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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
the contents of these chests found a fitting locality in the Food Museum. 
They consist of dried fishes of curious shapes, of all forms of Holothur adse 
(Sea-Cucumbers), known as beches de xner, of dried cuttle-fish, and various 
forms of marine mollusca, of turtles’ hones, elephants’ trunks cut up ready 
for soup, rhinoceros-hides for ditto, curiously shaped and cut seaweed, dirty - 
looking confectionery in great variety, fruits and seeds in great variety 
unknown to English botanists. These, in conjunction with the collection 
of Chinese food which has been in the Museum so long, form a very in- 
teresting illustration of the department of National Foods. 
It may interest many of our readers, who will visit the Great Exhibition 
of 1862, to know that a collection of samples of raw produce, imported 
into Liverpool, will he sent up from that town for exhibition. In 1851 
such a collection was prepared by Mr. T. C. Archer, now Director of the 
National Museum of Scotland. This is now placed at the disposal of the 
local Exhibition committee, by the Liverpool Town Council (to whom the 
collection belongs), and two gentlemen engaged in business in Liverpool 
have undertaken to add specimens of all new and important importations 
since 1851, and to supply others, imported before that date, hut which 
may be wanting in the old collection. 
Dr. Wight, the distinguished Indian botanist, has written a series of 
letters in the Gardeners' Chronicle , giving the result of his experience as 
director of the experimental farms for the culture of cotton in India, under 
the sanction of the late East India Company. He enters into the details 
of the methods of culture adopted in India, compares them with those 
of America, and points out that the American system could not be intro- 
duced into India on account of its exhausting the soil, and requiring new 
regions for its extension. He shows that the Indian system is one of a per- 
manent character, and that maintains the integrity of the soil. He is of 
opinion that, if cotton is cultivated on sound principles, it can be as 
certainly produced in India as any other crop, and that eventually it will 
he a more reliable source of this product than other part of the world. 
The Gorilla controversy has almost lost its interest. It is now pretty 
well understood that M. du Cliaillu has not been educated a naturalist, 
and that in attempting to impart an air of romance to his narrative, he has 
given a colouring to his descriptions which is not strictly correct. Some 
of his critics think that he was unfortunate in finding friends in England, 
who by their injudicious eulogies awakened the envy of those who are ever 
ready to depreciate qualifications which can never be their own : and there 
is no doubt that some of these have been guilty of the very vices which 
they lay to the charge of M. du Cliaillu. Dr. Gray, who, of course, is not 
to be reckoned amongst these, being a man who can afford to give credit to 
those who deserve it, has been his most bitter opponent ; and we confess 
that whatever may be the doctor’s “turn of mind” in criticism, we con- 
sider that great credit is due to him for having stemmed the current 
of public opinion, and drawn the attention of those who are not carried 
away by the tide of popular applause to the fact that the “ traveller’s tales” 
should be taken cum grano sails. 
His criticisms called forth vehement assertions of innocence from M. du 
Cliaillu, who referred to two ministers of religion as witnesses to the truth 
