Oct.  i,  1892,] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
235 
give  attention  to  the  remarks  of  the  Committee,  and 
at  the  next  Show,  appear  with  a better  description  of 
their  exhibits  and  the  method  employed  in  oroiuciug 
them.  With  these  remarks  I declare  the  Exhibition 
open. 
The  reply  being  read,  His  Highness  was  conducted  by 
the  President  and  the  Secretary  round  the  building,  an  i 
he  expressed  himself  well  pleased  with  the  general  ar- 
rangement and  the  exhibits,  which  he  inspected  very  care- 
fully and  with  great  interest.  The  Brigade  Band  in 
the  meanwhile  had  taken  its  station  in  theoentre  of  the 
open  quadrangle  inside  the  buildings  and  played  a 
ohoioe  selection  of  music,  which  greatly  enlivened  the 
proceedings.  The  immense  concourse  of  people  which 
had  assembled  from  all  parts  of  Travanoore  comprising 
of  a large  gathering  of  European  ladies  aid  gentleman, 
native  officials  of  the  State  and  people  of  all  nationali- 
ties inclndiog  even  groups  of  quaintly  dressed  Cinga- 
lese from  distant  Ceylon,  presented  a picturesque  and 
striking  scene.  After  His  Highness  left  the  building 
the  judges  proceeded  to  their  duty  of  examining  the 
exhibits  and  adjudicating  the  prizes.  The  exhibits  were 
more  numerous  than  those  of  former  exhibitions  and 
numbered  about  10,000.  About  four  thousand  rupees 
were  given  away  as  prizes. 
A few  remarks  on  the  more  notable  exhibits  will 
probably  interest  the  readers  of  the  Madras  Midi,  and  I 
proceed  to  give  them.  The  exhibits  were  arranged  in 
four  sections,  A.  comprising  live  stock,  B.  vegetable  pro- 
ductions, C.  dairy  produce  manufactures  and  miscella- 
neous produce,  and  D.  machinery.  The  live  stock  were 
housed  in  fine  ranges  of  sheds  outside  the  main  building, 
A thousand  rupees  were  allotted  for  prizes  in  this  sec- 
tion, there  being  generally  three  prizes  of  R50,  25  and 
15  respectively  under  each  head.  The  first  prize  for 
the  best  cow  of  any  breed  suitable  for  breeding  dairy 
stick  was  awarded  to  Mr.  J.  Matcher.  Two  flue  pairs 
of  bulls  exhibited  by  Mr.  J.  B Gomez  carried  off  two 
prizes,  and  a beautifully  marked  brindled  cow  which 
attracted  the  attention  of  all,  looking  for  all  the 
world  like  a painted  Mohurrum  tiger,  secured  a 
seaond  prize.  Rams  and  goats  were  well  represented. 
A great  variety  of  poultry,  both  English  and  country, 
were  exhibited,  but  owing  to  defective  bousing  on  the 
part  of  the  Mahramat  Department  that  built  the 
sheds  the  exhibits  were  not  seen  to  advantage. 
Competition  was  very  keen  under  this  head  and  the 
prizes  awarded  were  well  deserved  and  well  adjudged. 
Proceeding  next  to  section  B , Vegetable  ProduotioD, 
there  was  a remarkably  large  exhibition  of  grains,  of 
paddy  alone,  one  exhibitor,  Pnrai,  one  of  the  richest 
land-holders  of  North  Travancore,  exhibited  22  distinct 
varieties,  and  carried  off  the  first  prize  of  R5,  which  all 
declared  to  be  utterly  inadequate  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  exhibit.  The  other  cereals  comprising  ragi,  thenna, 
ohama,  cumbooand  cholum,  were  good, but  the  number 
of  exhibits  were  insufficient  considering  the  exceptional 
facilities  afforded  for  such  cultivation  in  fertile  Travan- 
core. The  pulses  were  good,  but  the  oil-seeds  were 
poor.  It  was  disappointing  to  fiod  that  ground  nutB, 
the  cultivation  of  which  the  Government  has  been 
trying  for  some  years  to  encounge,  has  not  been  more 
extensively  taken  up  by  the  people.  The  similarity 
and  complexity  of  the  exhibits  in  the  above  four  classes 
of  vegetable  produotioas  must  have  caused  immensa 
trouble  to  the  Judges,  Messrs.  Shungra  Soobier,  R >.gu- 
natha  Row  and  Kungu  Ramen  Nair,  who  went  through 
their  duties  most  conscientiously,  and  if  some  of  the 
exhibitors  were  disappointed  it  web  largely  due  to  the 
unsystematic  way  in  which  the  artioles  were  arranged 
by  the  exhibitors.  Under  the  head  of  fibres  some 
fine  specimens  of  cotton  were  exhibited,  and  it  is  a 
pity  that  this  article  of  commerce  is  not  more  largely 
cultivated  in  Travanoore  than  it  is,  for  owing  to  the 
recent  establishment  of  cotton  spinning  and  Weaving 
Mills  in  this  country  an  immense  demand  for  this 
product  has  arisen.  There  were  a splendid  exhibition 
of  fibres.  The  extensive  virgin  forests  that  olothe  the 
mountain  ranges  of  Travancore  afford  a varied  and 
inexhaustible  supply  of  fibres  suitable  for  the  manu- 
facture of  paper,  cloth  and  cordage,  and  untold 
wealth  lies  hidden  in  these  as  yet  undeveloped  indus- 
tries, Large  collections  of  well  prepared  fibres  from 
aloes,  hemp,  palms,  reeds,  grasses,  barks  and  leaves  of 
trees  were  exhibited,  and  considering  the  immense 
trouble  taken  by  these  pi  neers  of  our  new  industries 
to  prepare  their  collections,  one  could  not  help  feeling 
that  more  encouragement  w .s  not  given.  About  seventy 
separate  kinds  of  fibres  were  shown,  the  collection  sent 
in  by  Messrs.  Itohloff  and  Masilamony  was  prepared 
with  exceptional  care  and  well  merited  the  first  prize 
of  R45.  Green  fodder  was  well  represented,  but  con- 
sidering the  wonderful  fertility  of  Travaucore  soil  this 
cultivation  is  eusoeptible  of  immense  development. 
