from New South Wales some two years since, exhibits some fine specimens of copper ore.

TASMANIA is a rising colony, and exhibits coal, iron, lead, gold, and precious stones, as well as several articles of jewellery. Samples of very good sandstones are shown, both in the rough and converted; and a cube of close-grained red granite, of very fine colour, and capable of receiving a good polish; nor must the serpentines and black marbles be overlooked, some of the latter being quaintly curious for their singular markings. Among the more singular minerals is one known as "dysodile," a soft, brown, inflammable mineral, which burns with much flame and smoke, giving rise, however, to a very disagreeable odour; it appears to consist of a foliated schist, studded with minute points of mineral resin. Though scarce in Europe-being found only at Mellili, near Syracuse, in Sicily, and in Hessia-it occurs in seams seven feet in thickness in Tasmania. On an emergency, it can be used for fuel, to which application its fœtid odour when burning is, however, a serious drawback; it is, however, obviously capable of being utilitised as a material for the distillation of the hydro-carbon oils, paraffin, and similar products.

The court which contains the articles sent from BRITISH GUIANA is full of interest. In all our English literature, one of the most charming and one of the least known works is Sir Walter Raleigh's “Discovery of the Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empire of Guiana." Written with the glowing eloquence, the curiosa felicitas of style and diction that characterised the prose of the Elizabethan era, it has all the charm of a novel, all the accuracy of a chart. The vivid descriptions of natural scenery and objects which mark its pages will no longer seem exaggerated to those who, at South Kensington, cast a glance at the collection furnished by British Guiana, Were Sir William Holmes, the chief commissioner from that colony, to re-edit the work of his illustrious precursor, he would find no reason to alter or abate its glowing terms. Nothing in the whole Exhibition is more charming than the collection of stuffed birds exhibited in this court. It is not an aviary; it is a kaleidoscope! From the purest white to the most intense scarlet-from glowing and burnished orange to clear and vivid green-there is not a colour which cannot be found represented in this collection. Close by we have a large assortment of stuffed monkeys, interesting to the naturalist, amusing to the children, but rather sad, perhaps, to the quiet observer. They are so like! The serpents of the colony are also represented; and there is a certain wild and terrible beauty in their coiling, curling, crouching forms. One is perpetually reminded in this court, alike of the wild fertility of tropical life and the myriad dangers to which it is exposed. The very woods have a sombre beauty about them. Even in their names there are poetical suggestions. There are cabinets of "tiger-wood;" there are walking sticks of "purple-heart." Interesting, not less from its own merits than from other associations, is the model, executed in pith, of an Indian hut, containing all necessary Indian furniture, including war clubs, idols, hammocks, sieves, and spears. The modeller is himself an Indian, and dwells upon the shores of the Upper Berbice river. He bears a name which must needs be disappointing to the lovers of romance-to the admirers of Fenimore Cooper, Mayne Reid, Louis de

Bellemare, or Gustave Aimard; he calls himself simply "Robert Saunders." However, his work is good; and there are few exhibitors of whom one would think with a kindlier interest than of this poor fellow, carving a rude reproduction of his hut when his day's toil is done, and then sending it over the sea. Another model of an Indian hut, or "buck-house," is exhibited by Mr. Curtis. A large collection of the insects of the colony includes a "thorough-bred" tarantula; and nearly forty varieties of a certain animal, the members of whose family are so numerous in Russia that an imaginative English traveller in that country asseverates that he could hear them bark.

The contents of this court include a jewel-case, constructed of forty-five different woods; a necklace, formed of the teeth of the huge cayman; some specimens of the red paint with which Indian warriors or Indian squaws "enamel" their faces, in a manner not entirely unknown to more civilised nations; models of fruit, which-being executed not in wax, but in papier-maché—will bid defiance to the fiercest rays of heat that dart down through the eastern dome; a large selection of farinaceous articles, such as cassava bread; an assortment of green ginger, pepper-pods, and castor-oil plants; a quiver containing the blow-pipes through which darts, impregnated with the mysterious South American poison, are projected at a foe; the skin of a jaguar, adapted for domestic use as a common rug; and a wonderful variety of walking-sticks, with noble and sonorous names, such as Gasparillo Colorado."

