52 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[JULV I, 1886. 



of their 

 las put 



crews ; 

 a stop 



but the advent of the white mau 

 to those pursuits, and the flag of 

 he last of the pirate proas of North Borneo orna- 

 luents the court of the colony at South Kensington. 

 IJglylooking creeses or crooked daggers are present 

 in numbers, with dresses and shields and scabbards 

 of the native warriors, ornamented with short fringes 

 of the hair of their victims. There are specimens 

 of the " sunipitan,' or blow tube, more than six feet 

 lonL', and as straight as a gun barrel. 



Not the least curious amongst the products of this 

 Eastern land are footballs about seven or eight 

 inches in diameter, made of interlaced cane, so as 

 to present the appearance of open network. These 

 balls are struck only with the foot, and are kept 

 up for a length of time. Of . the magnificent 

 timber of the country there are a number of samples 

 varying in liardness and density, from the exces- 

 sively hard "billian" which is heavier than water, 

 and ia procurable in logs 2 ft. 6 in. square and 40 

 feet long, to the tough " gagil," which though 

 easily worked, has the desirable quality of being 

 ant-proof. 



The usual products of the islands of the Eastern 

 Archipelago such as vegetable tallow, gutta percha, 

 lac, etc., are to be found in the small court off this 

 colony but these require no special notice. 



The Indian commercial or, as it is called in the 

 catalogue. Imperial Court, is an admirable exposi- 

 tion of the economic resources of the Empire of 

 India, with its population of 250 millions. It is 

 entered through an archway composed exclusively 

 of Indian timber ; the table, formed of one complete 

 section of the Andaman redwood tree, shows the 

 gigantic size attained by this valuable timber. At the 

 back of this trophy isa magnificent pair of buff alo horns. 

 A second trophy consists of a platform on the top of a 

 transverse arch formed entirely of bambus, no less than 

 thirty distinct species being employed in its construction. 

 Among the most iuteresting objects in this court are the 

 four Indian stores, which illustrate, in the most real and 

 truthful manner, the customs of the native trader. The 

 first .shows a grain merchant, surrounded by liis baskets 

 of produce, which he vends to bis customers. Close at 

 hand isa group of women, grinding corn in a hand mill, 

 according to the method which has been in use since 

 the time of the patriarchs. In another store is repro- 

 duced a dealer in the culinary vegetables used in the 

 East. A third sliows us the fruit-.seller, with his waiea 

 in circular baskets; but still more indicative of the 

 life in the East is the druggist's store, in which 

 an old herbalist, with his drugs in bags repro- 

 duces with the utmost exactitude of a sceiie 

 familiar to every Indian resident.' Opposite to 

 these stores is the model of an Indian fish-wife, 

 surrounded by most admirably modelled and coloured 

 representations of fish ; they are so well executed 

 that tliey appear to have f)ecn just taken from the water. 

 The natural history articles in the commercial court are 

 not remarkably numerous, but the collection of Indian 

 game birds, such as the Argus, bustard, &c., from the 

 Indian Museum, may be noticed, asals© tbcplates from 

 " Gould's Bird.s of Asia," which are hung about the 

 walls. 



Am.)ngst the most interesting exhibits, though how 

 it obtained a place in the commercial court ia difficult 

 to perceive, is a collection of the earth snakes (Uropcl- 

 tidaj) of southern India and Ceylon, exhibited by Col- 

 Beddome. These singular reptiles, which arc local iu 

 their tlistribution, not extending farther north than 20" 

 north latitude, burrow in the earth and live under- 

 ground, coming to the surface in wet weather. The 

 earth snakes have pointed heads, well fitted for pene- 

 trating the ground. The nocks are stout, but the head 

 is not uufrequently found turned to one side, as if it 

 had been partially displaced by the vigorous efforts of 

 the animal to penetrate the soil when in i)uri<uil 

 of the earthworms, which constitute its chief food. 

