226 



NA TURE 



\Ja>i. 6, 1SS7 



South Aitsiralia. — The centre of attraction here was 

 undoubtedly the scene on the Murray River wherein the 

 habits of the aborigines were depicted. Wool figured 

 largely, and the applications of emus' eggs for a great 

 variety of purposes were fully illustrated. A good collec- 

 tion of small specimens of the woods of the colony was 

 shown, as well as a collection of fruits and seeds. 



Western Australia. — A fine collection of the timbers 

 t)f the colony was exhibited in this Court, and outside 

 near the basin adjoining. The principal woods shown 

 were jarrah [Euealyptus iiuu-oinata), and karri {E. 

 diversicolor). Of the former, one of the principal at- 

 tractions in the Court was a log, some seven feet long, 

 over four feet in diameter, and weighing nearly five tons, 

 carefully polished on one end to show the cross section, 

 and in the middle to show the longitudinal structure. The 

 wood has a very fine deep red colour, and " for the dura- 

 bility of its timber," Baron Mueller says, " is unsurpassed 

 by any kind of tree in any portion of the globe." 

 When carefully selected and dried, it is proof against 

 the attack of teredo, termites, or any other wood-borers. 

 It is consequently in great demand for jetties, piles, rail- 

 way-sleepers, fence posts, and all kinds of underground 

 work, as well as for planking and frames of ships. This 

 fine block of wood, and a fine slab or counter-top of figured 

 jarrah and other West Australian woods, have been 

 presented to the Museum of the Royal Gardens, Kevv. 

 Amongst the plants exhibited as being used for tea 

 by the natives were the following : — The leaves and flowers 

 of Vertieonliapinnii:;era, known, it is stated, to the settlers 

 in the earlier days of the colony, and used medicinally. 

 The taste is said to be similar to Chinese tea. Another 

 kind of native tea proved upon examination to be furnished 

 by Kutizea Muellcri. 



Queensland. — C f vegetable products exhibited from 

 this colony the collection of woods was the most note- 

 worthy, not only for the number of species, but for the 

 care shown in their selection and preparation. The two 

 enormous trunks of cedar [Cediela Toond), each some 

 fifteen feet high, and one with a girth of twenty feet five 

 inches, will as long be remembered for their majestic size 

 by those interested in tree growth as the number and 

 brilliancy of the opals will be remembered by those 

 interested in gems. 



Neiu Zealand. — Next lo the collection of birds and 

 minerals, the timbers of New Zealand held a prominent 

 place, and the furniture made from the most important 

 and beautiful woods, such as mottled kauri {Dainniara 

 australis), and totara [Podoearpiis totara) was well illus- 

 trated. The beauty of these woods is so great that it 

 is remarkable they should still remain comparatively 

 unknown amongst cabinet-makers in this country. 



Cape of Good Hope. — The centre of attraction in this 

 Court was undoubtedly the diamonds and diamond-polish- 

 ing. Of the vegetable products a collection of native 

 medicinal plants was shown, and their uses were well 

 described in the catalogue of Cape exhibits, and for 

 the most part are to be found also in Pappe's Florae 

 Capeiisis Mcdiea Prodromus. There was also a very 

 fine collection of well-seasoned and polished wood slabs, 

 amongst them being Outeniqua yellow-wood {Podoearpiis 

 elongatus), an extremely valuable, fine-grained wood of a 

 light yellow colour, useful for furniture, planks, flooring- 

 boards, beams, &c. One slab of this fine wood — which 

 was almost entirely hidden during the Exhibition by a 

 counter being built over it, and measures about twenty 

 feet long by five feet in diameter — has been presented to 

 the Kew Museum, together with a fine set of other Cape 

 woods, many of which might become useful in this 

 country were they better known, notably the stinkwood 

 or laurel wood {Oreodaphne bullata), a dark-coloured 

 wood much resembling walnut in appearance, but heavier 

 and considerably stronger, so that it has iDeen recom- 

 mended quite recently for gun-stocks. In the colony it 



is very highly prized for nearly every kind of work con- 

 nected with building and cabinet-making, being little 

 inferior if not equal to teak in strength and durability. 



