416 [Senate 



of which at that time received their first motion by steam, and exem- 

 plified to the public the first effectual test of their perfection. In the 

 room directly above, were arranged the fabrics of wool, cotton, silk, 

 &c. The great staples of clothing, woolen fabrics in particular, 

 evinced a progress of the highest importance, and unlooked-for excel- 

 lence. The improvements were, by the best judges, pronounced full 

 fifteen per cent above those of any former fair ; fabrics that would 

 not suffer by a comparison with the best qualities from England, 

 which had, centuries before we were a nation, put in requisition the 

 best skill of Europe, and had protected and fostered them, regardless 

 of expenditure, by all the means which that powerful nation could 

 render available. 



On the outer side of the main building, covering was fitted up for 

 placing the very extensive display of farming, horticultural, mechani- 

 cal and other machines, implements, tools, &c., calculated to econo- 

 mize labor ; some entirely new, others improved, and nearly all bear- 

 ing the impress of increasing skill in their finish. 



The following extracts from some of the reports of the judges 

 upon important articles exhibited, serve to indicate the progress and 

 present condition of several branches of American industry, and 

 leads to the conclusion, that with proper encouragement to those 

 now engaged in, or who may hereafter engage in the production of 

 the articles referred to, we shall not only have our whole supply 

 produced at home, but have the quality equal, if not superior,, to 

 what we should receive if supplied from abroad. 



The judges upon cotton goods remarked, respecting a lot of prints, 

 '' we consider these prints to illustrate better the near approach our 

 manufactures have made to the French^ than any in the exhibition. 

 The committee take the liberty of calling the attention of the mana- 

 gers of the Institute to the unexampled improvement made by our 

 manufacturers of prints during the past year. The samples in the ex- 

 hibition room, in the view of the committee, are quite equal, in all 

 essentials, to those of foreign manufacture. Mouse de Laines and 

 Balzarines are new articles of American manufacture, and too much 

 praise cannot be awarded to those who manufactured the specimens 

 exhibited. These articles are consumed to a large extent in this 

 country, and the manufacturers are entitled to great commendation 

 for their near approach, in every particular, to the imported article." 



The judges upon leather say, " we are not in possession of any 

 statistical information of the quantity or amount of goods annually 

 manufactured, but that there is a progressive improvement in the 

 style, and reduction in the cost of manufacturing this article, we be- 

 lieve to be apparent." 



The remarks of the judges upon straw and Leghorn goods, derive 

 interest from the fact, that the Neapolitan hats, of which they speak, 

 are an American invention. They say, " the Neapolitan hats exhi- 

 bited, have been worn a season, and redressed. They have the ap- 

 pearance of new goods, and prove that in point of durability they 

 are superior to any other bonnet. The specimens of Florence braid 



