THE DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 219 
the Exhibition acquire a high degree of interest, because they afford one 
of the best means by which such a comparison may be made. It is true 
that the civilisation and material prosperity of a country cannot be 
solely measured by the quantity and quality of the food produced in it — ■ 
that is but one of several indices ; but it is certain that a knowledge of 
the acreable produce of a country, and of the variety and comparative 
excellence of its manufactured goods and beverages, enables one to form 
a tolerable accurate estimate of the social condition of its inhabitants. 
In this large and varied collection, the produce of every variety^ of 
climate and soil is exemplified ; and even those denizens of the air and 
inhabitants of the deep that minister to man's wants are here repre- 
sented. In most of the colonial departments, reports and pamphlets 
give valuable statistics and other information relative to the food sub-: 
stances sent from those countries. From these documents and the 
articles exhibited the visitor may correctly inform himself on the subject 
of the products of each of our respective colonial dependencies. 
Many of the food substances are rather curious. In the Chinese 
department may be seen specimens of the esculent nests of swallows, an 
article greatly prized by the inhabitants of the " Flowery Land." The 
articles from Siam embrace the " edible flying bat," which, is regarded 
as a most delectable food by the natives of that empire. Preserved fresh 
fish is shown in the Nova Scotian department. Australia sends salted 
mess-beef, of such good quality that it might easily be palmed off as of 
home preparation. The Kingdom of Italy exhibits goat's-milk cheese, 
hams " fit to be eaten raw or cooked," and vinegar 104 years old. Finally, 
the Indian collection includes no fewer than eighty different specimens 
of tea. 
The number of exhibitors in this section is no less than 381, exclu- 
sive of Mr. P. L. Simmonds, whose extensive contributions to the Exhi- 
bition include a great variety of food substances from China, Siam, 
Japan, and several of the colonies. The valuable collection of similar 
products from India is chiefly due to the exertions of Dr. Forbes 
Watson. The whole collection embraces so many thousand specimens, 
that it would be impossible to particularise more than a few articles or 
classes of substances which appear to possess more than usual merit or 
interest. 
None of the articles shown in this section possess greater interest 
than the seeds. The specimens contributed from the colony of Victoria 
embrace wheat, oats, barley, Indian corn, flax, tares, beans, peas, and 
prairie grass. Of these the leguminous seeds are of excellent quality ; 
the oats and barley are, on the whole, only of mediocre quality ; but the 
wheat is particularly good. Of a tine colour, with smooth skin, and on 
the average weighing sixty-eight pounds per bushel, this Australian 
wheat will some day become a favourite with the British miller and- 
public. The flour prepared from this wheat is of good quality, and is 
particularly rich in gluten ; it consequently would prove a goo 
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