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household possesses a number of plantain trees, from the fibres of which the women weave the only cloth made in the island. It is worn by both sexes throughout the year. Both the cotton and tea plants are cultivated, but apparently to no great extent. The sugar cane grows freely. The vegetables are of unlimited variety, including every kind of gourd and melon. Most of the trees known in Japan and several species peculiar to China are successfully reared. The domestic animals are the cow, horse, sheep, pig, cat and dog, and amongst wild animals the deer, ape and wild-boar are mentioned, but no beasts of prey exist in the islands. The natives keep domestic fowls, ducks and geese, and the game consists of wild pigeons of various sorts, quail, pheasants and mandarin-ducks. The swallow makes its visit in the month of August, and the hawk is blown over from the outlying islands by the north-east wind in October. Wild-geese are sometimes seen, but storks rarely. Of fish they have the shark, ordinary carp, perch, eel, mackerel and golden carp, besides prawns.
The houses of the Loochooans are built in Japanese fashion, with the floor raised three or four feet from the ground, and have mostly only one story, on account of the violent winds which prevail. They are roofed with tiles of a Chinese fashion, very strong and thick. The buildings in which they store their rice are built of wood and thatched with straw. They are supported on wooden posts about five feet high, and resemble the granaries of the Ainos, though constructed with much greater care.
According to Japanese accounts the natives of these islands are of a calm and reflective temperament, not given to losing their presence of mind even on the most trying occasions. They observe the precepts of Confucius and are extremely courteous in their demeanour towerds others. Conservative in their opinions, they also adore the native gods. In fact, such value do they attach to a polished behaviour that they style their native land ‘the country which observes propriety,’ and pillars inscribed with this appellation in Chinese characters stand at the corners of
