[The enumeration of pictures in the collection commences with No. 1000, which the visitor will find on the left hand of the screen fronting the entrance to the saloon.

It may be proper here to remark, that all paintings and drawings in this collection are by Chinese artists exclusively.]

The fine arts in China are undoubtedly far from having reached the perfection that belongs to them in the enlightened nations of Christendom; yet an examination of the paintings in this collection, will satisfy every candid mind that great injustice has been done to Chinese artists, in the notions hitherto entertained respecting their want of abilityng skill. They paint insects, birds, fishes, fruits, flowers, and portraits, wh great correctness and beauty; and the brilliancy and variety of their colours cannot be surpassed. They group with considerable taste and effect; and their perspective, a department of the art in which they have been thought totally deficient, is often very good. Light and shade they do not well understand, and they positively object to the introduction of shadows in pictures. But in paintings for foreigners, they endeavour to meet the ideas of their employers, by the introduction of light and shadow. Barrow, as quoted by Davis, says, that "when several portraits by the best European artists, intended as presents for the emperor, were exposed to view, the mandarins, observing the variety of tints occasioned by the light and shade, asked whether the originals had the two sides of different colours. They considered the shadow of the nose as a great imperfection in the figure, and some supposed it to have been placed there by accident."

1000 to 1023. A series of coloured drawings, (twenty-four in num

ber,) representing the several stages of the black tea process, from the picking of the leaves to its final tranportation, as practiced in Fokien, lying between the 27 and 28 degs. north latitude on the south east declivities of a range of hills, dividing that province from Keang-se.

1024 to 1027 1028 to 1030.

Four interior views of Ponkeiqua's grounds at Honan. These three drawings, with those on the opposite pillar (Nos. 1333, 4 & 5) represent the rearing of the silk worm as conducted at Nankin, from the hatching of the silk worm egg to the final weaving of the silk, together with the culture of the mulberry tree.

Mr. Barrow, who observed the management of the trees and silk worms in Chě-Keang, confirms the usual Chinese accounts, by saying, that "the houses in which they are reared are placed generally in the centre of each plantation, in order that they may be removed as far as possible from every kind of noise: experience having taught them that a sudden shout, or bark of a dog, is destructive of the young worms. A whole brood has sometimes perished by a thunder storm." The chambers are so contrived as to admit the use of artificial heat when necessary. Great care is taken of the sheets of paper on which the multitudes of eggs have been laid by the silk-worm moths; and the hatching of their eggs is either retarded or advanced, by the application of cold or heat, according to circumstances, so as to time the simultaneous pue of the young worms, exactly to the period when the tender spring pientes of the mulberry are most fit for their nourishment.

yo They proportion the food very exactly to the young worms, by weighing the leaves, which, in the first instance, åre cut into small pieces, but afterwards, as the insects become larger, are given to them whole. The greatest precautions are observed in regulating the temperature of the apartments, and in keeping them clean, quiet, and free from smells. The worms are fed upon a species of small hurdles of basket work, strewed with leaves, which are frequently shifted for the sake of cleanliness, the insects readily moving off to a fresh hurdle, with new leaves, as the scent attracts them. In proportion to their growth, room is afforded them by increasing the number of these hurdles, the worms of one being shifted to three, then to six, and so on, until they reach the greatest size.

When the worms have cast their several skins, reached their greatest size, and assumed a transparent yellowish colour, they are removed into places divided into compartments, preparatory to their spinning.

In the course of a week after the commencement of spinning, the silken cocoons are complete, and it now becomes necessary to take them in hand, before the pupæ turn into moths, which would immediately bore their way out, and spoil the cocoons. When a certain number, therefore, have been laid aside for the sake of future eggs, the

pupæ in the bulk of the cocoons are killed, by being placed in jars, under layers of salt and leaves, with a complete exclusion of air. They are subsequently placed in moderately warm water, which dissolves the glutinous substance that binds the silk together, and the filament is wound off upon reels. This is put up in bundles of a certain size and weight, and either becomes an article of merchandise, under the name of "raw silk," or is subjected to the loom, and manufactured into various stuffs, for home or foreign consumption. Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of their looms, they will imitate exactly the newest and most delicate pattern from England or France. The Chinese particularly excel in the production of damasks and flowered satins. Their crape has never yet been perfectly imitated; and they make a species of washing silk, called at Canton pongee, which becomes more soft as it is longer used.

The two pursuits or professions, namely, husbandry and the silk manufacture, the chief sources of food and clothing, form the subject of the sixteen discourses to the people, which are elsewhere noticed. It is there observed, that "from ancient times the Son of Heaven himself directed the plough; the Empress planted the mulberry tree. Thus have these exalted personages, not above the practice of labour and exertion, set an example to all under heaven, with a view to leading millions of their subjects to attend to their essential interests."

