1272 THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 19TH NOVEMBER, 1887.
Fahr. m.p.) present some obstacles, but of a noble kind, and doubtless surmountable. Spermaceti appears to have had its day; every year now witnesses an increasing scarcity, and elevation of price (now 2s. per tb.). An efficient substitute would be highly welcome. The Chinese formerly used all- their supply themselves for "lobchocks," &c.; but as many tons of cheap scarlet paraffin candles are imported for the same purpose, it may be supposed that a corresponding amount of Chung-pela is to
be had.
Mining Industries.-This Colony possesses no mines; but it exhibited cubes of coarse and fine- grained granite of various colours. One block of stone was very cleverly and curiously carved by members of the Stonemasons' Guild of Hongkong. A bottle of Hongkong sand seemed at first sight of small importance, but its use and value were understood on turning to the exhibits of the Hong, kong and Macao Glass Manufacturing Co., Limited.
Sugar The sugars exhibited from Hongkong, unlike those from our other Colonies, were refined sugars: that is, they were made from imported sugars which had been redissolved, not directly from the cane juice. They comprised all the qualities usually turned out by refiners, from sugar candy to low pieces They were very creditable to the China Sugar Refining Co., although they did not come up to the best makes of this country.
Timber No. 1.--The Timber Exhibits of this Court, sent by Mr. C. Ford, Superintendent of the Public Gardens, were arranged in five tiers, and set up in a case or frame against the wall. were eighty-six in number, the dimensions being about 10 inches in length, by a third part segment They of trees, varying from 6 to 10 inches diameter. It is therefore assumed that the trees of the Colony are all small.
Judging from the appearance of the specimens, Artocarpus, Sarcocephalus, Spondias, and Vitex are probably the best in quality, and suitable for furniture; some others might be employed for general purposes, while a few would be of little value.
The timber exhibits, having regard to the growth of trees in the Colony, were appropriate, and suited to the purpose; but there is no evidence of there being a good supply or even sufficiency for local wants, consequently there can be none to spare for export. Hongkong is clearly dependent for most of the woods in use there upon foreign supplies.
Silk.—There was much of sericicultural interest in this Court, although cocoons were not shown. The exhibits, however, may be said to illustrate the wealth of China in silk rather than of the small Colony of Hongkong, where silk culture is hardly practised, although much of China's silk is shipped from there. The exhibits thus represent the merchandise in silks and not their production, nevertheless it would be a serious omission if a description of them were not given.
First, as to entomology. There was a very fair and interesting collection, although much damaged in transit, of wild silk-producing moths, amongst which I noticed the Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) and the Eria moth (Attacus ricini), both so well-known in India, also the Chinese Tussur moth (Antheræa pernyi), and a few other species probably not yet named. These formed only a small part of a large collection of Chinese Lepidoptera, but suggested strongly the desirability of a careful systematic collection of all the silk-producers of China.
I strongly urge a two-fold collection: first, specimens of larvæ, moths and cocoons of Bombyx mori from all and every silkworm-rearing centre for the purpose of scientific comparison with those of France, Italy and other countries, and to help research with the view of improving the qualities of silk by breeding and crossing; second, a thorough search for the wild silk-producers and their co- coons, at present so little known, except the Chinese Tussur silkworm found in the North of China in abundance feeding on the oak. It was the cocoons of this species, which, owing to the greater quick- ness of the Chinese than the people of India, were collected and sent over to Europe to supply the demand for Indian Tussur at and subsequently to the Paris Exhibition of 1878. China has sustained