Government  has,  I believe,  already  taken  steps  to  intro- 
duce new  varieties  of  fodder  into  the  oountry. 
The  moist  soft  soil  of  Travancore  is  eminently  well 
fitted  for  the  production  of  yams  and  other  roofs  and 
Travanoore  is  a vertible  land  of  yams.  But  yet  strange 
to  say  the  exhibits  were  not  nearly  so  fine  or  varied 
as  they  ought  to  have  been.  Some  fine  clusters  of 
tapioca  roots  were  exhibited  and  the  speoimsns  of  pre- 
pared  granulated  tapioca  sent  in  were  exceptionally 
good.  This  is  an  industry  fast  spreading  in  the  land, 
and  if  machinery  were  only  introduced  for  the  manu- 
facture of  this  flour  the  almost  inexhaustible  supply 
obtainable  in  the  country  will  causa  this  produce  to 
take  an  important  place  in  the  exports  of  the  land. 
As  might  be  expected,  there  was  a magnificent  exhi- 
bition of  country  vegetables,  some  of  the  pumpkins, 
ashpumkins,  cucumbers  and  brinjals  being  simply 
enormous.  Of  brinjals  a market  gardener  exhibited 
about  nine  distinct  varieties.  The  English  vegetables 
were  poor,  which  is  to  be  regretted,  since  the  cli- 
mate and  soil  afford  facilities  for  their  cultivation. 
Perhaps  the  lateness  of  the  season  is  aoswerable 
for  the  poor  display.  No  part  of  India  is  so  well 
suited  as  Travanoore  for  the  growth  of  the  coooauut, 
the  plantain  and  the  arecanut  and  yet  the  exhibits 
sent  in  but  pooriy  represented  the  wealth  of  the 
oountry  under  these  heads.  The  rough  but  excellent 
brushes  made  of  coconut  and  palmyra  fibres  will, 
I hope,  give  a hint  to  manufacturers  regarding  tho 
enormous  expansion  that  this  industry  is  capable 
of.  The  jack  fruit  is  another  typical  representative 
of  Travanoore,  forming  the  staple  food  of  the 
poorer  classes  during  several  months  of  the  year, 
and  some  gigantic  specimens  wore  exhibited.  A 
great  variety  of  ferns,  foliage  plants  and  annuals 
were  sent  in,  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the 
season  the  roses  were  not  ia  bloom,  and  the  speci- 
mens sent  in  were  not  sufficiently  representative  of 
the  fi  ie  collections  that  may  at  other  times  be  seen 
in  the  flower  gardens  of  Trevandrum.  The  green 
rose  craze  has  reached  even  this  ultimate  thule  of 
India  and  a plant  in  flower  was  exhibited.  The 
rose  oollectioos  were  unfortunately  placed  in  an  out  of 
tho  way  ooruer  of  the  building,  and  consequently 
a la'ge  portion  of  the  visitors  went  away  without 
seeing  them.  Tho  annuals  exhibited  by  the  Resi- 
dency and  Mrs.  Ferguson,  and  the  roses  sent  in 
by  Mr.  Retnaswamy  Iyer,  exoited  well  merited  ad- 
miration. 
Under  plantation  and  special  produce  a high  meed 
of  praise  must  be  given  to  the  wonderfully  good 
tea  and  coffee.  Travanoore  tea,  as  is  well-known, 
has  secured  a prominent  place  in  the  great  sales 
of  Mincing  Lane,  London.  ’ Three  first  prizes  were 
awarded  for  tea,  Mr.  J.  Stewart  carrying  off  one 
for  a box  of  the  fabulously  costly  “ golden  tips." 
The  tea  from  Penslmrst  and  Bon  Ami  Estates  carried 
away  the  other  two  first  prizes.  Bat  how  the  quality 
of  the  teas  was  ascertained  without  the  usual  test  of 
tasting  the  brewed  liquor  is  difficult  to  comprehend. 
There  were  about  60  entries  under  teas.  Some  fine 
specimens  of  Liberian  coffee,  which  has  taken  so  kindly 
to  the  soil  of  Travanoore,  were  shown,  the  first  prize 
being  taken  by  Mr.  A.  M.  Knight,  and  the  second  by 
Mr.  R.  Ross.  The  first  prize  for  Arabian  coffee  was 
awarded  to  Mr.  J.  Fraser  and  the  second  to  Mr.  J.  C. 
Joseph  Some  specimens  of  cinchona  bark  were  shown. 
Miss  Mead  carried  off  a prize  for  prepared  flours  and 
a good  collection  was  sent  in  by  Mr.  J.  Caraner.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  this  branch  of  industry  is  not 
more  largely  developed.  A great  futuro  lies  before 
