54 WISCONSIN AGRICULTUEE. 



smaller scales. A committee of the Franklin Institute, (Phila- 

 delphia,) bj whom one of these scales was subjected to very se- 

 vere tests, says, " The Committee saw that when a boat weigh- 

 ing 150 tons was in the cradle, the weight of a bucket of water 

 placed on it was plainly and at once indicated; and that the 

 weight of a person standing on the boat could be ascertained 

 with accuracy." 



Several of these scales have been built in the Western States, 

 viz : one in the Ohio Canal, at Cleveland ; one in the Wabash 

 & Erie Canal, at Toledo ; and the Messrs. Fairbanks are now 

 building a scale at Lockland, and another at Carroll, Ohio. 



As a natural consequence of the meritorious qualities of these 

 scales, they have had a very extensive sale. One would, at first 

 thought, suppose that the country must be so full of scales that 

 the demand would be limited and decreasing Such is not the 

 case however, with regard to Fairbanks' scales. Tho demand 

 for them steadily ir creases from year to year. New markets 

 are constantly opening, and adaptations of the scales to the new 

 and ever shifting demand of commerce and manufactures are 

 constantly going on. They go to all parts of the world. In 

 Pekin, Constantinople, Calcutta, Melbourne, Valparaiso, Lima 

 and Honolula they are to be found, as well as in Boston, New 

 York and Chicago. In short, the Yankee himself is hardly 

 more ubiquitous than Fairbanks' Scales. They are of course^ 

 adapted to the various standards of the different countries to 

 which they are sent, so that the Chinese may weigh his caddy of 

 tea, and the Hindoo his maund of indigo, as exactly as the 

 Buckeye his pork, or the Louisianian his sugar. 



It has already been stated that the demand for these scales, 

 and consequently the manufacture of them, is increasing yearly. 

 From the best statistics we can procure, we think we are not far 

 from the truth in saying that in 1854, the firm made 15,000 

 scales, worth nearly $400,000. The majority of these were the 

 portable and dormant scales used in stores, amounting to about 

 three-fifths of the whole number. More than a third were scales 

 for the counter, such as Grocer's scales and even balances ; the 

 remainder were hay, depot, track, and other large scales. 



