90 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



gramme, but to make a start where thecrush is 

 least. 



RUBBKR AND TEA. 



First of all there is rubber, and tea, which 

 must claim first attention from the European. 

 Here there is biscuit, sheet and crepe from 

 many estates showing the different methods 

 and varied patterns adopted. Away down a 

 long line they lay, and one passes some very 

 creditable specimens. 



Tea is also there in its many phases, neatly 

 packed in lead lined boxes, and lead packages. 

 There is a strange scent of tea which would 

 bring joy to the heart of any English housewife. 

 Vegetables vie with Ceylon sauces, and sweet- 

 meats. The art of the Sinhalese is displayed in 

 clever carvftig s, and statues, the latter section 

 including one of a lowcountry Sinhalese Paddy 

 cultivator. The inevitable elephant is ako 

 there in assorted sizes. The heart of the sports- 

 man will warm at the stand showing cheetah 

 skins and other specimens of Ceylon game, 

 while a full grown specimen in a glass case 

 should attract a good deal of attention. Ele- 

 phant tusk>3, heads and cobra skins are also 

 there, 



The Scent of the Fines. 



Lace, home industries, and a hundred and 

 one things are displayed. There is a fine col- 

 lection of fruit, and the scent from hundreds of 

 pineapples fills that end of the building. There 

 are pines, some of them nearly a foot-and-a- 

 half long, plantains, mangosteens, coconuts and 

 their products and all " the luscious fruits of 

 the East." 



Thou Shalt Not Covet. 



The gem section is a coruscating and flash- 

 ing scene of brilliance. There are gems of all 

 varieties, and heavy gold ornaments which must 

 cause many breakings of the tenth command- 

 ment. The chief import firms also have some 

 fine stands in this building who certainly de- 

 serve to be congratulated on the artistic ability 

 of their designs. 



A Blaze of Colour. 



Outside this erection the visitor is staggered 

 with colour. The various sections of the island 

 each have their pavilion where the local industries 

 and their effects are shown. The architecture of 

 the erections is amazingly daring, and the 

 colour scheme would bring joy to the heart of 

 any post-impressionist or futurist. The design- 

 ers are by no means nervous, and bright reds 

 and yellows are used with somewhat startling 

 effect to the Western eye. The local commercial 

 firms also have their pavilions, and the white 

 painted wood stands out in sharp contrast 

 to the brown cadjan and the luridness of the 

 native initiative. 



The Main Building. 



It is interesting to note the dimensions of the 

 main building, which is 500 feet long by 200 

 feet wide, the diameter of the centre circle 

 being 60 feet. It was designed by Mr. E. P. 

 VanDort, who also designed the Dutch House 

 and supervised the construction in this case. 

 The abbey-like gallery windows are an interes- 

 ting introduction to this cruciform building, 

 with its splendidly lined colonnades of pillars 



all dead true from end to end. The rounded 

 ends and excrescent additions near the centre do 

 not detract at all from the massive picturesque- 

 ness of the form of the main building— the right 

 arm of the cross of which forms the main en- 

 trance, with its none too impressively large 

 gilt lettering "All Ceylon Exhibition : Under 

 the Patronage of His Excellency the Gov- 

 ernor," 



THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENTS 

 EXHIBITS. 

 The Agricultural Society have an exhibi- 

 tion that should be missed by no one 

 interested in the cultivation of either rubber 

 op tea, or any of the products for which 

 Ceylon is famous. Here may be seen the 

 effects of light and air on rubber, and speci- 

 mens of insects which cause damage to the trees. 

 In connection with the former some interesting 

 specimens are shown, these including a large 

 block of Lanadron rubber which was exhibited 

 at the Ceylon Rubber Exhibition in 1906 and has 

 since been exposed to light and air at the 

 Peradeniya Museum. The placard is labelled 



" Will Plantation Rubber Keep?! " 

 and the answer is supplied by the rubber itself 

 which appears to be in good condition, while 

 another sample is from Henaratgoda from one of 

 the original trees which has been kept for 29 

 years. This, of course, has very little of the 

 appearance of rubber about it, but it shows 

 to what an extent rubber will keep. Some 

 Hard Para rubber is also staged ; samples of 

 biscuit, crepe and sheet rubber also being 

 shown together with a biscuit of mud rubber. 

 The results of slow drying are depicted by 

 several pieces of rubber treated differently, 

 another specimen illustrating tackiness produced 

 by oxidation with Potassium Permanganate. 

 Some Ficus rubber from the 1906 Exhibition 

 and Hevea latex preserved by Formalin and 

 Ammonia, are interesting as are also the 

 exhibits of Castilloa, Ceara and Manihot 

 Dichotoma, crepe rubber, and some of the 

 record yields from Henaratgoda. Grass oils 

 and nutmeg are shown preserved, as well 

 as cocoa, rubber and castor oil seeds, A 

 large pot of Baron i^chrottky's indigo paste 

 is staged on this table. The Sumatra to- 

 bacco from Maha-iluppalama should prove in- 

 teresting in view of the agitation in favour of 

 tobacco cultivation in the island at present ; 

 at this place it may be remembered there is 

 an experimental station. In connection with 

 tobacco it is interesting also to note that in 

 the main building of the exhibition there is a 

 good show of Ceylon tobacco, and the cigars, 

 manufactured from it, have the appearance of 

 an Indian cigar, though not of the first-class 

 it must be said. Paddy, poonac and logwood 

 are also shown. 



Diseases of Rubber and Tea Plants. 



„ To the planter perhaps the most interest- 

 ing portion of the exhibit will be that relating 

 to diseases. In this section are cuttings and 

 branches showing the ravages of insects on 

 both tea and rubber trees, one tea bush 

 being shown with the trunk hollowed out 



