Oct. i, 1886.] 



THE ^kOPlCAL AQmCULTtSmST. 



•24 1 



cipally to France and Italy. France is said to import 

 from all conntiies 33 milliou francs worth of the ground 

 nuty, of which India only supplies 2J millions, but it is 

 believed that the oil expressed from these nuts, as well 

 as that from (/inc/eli seed, finds its way into the markets 

 of Europe as olive oil. 



I might quote further extracts regarding oils etc., 

 but refrain from doing so, merely mentioning that 

 a model of an indigo factory shows the process 

 of manufacture of this important product. 



Among other objects shown in the Court are orna- 

 ments and other articles of rock-salt, a collection of 

 snakes exhibited by Col. Beddome, and some very 

 amusing life-like models of Indian villages. Through- 

 out the Court are grouped life-size models of the 

 various races of India, the different types being 

 admirably shown. Bound the walls are many 

 interesting objects, the most important being the 

 index collection in little tin boxes with glass fronts. 

 Then there are the grain and drug bazaars above 

 referred to, cases of stuffed birds and colored 

 drawings of birds, and a collection of very fine 

 photographs and drawings by Col. Lockhart (Mis- 

 sion to Gilgit and Kafiristan) and Col. H. C. B. 

 Tanner of the Survey of India, the latter being 

 chiefly representations of the Himalayan range. 

 The printed labels on these have not been care- 

 fully corrected, for on one, "The Yaccam Kunga 

 Mountains" (it should be " Yassana i Hunza"), 

 one reads :— " Behind the peaks in the left of the 

 pictures, is situated the great Ab-i-Nil, or Sar-i- 

 chasma-i-aba-sind, the northern source of the 

 Trans river decorated in 1881 by Pin Mukhtar 

 Shah, Emperor." The three words I have under- 

 lined should be Indus, discovered, and explorer ! 

 In this Court are also shown a fine collection of 

 minerals and ores exhibited by the Geological 

 Survey of India, and illustrated by maps ; and in 

 an adjacent annexe are a large number of maps 

 shown by the Survey Department, there being 

 also an • over-flow ' assortment of models, 

 grains, *c. In the adjoining Burma Pavilion the 

 Bombay Burma Trading Co. have a fine exhtbit of 

 teak logs and ma.nufactured articles, including lattice 

 archways made of small pieces bolted together, show- 

 ing how such ' waste ' bits can be utilized. The 

 Court of Private Exhibition (1) is separate from 

 the Ceylon Court by a passage running north and 

 south and contains a variety of articles, mostly of the 

 class well-known to your readers as sold by the 

 ' Delhi men' such as jewelry and carved work, 

 shawls, &c., and also jams, pickles, chutneys, 

 curry-powder, &c. The Crown Brewery Company 

 of Mussoorie show samples of their beer in bottle 

 and cask. Down the middle are specimens of 

 native and European carriages, a handsomely 

 carved billiard table, and Baroda pigeon-house. 

 Lastly, I must not omit to mention that at one 

 of the ends nearest Ceylon is shown the method 

 of reeling silk from the cocoons by the ' Tavelette 

 Consono,' an ingenious invention, which is a great 

 improvement on the native method. The Tea, 

 Coffee, and Tobacco Court I have before referred 

 to in connection with the Ceylon Tea trophy, so 

 I shall pass on to the Administrative Court, (6) 

 which is situated in the galleries to the right of 

 the Indian 1 fall and the southern part of the 

 Eastern Arcade. Here, to quote from the suc- 

 cinct description in the Official Catalogue : — 



The Survey of India Department contributes illus- 

 trations of tlie various processes by which the re- 

 sults of the surveying operations are tran.sferred to 

 maps, and the maps themselves, ui which are made 

 accessible to ev-ry one the exact knowledge collected 

 by the labours of science, and the observations of 

 dauntless and patient explorers. The Kevenue Settle- 

 meut Maps and charts sbowiug the iuterual trade 



and the emigration are both worthy of study. Every- 

 one will be interested to learn of the large and con- 

 stant emigration of Indian labourers to the tea- 

 gardens of Assam, the Island of Mauritius, and to 

 the distant labour fields of the West Indies and De- 

 merara, and even to our young but vigorous colony 

 of Fiji. Some return after their contract of service 

 expires, with their savings. Others remain as settlers. 



