for carrying off water, and the gradient of the hillside along which the road itself is carried is left much too steep. Holes, ruts, and landslips often attended with loss of life, are the result. There is no idea of macadamising. As for mending, that is done by cart-loads of stones or earth, which effectually supply travellers with dust during the dry weather and a slough of despond whenever it rains. Sometimes twigs of trees and even old castoff straw sandals are utilised as materials for road-mending. In Tōkyō itself, the capital of the empire, the roads are a scandal. Down to the present day they continue to be there made with block-stone foundations, on which are poured layers of round pebbles and earth or fine sand. The cruel labour entailed on jinrikisha-men by such a system may be imagined. Something, no doubt, should be put to the account of the loose volcanic soil of the great Tōkyō plain and of Eastern Japan generally, which does not lend itself easily to good road-building. It is in the province of Ise, in some of the larger islands of the Inland Sea, and along the shores of Lake Biwa, where nature provides first-rate material in the shape of disintegrated granite, that the best highways are to be found.
During the years 1880-90, an immense amount of money was spent in opening up mountain districts by means of new roads, bridges, and viaducts. But as the development of the railway system almost simultaneously drew traffic away to other parts, and as the roads themselves were not calculated to withstand the rigour of the climate, and, above all, were not really needed by the scanty peasant population, many have disappeared leaving not a trace behind, while in other cases the narrow but permanent ancient track is preferred, because shorter. The once noted road over the Harinoki Pass and that from Aizu to Shiobara may be adduced as instances.
Rowing. A discussion was carried on some years ago in the local press concerning the respective merits of the Japanese and European styles of rowing. The pros and cons are as follows:—