 The tail is short, and usually cut off at an angle, so as 

 to form a flat terminal plate, admirably adapted to 

 form a point Wappui ivonx which the burrowing efforts 

 of the animal can be exerted. These snakes are by 

 o means rare, but are rarely seen, as it is neces-ary 

 . dig some feet into the earth to obtain theni. Those 



in the court are well shown in long bottles, having 

 been preserved in spirits. On the opposite side of the 

 court is a glass case containing models of snakes in 

 action. These are well shown, the cobras striking and 

 otiiers gliding along or in diverse natural attitudes. 

 The ethnological models in this court are exceedingly 

 numerous, and give a hotter idea of the various races 

 inhabiting tiie peninsula of Hindustan than could be 

 acquired by any other means, except visiting the 

 country. Of no less interest is the collection of agri 

 cultural implements in the annexe to this court, and the 

 models of agricultural life, such as the representation 

 of a village in Northern India. 



The models illustrating farm operations in Bengal, 

 which are all most faithfully represented, should be 

 studied by the aid of the special catalogue. The dis- 

 tinction between the modes of cultivation followed by 

 an agrictdtural population of many millions, which has 

 remained unchanged for tliousands of years, and those 

 pursued in our own country, is most interesting to. 

 follow. 



Ploughs which only scratch the soil without turning 

 it over are still in use, and improved instruments, such, 

 as are used at the Government experimental farms 

 are rejected by the natives, who prefer to plough the 

 ground over half-a-dozen times with their effete in- 

 struments to adopting the more efhcaeious and improved 

 appliances. — Field. * 



Thr Ass.\.m Cojipany. — The directors of the As- 

 sam Company recommend a dividend of 15 per 

 cent., or £3 per share, to be paid on the 1st July 

 to shareholders registered on the loth .Tune, mak- 

 ing, with the interim dividend of 5 per cent paid 

 in January last, a total of 20 i^er cent for the year. 

 — Home and Colonial Mail. 



Tea.— At the Liverpool Exhibition a Liverpool 

 firm of tea dealers, Messrs. Roberts, have a tea 

 exhibition. In a Chinese house, with neat lattice 

 work fayade, they display samples of almost every 

 known tea, including Indian, Ceylon and even Verba, 

 tea used by the South Americans, side by side 

 with which are the vessels made from pumpkins, 

 in which the tea is concocted, and the silver pipes 

 through which the liquid is supped. A decided 

 novelty to Englislj consumers are the samples of 

 brick tea. It is not the semi-divided cakes of 

 ordinary pressed tea sometimes sold in ]Ongland, 

 but large cakes as hard as stones, consumed in 

 Siberia and the North of China, and sometimes 

 passing current as money. — Home and Colonial Mail. 



CoFFKE IN Venezuela. — President Crespo's Mes- 

 sage to the congress of Venezuela. Speaking of the 

 economic situation of the country the Pjesident 

 said : — I regret that our economic situation is not 

 good, owing to causes entirely beyond the control 

 of the Government. Agriculture, which is the 

 main source of our riches, is completely prostrated 

 at present by causes which could not be foreseen, 

 and which threaten to continue ; for example, the 

 great and increasing depreciation in the price of 

 coffee, the cultivation of which has long been the 

 support of many of our citizens. We look for 

 alleviation of this unhappy position when the great 

 public works, such as the Port of La Guayra and 

 the great railways now in course of construction, 

 are finished. In the meantime we must have 

 recourse to the most rigid economy, and as in the 

 present state of the country the j^ublic cannot 

 stand further taxation, we consider it better to 

 reduce our expenses by at least one-thirtj. There 

 is another circumstance which leads us to this 

 conclusion. The duty upon imported cereals usually 

 yielded 150 to 200 Bolivars per month, but in 

 view of the destruction of our crops by locusts the 

 Government considered it to be advisable to suspend 

 this duty for a season. This has now been in force 

 for five months. — S. A. Journal. 