In the divisions of the Department of Finance and 

 Commerce, besides the printed reports, there are ex- 

 hibited specimens of the coinage of India, and the 

 processes of the Mmts, Patterns of all stamps used 

 which make up a revenue of over three million 

 pounds, are shown by Messrs. De la Rue. The Post 

 Office shows from the different Presidencies models 

 illustrating the pecuUar means of carriage which 

 are needed in distributing the 184 millions of letters, 

 cards, &c., delivered throughout India in one year, 

 models of mail runners and riders, &c. Specimens 

 of buffalo horns sounded to scare away wild beasts 

 in Assam, or bows and arrows carried for defence in 

 Rajputana, carts, coaches, boats and rafts are ranged 

 according to the particular provinces. Our printers 

 and bookbinders can compare the tools and work of 

 their Indian fellow-craftsmen. 



The Home Department sends a most curious and 

 complete illustration of the means and appliances 

 employed in the 111,237 schools with their 2,790,061 

 pupils inspected in 1882-3. The indigenous schools of 

 the Punjab, and all schools not inspected are of course 

 omitted. The model of an indigenous school in 

 Bombay is well worthy of examination. 



The models shown by the Public Works Depart- 

 ment, illustrating the Indian railway carriages, the 

 public buildings, and the great works constructed 

 for irrigation, on which the lives of millions con- 

 stantly d'^p ad, can only be pointed out as claiming 

 much more than a passing glance. 



The Military and Marine Department, in addition 

 to the portrait models which stand round the vestibule, 

 contributes, not only descriptions but various models il- 

 lustrating the internal economy of the army, and the 

 soldier life and work in barracks. The medical am- 

 bulances, the war material, elephant kheddahs for 

 catching the wild elephants, which become the most 

 useful and docile servants, and other instructive ex- 

 hibits, will be found illustrated in the somewhat 

 confined space available. 



Besides the objects specified above, I may mention 

 a case of books published by the Christian Verna- 

 cular Education Society, and one of Messrs. Trubner 

 & Co.'s revolving book-cases, containing their latest 

 publications relating to India, including a volume of 

 the Tropical Agriculturist. I now come to the Indian 

 Palace (7) and its connected courts. Of the 

 Palace itself I need say no more than that it 

 gives an admirable idea of the Indian style of 

 architecture. The little bazaars, where weaving, 

 metal work, confectionery etc. arc carried on, 

 prove sources of great attraction to the crowds 

 who are always to be found in front of them, 

 and I expect a good trade is carried on in the 

 articles manufactured. Round the bottom of the 

 Garden Vestibule of the Palace is the Silk Court, 

 which is hun^ all round with silks of various 

 hues, while in cases are shown moths, woiins an;l 

 cocoons of Tusser and rcmla trifenestrata from 

 Eanchi, Chota Nagpore, the latter new to Europe* 

 This completes the Indian section, and I must 

 leave the other Courts for future letters. 



THE WEST INDIAN, JAMAICAN, TRINIDAU AND DAKBAUOb' 

 COUKTS. 



The Handbook and Cafalogue to the West Indict} 

 and British Honduras, issued under the authoiity 

 of Sir Augustus Adderley, k.o.m.o., the Royal and 

 Executive Commissioner, is, as you will see from 

 the copy I send you herewith, a work on the pre- 

 paration of which a good deal of labor and con- 

 iiidei'iibk e;i^euse bavo beeu i^peut. it k hmi- 



