60

THE MALE AUCUBA.

СНАР. ІІІ.

This is a charming shrub, and if it proves hardy in our climate will be a great favourite. A new species of Aucuba, not variegated like the one in English gardens, but having leaves of the deepest and most glossy green, was found common in the shady parts of the woods and hedges, and has now been introduced into England. As a fine evergreen bush it will be greatly prized; and, in addition to this, it produces a profusion of crimson berries nearly as large as olives, which hang on all the winter and spring, like the holly-berries of our own country.

One of my objects in visiting Japan was to procure the male variety of the common Aucuba japonica of our gardens. This is perhaps the most hardy and useful exotic evergreen shrub we possess. It lives uninjured through our coldest winters, and thrives better than anything else in the smoke of our large towns. Hence it is met with everywhere, and is one of the most common plants in the parks, squares, and houses of London; but no one in this country has ever seen it covered with a profusion of crimson berries, as it is met with in Japan. It belongs to a class of plants which have the male and female flowers produced on different individuals. Curiously enough, all the plants in Europe were females, and hence the absence of fruiting specimens. On my arrival in Japan I lost no time in looking out for the male of this interesting species. I found it at last in the garden of Dr. Hall at Yokuhama, who has also a

very interesting collection of the plants of Japan, and to whom I am indebted for much valuable information and assistance. This plant was sent home in a Wardian case, and I am happy to say it reached England in good health, and is now in the nursery of Mr. Standish at Bagshot. I look forward with much interest to the effects of this intro

duction. Let my readers picture to themselves all the aucubas which decorate our windows and gardens, covered, during the winter and spring months, with a profusion of crimson berries. Such a result, and it is not an improbable one, would of itself be worth a journey all the way from England to Japan.

The geological formation of this part of the country differs entirely from that about Nagasaki. The latter bears a striking resemblance to the hilly part of China in the same latitude; that is, the upper sides of the hills are generally barren, with rocks of clay-slate and granite protruding in all directions. About Yedo we meet with quite a different formation. (I have already described the substrata as exhibited by the sea-cliffs at Yokuhama.) country inland consists of hill and valley; and with the exception of the celebrated mountain named Fusi-yama, and some others in its vicinity, the hills are only a few hundred feet above the level of the sea. The soil in the valleys, in which rice is the staple summer crop, is of a blackish-brown colour, almost entirely composed of vegetable matter, and resembles what we meet with in a peat-bog in

The

62

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES.

CHAP. III.

England. Like that land it springs beneath the feet when one walks over it. The sloping sides of the hills are covered with trees and brushwood, the latter oftentimes being apparently of little value. Passing upwards through the belt of trees and brushwood, we next reach the tops of the hills. These are all comparatively flat, and thus a kind of table-land is the result. The soil of this table-land is exactly similar to that found in the marshy valleys below, that is, it is a soil closely resembling what is found in peat-bogs. Scarcely a stone or rock of any kind is met with, either in the valleys, on the hillsides, or on the table-land on the summits. A casual observer, on examining this black and apparently rich-looking soil, would think it very fertile, and capable of producing large crops; but in reality it is not so fertile as it looks, and foreigners generally remark on the little flavour the vegetables have which are grown on it.

How this peculiar formation was originally produced I am unable to explain. Whether this part of Japan was at some early period a flat peat-moss, and these hills formed by one of those fearful earthquakes for which the country is still famous, and which, according to tradition, forced up Fusi-yama in a single night to the height of more than 14,000 feet, I must leave to geologists to determine.

CHAPTER IV.

Journey from Kanagawa to Yedo

Native body-guard — The Tokaido -Civility of the people - Beggars by the wayside - Tea-housesKawasaky― River Loga-"Mansion of Plum-trees" - The ladies' platform - Hostess and waiting-maids Japanese and Chinese ladies compared - Tea-gardens - Sinagawa - English Legation— Hospitality of Mr. Alcock - Large cemetery - Garden and trees The Yakoneens.

I GLADLY availed myself of an invitation from his Excellency Mr. Alcock to visit Yedo, and made preparations to start for that city on the 13th of November. On these occasions the stranger is always accompanied by mounted Yakoneens, or Government officers, who are in fact the police of the country. Their rank, however, seems of a much higher grade than that of such persons in Europe, and they are treated with marked respect by all classes of the natives, who appear to stand greatly in awe of them. These officers are armed, each having two swords; and they are supposed to guard the foreigner in case of attack or insult by the way.

As we rode out of the courtyard of Mr. Loureira's house, I could not help smiling at the queer-looking individuals who came on behind me. Each of them wore a round, broad-brimmed straw hat, and as the

64

THE TOKAIDO.

CHAP. IV.

day was wet they had loose rain-cloaks over their dresses. Their two swords, which were fixed in their belts at an angle of forty-five degrees, made their dresses stick out behind; and as we trotted or galloped along the road, they had a curious flyaway sort of appearance. As a general rule, they are but indifferent horsemen.

Our road-the Tokaido, or Imperial highway already mentioned-led us to the eastward, along the shores of the Bay of Yedo. Small shops, teahouses, sheds for the accommodation of travellers, and gardens, lined each side of the way. Now and then we came to an open space with trees planted in the form of an avenue. These were chiefly of such species as Cryptomeria japonica, Pinus Massoniana, Celtis Orientalis, and Ulmus keaki. The glimpses which were obtained, from time to time, through these trees and across the gardens behind them, were very beautiful. On the left, at a little distance, the view was bounded by some low hills of irregular form, crowned with trees and brushwood; while on the right the smooth waters of the Bay of Yedo were spread out before us, here and there studded with the white sails of fishing-boats.

The people along the road were perfectly civil and respectful. "Anata Ohio," or "Good morning, sir," was a common salutation. Kæmpfer informs us that in his time "multitudes of beggars crowded the roads in all parts of the empire, but particularly on the so much frequented Tokaido." Some of the