TRINIDAD, which occupies a part of the same court, has also a rich and varied slow. Of cocoa, the finest specimen is that grown on the Soconusco estate, and exhibited by Messrs. Burnley, Hume, and Co.; one of the partners in which firm, by the bye, is a son of the renowned representative of Montrose. An article even more interesting is a certain sample of cotton, which has been recently valued by Messrs. Littledale and Co., of Liverpool, at no less a price than 2s. 6d. a pound. Beautiful in colour, and apparently of a fine, long staple, it seems to be well worthy the attention of those manufacturers who do not wish to see Lancashire starve whenever America quarrels. The collection of woods sent from Trinidad is almost incredible, in the number of its varieties; and the mineral productions of the island are also fully represented. There are large specimens of crude asphalte, taken from the "Pitch Lake," which is situated in the south-western division of the island-a pitch lake of a dreary and Stygian aspect, on the shores of which Raleigh stood, nearly two centuries and a half ago, and of which notices occur in the journal of his final expedition. It was in the neighbourhood of this lake that he waited to hear what success had attended the attempt of his son and of Captain Keymis upon the Spanish settlements. Rumours of disaster and defeat came to him day by day, until at last the old hero, worn and wasted by so many years of imprisonment and sorrow, closed his journal with the solemn and pathetic words, "Waiting until I hear the truth." He heard it soon enough; and it meant the ruin of his enterprise, and the death of his darling son.

JAMAICA, BARBADOES, ST. VINCENT, and other West Indian Islands, are well-represented. The fibres of these colonies are both too numerous and too important to be dismissed with a cursory mention.

Now that the shilling visitors are swarming into the building, and the monetary success of the International Exhibition of 1862 is secured, writers and visitors will have an opportunity of calmly considering the value and quietly examining the quality of the vast and multitudinous display within its walls. Leaving the teachings of the Exhibition to impress themselves on the minds of the multitude as best they may, and as they cannot fail to do, we pursue our remarks on the domestic and decorative furniture with which the Palace of Industry abounds. Having already briefly noticed some of the more

prominent objects in Class 30, we may be excused if we offer a few remarks on the general principles which seem to influence the manufacturers and exhibitors in this section of the World's Bazaar.

It would lead us too far from our purpose to inquire into the causes of the popularity of Gothic forms: suffice it that the Gothic is popular, and that in church building it is now recognised as the most acceptable style of architecture. Such being the case, it follows as a matter of course that the furniture and decorations of Gothic buildings should also be uniformly Gothic. Hence, during the last few years

fitting, which will appeal directly to the sense of the beautiful, and the love of the picturesque. Hence, in our churches, halls, and dwellings, we have lately cultivated a preference for a higher art than satisfied our forefathers. Form and colour, artistic carvings and curious mouldings, tesselated pavements and painted ceilings, graceful wall-papers in flat designs, and appropriate furniture in carved woods and coloursall show the influence of what, for want of a more appropriate word, is known as eclecticism in the national taste. We see it in our streets daily. The use of red brick, relieved in colours by horizontal black bands; the forms of window-openings and doorways, roofs and chimney stacks, and

other peculiarities of the pointed style of architecture, clearly show the growing taste of the people

for the principles of an essentially Gothic style.

This growth of popular taste has been responded to by a proportionately improved standard of

general artistic attainment. In our dwellings engravings

are no longer the usual adornments, and square tables, heavy chairs, cumbrous Lookcases, awkward cabinets, and shapeless pianos our usual furniture. Pictures and furniture of graceful form have taken, or are taking, their place. The double chest of drawers and the square looking-glass have given way to the architectural wardrobe and the mirror, in a finely-carved and appropriate frame. Finish of exe

R. DUDLEY DEL.

the eras of Anne and the four Georges. With the monstrous curled wig, and the abominable flapped coat of our forefathers, have departed dining-tables difficult to move, and uneasy chairs too heavy to lift. Pre-Raffaelitism has descended from art to manufacture; and the improvement in detail which was made first manifest in Royal Academy pictures, has advanced to illustrated books and household decoration.

cution and truthfulness in manufacture have superseded the dull and heavy styles in domestic appliances which distinguished

CRANE.SC.

cation of our workmen proceeded upon a far more satisfactory basis than hitherto. It is true that the public scarcely demanded a more tasteful

kind of design, but so soon as it Pffered it was warmly appreciated and eagerly welcomed. To Mr. Cole-under the nom de plume of Felix Summerley-to the Managers of the Kensington Museum, and to the Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, England owes much of her success in the present Exhibition.

Hence it was that from the Exhibtion of 1851, when people saw with their own eyes how superior, in respect of beauty of form and colour, were the art productions of other nations, and when the press, almost with one voice, enforced the same moral, began a more hopeful

had justly prided itself as among its great and special gifts. Minton in pottery, Elkington in bronzes, and Jackson and Graham in furniture, then as now, distanced all rivalry.

