The soil is exceedingly fertile: rice is produced in such quantities as to allow of a large export to the west coast, whence a good deal is said to be forwarded to Hakodate. Wheat, barley and the ordinary potato, carrot and turnip of Europe are grown. Persimmons, grapes, walnuts and chestnuts abound, and last year an attempt was made on a very small scale to make wine. The result was not very successful, but sufficiently so to encourage a repetition of the experiment. Lastly and most important of all the mulberry flourishes all over the district and attains its highest perfection in the north-west corner, where are the villages of Arato, Miya and Ko-ide celebrated for their silkworms’ eggs. Silkworms’ eggs are made throughout the Ken, but those of Shimo-nagai the northwestern portion are considered the best.
A table of statistics published last August states that the amount of ground under cultivation exclusive of garden ground is 24,206 chô yielding a total production of 295,671 koku of which 88,564 koku or rather less than one-third are paid into the Ken treasury. The value of this is set down at 195,293 yen, so that roughly speaking there are 60,000 acres of cultivated ground paying for rent and taxes an average amount of 13 shillings per acre. The money value of the land is estimated at 2,786,238 yen equivalent to 384 mon per tsubo or £9.5 per acre. The house and garden ground measures 1,498,787 tsubo or about one-forty-eighth of the farm land. Its value is estimated at 159,010 yen equivalent to 1060 mon per tsubo. The amount levied on it is only at the rate of about one-third of that on the farm land, though its value is estimated at nearly three times that of the latter.
The population belonging to the Ken numbers 159,716 divided as follows:—
