the _surume_ (_Onychotheuthis Banksii_), the _tako_ (octopus), the _shidako_ (Eledone), the _ika_ (Sepia) and the _tako-fune_ (Argonauta). Greeff enumerates, as denizens of Japanese seas, 26 kinds of sea-urchins (_gaze_ or _uni_) and 12 of starfish (_hitode_ or _tako-no-makura_). These, like the mollusca, indicate the influence of the Kuro Shiwo and the south-west monsoon, for they have close affinity with species found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. For edible purposes the most valuable of the Japanese echinoderms is the sea-slug or _bêche de mer_ (_namako_), which is greatly appreciated and forms an important staple of export to China. Rein writes: "Very remarkable in connexion with the starfishes is the occurrence of _Asterias rubens_ on the Japanese coast. This creature displays an almost unexampled frequency and extent of distribution in the whole North Sea, in the western parts of the Baltic, near the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and the English coasts, so that it may be regarded as a characteristic North Sea echinoderm form. Towards the south this starfish disappears, it seems, completely; for it is not yet known with certainty to exist either in the Mediterranean or in the southern parts of the Atlantic Ocean. In others also _Asterias rubens_ is not known--and then it suddenly reappears in Japan. _Archaster typicus_ has a pretty wide distribution over the Indian Ocean; other _Asteridae_ of Japan, on the other hand, appear to be confined to its shores." Japan is not rich in corals and sponges. Her most interesting contributions are crust-corals (_Gorgonidae_, _Corallium_, _Isis_, &c.), and especially flint-sponges, called by the Japanese _hoshi-gai_ and known as "glass-coral" (_Hyalonema sieboldi_). These last have not been found anywhere except at the entrance of the Bay of Tokyo at a depth of some 200 fathoms. II.--THE PEOPLE _Population._--The population was as follows on the 31st of December 1907:-- Population Population. Males. Females. Totals. per sq. m. Japan proper 24,601,658 24,172,627 48,774,285 330 Formosa (Taiwan) 1,640,778 1,476,137 3,116,915 224 Sakhalin 7,175 3,631 10,806 0.1 ---------- ---------- ---------- Totals 26,249,611 25,652,395 51,902,006 The following table shows the rate of increase in the four quadrennial periods between 1891 and 1907 in Japan proper:-- Average Population Year. Males. Females. Totals. increase per per cent. sq. m.