of fine quality, but is somewhat unknown and dear; a little of it finds its way to England. Modes of communication are difficult in Bolivia, and therefore there is but little exportation. BRAZIL. This country made a fine exhibit of alimentary products, consisting of beans of various sorts, with flour made from them; manioc, with tapioca and manioc flour; rice, and rice flour, wheat, and wheat flour, maize, and Indian meal, arrowroot, etc. In Class 72 the exhibit was very large, comprising three of the most important products of the country, coffee, cacao, and sugar, besides which other products were shown, as vanilla, peanuts, spices, preserved fruits and vegetaof many sorts, etc. Other than these the agricultural products were few. There are four principal plants which constitute the chief alimentation of the people of Brazil: Manioc, maize, rice, and the black bean. Manioc grows easily in dry sandy, tropical soils, and without much care may yield as much as 150 hectoliters to the hectare ; this plant as well as maize was cultivated by the natives in America before the time of Columbus. Rice is much grown in the valley of the Amazon and other low-lying districts, while the bean is cultivated almost everywhere; sweet potatoes are very common in Brazil, and a much used root is the Igname or yam (Dioscorea). The most important product of Brazil is coffee, while cacao, caoutchouc, sugar cane, cotton, and tobacco are all of great importance. A very extensive show of Brazilian woods was also made. Wheat culture is very ancient in Brazil, but has only recently attained much importance. Previous to 1830 wheat was principally grown in the south only, but now much attention is given to its introduction all over the country, and wheat flour is tending to replace the less nutritious manioc flour. Much attention is also paid to viticulture. CHILE. A Government exhibit heads the list with a show of farinaceous vegetables, as beans, fèves, green peas, pois-chiches, lentils, dried prunes, cherries, raisins, and peaches, also nuts. Beans seem, as in other countries, to be the most important vegetable. Dried figs, almonds, and a few preserved fruits are also shown. Dried peaches and raisins seem to be a staple article, and the exhibit of them is fine. Chile also shows good wheat and fairly good maize; some of the latter is of large grain and opaque. The country annually produces about 10,000,000 hectoliters of wheat and 3,000,000 of other cereals, with a corresponding proportion of vegetables and fruits. In 1888 the exportation of wheat, either as grain or flour, amounted to $8,784,363 (Chilian dollars=$8,623,608 United States currency), being 12 per cent of its total exportation, or $3.48 (Chilian) for each inhabitant. THE UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA. The United States of Colombia made a small exhibit of coffee, cacao, coca-leaf, and cinchona in one corner of the gallery of the Uruguay pavilion. COSTA RICA. This country did not open its exhibit until September 21. It had a small show of good coffee, cacao, sugar, and cereals. THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Agriculture has received considerable impetus in this country during the last few years, and is now the principal occupation of the inhabitants. Two thousand seven hundred square leagues of land are under cultivation, and are fertile and well watered. The principal crops cultivated are as follows: Tobacco occupies the first place and is indigenous. It is cultivated everywhere, and is generally of good quality and produces the largest size leaf known. Some of it rivals the finest Cuban tobacco, and much is exported to Belgium, Holland, England, and the United States. Two harvests are gathered yearly. In the last seven years, 1882-1888, 783,238 quintals were exported. Coffee occupies second place and grows well in all parts of the island. Great care is taken in its cultivation, the results being that it is much appreciated. From 1881 to 1887 22,895 quintals were exported. Cacao is a native of the island, and is much cultivated. From 1881 to 1887 the exportation was 43,467 quintals. A new plantation of 80,000 trees has lately been established. A custom prevails of drying the cacao in its pod and exporting it in this condition, thus preserving its aroma and qualities. Cacao so dried was exhibited, as well as some magnificent samples of coffee and of tobacco. Cotton is native to San Domingo, and grows well there even without any care, though its cultivation is also extensive. The culture of sugar-cane is increasing, and some good samples of sugar were exhibited. Sesame, rice, and a little maize, also bread fruit, were shown. ECUADOR. Notwithstanding "the notorious state of decadence that this country is in as regards agriculture and industry despite the richness of her soil," as stated by a certain journal, Ecuador made a fine, though small, show of her products and obtained several gold medals for them, besides one Grand Prix. There was a good show of beans, pois-chiches, yucca, sweet potatoes, wheat, barley, maize, rice, pimentoes, coffee, sugar cane, indigo, and vanilla; also a good show of medicinal plants, such as cinchona, sarsaparilla, tolu balsam, ipecacuanha, copaiba, valerian, etc., etc. (including the native plant guaco, used by the Indians as an antidote to the bite of the rattlesnake). There was also a show of fruits such as pineapples, oranges, pomegranates, mangoes and sapodillas. The best display, however, was that of cacao, which seems to be one of the staple products