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Amongst the articles made from its skin only we have here whips, saddles, bridles, and other equipments; boots and shoes innumerable (which command the admiration of all visitors, on account of their excellent workmanship), mill belting, &c. &c.

Silk, too, has been recently introduced into the colony, and the specimens exhibited speak very favourably for its permanent culture.

But what do our manufacturing friends say to the wools; the beautiful specimens of which, both washed and unwashed, merino and alpaca, cannot fail to call forth their admiration?

Lastly, but by no means the least interesting, are the mineral productions, of which we can only notice the gold.

Nothing can be more interesting than the manner in which the precious metal is here displayed in every form and stage of its production and manufacture. First, we have about fifty samples of the various forms in which the gold is found in dif ferent parts of the country. And side by side with these there is an equally interesting collection of earths, illustrative of the different deposits which are met with in sinking for gold in various parts of the colony.

The depth below the surface at which the auriferous deposit is found appears to vary considerably, being in some places (Peel River) close to the surface; whilst in others (Rocky River) it is necessary to penetrate about eighty feet into the earth, through soil, clay, basalt (nodular), and soft sandstone; and the "auriferous drift" is here found to be six feet thick, lying upon a bed of soft granite.

But the colonists do more than raise and wash their gold, as we cannot fail to perceive on leaving the court; for here we have two works of art, valuable not only on account of the material in which they are wrought, but also because of their exquisite workmanship.

They consist of a kangaroo and an emu, about six or eight inches in height (so far as our memory serves), formed of solid Australian gold, and each is mounted upon a kind of pedestal or rock of malachite. The workmanship is, as already remarked, of the first order, and the same observation applies also to other beautiful specimens of jewellery; but our limited space again compels us to leave these treasures, and travelling onward we arrive at the colony of Queensland, that portion of our Australian settlements to which at the present time the hopes of our cotton manufacturers are so anxiously directed.

That this is a young colony is manifest from the products and manufactures which it exhibits. No such beautiful cabinet

*One nugget weighs above thirteen ounces.

ware or jewellery as adorns the older settlements is here to be met with; but the conspicuous articles are raw cotton and wools. Of the former there are several beautiful specimens, some grown from the Sea Island seed, which is equal in value to that imported into Liverpool from New Orleans; and the wool is remarkable for its long silky fibre, and is chiefly from the Mauchamp breed of sheep. The staple of one very prominent specimen of wool is nearly six inches in length.

The woods of Queensland are also interesting, and their uses various; those which are exhibited being chiefly employed in cabinet-making; but, as just remarked, the young colony, although it gives great signs of promise, cannot yet compete with its older neighbours; and we shall now leave it for the purpose of inspecting the contributions of

South Australia. The most beautiful specimens of wheat of any that we have met with in our little tour through the colonies were shown to us in this court. One sample weighed above sixty-eight pounds to the bushel, and the flour produced from it was of unexceptionable quality. Almost as fine was the barley, and more interesting than either, the implement employed for their harvesting. The "reaper" which is exhibited in this court is certainly an unwieldy machine compared with those employed in England (not that they are very elegant); but then it reaps, gathers, thrashes, and winnows,a series of operations in the performance of which our less aspiring agriculturists are satisfied to employ three different machines. This complicated implement is rendered necessary by the scarcity of labourers in the colony; and how it fulfils its various duties we are, for obvious reasons, unable to inform our readers.

If the vegetable productions of South Australia be interesting, equally so are its minerals; amongst which may be mentioned the malachite, of which crude specimens, as well as those wrought into objects of vertu, are remarkably conspicuous.

Although not strictly coming within the scope of our observations, we may refer, lastly, to the interesting ornaments formed of emu eggs, beautifully mounted in silver. Two emus in chased silver support the fine ebony-like egg upon their backs, and on the top of the egg stand two natives, also wrought in silver.

These and other similar ornaments speak well for the taste and ingenuity of the colonial artificers; and we could find themes amongst these beautiful articles of vertu for many laudatory observations. We must, however, travel on until we get to Western Australia, concerning which we shall have a word or two to say before quitting this great section of our empire. The Commissioners of Western Australia have so ably

descanted upon the merits of their contributions,* that we cannot do better than allow them to describe, in their own language, those objects which chiefly attracted our attention. Of the "Jarrah" tree (a species of myrtle) they say:

None of the other Australian colonics possesses timber of similar character to the Jarrah, or endowed with equally valuable properties.

worm.

The Jarrah is remarkable for its enduring qualities, for its resistance to decay-setting at defiance time, weather, water, the white ant, and the seaOne of the pieces of wood exhibited is a pile from a jetty in the sea at Freemantle, where it remained during a period of twenty-nine years. The lower portion was under water, exposed to the attacks of the sea-worm, which in those seas destroys every other wood in a very short time; the middle was between wind and water, submerged or exposed with every change of tide; the upper portion was always exposed to the action of the weather, to the intense sun of summer, and the long-continued rains of winter.

Another piece of the same species of wood has been buried underground for thirty-one years untouched by the white ant, and which in a few months destroys every other kind of wood so circumstanced.

For this valuable quality, the Jarrah is now much sought after for railway sleepers in the other Australian colonics and in India.

The Jarrah, when better known, will doubtless be found available in the ports and dockyards of the United Kingdom for piles, dock gates, and other purposes for which Hyamised woods have been found inefficient. It is also admirably adapted for keel-pieces, kelsons, and other heavy parts of shipbuilding.

