Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-02-14
The Lacquer Trees OF Japan.

lacquer tree OF Japan, is met with all
over the main island, and also in smaller
quantities in Kiushiu and Shikoku, but il
is from Toxic northward that it princi.
pally iourishes, growing freely on noun.
tains as we'll as in the plains, thus ndica.
ting that moderate climate suits the tree
better than very warm one. Since
early days the cultivation of the tree has
been encouraged by the Government,
and as the lacquer industry increased
plantations were made in every province
and district. The lacquer tree can be
propagated by seed sown at the end OF
January or the beginning of February.
The first year the seedlings reach height
or from ten inches to one foot. The
following spring the young trees are
transplanted about six feet apart, and in
ten yearsan average tree should be ten
feet high, the diameter of its trunk two
and half inches to three inches, and its
yield of lacquer sufficient to fill three
ounce bottle. A more speedy method is,
however, generally adopted. The roots
of vigorous young tree are taken, and
pieces Six inches long and the thickness
of finger are planted out in slanting
direction few inches apart, one inch
being left exposed above the ground.
This takes place ut the end of February
and through March, according to the
climate of the locality. These cuttings
throw a strong shoot off from eighteen to
twenty inches the first year, and are
likewise planted out the following spring.
Under equally favorable circumstances
these trees would in ten years be nearly
ikVa 10 H.ro In 81, AL
two or three feet higher, and would yield
nearly half as much more sap than the
trees raised from seed.
1t has not hitherto been the custom to
bestow any special care on the trees after
planting them out; but in cases where
leaf or other manure has been applied
they are much finer. Of late years hill
sides and waste grounds alone have been
used for lacquer plantations, as owing to
the rise in the price of cereals and farm
produce generally, it does not pay the
farmers to have their land numbered with
trees. Those that have been hitherto
planted along the borders of the fields
are being rapidly used and uprooted, and,
where practicable, mulberry trees planted
instead, with a view to rearing silk
worms. Nevertheless, rs a good work
man is expected during the season to tap
an average of 1000 trees ten years old,
and as the province of Yechizen alone
sends out aboutl 800 "tappers" yearly to
the various lacquer districts, it will be
seen that an immense production annual
ly takes place, stimulated, doubtless, by
the demand for cheap lacquered articles
abroad. 1t should also be mentioned that
to remedy the possible exhaustion of the
supply, and in view of the great
rise which has taken place in
the price of lacquer, several companies
are being projected to plant waste lands
with the tree. A ten-year-old tree, which
some five years ago only cost from one
to two sen, now costs ten sen, which,
allowing even for the depreciation in the
value of the paper currency, shows rise
of about 800 per cent. The best trans
parent lacquer comes from the districts
of Tsugaru, Nambu, Akita, and Aidzu.
there are some districts the laquer OBJ
tanned from which is best for certain
kinds of work, but is not so well adapted
for others. The kind which is used for
transparent lacquer is mixed in large
tubs to Insure uniform quality, and
being allowed to stand for some time
say week or ten days-the best por-
ton, which is ordinarily seventy per
cent. of tire whole, is skinned off. This
is used fr. Nashiji and Shu lacquer,
while the remainder is used for making
inferior mixtures, such rs johanna, &c.
Almost all the various classes of lacquer
are similarly dealt with to insure uni
formity, as some qualities dry much
quicker and are better than others, and
the slow-drying qualities would other
wise remain unsold. The whole coun-
try produces mt present, on an average
from 10000 to $4,000 tubs per annum
each tub being about four gallons ca
pacity. Some seventy or eighty per
cent of this total amount Is produced
from TOXIC northward. Nearly one-half
Of the lacquer produced is sent to the
Osaka market where it is prepared as
required and resold all over the western
and southern provinces, the remaining
portion being used up locally and in
Toxic. The usual age at which tree is
tapped is sixteen years, but in some
eases a tree is tapped when only three or
four years old. The best lacquer for
transparent varnish is obtained from
trees from 100 to 200 years old, as their
sap has more body, and is more glu-
tinous. The first tapping takes place
about the beginning of June. The
standard number of trees allotted to a
tapper'for the season is 1,000-presuming
them to be about ten years old (the size
of tire small specimen), about 800 of the
size Of the large specimen, and so on, less
and less according to the size of the
trees. Having cleared away the grass
from the roots, the workman makes the
round of his allotted trees, marking each
with small notches about half an inch
long. The first of these notches is about
six inches from the bottom of the tree on
the right-hand side; the next one "hand
stretch" higher up on the left
hand side; the next one "hand stretch"
higher on the right, and so OH, alter
nately as far as the workman can reach.
These preliminary markings, which are
to determine all the preliminary places
for subsequent tapping, take fully four
days, being at the rate of $50 trees day.
The Taper then goes round provided
with the bark scraper, the ordinary
scraping sickle, the Summer spatula, and
the pot to hold the lacquer, and
first smoothing the bark where
required, gives one cut above and one
cut below the two lower marks, and
one cut above the remainder of the other
marks, the cut being in each case about
one and half inches long. Aftergiving
the cut the instrument is reversed and
the knife is run along the incision to in
sure the bark being entirely cut through,
This process is repeated every four days
each incision being made a little longer
than the preceding one, up to the fifth
tapping, inclusive, after which the re-
manning incisions are made of the same
length. At each round, when all the
requisite incisons have been made on the
tree, the workman gathers the sap which
has cxudcd with the spatula, beginning
at the two lowest incisions and so on to
the uppermost cut. Twenty-Five is con-
sidered the normal numberof cuts which,
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