22 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



than eighty acres. Laid out with marked taste and skill, they not only de- 

 lighted the eye with the exquisite beauty and symmetry of their design, but 

 met tlie entire wants of the exhibition. 



Eighty buildings, some of them three hundred feet in length, were arranged 

 in groups, and otherwise, for the accommodation of stock, farming implements, 

 machinery, seeds, and the products of the earth. At the entrance, a colossal 

 arch symbolized the triumphs of agriculture in blessing, civilizing, and enrich- 

 ing mankind. 



Among the four banners at the royal entrance, we saw with pleasure and 

 pride the stars and stripes of our native land. Immediately inside of the grand 

 entrance was an artificial fountain, sending its jets of cool water fifty feet into 

 the clear air, and falling in pearls of feathered spray, which gave a refreshing 

 coolness to a July temperature. On either side of the fountain were arranged 

 with artistic elegance tens of thousands of flowers and roses — roses of white, 

 and I'ed, and yellow, growing from bushes whose high tree-shaped tops gave 

 a most delightful shade in the day's decline ; dialytras, fuschias, and broad- 

 leafed panzies, with countless other flowers, loading the air with ricK and deli- 

 cious odors, were so placed as to delight every eye, and secure from every lip 

 words of admiration and delight. A little beyond, and in a line with the foun- 

 tain, stood a high circular edifice, richly ornamented and painted, with a lofty 

 gallery, from which floated more than a hundred flags and streamers. This 

 was the orchestra; and from early morning until late in the afternoon a band 

 of fifty musicians poured their sweetest strains upon the perfumed air, while 

 thousands of listeners seemed chained to this spot as though the combination 

 of roses and musicians, odors and music, had produced enchantment. In the 

 back ground stood the banquet hall, a building of fine proportions, substantially 

 built, and extensive enough to seat at table more than one thousand guests. 

 In this hall the first meeting of the judges took place ; here the first speech of 

 welcome was made by one of the executive officers, and a free entertainment 

 provided from day to day for all the members of the various committees. The 

 headquarters of the delegates and commissioners occupied three buildings imme- 

 diately in the rear of the banquet hall, the name of each being painted in large 

 letters over the door of every room. These rooms were nicely furnished, and 

 arranged in a very convenient manner. In the room set apart for the " Deli- 

 girte aus den Vereinigten Staaten von Nord Amerika," which, being inter- 

 preted, signifies the " Delegates from the United States of North America," 

 not only did the delegates meet, but it was the grand gathering room of all 

 American exhibitors and visitors. Here was many an anxious wish expressed 

 to hear from our dear native land, four thousand miles away ; and here it was 

 that we first received with enthusiastic welcome the telegraphic despatch an- 

 nouncing the surrender of Vicksburg. 



On the ground, at the right hand from the main entrance, stood a shed of 

 enormous length, devoted exclusively to poultry. The coops were all well 

 filled, and the variety of fowls extensive. Dorkings, Malays, Cantons, Chitta- 

 gongs. Cochin Chinas, and game ; domestic and wild turkeys ; Egyptian, Bre- 

 men, and wild geese ; and ducks of high-sounding names, aided in making up 

 the great collection. 



The contribiitions to this department numbered three hundred and forty, and 

 were furnished by eight distinct nations. In front of the poultry shed was a 

 group of three long buildings, filled with every variety of products : Wheat 

 from England, France, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and all the countries of 

 Germany ; corn from the south of Cermany, from France, and the United 

 States ; seeds in almost endless variety, neatly packed and labelled, in glass 

 jars ; wool from all parts of central and northern Europe, from South America, 

 and the United States ; cotton from the East Indies ; flax from Denmark, the 

 United States, Belgium, and England ; and the products of the earth in form 



