NEW ZEALAND AT TEE EXHIBITION.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 3, 18 November 1862, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND AT TEE EXHIBITION.

(From the Note Zealand Examiner.) The awards of the juries have been announced, and the posiion New Zealand holds in those awards is highly gratifying. That a colony so young and so distant from Europe should in a competition of industry bear away more than thirty medals speaks -much for the intelligence and practical ability of the settlers. Ever;- one who inspected the New Zealand Court'was satisfied of the excellence of many cf tha articles exhibited, hut few would have ventured to predict so brilliant a success. We congratulate the colonists upon such a result ; at the same lime it is only fair to ad.l that some portion •of it perhaps may be ascribed to the excellent manner in which Mr. Morrison, the New Zealand Commissioner, had arranged 4he various iproducls confided to his care. •Before passing to the consideration of the wool, flux, and timber sent from New Zealand, we have a few words to say on a new arrival, the very beautful cabinet, presented I j\ , ; by the colonists of Auckland to her Majesty |'V the Queen. This exquisite specimen of the I I cabinet maker's art has been put in a most I A favorabie position, where its beautiful woods 3 )} and delicate workmanship maybe inspected. . Placed at the entrance of the court it fronts •the nave and catches the eyes of all visitors, . nv-ho an variably stop fand admire its elegant proportions. Mr. A. Seuffert, of Auckland, . -4he maker, would be quite satisfied if he •could only hear the laudatory comments . -which this .cabinet excites. To describe sth'is work of -art with accuracy would require the -experience and knowledge of a •.furniture maker. We can only lay before 'Oll.r Teaders its general appearance. As none of the draw-era or the closets- are •opened, our remarks roust be confined to its external appearance.- W.e were, however, told by one who had been fortunate enough to see the interior, that, beautiful as though the outside might be, it was far surpassed by the inside. Standing about six feet in height, the cabinet (which we presume is intended to form an escritoire) is -composed of three portions, the upper portion consisting of a closet in the centre, rtrUh a- set of drawers on each side. The W middle part, form ing a folding writing Wj table, is supported on a base of three v closets, forming the third portion. Nothing can be more beautiful than the careful .. .blending of the native woods, so as to harmonise the colors. The panels of the various closets are inlaid with choice speci- '■: mens of woods, representing the trees of |7| New Zealand. The lower central- panel I'l contains a map of New Zealand, and this is \ the worst part of the work. In the folding k X top of the escretoire the perfection of m.aid \ works may be, seen, and the same may be i / .said of one of the lower panels representing m' \ —.nlm tree. The central panel of the m jbortion has a rude appearance, and J U in it is out of all drawing and pro- ■ r Very judicious use has been made 1 Lost beautiful of the New Zealand M _J, the Tortara'wood: With this fine 9 drawers of the cabinet aredcli1/^oior^on^aas Very' Mi^^-^IM m-. \ofi- «v tighter shaded iro^B^m£p*?c\

Black "carved shells*ha>e been tastefully 'jußstituted^for the 1 drawer' knobs, md these, taktn in conjunction^ Hh the delicate mouljdings, and inlnid^scrbll work, show how minutely every portion of this exquisite piece has been studied. As a specimen of native woods it is- a lesson in arUoriculture> while, as an example of good work and good taste, -it -is of very gi eat merit indeed. Although too late to receive a prize, we Tully. expect that it will not be ■'allowed tOjpass without some mark of approbation from the juries.: ; it is a- present worthy of the colonies to offer, and of the Queen to accept. '/'; Among the numerous specimens of wool exhibited from New Zealand, the case of pookson, Bowler and Co., of Canterbury, first attracts attention. They show lamb's wool, and a very fine merino fleece, of more than a year's growth, while' the wool from hoggetts,' ewes, and wethers, shown by them, is exceedingly fine. Mr. Kich, the well-known sheep breeder, displays specimens of. the French and Spanish merinoes, which, for siikiness and fineness of fibre, are first-rate. His Shakspeare merino wool is of excellent quality. For length of staple, and siikiness of look and feel, a Leicester fleece, shown by Mr. Hunter, of Wellington, surpasses all others. - The advantage of crossbreeding is also well shown in the wool of a half-bred southdown and merino, exhibited by the same gentlemen, while his cotswold fleeces are of the very finest staple and delicacy. Archdeacon Hadfield's samples of wool, from fifty ewes, bred by native lads at the Otake Industrial Schools, are of excellent quality, and are 1 interesting as proofs of the versatility and readiness of the native mind, Messrs. Taylor, Wall, and Co.'s mixture of the Hampshire down sheep with the half-bred Leicester and merino, has produced capital results in the improvement of the staple. A fleece of long Leicester, shown by Mr. G. Morse, is a good specimen of wool ; and the same may be said of the long staple wool from two-third bred Komney Marsh, shown by Mr. Ludlam, of Wellington. Some good samples from Leicester and Merino ewe hoggets, eleven months old, adorn the case of J. Kunciman, of Auckland ; nor is the wool shown by J. Shepard much inferior. Some good samples of scoured lambs are exhibited by J. D. and 11. Lance. This short list tolerably exhaust those who show specimens of wool, New Zealand is, in this respect, far below New South Wales, whose efforts to improve the wool they export has met with the greatest success. We have been, we confess, astonished to see that the experiments recently tried with so good a result in New South Wales, have not been repeated in New Zealand. The introduction of the llama and alpaca into that colony has hud a wonderful effect by cross-breeding in improving wools. The energy displayed by New South Wales in this matter is worthy of New Zealand imitation. New Zealand, too, be it remembered, is much nearer to Peru than Australia, so that if it were possible to transfer lamaa from there to Australia, the difficulty would b ■ diminished by the shorter distance in transmitting them to Auckland or Canterbury, tfo much has ihe excellency of Australian wool been recently recognised, that it promises to command the highest market prices. Before it is too late, let New Zealand show she has energy enough to for\» ard her own interests as much as either Victoria or New South Wales.

