400 A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 



of furniture entirely composed of them. Two table-tops in curious mosaic 

 are exceedingly attractive, in which the splendid Purple-wood throws out 

 its conspicuous charms ; hut the bijou of the court, is a little cabinet, also 

 constructed of the woods of the Colony, shown by Sir W. H. Holmes. The 

 doors are inlaid and quite fiat, and yet they represent in striking perspective 

 an elegant apartment with window and door in the distance ; the per- 

 spective effect being produced simply by a judicious grouping of the 

 woods, the darker varieties forming shade to the light-coloured specimens, 

 and I do not think such an elegant and successful piece of wood-work, 

 is to be found elsewhere in the Exhibition. The artist deserves great 

 credit for his design, and the woods of British Guiana, already celebrated 

 as containing the mottled serpent, or Letter wood, and the brilliant " Purple 

 heart," will certainly not lose in public estimation, by the tasty employ- 

 ment of them in this cabinet. Specimens of India-rubber from Demerara, 

 in round balls, will be certain to engage the attention of those commercially 

 interested in an article the utility of which appears unbounded. 



The cotton of colonial growth in the New South "Wales and Queensland 

 collections, valued at 3s. 6d. and 4s. a pound, ought surely to rejoice the 

 hearts of many whose future prosperity may very possibly depend upon 

 the quantity and quality of this invaluable raw material which our own 

 possessions can supply. America as an exclusively cotton growing country, 

 appears on the eve of expiring, and with much pleasure, therefore every 

 Englishman must hail this happy omen of future stores, in a new field of 

 production. A sideboard top of Australian cedar root, or Burr, is an object 

 also in the New South Wales court, of rare beauty, and in passing I 

 may just observe that the entire collection from this colony is of a very 

 practical character. 



Before closing this brief notice, I would allude to some agricultural pro- 

 duce shewn by the Russian Government. My attention was first arrested 

 at this spot by the sight of some nuts (Corybis Avellana) from the Crimea, 

 of extraordinary size, so large as quite to eclipse the English cob nuts and 

 filberts ; and in a cask adjoining these are some tempting walnuts from the 

 same province — not large and hollow as walnuts frequently are, but of a 

 size, and external appearance, that indicates quality within. The collec- 

 tion of seeds includes some very fine buckwheat, with a series of grits pre- 

 pared from it ; green peas, dried young, for making soups, &c, which 

 possess a most promising and natural flavour, very superior to preserved 

 vegetables in general. "We can never hope to receive green peas fresh from 

 Russia ; but when carefully dried, it is evident that we might advantage- 

 ous import them for winter supplies. Two samples of sunflower seed from 

 the western provinces of Russia, where this seed is largely pressed for oil, 

 at once suggest and offer us another source, or supply of oil, whichever 

 might be found most suitable for us to receive. 