The pretensions of the wheat, too, fall very little short of that exhibited in "South Australia," one specimen being marked 66 lb. to the bushed; and the reader will not be surprised that such beautiful cereals should be produced in a country the climate of which is thus described in an official report of the Colonial Secretary, 1858:

I believe that, in general salubrity of climate, Western Australia possesses a marked superiority over any of the Australian colonies. It is subject to no extremes of heat or cold. Cattle have never been known to die from lack of water, and in the very driest weather there is a sufficient supply of food for them. Exposure to weather, by night or day, appears to produce no ill effects on the constitution of the colonists, many of whom, for months together, rarely sleep under any beyond the most temporary dwellings. Snow is never seen; ice only in the depth of winter, and then only in the very early morning. As in New Zealand, both maize and potatoes ripen in this country, and the latter crop is grown to a considerable extent. The apple and the pear, the orange, banana, fig, peach, and apricot, with the melon and

* Descriptive Catalogue (no publisher named): A. Andrews, Esq., London Commissioner, 2, Church Court, Clement's Lane.

the vine, grow luxuriantly, and may be seen ripening at the same time. The colony is peculiarly adapted to the growth of the vine, on the cultivation of which much attention is bestowed, and which is likely to prove very remunerative. English and tropical vegetables are largely cultivated, and yield profusely. Attention is also being directed to dried fruits; and specimens of figs and raisins that have been sent to the periodical horticultural exhibition for competition are little inferior to those imported from Europe.

Let us now depart from this land of promise,-from this vast field for the enterprising and adventurous; this storehouse of wheat, timber, wools, and gold! And indeed we leave it with regret, for it has filled us with pleasure to witness the boundless resources and growing enterprise of our Australian colonies. But we have still to survey much that is equally interesting; and crossing, therefore, the Indian Ocean (or, we ought rather to say, the north-east transept), we find ourselves safely landed. in the island of Ceylon, amongst new scenes, new products, and novel ornaments and appliances.

Here we are unmistakably in the Land of Cinnamon; and the most interesting, because the most complete, feature in the Ceylon Court consists of the objects and pictures illustrative of the culture of this plant. This is one of the examples, to which reference has been made, of the care evinced by the exhibitors to render the visitor perfectly acquainted with the whole of any particular branch of industry; for in this case we are, to all intents and purposes, transported to Ceylon itself, to witness the different operations upon a cinnamon plantation.

First, our attention is directed to a series of excellent photographs. One represents a native cutting the cinnamon (and then our guide shows us the tools employed for the purpose); another is that of a native labourer peeling and scraping; a third, sorting and baling; and here we have the cinnamon itself, tied up in bundles very much resembling the sticks round the axe of a Roman lictor. And what sticks! if our memory serves us aright, they are between four and five feet in length.

Lastly, to complete this branch of industry, we have samples of various oils, extracted from the roots and leaves, which are used for medicinal purposes.

Turning to another part of the court, we are struck with the appearance of a number of variegated but handsome walkingsticks, which, our guide tells us, represent the various woods of Ceylon; and amongst them may be found the coffee, cocoanut, satin, cinnamon, and a variety of other woods. Whilst admiring these specimens of Ceylon woods, our eye is attracted by the title of the exhibitor, whose name, "A. Mendis, Modliar," is conspicuously printed upon a card; and we are induced to inquire, "What is a Modliar?" "What is a Modliar?" "He is a native

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officer of the British Government ;" and we are shown a photograph of one in his official robes. These "Modliars" are the chief exhibitors. They have sent specimens of oils, camphor, rice, carved-wood ornaments (one gentleman, who stands possessed of the name of Mr. Weiralasirinayana Absyaratine, exhibiting a beautiful piece of furniture of carved ebony), whilst the "Ceylon Committee" contributes the spices for which the island is so famous.

A curious and most valuable substance exhibited in this court, and which is also found in "Queensland," is the oil of the dugong, or halicore, an animal allied to the seal. The oil is white and solid, and is employed for the same purposes as codliver oil, viz., as a tonic in cases of consumption, possessing the additional advantage of being entirely free from any nauseous properties, and devoid of taste or smell. It was introduced into England by Dr. John McGrigor Croft; but beyond this we could gain no satisfactory information concerning its history.

But we must now travel northward, crossing over to the continent of India; and in the World's Fair we are compelled to retrace our steps, and, once more traversing the transept, we must mount to one of its galleries. Here we shall find a most courteous and able expositor of the treasures of Inde in Dr. Forbes Watson; and our readers shall have the benefit of the interesting information which he gave us concerning those products of the soil which now, more than at any previous period, possess such a deep interest for our countrymen.

First of all, we are shown a kind of skeleton stand, composed of a series of circular shelves, situated one above another, and in this are ranged 300 bottles, each containing the sample of a different growth of cotton; and Dr. Watson further hands us an illustrative plate, showing the lengths of the staple of cotton produced respectively from "native" seed, from "New Orleans, or American," and from "Sea-Island and Egyptian" seeds.

Next in importance to the cotton culture is that of tea; and here, again, we are shown a variety of specimens, the number being almost incredible.

Dr. A. Campbell, who collected theso teas from the various provinces of India, showed us 142 different samples contributed by fifty estates. Of these the most valuable are the "Darjeeling" teas, from the Himalayas, of which 10,000 lb. only have been produced this year; but the exhibitor stated that next year the quantity would, in all probability, be increased fivefold. Dr. Campbell values the finest Darjeeling tea at 2s. 8d. per lb., exclusive of the import duty.

It is not generally known that the East Indian teas are of very strong flavour, and are chiefly used for mixing with the lower qualities of tea sold to our labouring classes. We, how

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