of the country. The maize which was exhibited presented some peculiarities; one variety was of a dark-red color and of large grain; another was blue, and there was a very large yellow variety, and a still larger white one with grains nearly an inch long; the samples were coarse in texture and had a peculiar dull look, noticeable in all maize exhibited from tropical climates. GUATEMALA. This country made a fine exhibit of its products, but more espe cially of its coffee and cacao, for which a special chalet de degusta. tion was installed. Other products shown were tobacco, indigo, sugar in all stages of manufacture, from the cane to refined white sugar, textiles, including samples of ramie 8 feet long, spices, etc. Wheat, barley, rye, oats, and maize were shown, all of excellent quality. The maize was yellow and some of it was fine. Rice and linseed were also shown. Beans, both black and white, onions, preserved fruits, and dried bananas were exhibited; these last are dried whole in their skins by simple exposure to the sun, and are not exported. Peanuts of good quality were shown, also wild coffee, a sort of succedaneum for coffee, which it does not in the least resemble, but like which it is roasted and ground. The wood of the coffee tree is utilized for cabinet-making, and some fine furniture made from it was exhibited. Thanks to its different climates the vegetable products of almost all zones are found in Guatemala. The fertility of the high plains is very great, and maize (which grows two or three crops a year), wheat, barley, rice, farinaceous vegetables, fruits, potatoes (which, however, were not exhibited), sweet potatoes, manioc, sugar cane, indigo, tobacco, cotton, pepper, vanilla, etc., etc., are there cultivated. The two products constituting the principal wealth of the country are cacao and, especially, rice; caoutchouc should also be noticed. The commerce of Guatemala has greatly developed within the last few years, especially as regards coffee. In 1868 only $1,840 worth of coffee was exported; in 1873 this had increased to $2,408,106. The coffee crop of 1889 will much exceed 600,000 quintals, representing a value of over $14,000,000. In 1888 the coffee harvest was. 588,440 quintals, and in the same year the value of the sugar exported was $308,830; caoutchouc, $88,448; bananas (not dried), $56,704. HAITI. Being engaged in civil war during the time of the Exposition Haiti made no national exhibit, though five mercantile houses united in sending a small but brilliant collective exhibit of the products of the island in which they deal. Most of this display consisted of coffee, which was magnificent in quality; good cacao was also displayed, and cotton, campeachy seed, hemp and hemp seed, castoroil beans, and rum. One of the coffee plantations was illustrated by fine photographs. Haiti is said to export annually 80,000,000 pounds of coffee. HONDURAS. Mr. P. Abadie, the French consul at Honduras, made nearly the whole exhibit of this country, showing the products of his large plantation there. There was some particularly fine coffee of large grain, some of which was shown on the branch. Sugar cane, tobacco, ramie, indigo, and ebony-wood were also shown, together with photographs of the plantation. MEXICO. The Mexican exhibit was a fine one, and included farinaceous vegetables, as beans of many sorts, peas, pois-chiches, fèves, gesses, and lentils; also potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic; and many dried fruits, such as figs, raisins, dates, apples, quinces, peaches, and finally tamarinds, cocoanuts, pistachioes, various nuts, etc. The following list of yields of the farinaceous vegetables is official: Beans.... Fèves.. Lentils Pois-chiches. Kitos. 19 to 40 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 75 to 80 24 to 48 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 70 to 75 8 to 20 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 78 to 80 12 to 30 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 78 to 80 Market gardening is well developed, and almost all the most usual vegetables are grown around the city of Mexico. In Class 67 the exhibits included wheat, barley, rice, maize, rye, alpist, millet, linseed, together with flour, Indian meal, sago, yucca flour, and potato starch. Some of the maize was of large grain, and most of it was of the white variety, but none of it was partic ularly fine. Some of the yields stated were: Wheat.. Maize. Barley. Rye Rice Kilos. 8 to 27 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 78 18 to 45 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 72 to 75 8 to 22 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 65 to 68 25 to 30 hectoliters per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 70 to 72 2,600 to 4,000 kilos per hectare; 1 hectoliter= 48 to 50 Besides the above, coffee, sugar, cacao, both wild and cultivated, ginger, vanillla, coriander seed, spices, etc., were shown in great variety; the whole show being a good one. There was also a good collection of wax models of fruits. Vanilla is native to Mexico, grows wild, and is the variety most esteemed in foreign markets. The annual value of the principal agricultural crops is as follows: making a total of 181,131,930 piasters. (A Mexican piaster is equiv alent to 85 cents United States currency.) In 1886 the principal agricultural exports of interest were: This country made a good display of black and white beans, rice, manioc flour, almonds, etc. The maize was of good quality and *As cane or raw sugar. |