Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition CommissionLouisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
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Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
The cocoanut palm and its cultivation was fully represented. The nut
itself, the various fibers, matting and ropes made from its husk, the
copra or dried kernel, from which is extracted the oil now so largely
used in the manufacture of best soaps and hair oils; the desiccated and
"shredded" cocoanut, the demand for which among confectioners is rapidly
increasing; cocoanut butter, an excellent emollient and substitute for
lard; the arrack, distilled from the "toddy" extracted from the flower,
a valuable liquor after a few years in cask; the vinegar and "jaggery,"
or molasses; down to the brooms, made from the "ekels" or midrib of the
leaves, were shown in infinite variety.
Rice, the staple food of the country, was represented in a few of its
350 varieties, and cinnamon in bark or oil, cloves, nutmegs, mace,
cardamoms, pepper, vanilla, and citronella oil, cocoa and coffee,
rubber, cinchona bark, from which quinine is prepared, croton seed, and
annotto dye might also be seen. The fibers included those of the Kitul
and Palmyra palms and the silky niyande (sansevier zeylanical). One
hundred and twenty exhibitors were represented, and the value of the
collective exhibit was $5,000.
The educational exhibit, which had been prepared under the direct
supervision of the director of public instruction in Ceylon, illustrated
the procedure adopted by the British Government in dealing with races
with an advanced literature of their own, to whom a certain knowledge of
English is a necessity. The present conditions of education--elementary,
advanced, and technical--were well depicted, and the exhibit contained
in addition a collection of the various scientific journals issued by
the Colombo Museum and the department of the botanical gardens in
Ceylon.
Graphite, locally known as plumbago, the only commercial mineral of the
country, might be seen in the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy. More than
600,000 hundredweights of this valuable commodity were exported in 1899,
the greatest demand being in the United States, where the article is
employed in the manufacture of crucibles, for stove polish, and for
lubricating purposes. A few of the choice rubies and sapphires, for
which the island is so famous, were on view in the Ceylon court. Thirty
firms and private individuals were represented in this department, the
exhibits exceeding $12,000 in value.
In Liberal Arts the government of Ceylon snowed the admirable work
turned out by its printing offices, and various private firms of
printers and photographers were represented. The large model of the
artificial harbor of Colombo was of particular interest as illustrating
the position of the city as the tenth port in the world for tonnage
entering and clearing. There was also a good private collection of coins
found in Ceylon and covering a period of nearly two thousand years. The
space occupied in the Palace of Liberal Arts was 600 square feet, and
the value of the total exhibit was $1,000.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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