the age of twenty-six on the acquirement of knowledge and self-discipline--the privileges of the student class and the generosity of their families and friends and the public at large are remarkable--but the disadvantages are plain. No sight seems stranger to a new arrival in Japan than that of so many men in their middle or late twenties still wearing the conspicuous kimono and German bandsman cap of the student. To return to our host, he told us that tenants were "getting clever." They were paying their rent in "worse and worse qualities of rice." The landlords "encouraged" their tenants with gifts of tools, clothes or saké in order that they might bring them the best rice, but the tenants evidently thought it paid better to forgo these benefits and market their best rice. This raises the question whether rent ought nowadays to be paid in kind. Rural opinion as a whole is in favour of continuing in the old way, but there is a clear-headed if small section of rural reformers which is for rent being paid in cash. One thing I found in my notes of my talk with the landowner-oculist I hesitated to transcribe without confirmation. Speaking of the physique of the people, he had said that few farmers could carry the weights their fathers and grandfathers could move about. But later on a high agricultural authority mentioned to me that it had been found necessary to reduce the weight of a bale of rice from 19 to 18 _kwamme_ and then to 15--1 _kwamme_ is 8.26 lbs. In the _oaza_ in which I was staying there were eighty families. Seventy were tenants. Under a savings arrangement initiated by my host, the hamlet, including its five peasant proprietors, was saving 120 yen a month. On the other hand, more than half the tenants were in debt "in connection with family excesses," such as weddings, births and burials. But there might be unknown savings. I should state that the villagers seemed contented enough. For some reason or other I was particularly struck by the sturdiness of the small girls. This was interesting because Chiba had for long an evil reputation for infanticide, and under a system of infanticide in the Far East it would be supposed--I have heard this view stoutly questioned--that more girls die than boys. The landowner-oculist was of opinion that in stating the causes of the low economic condition of his tenants the abating of infanticide must be put first. People no longer restricted themselves to three of a family. The average area available locally was only 6 _tan_ of paddy and 1.2 _tan_ of dry land. In a one-crop district in which there was work for only a part of the year this area was obviously insufficient and there was not enough dry land for mulberries. Then taxation was now 2-1/2 yen per bale of rice (_hyō_). A third of the rice went in rent.