1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



227 



(!Fbitorial (Horrcspoulrcnce. 



p. BARRY'S LETTERS FROM EUROPE AND THE 

 WORLDS FAIR. 



THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 



Every arrival from England will carry you the in- 

 tellio-ence that the exhibition continues to be emi- 

 nently snccessful. There never has been such a 

 rush as at this time, owing perhaps, to the addition- 

 al attraction of the great Windsor Castle show. — 

 Some idea of the increase of travel may be formed 

 from the fact, that the North Western rail road 

 alone presents in one week an excess of £16,000 

 ($80,000,) over the corresponding week of last year ; 

 other roads less than this, for instance, the Great 

 Western $30,000, and the Great Northern $40,000, 

 and this before the present rush. 



London is such an immense place, that it swal- 

 lows up 50,000 or 100,000 persons without appa- 

 rently increasing the population, and so with the 

 Crystal Palace — 60,000 or 70,000 people can enter, 

 and scatter themselves through the various depart- 

 ments in such a way that makes ample room for all. 

 The most remarkable invention in the whole exhibi- 

 tion does not more excite astonishment than this 

 wonderful capacity of the building, and the self-reg- 

 ulating power of that vast assemblage. Standing 

 near the entrance, you will see people streaming in 

 through several doors, and instead of all directing 

 their course to one place, they scatter so completely, 

 that in half an hour after the opening of the doors 

 they are spread over the whole building. The diver- 

 sity of objects exhibited, and of peoples' tastes and 

 interests, account in some degree for this. Since I 

 last wrote you I have taken a leisurely survey of the 

 American department in the exhibition — indeed, I 

 have spent a portion of almost every day in it. It is 

 a much more meritorious exhibition than we get 

 credit for. There are a multitude of useful and in- 

 genious articles, but they are spread over so much 

 space, and are arranged so badly, that they make a 

 miserable appearance. The show of every other na- 

 tion's goods is about as compact and as well arran- 

 ged as the best ordered retail establishment in any 

 city ; but our articles are spread as if to make some- 

 thing of nothing, and they are placed, too, as if they 

 had fallen into their places by accident. 



I have heard it said that our commissioners were 

 ashamed of the articles ; but in my opinion they had 

 much greater reason to be ashamed of the arrange- 

 ment of the articles they had. Our exhibitors, too, 

 have erred greatly in not sending with the articles a 

 competent person to show them and explain their 

 uses and merits — very few have done this. Agricul- 

 tural implements, for instance, are shown pretty ex- 

 tensively by two or three parties, but they sent no 

 one with them. Some agent was appointed in Lon- 

 don, but he could not attend daily in the exhibition, 

 hence no one could find out anything about them. — 

 I have not seen, during all my stay, a single person 

 to give any information about these implements, 

 except in the case of one of McCormick's reapers, 

 just arrived, in charge of Mr. D. McKensie, of York, 

 Liv. Co., N. Y. 



The expenses of our exhibition here cannot fail to 

 be great, judging from the number of commissioners 

 and assistants ; and my conviction is, that the credit 

 (?) we are earning is a poor compensation. I under- 



stand that an effort is about to be made to get out 

 more articles, to fill up the space now empty. It is 

 a pretty time of the day to think of this, after the 

 exhibition has been open three months. It might 

 very well, and ought to have been thought of two 

 months ago. 



Messrs. A. B. Allen k, Co., of New York, show 

 the most complete collection of agricultural imple- 

 ments, among which the light one horse ploivs attract 

 the most attention. English agriculturists have 

 never before seen so light an implement of this sort. 

 Everywhere I see them use a heavy iron plow be- 

 hind one horse in the culture of root crops. Already 

 several gentlemen from Scotland have expressed to 

 me their intention to procure one of these little plows. 



Hussey's and McCormick's reapers, too, attract 

 much attention, and may possibly be introduced into 

 some parts of Great Britain. Their ridge and fur- 

 row system of culture will, I think, prove an obstacle 

 to the use of such machines. 



Our chopping axes, manure forks, and garden 

 hoes, are also much admired. 



There is a pretty good display of Cincinnati hams, 

 with •' directions for boiling." Spiced beef from 

 Louisville and Chicago. Family beef from New 

 York. 



Samples of cotton from South Carolina, Georgia, 

 and Tennessee, and a case containing samples of 

 twenty or thirty different qualities from Jacobs, 

 Truesdell, k. Co., brokers. New York. The At- 

 lantic dock mills. New York, corn farina. Cole- 

 gate's pearl starch. 



Mustard from M. M. Burrows, of Lexington, Ky., 

 " peculiar for retaining its strength, purity, and pun- 

 gency, in all climates. For these properties the man- 

 ufacturer challenges the world." 



A fine case of soda and water biscuit, and pilot 

 bread, from Washington, D. C, by Haaemer &t 

 Brother. 



A jar of magnificent Ohio peaches, prepared by 

 M, J. LouDERBACK, of Cincinnati, " to be presented 

 to the Queen." 



Two small and very imperfect collections of au- 

 tumnal leaves, from our native trees, one from Wood- 

 stock, Vt., and the other from Easton, Pa. The lat- 

 ter were named, the former not. If I had been in 

 the commissioner's place I would not have exhibited 

 either. 



A cotton plant was exhibited from Alabama, with 

 the cotton on it, ready for gathering. From the 

 Pelham farm, on the Hudson, a very good collec- 

 tion of woods ; but they were badly exhibited — 

 thrown on the floor among flour barrels, minerals, 

 &-C., instead of being tastefully arranged in a case, 

 or on a stand. 



The Maryland committee exhibit in a beautiful 

 oak and walnut case, arranged in excellent taste, a 

 very complete display of Maryland productions. No 

 other State has presented anything more satisfactory. 

 It includes fourteen or fifteen kinds of wood, samples 

 of wheat, oats, corn, and all grains grown in the 

 State ; paper, silk, leather, nails, iron and copper 

 ore, machine and pressed brick, freestone, granite, 

 marble, fire proof brick, types and castings, salt petre, 

 stearine, magnesia, epsom salts, copperas, red lead, 

 pelt, flax thread, sand for building, dye stuffs, tobac- 

 co, fcc, fcc. All these articles were shown in a 

 very small space, but yet they conveyed a most sat- 

 isfactory idea of the natural productions and manufac- 

 tures of that State, and reflected much ci'edit on them. 



