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SIAMESE PRODUCTS. 



BY SIR ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK, H.M.'s CONSUL-GENERAL.* 



The collection which I transmit from Siam and its tributary states, the 

 Lao country, for the International Exhibition, consists of manufactures, 

 made principally of silks in the latter territories, which lie to the north of 

 Siam Proper, and border the southern provinces of China, as Kiang-tung 

 and Yunnan. The second division consists of produce, either cultivated 

 or growing spontaneously. 



The dress of the men and women in the Lao country, approaches more 

 the Burmese than the Siamese ; the women wear petticoats in lieu of merely 

 the piece of cloth which is wrapt from the loins to the knee of the Siamese, 

 leaving, with the exception of a shawl to cover the breast, the other parts 

 exposed, and the men of the Lao tribes, generally speaking, are likewise 

 clad in a more substantial manner than the Siamese. 



The petticoats of the Lao are manufactured by women, of the raw 

 Chinese silks brought by caravans from the southern provinces of China, 

 as Kiang-tung and Yunnan. They are embroidered with gold thread and 

 coloured silks, and are woven in the most rude manner, with hand- 

 looms so primitive, indeed, that the supporters or posts of the machine are 

 fixed into the ground under the shed, which at the same time serves as the 

 principal habitation, or as an outbuilding. Here the woman sits before the 

 loom and guides the horizontal thread by means of the shuttle with her 

 hand. 



The same process is followed as regards the manufacture of the waist - 

 cloths for men, and the coarser cotton fabrics, as blankets, or coverlets, ham- 

 mocks, shirts, &c. "With regard to the waist-cloths of the Lao men, I 

 would draw attention to the Scotch pattern which they exhibit. 



Head cushions are made of a softer substance than the head-stools of 

 the ancient Egyptians, — they are sometimes richly ormnented. 



While passing over the other articles of handicraft of the Lao and 

 Siamese, I would draw attention to the mosaic work of the Siamese, as 

 exhibited in the drum marked 25. 



The next division of my collection consists of produce and articles of 

 trade, and amongst these, rice forms the staple article of export ; next to 

 it ranges sugar, both efforts of cidtivation ; as regards cotton, it is to be 

 regretted that the Siamese cannot be induced to cultivate it more ex- 

 tensively. 



Sapan wood is largely exported. Teak wood, this excellent material for 

 ship-building, becomes more scarce yearly ; that which is brought to Bang- 

 kok is almost entirely employed for home-use, and but little is exported. 

 This wood is likewise employed for furniture, and how well it is adapted 

 for carving, I would wish to draw attention to the two Fauteuils marked 23. 



* The reader will find an interesting article on the ' Vegetable Products of Siam,' 

 by Sir Robert Schomburgk, in the Technologist, vol. 1, page 355. 



