Demand for Razors.
It is noteworthy that the Japanese very rarely allow any hair to grow upon the face, and the humblest peasant is regularly shaved by the barber, "dry," and with a rude handleless razor.
There is scope here. Indeed, a contract has just been concluded with an English house in Japan, for the supply of a considerable quantity of soft "German" steel, for the blocking out of razors, and I noticed one considerable shop-keeper announcing himself as "manufacturer of all kinds of European hardware."
Locomotive and other Engines.
16.—In locomotive engines Great Britain supplied Japan in 1890 with 474,000 dollars worth out of a total of 659,000 dollars, Germany following with 81,000 dollars worth, and the United States with rather more than half that sum. In other engines and boilers 253,000 dollars worth came from England out of a total import of 345,000 dollars, while of railway carriages the United Kingdom supplied 10,000l. worth, or the whole save 600l.
Zinc.
17.—In zinc, however, Germany took the lead with consignments amounting to 141,000 dollars against 89,000 from Great Britain. As the prosperity of the country advances the use of zinc, especially for roofing purposes, is likely to increase.
Woollens and Flannels.
18. While in woollen cloths England holds her own in Japan with the supply of three-fifths of a gross import exceeding last year a million dollars, she falls far behind in woollen yarns and flannels. In the former Germany led in the proportion of 3½ to 1, and in the latter by a sale of 715,000 dollars worth out of 927,000 dollars, and I understand that the representative of a well-known English house recently found the trade much overrun and business exceedingly difficult.
Apprehended Decline of English Cotton Trade.