. The sap, after preparation, forms the most durable varnish known.
Black lacquer is obtained by treating the sap with nutgalls. Lacquered
wooden-ware is sold all over Europe and the United States. The lacquered
surface is exceedingly hard and water-proof; it is not affected by
climate.

Gold, porcelain clay, silver, copper, and petroleum are mined. The gold
and silver are used both for coinage and in the arts; the clay has made
Japanese porcelains famous. The copper comes from the most productive
mines of Asia; a considerable amount is exported, but much is used in
the manufacture of Japanese bronze goods. Coal is mined, and this has
given a great impetus to manufacture; iron ore is deficient, and steel
must be imported. The quantity of petroleum is increasing yearly, and is
becoming an important factor in the world's product.

Manufacturing industries are giving shape to the industrial future of
the country. The cotton-mills alone employ seventy thousa