nearly a century. They do not significantly differ in accuracy with modern ones, just like contemporary maps of European lands. Biology The description of the natural world made considerable progress through Rangaku; this was influenced by the Encyclopedists and promoted by von Siebold (a German doctor in the service of the Dutch at Dejima). Itō Keisuke created books describing animal species of the Japanese islands, with drawings of a near-photographic quality. Entomology was extremely popular, and details about insects, often obtained through the use of microscopes (see above), were widely publicized. In a rather rare case of "reverse Rangaku" (that is, the science of isolationist Japan making its way to the West), an 1803 treatise on the raising of silk worms and manufacture of silk, the was brought to Europe by von Siebold and translated into French and Italian in 1848, contributing to the development of the silk industry in Europe. Plants were requested by the Japanese and delivered from the 1640s on, including flowers such as precious tulips and useful items such as the cabbage and the tomato. Other publications Automatons: , 1730. Mathematics: . Optics: . Glass-making: . Military: , by Takano Chōei concerning the tactics of the Prussian Army, 1850. Description of the method of amalgam for gold plating in , or in Shinjitai, by Inaba Shin'emon (稲葉新右衛門), 1781. Aftermath Commodore Perry When Commodore Perry obtained the signature of treaties at the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, he brought technological gifts to the Japanese representatives. Among them was a small telegraph and a small steam train complete with tracks. These were promptly studied by the Japanese as well. Essentially considering the arrival of Western ships as a threat and a factor for destabilization, the Bakufu ordered several of its fiefs to build warships along Western designs. These ships, such as the [[Japanese warship Hōō Maru|Hōō-Maru]], the Shōhei-Maru, and the Asahi-Maru, were designed and built, mainly based on Dutch books and plans. Some were built within a mere year or two of Perry's visit. Similarly, steam engines were immediately studied. Tanaka Hisashige, who had made the Myriad year clock, created Japan's first steam engine, based on Dutch drawings and the observation of a Russian steam ship in Nagasaki in 1853. These developments led to the Satsuma fief building Japan's first steam ship, the (雲行丸), in 1855, barely two years after Japan's first encounter with such ships in 1853