No. 2. Sixteenth Annual Fair of the American Institute, JV. F. 



67 



American Institute of the City of New 

 York. 



SIXTEENTH ANNUAL FAIR. 



The great Annual Fair of this Institute, 

 and exhibition of specimens of the produc- 

 tions of labour, art and genius of our country, 

 will open at Niblo's Garden, in the city of 

 New York, on Tuesday, the 10th day of Oc- 

 tober next, at nine o'clock, A. M. Friday 

 and Saturday previous, are assigned for the 

 reception of articles generally, whether for 

 exhibition merely, or in competition for pre- 

 mium ; and Monday, the 9th of October, for 

 arranging the articles brought to the Fair. 

 Exhibiters, whether for competition or not, 

 desirous of favourable locations for their 

 contributions, should bring them the first 

 receiving day, or early on the second, as it 

 will enable the managers to perfect the 

 general arrangement of the articles in sea- 

 son for opeiiiniT the Fair to the public. 

 Special days and times will be allotted for 

 cattle and other stock, and for certain arti- 

 cles, such as flowers, &c., designed for the 

 Agricultural and Horticultural rooms. Fu- 

 ture circulars will furnish additional particu- 

 lars. 



Farmers, gardeners, manufacturers, me- 

 chanics, artisans, and friends of improve- 

 ment generally, throughout our Republic, 

 are invited to second the efforts of the In- 

 stitute with their wonted American spirit, 

 which, for fifteen years past, has made its 

 anniversaries the pridf; of our country, and 

 imparted to them that national character 

 which the legislature, in the formation of 

 its charter, contemplated. Gold and silver 

 medals, diplomas, and other valuable be- 

 stowments, will be conferred as rewards for 

 skill and industry, under the sanction of 

 competent and disinterested judges; and all 

 the preparations and accommodations for 

 both exhibiters and visiters, will be provided 

 with the same liberality as at former cele- 

 brations. 



The whole receipts of the Institute have 

 ever been deemed as so much placed in trust 

 to be dispensed for the promotion of Ameri 

 can industry and improvement; and they 

 have always been faithfully disbursed. This 

 Institute, acting in the place of a County 

 Agricultural Society, under a general law 

 of the State, feels that the farming interest 

 has high and continued claims for special 

 regard. In addition to the exhibition of 

 cattle, horses, sheep, swine, &c., efforts will 

 be made to obtain a very full display of all 

 the varieties of poultry. A ploughing match 

 will also be held in this vicinity. 



The productions of the factory and the 



work-shop, of the loom, the forge, and all 

 the varieties of handicraft machinery, with 

 new and useful inventions, will have places 

 reserved for them. Steam power, for giving 

 motion to machinery, and instruments for 

 measuring the power required lor various 

 purposes, will be provided. Exhibiters 

 should bear in mind that their specimens 

 will be spread before more than two hun- 

 dred thousand people, and be noticed in 

 newspapers and publications that go into all 

 parts of the world. A number of appropri- 

 ate and eloquent addresses, beside the anni- 

 versary, will be delivered in the large sa- 

 loon, and at the cattle show, ploughing- 

 match, silk convention, &c. 



Special premiums will be bestowed on 

 the exhibition of the greatest variety of 

 valuable household manufactures. A con- 

 spicuous place will be reserved for the beau- 

 tiful displays of the productions of female 

 hands, which for fifteen years have delight- 

 ed those immense throngs that have crowded 

 our halls and saloons. Extraordinary efforts 

 will be made to procure a full display of 

 American silk. The statistical returns of 

 increasing quantities the last few years, 

 bring us inevitably to the conclusion, that 

 this precious commodity is destined soon to 

 rank with cotton and wool, in its importance 

 as an American staple. For the purpose of 

 accurately ascertaining the present condi- 

 tion and the future prospects of this branch 

 of domestic industry, a silk convention will 

 be held in the city of New York, some time 

 during the sixteenth Fair. Every silk cul- 

 turist and manufacturer in the Union, is in- 

 vited to bring their best specimens, with all 

 the correct data at their command ; from 

 which a report will be compiled and dis- 

 tributed through the country, that will, we 

 trust, for ever settle the question in favour 

 of the cultivation of silk in the United 

 States. We call upon all silk culturists 

 and manufacturers to aid in this laudable 

 object. The cry is from all quarters loud 

 and often repeated: — "Give us a new staple 

 to diversify labour, and new employment for 

 that which machinery has displaced, and 

 consummate our practical national inde- 

 pendence." 



In the growth of silk, we have an article 

 providentially adapted to all our varied soils 

 and latitudes, well calculated to counteract 

 sectional selfishness, and to produce a har- 

 monious moral influence ; and the vent for 

 it in the markets of the world, will exceed 

 our ability to produce for centuries to come. 

 Let us, if the silk culture and manufacture 

 are feasible, and can be made to remune- 

 rate, advance at once to the point required. 

 And how can this be better ascertained, than 