The public, the great arbiter of taste, has the matter very much in its own hands. It is for the purchasers of furniture to insist upon tasteful display, and they will obtain it undoubtedly. Ever one can do something in his own way for the dissemination of a true knowledge in the arts of design. Competition will keep down prices. The utility of beauty once acknowledged, we pursue the path we have chosen, and cease to manufacturo tasteless forms and colourless up

condition of the public mind on this question. The Illustrated Exhibitor, and various other periodicals of that date, pointed out the direction which art manufacture was desired to take in all coming time; and now we have the satisfaction of knowing that our workmen are no longer behind, but are in the van of the foreigner in all matters of taste as regards furniture and house decoration. Our Jackson and Grahams, our Gillows, our Fishers, our Cox and Sons, our Mintons, our Oslers, and our White and Parlbys have fully demonstrated our superiority over the manufacturers of France, Russia, and Austria. The triumph of Paris and Berlin lasted only four years; for in the Exposition Universelle of 1855 our manufacturers competed successfully for the chief prizes in the most important branches of French manufacture, and upon which France

holstery. No visitor to the Exhibition will, we think, deny that real advance has been made in these respects.

It is scarcely necessary to insist on the ways in which the growing taste for the beautiful may be further fostered and advanced. Practically, patronage may be bestowed on art-manufacture by the selection of the best designs at the upholsterers, the mercers, the carpet warehouse, the china-shop, and the printsellers; but a more complete encouragement of art in this direction may be given by the steady perseverance of teachers in advocating elementary drawing as a regular branch of youthful education. The importance of a more general cultivation of art in England is a text that hardly needs a commentary. It is not merely in a moral point of view that whatever refines and elevates life is desirable for the comfort and well-being of the people,

but, in the present state of commerce, the development of the artelement of our manufactures has a positive material value. Time was when this country, through the aid of its coal, iron, and machinery, feared no rivals in its great task of supplying the markets of the world. This condition of things is rapidly changing; other nations tread on our heels in the quality of the products of their manufacture, and almost undersell us, through the advantages they possess of cheaper labour and lower rates of profit. But if, in addition, we allow foreign manufactures to be manifestly superior to our own in general taste, form, colour, or harmony, or in their adaptation to the purposes for which they are intended, the balance of trade will soon turn against us. But, happily, our manufacturers, our merchants, and our tradesmen are now fully alive to the necessity of active exertion. The step we have gained since 1851 must not be lost. Education and manufacture must proceed hand-in-hand. No element of success can be safely disregarded by those who enter the world-wide competition of modern commerce.

oak reredos consists of five compartments, with coved ogee canopies overhanging, with crockets, spandrils, finials, and pinnacles richly carved with the leaves and fruit of British plants and trees. The middle rail contains an enriched moulding of the foliage of the maple tree. The lower panels are filled with tracery, having the leaves of the passion flower in the spandrils; on the cusps are the flowers themselves, supporting a crown of thorns, in the centre of which is the sacred monogram. The upper panels are filled with the Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and Creed, written on slate; the centre compartment has a cross and scroll, with inscription richly illuminated in colour, on a gold ground. It is 11 feet 6 inches long, and nearly 10 feet high. The altar table in front is carved in oak; tracery of elaborate character is interspersed with spandrils of natural foliage, and surmounted by palm wreaths, springing out of the vases which form the buttresses; there are also twenty small carved caps, and a richly carved moulding running round the edge. On page 52 we have shown various of the objects exhibited by Messrs. Cox, collected into

So much for the general idea of improvement in art-manufactures. We now proceed to lay before our readers some evidence-necessarily weak and insufficient, from the very nature of the medium through which they are shown-of the advance we advocate.

Messrs. Cox and Son, of Southampton Street, Strand, have characteristically shown how machinery may be applied to the manufacture of such articles of furniture and church decoration as need the aid of carving. At their works in Lambeth they produce various articles by means of machinery. But it must be understood that the machine merely produces the rough work, which has afterwards to be finished by hand. The reredos and altar table, pictured in this page, is shown in the Medieval Court as a specimen of what can be effected by the carving machine; but beside it is a piece of finished work, by which we perceive how much the mind and skill of the workman may improve the merely mechanical roughing of the pantagraph. This carved

a group. Attention will also be called to the carved oak eagle lectern and pulpit. This latter is of Corsham Down stone, and displays considerable novelty in design and vigour of treatment. It is profusely carved with imitations of foliage, small animals, birds, &c. At the base of the oak tree, represented by the pulpit, are clinging wild plants and ivy. It is exhibited as a proof of what may be accomplished by the carving machine, some of the under-cuttings being twelve inches deep. In Class 7 may be seen in operation the machine by which these carvings have been produced.

Messrs. White and Parlby, of Great Marylebone Street, exhibit a ceiling in their new cement, a cabinet and frame, console table and frame, toilet glasses, girandoles, candelabrum, &c.; also, Louis the Sixteenth's drawing-room door and architrave; all in excellent taste. Messrs. Jenkins and Co., of Fleet Street, show some glass frames, carved and gilt, in good style.