Closely connected with wool and cotton is the important staple of flax. Of flax proper New Zealand has little or none — but an excellent substitute exists. In the wondrous vaiiety of fibrous plants, with which the surface of the three islands is covered, there is a full promise that New Zealand will become in the future a large exporter of linen, and of the coarser materials of yarn and rope. From the phorjnium Ivnax and similar plants, very fine and tenacious fibres are obtainable, and for some time past attention has been drawn, not only by individuals, but by the local government", to their value. A reward of £4000, offered by the local government, for the discovery of efficient means of rendering the fibrous plants of New Zealand available as articles of export, has not yet been awarded. To the first person who shall produce forty tons of merchandise from the phov mi uin icnax or other fibrous plants, indigenous to the islands, i,2000 will be awarded. To the individual who produces the next forty tons will be given £1000, while 1-200 will be given to any five persons who shall by a process, -whether their own or not, produce twenty tons of merchandise. These high rewards ought to awaken not only the ingenuity of the settlers, but of ourselves and foreigners. There is plenty of time for any inventor, the rewards being open until the lst_ of January, It 64. In the present exhibition there is a very ingenious machine shown by C. Merten, engineer, of Gheel, in Belgium, which breaks and scratches flax. Il strips entirely the fibres from the straw, and can be adapted to all qualities and length of flax or hemp. The machine in question requires cne horse-power and four young boys or girls to work it ; these can finish at least four cwt. of scutched flax, or 20 cwt. of raw flax a day. Made entirely of iron, these machines occupy a space of about 30 square feet, and cost £72 ; a very moderate price indeed, considering what they do in return. They are well worthy the attention of New Zealand flax spinners. With the phorminm tcrax, as with ordinary flax, the great difficulty is to get rid of the gmn, which is mixed with the fibres, and which from all accounts is far more abundant in the leaves of the New Zealand plant than in common flax. This, which in flax is clone by the retting process, appears to be performed in the pfiormium tenax by 'boiling it with ash ley-, and subsequently washing it, if we may infer as much from one of the labels of Baron de Thierry, illustrating this process. Numerous specimens are shown by this exhibitor displaying what is called his " mill process," by whioh "as much as twentyjfive cwt. per -day would have been turned out if this mode of making flax had been allowed to proceed." There is a variety of uses to which these fibres are adapted. A specimen called " vegetable horse hair" is almost as fine and tenacious as the animal product itself, and would be of admirable service for stuffing mattresses, chairs, &c. Perheps the forest flax, which grows in very large quantities in the forests of the three islands, is as interesting as any. Very good brown paper has been made from its fibres, and it works up into a material not unlike shoddy. It would be well if paper manufacturers, who have been moving heaven and earth lately to obtain rags and other raw materials necessary for paper, would turn their attention to the splendid collection of fibres shewn in these cases. There is no reason why paper of the very best quality should not be made from I the extremely fine and pliable substances here exhibited. There would be no limitation to the supply. Everywhere these plants are to hi met with, and a demand for them by causing a more careful cultivation would lead to an improvement in their quality. Not only does the Baron de Thierry show fax prepared for this purpose, but Mr. Luke Nattras, of Nelson, has turned his attention to the same point, and shows some uiiwashed specimens of the phormium tenax, which would have been more valuable as an illustration of iheir tffe; 'ha;d\'they''been -more .caref ully- pre{parea/" s An in^kßtß^qi^oJ<ff flowing, tKe amount "of fibre oi>tafnal»le from the

