[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 thousand people and keep more than one million spindles busy. More than one million operatives are engaged in textile manufactures. Much of the cloth, both cotton and silk, is still woven on cottage looms. The cotton cloth is sold mainly in China and Korea; the surplus silk textiles find a ready market in the United States. The best straw matting used as a floor-covering is now made in Japan and constitutes a very important export.