State Agricultural Society. 285 



remunerative employment in the country. The great evil of modern 

 civilization is the concentration of population in the towns and cities, 

 and he who introduces an industry, the tendency and operation of which 

 is to counteract the centralization of population and to cultivate habits 

 of industry, is certainly entitled to some degree of merit. In view of 

 my efforts in this direction, which have been attended with a good 

 degree of success, 1 think I am at least entitled to some consideration in 

 connection with the gold medal. 



Respectfully, EJD. MULLEE. 



FOURTH DEPARTMENT. 



PIANOS. 



Statement of L. K. Hammer, of Sacramento. 



To the Committee to award the Gold Medals for the State Agricultural Society 

 for eighteen hundred and seventy -one: 



Gentlemen : At your request I have the honor to make the following 

 statements: 



As agent of Chickering & Sons, I exhibited in the fourth department 

 pianos manufactured by them, as follows: 



One grand piano; 



One square grand piano; 



One parlor square piano. 



There were three other exhibitions of pianos, manufactured by as 

 many different houses, and in order that an unbiassed and perfectly fair 

 committee might be selected to pass upon the relative merits of the 

 musical instruments so exhibited, each exhibitor selected one member to 

 compose the regular awarding committee. This committee, after a 

 careful examination and test of the instruments, awarded to each one 

 exhibited by me the first premium. As this committee was composed of 

 very competent gentlemen, their decision will undoubtedly bo regarded 

 as conclusive as to the relative merits of the exhibitions of musical 

 instruments. 



This question settled, the contest for merit lies between the exhibition 

 made by myself and others of an entirely different character, but classed 

 in the same department, such as ordinary cabinetware, woodenware, 

 worked metals, chemicals, glass, crockery, stoneware, etc. 



In comparing the workmanship on the Chickering pianos with that 

 on the ordinary cabinetware, such as bureaus, bedsteads, etc., there 

 certainly can be but one opinion, and that in favor of the pianos, even 

 so far as the strictly cabinet part of the instruments are concerned. 

 But when we take into consideration the great perfection to which the 

 action or musical portion of the piano has been brought, the evidences 

 of great mechanical ingenuity and merit of the very highest order are 

 moi'e perfect and convincing than in any other mechanical work yet 

 made by human hands. It is proper here to state that the Chickerings 



