second class over the third? At length at a steep part of the road the
vehicle stopped. The driver came round, opened the door, and bowing
politely said: "Honourable first-class passengers will graciously
condescend to keep their seats. Second-class passengers will be good
enough to favour us by walking. Third-class passengers will kindly
come out and push." And push they did, no doubt, kimonos rolled up
thighwards, with good humour, sprightliness and cheerful grunts, as is
the way with willing workers in Japan.

FOOTNOTES:

[173] At Anjo agricultural experiment station I saw eighteen kinds of
small threshing machines at from 13 to 18 yen. There were husking
machines of three sorts. A rice thresher was equal to dealing with the
crop of one _tan_, estimated at 2 _koku_ 4 _to_, in three hours.

[174] See Appendix XLVI.

[175] It is quite possible that the trees had also come into their
positions artificially. There are no more skilful tree movers than the
Japanese.

[176] It has recently come into collision with the authorities.
Another sect with Shinto ideas was also started by a woman.

[177] See Appendix XLVII.

CHAPTER XXV

"SPECIAL TRIBES"

(EHIME)

A frank basis of reality.--Meredith

In the prefecture of Ehime our journey was still by _basha_ or
_kuruma_ and near the sea. The first man we talked with was a _guncho_
who said that "more than half the villages contained a strong
character who can lead." He told us of one of the new religions which
taught its adherents to do some good deed secretly. The people who
accepted this religion mended roads, cleaned out ponds and made
offerings at the graves of persons whose names were forgotten. I think
it was this man who used the phrase, "There is a shortage of
religions."

I had not before noticed wax trees. They are slighter than apple
trees, but often occupy about the same space as the old-fashioned
standard apple. The clusters of berries have some resemblance to
elderberries and would turn black if they were not picked green.[178]
Occasionally we saw fine camphor trees. Alas, owing to the high price
of camphor, some beautiful specimens near shrines, where they were as
imposing as cryptomeria, had been sacrificed.

I began to observe the dreadful destruction wrought in the early ear
stage of rice not by cold but by wind. The wind knocks the plants
against one another and the friction generates enough heat to arrest
further development. The crop