In the work, published by imperial authority, called "Illustrations of Husbandry and Weaving," under the latter head is detailed all the operations connected with planting the mulberry, and gathering the leaves, up to the final weaving of the silk. Besides the common mulberry of China, which differs somewhat from that of Europe, they occasionally, in feeding the worms, have recourse to a wild specimen of the morus tribe, as well as to the leaves of another tree, supposed to be a variety of ash. The principal object, in the cultivation of the mulberry for feeding silkworms, is to produce the greatest quantity of young and healthy leaves, without fruit. For this reason, the trees are not allowed to exceed a certain age and height. They are planted at a convenient distance from each other, on the plan of a quincunx, and are said to be in perfection in about three years. The mulberry tree for silk-worms is chiefly cultivated in Che-keang, which province, together with the only three others that produce fine silk, namely, Keang-nan, Hoo-pih, and Sze-chuen, is crossed by the thirtieth parallel of latitude. Chekeang is a fine alluvial country, intersected by numerous rivers and canals, with a climate that corresponds pretty nearly to the same latitude in the United States of America. The soil is manured with mud, which is dug from the rivers, assisted with ashes or dung; and the

H

spaces between the trees are generally planted with millet, pulse, or other articles of food. The time for pruning the young trees, so as to produce fine leafy shoots, is at the commencement of the year. About four eyes are left on every shoot, and care is taken that the branches are properly thinned, with a view to giving plenty of light and air to the leaves. In gathering these, they make use of steps, or a ladder, with a prop, as the young trees cannot support a ladder, and would, besides be injured in their branches by the use of one. The trees, with their foliage, are carefully watched, and the mischiefs of insects prevented by the use of various applications, among which are some essential oils.

The young trees, of course, suffer by being stripped of their leaves, which are the lungs of the plants, and this is an additional reason for renewing them, after a certain time. They endeavour, in part, to counteract the evil effect, by pruning and lopping the tree, so as to diminish the wood when the leaves have been stripped, and, it is probable, that a few leaves are left on. It is surprising, however, to observe how soon a tree in those climates will recover its leaves in the summer or autumn, after having been entirely stripped of them by a typhoon. or hurricane. Fresh plants are procured by cuttings or layers, or, sometimes, from seed. When the trees grow too old for the production of the finest leaves, and show a greater tendency to fruiting, they are either removed altogether, or cut and managed so as to produce fresh and young branches. They generally contrive to obtain three crops of young leaves during the season.

1032. Portrait of the Tae Ho-shang, (" harmony and elevation,") the abbot or superior of the temple Hae-chwang sze, at Honan.

The rank of this distinguished Buddhist is indicated by the presence of the Seih chang, a kind of official staff or crozier carried in the hand by the head of the priests of this sect.

This truly amiable prelate was the personal friend of Mr. Dunn, and contributed to the formation of this collection by his influence and exertion in procuring various specimens of vertû from the interior of the empire, into which, it is well known, the peculiar policy of the government of China forbids all foreigners to enter.

1033. View of the Grand Canal, where it is divided by an embankment

from the lake Po-yang.

The imperial canal was principally constructed by Koblai-khan and his immediate successors of the Yuen race, and extends from Tien-tsin, near Pekin, to Hangchow-foo in Chekeang, being about 600 geographical miles, and is called by the Chinese, "Yun-ho," The river for the transportation of grain."

66

1034.

1035.

Stands, with fruit, flowers, &c., on rice paper.

Six drawings of native boats on rice paper.

"duck

It

In the lower right hand section of this frame is represented, a boat," locally so called. Immense quantities of domesticated ducks are reared by the Chinese, particularly those who live on the rivers. holds the same rank in the winged race, that the pig occupies among quadrupeds. The particular kind of boat appropriated to duck rearing in China, has a broad platform projecting over the water for the use of the birds, who are also honored with the most roomy apartments within the boat itself. During the day they are allowed to have their freedom on shore, seeking their food; but they are trained to obey the call of a whistle, and when at evening the signal is sounded, they instantly hasten back from their wanderings.

1 36. Landscape with summer-houses.

1037 & 1038. Two drawings of the interior of gentlemen's summer residences in China.

1039. Twelve varieties in Chinese ornithology, beautifully painted on rice paper. The pithy substance known in England by the term rice paper, having the appearance of white velvet, is obtained from a malvaceous plant. In the preparation for use, the stem of the plant is cut into small pieces in a circular manner, and the cylinder rolled out and flattened into squares. The chief use to which it is applied, is in making artificial flowers; pillows are made of it, and of the cuttings, soles of shoes on account of its lightness.

1040 & 1044. Furniture and stands, &c.

The Chinese, unassisted by foreigners, have done very little in the study of geography, or, as they term it, "the records of the earth's principles." Nor have they made much use of the knowledge brought from abroad upon this subject. Geography is not with them regarded as a branch of education; and only a few, even of their literati, understand the first principles of the science.

1042. View of the city of Canton.

A glance at this production will correct a prevalent error respecting the inability of Chinese painters to produce perspective. Though light and shade are certainly a good deal neglected here, and the perspective is not perfect, yet the picture is by no means deficient in this respect; and the drawings of individual objects are extremely accurate. The point from which the view has been taken is the bank of the river opposite Canton, directly in front of the foreign factories, which occupy about one-half the canvass. The scene, particularly upon the surface of the intervening river, is altogether novel, and highly characteristic. The