393 DRIVING. 



comfort, and moreover suppress noise, a great consideration to 

 very many persons in delicate health or of nervous tempera- 

 ment ; also, by reducing the concussions on the carriage and 

 springs, these tires tend to curtail the cost of repairs, and to 

 prolong the working life of the carriages to which they are 

 applied. As one improvement often leads to others, this one 

 would only be feasible on roadways with wood or asphalte 

 surfaces such as London now possesses. With hard and rough 

 stones India-rubber tires would fare badly ; but, in view of 

 their extended use in ether towns and countries where roads 

 may be expected to be improved, merchants will do well to 

 encourage the growth and import to this country of large and 

 regular supplies of the raw material. Already there is a great 

 demand for India-rubber mats, which are a modern introduc- 

 tion, and have recently been greatly improved in neatness of 

 pattern and appearance, almost superseding those of cocoa- 

 nut fibre, wool, &c. 



International and home exhibitions have exerted a con- 

 siderable influence in stimulating changes and improvements, 

 the former much more numerous than the latter. They have, 

 however, to be entered on with caution by carriage- builders ; 

 for it sometimes happens that the inviting country retains the 

 best positions for its own manufacturers, and politely places 

 foreign competitors in such a remote position, and with such 

 incongruous surroundings as ploughs, harrows, and farm carts, 

 as to disgust visitors, and lead them to infer that the carriages 

 are in company suited to their deservings. Even a gold medal 

 will not compensate for an unfavourable impression on possible 

 buyers ; and with the pattern and measurements neatly and 

 accurately taken by one or more manufacturers of the country 

 that invites others to send their carriages in competition, and 

 with the customs tariff arranged at a sufficiently high rate, the 

 foreign exhibitor undergoes the process of ' easy shaving,' with 

 little chance of business resulting after all his trouble, expendi- 

 ture, and enterprise. 



One outcome of international exhibitions was probably little 