New' Zealand flax is to be seen -in iMr. L. Natf ras's ea*e. .j: Among these fibrous' varieties are speci men's of the Piki A>eo planl,the leaves of which the natives use as a medicine, 5 ard the top of -which is twined into hats. In appearance the leaf of this tree resembles an ordinary leaf, and has no similarity 'to the long rush leaf of the phormium tenax. Mr. J. Probert, who has sent this curiosity, also shows parcels of prepared fibre, which, in the, estii.ianon of practical men, surpass all others for fineness and softness. Many of the samples shown by him are from wild-growing plants such as the natives will not dress for market, and of which he infoims us the supply is plentiful. They were di essed and prepared by a wooden machine, of which no description or account of its ca pabilities has been forwarded. It would be very unfair to pass over in silence the specimens of fibre from the Cordelina Ti, or cabbage tree, a species of palm, sent by Messrs. Purchas arid Ninnis, of Auckland. In color and purity, for fineness and silki ness of appearance it is exceedingly good, and may safely be put on an equality with that sent by Mr. J. Probe: t. The variety of stages through which the flax passes is to be seen in the case of Mr. N Lloyd of Auckland. The dr>ing, hackling, and finishing are here traceable, and the result is given in some five parcels of dressed fibre of great len»th and supeiior color. The native-dressed specimens exhibited by Mr. N. Lloyd is very good indeed. Great attention has been given by practical men to these flux-like fibres from New Zejilund. At a time like the present, when the supply of cotton is not forthcoming, every device is used to procure, if possible, a substitute. Already it is contemplated to mix i\ax and cotton in some of the old mills, and Mr. Claussen's process by which he proposed to cut flax fibre through the alternate action of acids and salts into an article rcsem 1 ling cot on, and capable of being spun on cotton machinery, lias a»ain been brought prominently before the public. Should this process be successful it would be an additional encouragement to the growth of flax in New Zealand, as the demand would be of the most pies^iny; and mest constant nature.

In turning to the timbers of New Zealand we are at once impressed by their variety, beauty, size, and value. Although not equal to New South Wales and Tasmania in variety, we think for beauty of grain New Zealand, in one respect, deserves the palm. The extreme regularity and beauty of colour and grain of the mottltd kauri is without rival; «hild for huge breadth and clean run of grain and wood. the kauri pine is unsurpassed Mr. J. Cadinan, of Auckland, has a .slab of the mottled kauri, which is exceeded in size, but not equalled in grain or beauty, by a fine slab of the same wood shown by Mr. C. Ring, of the same province. By fur the most striking object is the huge slab of kauri pine without a knot or the slightest appearance of warp or split, shown either by the Manakau Saw Mills or by Messrs. Hoe and Shalders, we could not ascertain which. The timbers shown by Mr. Baigent, senior, of jSelson, are very fine. A most remarkable object to Knglish eves, accustomed, as we arc, to see the fuschia as a plant in flower pots, is the trunk of a fuschia tne nine feel high and a foot ;m<l a half in diameter. 11 is specimens of the beautiful Tovtara wood show how weil ii may tre u^d for ornamental furniture, while its durability and hardness a Uipt it well for building p"urp<-ses. The slabs of the* red birch are warpid and split, which causes some -doubt as to its quiiity, but the slabs of the white and led pine--, and < f tinItimu, by ikeir width and fVeecrom from knots, bespeak timber of the finest quality, ami well-suited to the furniture maker and builder. Tho ribbon wood from Otag<>, sent by Dr. Richardson, is extremely beautiful ; sus-eeptible of a fine polish, it id cf deep red color, and assumes in iis grain a wavy appearance, whence we presume its name is derived.

Before concluding these remarks we desire to return our best thanks to Mr. Mormon, the New -Zealand Commissioner, who, amon<r other of his many 'efforts to forward the interests of the colony, lms courteously afforded us eveiy iiilon.iit.ioi) in his power, as to the various articles exhibited,