Class XX.

Silk and Velvet.

The specimens exhibited are chiefly from the Punjab, where silk fabrics form an important trade item. Mr. Davis, the Secretary to the Punjab Government, estimates the annual value at nearly £200,000. Silk manufacture is carried on extensively at Umritsur, and still more so at Lahore and Mooltan. The raw material is principally obtained from the countries north of India, from Bukhara, and other localities lying between the Caspian and the N.E. frontier, and is sent through Umritsur to all parts of India. The manufacture of silk is however largely carried on in other parts of the country,