The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

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THE BOy TRAVELLERS.
rakes, mowers, reapers, and ploughs from America, and there ai'e also some
well-made ploughs from Japanese hands. In the Eastern Hall there are
some delicate balances for weighing coin and the precious metals ; they
were made for the mint at Osaka, and look wondei-f ully like the Ijest
French or German balances. The Jajianese have been quite successful in
co|iving these instruments, more so than in imitating the heavier scales
from America. Fairbanks's scales have been adojjted as the standard of
tlie Japanese postal and customs departments. Some of the skilful workmen
in Japan thought they could make their own scales, and so thej set
about copying the American one. They made a scale that looked just as
well, but was not accurate as a weighing-machine. As the chief use of a
scale is to weigh correctly, the}' concluded to quit their experiments and
stick to Fairbanks's.
ULACKSMITH S BELLOWS.
"There is an interesting display of the natural products of Jap")an,and
it is exceedingly instructive to a stranger. The Japanese are studying
these things M-ith great attention, and the fair will undoubtedly prove an
excellent school for the people by adding to tlieir stock of information
about tliemselves. Each section bears over its entrance tlie name of the
city, province, or district it represents, and as these names are displayed in
English as well as in Japanese, a stranger has no difhculty in finding out
the products of the different parts of the empire. Tlie result is that many
articles are repeated in tlie exhibition, and you meet with tliem again and
again. Such, for examjJe, are raw silks, which come from various locali-
ties, as likewise do articles of leather, wood, and iron. Poi'celain of various
kinds appiears repeatedly, and so do tlie woods used for making furniture.
There is an excellent show of porcelain, and some of the pieces are of
enormous size. Kaga, Satsuma, liizen, Kioto, Nagasaki, and other wares
are in abundance, and a student of ceramics will find enougli to interest
him for many hours.
" In cordage and material for ship-liuilding tliere is a good exhibit,
and tliere are t^yo well-made models of gun-boats. Wheat, rice, millet, and