578 Transactions of the American Institute. 



A Show of Soutiiekn Staples. 

 The Chairman called attention to the fact that Dr. Isaac P. Trimble 

 had recently returned from an extended tour through the southern 

 States, whence he went at the suggestion of the Club, and he asked 

 him to take the stand and speak of what he heard and saw. Dr. 

 Isaac P. Trimble said, in reply, that he met in Washington a large 

 and influential company, among which was the Hon. Horace Capron, 

 United States Commissioner of Agriculture, the Chairman of the 

 Committee on Agriculture of the Senate, and other dignitaries. In 

 this good society he went as far as Macon, where the Georgia State 

 fair was in progress. Here was found an immense crowd, the hotels 

 were overflowing, everybody seemed to be convened. However, 

 good treatment was experienced. As to the exhibition itself it was 

 the first since the war, and the wheels could not be expected to run 

 very smoothly under the circumstances, and considering that the 

 management was, for the most part, in inexperienced hands. The 

 show of machinery, mostly from the north, was creditable, and a 

 tournament brought out a fine display of horses, some of which were 

 of fine blood. It was particularly observable that cotton was the 

 entire burden of the song, and appliances for use in the cotton fields 

 attracted special attention. Guano, phosphate, superphosphate, 

 ammoniated superphosphate, nitrate of soda, tfec, &c., are the charmed 

 words that win every ear. Of oranges Dr. T. saw orchards of several 

 hundred trees. Some of these trees were forty years old, and three 

 feet in circumference. The land on which they stood is kept in per- 

 fect order by a system of shallow culture. No weeds were seen, 

 Some of the trees, it was estimated, would yield from twenty-five to 

 thirty-five bushels of excellent fruit. Yery few apples M'cre seen, and 

 most of them came from New York. Some apple orchards, however, 

 were observed near Petersburg. Peach trees were growing every- 

 where, but none showed the care they deserve. ' Marks of borer and 

 curculio were painfully apparent. The first clover was found at 

 Savannah, but the people of the south seem to know very little about 

 clover. Whether it will grow generally, remains to be proved. The 

 talk is all of cotton, what fertilizers they shall use to increase the 

 yield, what charms, what mighty magic; these things fill every mind. 

 In conclusion, the speaker promised to put upon paper, at another 

 time, some fuller account of the interesting trip, and speak more 

 especially of the condition and prospects of society in the south, and 

 of the needs of the people. The remarks of the doctor were enliv- 



