364 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



or reservoirs, to receive the water from the roofs, 

 and thence be conducted wherever it may be want- 

 ed for use. To surmount all this the new dome 

 will rise two hundred feet above the top of the arch 

 ,of the rotunda, "beginning with rows of wrought 

 pillars at the base, and after rising some twenty or 

 thirty feet, recede, so as to lessen the diameter, 

 then another row of pillars, and so on until near- 

 ing the top, when a conical structure with windows 

 for an observatory will afford an unsurpassed view 

 of the surrounding country. 



Such are some of the grand outlines. The finer 

 work, that which would attract all persons of taste, 

 may be found in some of the rooms already fin- 

 ished, and in the shops where numerous artists and 

 sculptors are bringing out of the rude blocks of 

 marble the most exquisite forms that can well b^i con 

 ceived. These are to be placed in various parts ol 

 the building, on pedestals or niches purposely left for 

 them in the walls. 



But the happiest thought of all, carried into the 

 most beautiful and ornate embellishments, may be 

 found in the finish of the single committee room 

 now completed. It is the room, as we were informed, 

 to be occupied by the committee on Agriculture. 

 This room is, perhaps, 20 feet by 18 wide, and to 

 the top of the arched ceiling it may be some 20 

 feet. It is comfortably and handsomely furnished. 

 The floor is a tessellated pavement, of brilliant 

 colors, and the material is as hard as glass. Bui 

 it is the walls whith strike the beholder witli admi- 

 ration, and, when he has learned the manner in 

 which the gorgeous work before him is executed, 

 with astonishment. On four sides, or planes, of 

 the ceiling overhead, the four seasons are represent- 

 ed by the cornucopia, or horn of plenty, by sheafs 

 of grain, fruits and flowers, and otlit-r devices. On 

 one end Cincinnatus is seen as being called from the 

 plow, which he left in the furrow to fight the bat 

 ties of his country, and with numerous other em- 

 blems. All these representations are truthful, and 

 given in most brilliant colors. The pigment used, 

 we are told, is wrought into the mortar itself, so 

 that were a portion of the surface taken off the 

 picture would siill remain perfect. Two men, 

 Italians, were employed three months, on the ceil- 

 ing of this single room. We understand that the 

 committee rooms are to be finished in a style em- 

 blematical of the business of the committee ; — if on 

 Naval affairs, with ships and commercial emblems, 

 if on Public Lands, with prairies, perhaps on fire, 

 or as being fed by herds of buffaloes or, if on 

 Revolutionary Claims, with striking scenes of that 

 eventful epoch, with the old soldier presenting his 

 claim, and the doors of the Treasury thrown open 

 for his rehef ! Is this the long lost art of the days 

 of Herculaneum and Pompeii, now discovered, that 

 shows paintings buried through centuries, but ns 

 fresn as though executed yesterdaj ? We are ylad 



to see this beautiful work going on. It is better 

 thus to appropriate a portion of the public funds 

 than leave them for the scrambling of unscrupulous 

 politicians. We have money, materials and work- 

 men, in abundance, and we trust the National 

 Capitol will not be second, by-and-by, to any struc- 

 ture in the world, in true architectural taste, rich- 

 ness and convenience. 



The Treasury department is being extended, and 

 the coarse sandstone of which the original building 

 was constructed, has been painted with some soft 

 color, so that the eye rests pleasantly on it. The 

 Patent Office, of white marble, is also receiving 

 great additions, and is destined to become a mag- 

 nificent structure. 



Many New England people are here looking in 

 upon Congress, at the public buildings, or catching 

 the excitement of the day. But I must close. The 

 heat is intolerable, and my letter will be, if I spin it 

 longer. Truly yours, Simon Bkown. 



Joel JVourse, Esq., Boston. 



DOINGS AT THE PATENT OFFICE. 



In a recent letter from the Washington corres- 

 [iondent of the Boston Journal, are some in- 

 teresting statements of operations at the Patent 

 Office, a portion of which may be found below. It 

 affords us pleasure to find attention given to agricul- 

 tural matters by such influential papers as the 

 Journal, and its intelligent correspondent. We 

 more than half suspect that the proprietor of "In- 

 dian Hill Farm" speaks through the Journal, and 

 that he finds more pleasure in rural affairs than in 

 the political turmoil at Washington. But to the 

 extract. He says : 



"Recently your correspondent paid a visit to the 

 Patent Office, the never-failing subject for amateur 

 letter-writers. Few of them, however, discover the 

 'Agricultural Bureau,' which is gradually attain- 

 ing an importance worthy of the interest which it 

 was instituted to aid. An appropriation of $30,000 

 lias already been made by the present Congress, 

 and a further appropriation of $70,000 will be 

 asked for in a few weeks — making $100,000 for 

 the ])resent year, besides cost of printing, binding, 

 packing and" transjjorfring 210,000 copies of the an- 

 ual report. A sketch of the present operations of 

 the Bureau may not be uninteresting. 



About twenty thousand dollars are to be expend- 

 ed for seeds and cuttings, some of which are alrea- 

 dy purchased. Take, for instance, turnips ; last 

 year twenty varieties of EngHsh turnip seed were 

 distributed "for experiment ; from these, eleven va- 

 rieties were approved, and forty bushels have ar- 

 rived in New York ; they will reach here in a week, 

 and be immediately distributed. At the same time 

 the Bureau will receive four hundred bushels of 

 peas, and seven hundred pounds early York cab- 

 bage seed. 



One thousand bushels of wheat have been order- 

 fd from the Mediterranean, with approved varie- 

 lies of hnrley and rye. This wheat will be distrib- 

 uted with especial reference to experiments in 



