242 



fuu "r^OPtcAL ACckiciJLtvkiHt. 



[UgT. i, fSb6, 



Bomely bound in cloth with a design in gold on the 

 cover showing some of the typical vegetable products 

 of tlie West Indies, while the contents are as follows : — 



Piincipal Entrance to the Court (Coloured Illus- 

 tratiuij) " West Indian Galleiy; Picture Gallery- 

 West Side (Coloured Illustnition) ; Picture Gallery- 

 East Side (Coloured Illustration) ; Jamaica (with illus- 

 tration) ; Trinidad (with illustration) ; ]>arbado3 (with 

 illnstiation); Sugar Canes by Anglo-Continental Guano 

 Compauy (Ohlcndorff) (illustration) ; Grenada (with 

 illustration) ; St. Vincent (with illustration) ; Tobat,'o 

 (with illustration) St. Lucia (with illustration) ; Anti- 

 gua (with illustration) ; St. Christopher (with illustra- 

 tion) ; Dominica (with illustration; Montserrat (with 

 illustration) ; Virgin Islands (with illustration); British 

 Honduras (with illustration); A Group of Exhibits 

 (illustration); The Bahamas(with illustration);Diagrani 

 showing the respective Values of the Imports to the 

 United Kingdom, &c. &c. List of Exhibitors Map 

 of the West Indies and British Honduras. 



The account of Jamaica is written by Sir A. 

 Adderley; that of Trinidad by Mr. C. A. Harris; 

 Barbados by Hon. C. C. Knollys, Colonial Secret- 

 ary ; Grenada by Mr. J. Wells, editor of the St. 

 Geoiye's Chronicle ; St. Vincent by H. E. A. F. 

 Gore", C.M.G.; Tobago by Hon. L. G. Hay ; St.. Lucia, 

 Antigua, St. Christopher and Nevis by Mr. C. A. 

 Harris ; Dominica by His Honor J. S. Churchill ; 

 Montserrat by Hon. J. S. Hollings, c.e. ; Virgin 

 Islands and British Honduras by Mr. C. A. Harris ; 

 and the Bahamas by Sir A. Adderley, who con- 

 tributes an introduction to the work as a whole. 

 But, besides this, Mr. Eugene Rimuiel, the well- 

 known perfumer, has taken the opportunity to 

 advertise his wares by gf.tting up a little brochure 

 in colored cover, which is sold in the West Indian 

 Court, and which contains, besides a reprint of 

 certain details given in the Handbook and Cata- 

 logue, some interesting remarks (with illustrations) 

 on " The Fragrant Products of the West Indies." 

 I send you a copy of this, as it contains matter 

 which will be useful as well as interesting to the 

 readers of the T. A. Proprietors of land in the 

 lowcountry of Ceylon should take a hint from what 

 is said regarding the distillation of " rose-apple 

 water " from the jambu and " oil of ben " from 

 the murungai. The illustrations in the Handbook 

 will give you a fair idea of the artistic and taste- 

 ful manner in which the West Indian Courts have 

 been arranged, but, as has been said above, some 

 of the effect is due to the employment of articles 

 which have little or no connection with the West 

 Indies. I would only instance the portraits ojthe 

 royal and other notable personages in the Picture 

 Gallery and especially the fountain in the centre, 

 which attracts so much attention but which has. 

