THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 7* 



small, rocky, and unproductive island, and made to support themselves by their labor. These silks cannot b* 

 exported. All their silks and calicoes are uniformly 18 inches in width. 

 They have no sheep or goats, and do not make woolen fabrics. 



Waiters. ..Small Porcelain Polls . .Mirrors. ..Domestic Utensils : bowls, jars, cups, shovels, 

 ladles. ..Magnificent Spears. ..Swords; mountings of gold ; scabbards of shark's skin...Biche 

 de Mer... Mats... Nails... .Needles... Saws... .Chisels. ..Planes.... Agricultural Implements. ..Ja- 

 panese Shells. ..Japan Printing Implements, Blocks, Ink, &c.... Paper from the bark of the 

 Mulberry, exceedingly soft and flexible, used for handkerchiefs. It endures folding, and 

 lasts longer than ours. ..Models of Japanese Sanctuary, Houses, &c. 

 They upe no glass for windows, but oiled paper or cloth. 

 Umbrellas made of Bamboo, and covered with a vegetable oil. 



These are perfectly water proof, and can be used for a long time without injury. 



All the articles of superior quality are put by the Japanese" merchants into boxes of white cedar. Inferior 

 articles are wrapped in paper. 



The Japanese possess one art in which they excell the world this is in lacquering wood work. In this op- 

 eration they select the finest wood of fir or cedar to be covered with varnish which is made from the gum of 

 the rhu* oemiao, a tree abundant in their country. 



The Japanese also excell all other nations in the quality of their porcelain and swords. 



They do not know how to cut or polish precious stones, but have a substitute, called syakfdo in which vari- 

 ous metals are so blended and combined that they resemble fine enamel. This is used for ornamenting 

 girdle clasps, sword hilts, boxes, <fcc. 



CASE 84. 



Amazon Expedition. Costumes of the Savages of Ucayali river, trimmed with feathers, 

 teeth, &c... Ants' Nest, used for spunk. ..Leg and Wing Bones of a Bird. ..Tobacco from river 

 Madeira. ..Tongue of a Fish. ..Necklace of Berries... Minerals, Woods, Gums, &c...Bats... 

 Lizards. ..Tiger Cats. ..Skins. ..Curious Brazilian Wasps' Nest, in which honey is stored up... 

 Birds. ..Axes. ..Drums... Grass from which the Guayaquil hats are made... Sarsaparilla Roots... 

 Blow-gun or Pucuna of the Indians. 



It is made of any long, straight piece of wood, generally a species of palm. The pole is divided longitudi- 

 nally: a canal hollowed out along the centre of each part, which is well smoothed and polished; the two 

 parts are then fastened together with twine, and the whole covered with wax, mixed with some resin of the 

 forest, to make it hard. A couple of boar's teeth are fitted on each side at the mouth end, and one of the 

 curved front teeth of a small animal is placed on the top for a sight. The arrow is made ~f light wood the 

 wild cane, or the middle fibre of a species of palm leaf which is about a foot in length, and of the thickness 

 of an ordinary lucifer match. The end of the arrow which is placed next to the mouth is wrapped with a 

 light, delicate sort of wild cotton, and the other end, very sharply pointed, is dipped in a vegetable poison, pre- 

 pared from the juice of the creeper, mixed with strong red pepper. ^V ith this instrument the Indian will kill 

 a small bird at thirty or forty paces. They never discharge the pucuna at a snake, for fear of the gun being 

 made crooked like the reptile. 



Hammock made of the fibres of the budding top of a species of palm. 



The tree is very hard, and is defended with long, sharp thorns, so that it is a labor of a day to cut a top, 

 split the leaves into strips of convenient breadth, and strip off the fibres, which are the outer covering of the 

 leaves. One top usually yields about half a pound of fibres : and when it is considered that these fibres have to 

 be twisted, a portion of them dyed, and then woven, it will be seen that the Indian is poorly paid when he re- 

 ceives tor a hammock 12 cents. 



Hymeneal Bracelets. 



An Indian cnnnot take a wife until he has passed his arms at least ten times through long stalks of the 

 palm tree filled intentionally with large, venomous ants. When muffled in these terrible mittens, the Indian 

 is obliged to siug and dance before every cabin. 



India Rubber. 



Gathered between July and January. 



The tree is tall, straight, and has a smooth bark. It is sometimes eighteen inches in diameter. The milk is 

 white and tasteless, and may be swallowed with impunity. A gash is made in the bark, and a small clay cup 

 stuck to the tree beneath the gash. In about four hours the milk ceases to run, and each wound has given 

 from 3 to 5 table-spoonsfull. The milk is then poured into earthen vessels and smoked. After it is prepared, 

 it is nearly as white as milk, and gets its color from age. An industrious man can make 16 pounds of rubber 

 a day. 



CASE 85. 



Monrovia, Africa. Specimens of Negro Manufactures: Cloths, Bags, Hammocks, 

 Paddles, Head-Dresses, Fans, Bricks, Shoes, &c... Water Jars, used by the women of 

 Cape Palmas... Native Harp. ..Amulets. 



CASE 86. 



Unoccupied. 



Attached to the iron railing, designed and manufactured expressly for this Institution at 

 the well-known establishment of E. W. SHIPPED, 3022 Market street, Philadelphia, which 

 protects the upper gallery, is a splendid collection of Horns and Antlers of Elks, Deer, &c. 



