REPORTS. 



HOME DEPARTMENT. 



Our tables bore the grace of two hundred and two displays, 

 the names of one hundred and fifty-four exhibitors. The num- 

 bers show a large diminution from previous years, but our 

 tables were full and did not present that chaotic state of an 

 over-crowded exhibition. Each article had proper area, and 

 the Committee were pleased to be able to append to each a 

 larger gratuity, appreciative of effort, than when vast numbers 

 rendered sub-divisions of money requisite. Tasteful and useful 

 would be fair words to apply to most, while elegance, also, 

 spoke regally from a prominent few : yet our Fair was none 

 the less interesting. The reflective mind will accord observa- 

 tion to the issue of a painstaking manufacture whether the 

 achievment be a result of the patrician threads of silk or the 

 plebian filaments of cotton. A stitch set in the satin robes of 

 an empress can be excelled by the sewing in a milkmaid's 

 gown. 