Natal. — Raw vegetable products largely predominated 

 in this Court. Sugar, maize, tea, and tobacco were the 

 principal staples. The cultivation and manufacture of tea 

 is a new industry for Natal, and the result is that an article 

 of very good quality has been produced, Natal tea having 

 been on sale during the period of the Exhibition and well 

 spoken of, so that there seems every probability of a future 

 trade in this article with Natal Amongst tanning 

 materials we noticed the root, both entire and broken, of 

 the Elands Bontjis {Elephantorliiz i Burehellii), which has 

 attracted some attention of late as a valuable tanning 

 material. Preserved native fruits, such as granadilla 

 {Passiflora maliforinis), papaw {Cariea Papaya), amatun- 

 gulu {Carissa grandijiora), and others, were exhibited, 

 as well as a variety of hard woods, many of which were 

 without scientific names. 



West African Settlements. — Under this head was in- 

 cluded the Gold Coast, Lagos, Gambia, and .Sierra Leone. 

 The exhibits consisted largely of raw products of both the 

 vegetable and animal kingdoms, together with some native 

 manufactures, such as textiles from indigenous palm fibre 

 or grasses, carvings in wood, iS:c. Oil seeds were shown 

 in variety as well as in bulk, and notable amongst them 

 were the kernels of Elais guineensis, malukeh seeds 

 {Polygala rarifolia), which only occasionally finds its 

 way to this country, physic nuts {fntroplta Cureas), benni- 

 seed [Scsainuni indicum), and others as well known. 

 Some very large balls of rubber were exhibited from 

 Sierra Leone, and some fine masses of a kind of gum 

 copal from the Gold Coast. 



Ceylon. — Vegetable products abounded in this Court. 

 On the walls were exhibited no less than 362 specimens 

 of native vegetable drugs, got together by the Director of 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya. A very fine 

 series of planks of the principal useful or ornamental 

 timbers were exhibited, amongst them being tamarind, 

 satinwood, ebony, calamander, and nedun {Perieopsis 

 niooniana). The most attractive of the Ceylon woods is 

 certainly calamander, but this is said to be now extremely 

 scarce, and as it is of slow growth, the supply is very 

 limited. Satinwood trees are common " in the northern, 

 eastern, and north-western forests, but the proportion of 

 these which yield ' flowered satinwood ' is very small, and 

 this description of wood is therefore comparatively high 

 in price.' Notwithstanding this scarcity of " flowered 

 satinwood,'' several of the show-cases which contained 

 the exhibits of tea, cardamoms, &c., and some of the 

 barrels containing coffee, were of flowered satinwood. 

 The Ceylon collection on the whole was one of particular 

 interest. 



India. — The extent of space occupied by our Indian 

 Empire, and the varied and interesting character of the 

 exhibits, will long te remembered. The contents of the 

 art courts do not come within our notice, but there was 

 sufficient material in the Economic Court for an extended 

 notice. Space, however, will not allow us to say more 

 than a few words on the unrivalled collection of the raw 

 products of India — such a collection, indeed, as in all 

 probability was never brought together at onetime before. 

 In such a collection it would be impossible to individual- 

 ise any of the exhibits — those most striking, such as the 

 bamboo bridge, will remain fresh in the memory — but it is 

 in such details as the individual contents of the several 

 shops that the interest of the economic botanist lies. To 

 obtain any idea of the contents and value of the Indian 

 Economic Court, we must refer our readers to the recently- 

 issued " Special Catalogue of Exhibits," a large portion 

 of which has been compiled by Dr. Watt, who had charge 

 of the Economic Court during the Exhibition. This 

 catalogue is a valuable and interesting record of one of 

 the most important sections of the whole Exhibition. 



