278 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



A solitary nun in Youghal, haunted by the 

 pinched faces of the wretched children who 

 attended the convent school, ono day found a 

 piece of old lace, and was inspired with the 

 idea of teaching the poor how to make it. Her 

 teaching was so thorough that the laces then 

 adopted and originated are acknowledged today 

 to be among the most exquisite of all laces. 

 In much the same manner Mrs. Roberts bade 

 the poor crochet- workers of Clones copy some 

 Point de Venise lace, and succeeded in having 

 it bought and worn by the fashion-leaders of 

 New York, Paris, Brussels and Vienna. The 

 curious and wonderful work of the Cork lace- 

 makers was taught by the Ursuline nuns. A 

 scrap of old lace found in the Tynan rectory 

 was the beginning of the beautiful Irish point 

 laces in the Venetian, Spanish, and rose de- 

 signs, adapted by the peasants of that desolate 

 country on the borders of Lough Erne. A 

 flounce made by them, bought by Lord John 

 George Beresford and exhibited in 1851, 

 brought many orders. 



Ever since those terrible famine days lace- 

 making has been of the most signal benefit to 

 the Irish cottagers. The delicate Tambour 

 lace-work dates from 1829, when one C. Walker 

 brought twenty four girls from England to teach 

 the women of Limerick. The Limerick ap- 

 plique was introduced by Lady de Vere, and 

 the dainty Carrickmacross lace, which consists 

 of a pattern cut from cambric and applied to 

 net with point stitches, was originated by the 

 wife of the Rector of Dunnamoyne in 1820. This 

 lady taught her servant, Mary Steadman, to 

 copy some lace she had brought from Italy. 



WIN NEKS OF MANY AWARDS. 



The skillful lace-makers of Beer and Brans- 

 combe have won many medals for their beautiful 

 Honiton laces — among others, the bronze medal 

 at the Chicago Exhibition of 1892, the silver 

 medal at Paris in 1900, the Grand Prize at St. 

 Louis in 1904, and the " Diplomed'Honueur " at 

 Milan in 1906. The gold cross of the Home 

 Arts and Industries has been won by them three 

 times. The industry in these villages, revived 

 in 1890, was handed over in 1891, to Miss Treve- 

 lyan whose great aunt, Pauline, Lady Treve- 

 lyan, had done much for the lace workers in 

 1866, when there was a great deal of distress 

 among the cottagers. At the present time a 

 steady output of high-class lace could be main- 

 tained if only a wider market were created. 

 Only the best linen thread is used and the deli- 

 cate fillings and net groundings of the exquisite 



old designs have been revived, and new designs 

 suitable for the finest quality of work introduced. 

 Some of the line raised work consumes an al- 

 most incredible length of time in the making. 

 Four hours' uninterrupted work, in some cases, 

 is hardly perceptible. 



Nearly all Continental laces are made of 

 cotton. In the cottage industries of England 

 and Ireland the use of cotton thread has been 

 almost entirely supplanted by the finest quali- 

 ties of linen thread. The even beauty of good 

 lace depands on the worker's touch, and this 

 light, delicate touch can only be acquired by 

 the use of the best linen thread. 



Apart from all other considerations, lace- 

 making, both in cottage and in factory, is 

 worthy of the public interest, from the fact that 

 it is every year becoming more distinctly 

 national in character. As an' occupation for 

 women and girls it is, as already mentioned, 

 singularly congenial— and this fact is significant 

 in a country where so many women are obliged 

 to support themselves. In the cottage work it 

 has the highly disirabe effect of keeping the 

 rural classes on the soil. — Daily Mail, Jan. 21. 



PETROLEUM RESIDUE FOR THE EX- 

 TERMINATION OF WHITE ANTS. 



Colombo, Feb. 24th. 

 Dear Sik, — We attach herewith copy of a 

 letter written from Java describing the methods 

 adopted in a successful experiment in extermin- 

 ating White Ants which should prove of peculiar 

 interest to tea planters in Ceylon. We hand it 

 to you as you may consider it sufficiently 

 instructive and interesting to publish in your 

 valuable paper — We are, dear Sir, yours faith- 

 fully, 



DELMEGE, FORSYTH & Co. 



(Copy 



[Extract from the "Indische Mercuur " 

 of Sothjuly, 1907.] 

 An Experiment with Petroleum Residue 

 for Extermination of White Ants. 

 The above named experiment was made in the 

 tea gardens of the " Landen aan de Zuid" estate, 

 nearTasik. Malaya, during five consecutive week6. 

 The recipe was received by the under-signed from 

 the Zoological Department of the Agricultural 

 Department in Buitenzorg near Batavia, Java). 

 It has to be done as follows : — Put together 1 to 

 li liqueur glasses of residue oil and one small 

 bottle of water, sprinkle the mixture round the 

 tree, shaking the bottle all the while. I took 