 80 far as I know, not the slightest connection with 

 any of the West Indian colonies. (Perhaps it has 

 been placed there to counteract the effect on 

 teetotal minds of the numerous bottles of rum in 

 the adjacent courts.) But lest I should be thought 

 to be trying to depreciate the West Indian Court I 

 Bhali at once ssy that & very considerable part of the 

 artistic effect is due to perfectly legitimate means, 

 For instance, to quote from the Handbook, 



In order to fully illustrate the Flora of the "West 

 Indies— iudigenou3''and acclimatised— Mra. Blake, the 

 accomplished wife of the Governor of the Bahamas, 

 has most kindly pahited, expressly for the Exhibi- 

 tion, a aeries of lOi large water-colour drawings, 

 copied from nature. These drawings are nearly all 

 life-sine; they are very carefully finished, and arc, 

 for the most part, without being botanical studies, 

 faithful representations of the plants they illustrate, 

 besides beiug artistically beautiful. Mrs. Blake, iu 

 tho majority of her pictures, shows us the plant, its 

 foliage, fruit, and flowers. Sometimes she adds, as 

 a background, a landscape ; and now and then she 

 has included one or two specimens of insects, but- 



The picture which appears to attract most attention 

 is that shown in the colored illustration in the 

 Handbook of the west side Picture Gallery. It is 

 thus described in the catalogue : — 



In the centre is an immense painting of " A Wave 

 breaking upon the Bahamas Coast." The transparency 

 of the water, the brilliance of the colouring, and 

 the perfection of every detail reflects greatly upon the 

 exceptional powers of the artist, Mr. Bierstadt. 



Mr. Albert Bierstadt is called " the Millais of 

 America " : whether this title is deserved or not 

 I cannot say ; but certainly to the unartistic eye 

 the painting seems wonderfully well done, and I 

 should not be surprised to learn that it has been 

 sold at the high price (£1,000) affixed to it. The 

 old maps and books and specimens of Carib pot- 

 tery &G, shown in cases in these Courts are all 

 very interesting, especially to the student and anti- 

 quarian. The Jamaican Court shows " the touch 

 of a vanished hand," that of Mr. Morris, whose 

 labors on behalf of Ceylon, St. Helena and Jamaica 

 have been recognized by his appointment as Assist- 

 ant Director at Kew. To his energy are largely 

 due the various exhibits of the Botanical Depart- 

 ment, including cinchona, spices and drugs of all 

 kinds, oils, woods, &c. Some very fine samples 

 of coffee and cacao are shown, among the former 

 beiug several from Arntully estate, with which Mr. 

 W. Sabonadiure is connected. Mr. J. Hart ex- 

 hibits some "Assam tea, prepared from plants grow- 

 ing on the Government Cinchona Plantation, 

 Jamaica:" of courte this is simply an experiment, 

 and Ceylon planters need not fear rivalry in that 

 quarter. In the Trinidad Court the chief ex- 

 hibits are the preducts of the sugarcane, cacao 

 coffee and chocolate and asphalt bitters. There is 

 a large collection of wood by Mr. S. Devenish, who 

 has compiled a list giving the English, French and 

 Spanish names as well as the scientific names 

 and families of each. A model of a cacao-curing 

 house is shown, illustrating the mode in which the 

 beans are dried in the sun. Before passing on, I 

 should rfote, that, as the Handbook states. 



Opposite the Trinidad Court the Anglo-Continen- 

 tal Guano Works (late Ohlendorff's) exhibit a collec- 

 tion of Sugar Canes from all parts of the world. Here, 

 side by side, may be contrasted the different varie- 

 ties from West and East. Statistics of production and 

 imports, tools used lu sugar cultivation, and speci- 

 mens of the rat-killing mongoose, cane-borers, etc., 

 make the exhibit a very attractive and interesting one 

 In the Barbados Court the i^redominant feature 

 is sugarcane and its products. Samples of bitu- 

 minous coal are shown, which testify to volcanic 

 action in this coral island ; and the sight of a 

 model house with ' hurricane cellars ' makes one 

 appreciate being out of the range of such destruct- 

 ive natural agencies in Ceylon. The exhibits from 

 the other Windward Islands are of much (he same 

 character as those above specified, jl would only 

 mention plantain meal, as it struck me that a pro- 

 fitable industry might Ise created in Ceylon in this 

 direction, as w^ell as in dried plantains sliced. 

 Of the Leeward Islands, Dominica has some in- 

 teresting exhibits, especially those of Dr. N. A. A. 

 Nicholls: and from Montserrat the lime-juice in- 

 dustry is well exhibited, not only in this Court but 

 in the eastern gallery where there are ' tasting 

 bars ' at which this refreshing drink can be had 

 gratis (by a certain number) and lime juice cordial, 

 tablets &C., can be purchased. British Hon- 

 duras has a fine collection of woods, fibres, 

 fruits, arts and manufactures as well as natural 

 products, and also some Indian antiquities : 

 and the exhibit from the Bahamas is small but 

 interesting, the bonnets made from gorgonas or 

 sea-l'evuij Icing very attractive to the lady visitors. 



