38 [Assembly 



increased quantity of bread from a givenquantity of flour ; bread, 

 too, of a more wholesome and nutritious quality than can be made 

 by the fermentative process. This is " making two blades of grass 

 grow where only one grew before,*' in an important sense. And 

 what labor, drudgery and vexation are spared to the housewife. 

 And how much more tolerable and cheerful will the sailors life 

 at sea be, when he can have at almost any moment a good and 

 wholesome article of fresh bread. With the patent flour and Gail 

 Borden's Meat Biscuit, (perhaps the greatest invention of the age) 

 the sailor's life in a long voyage will be shorn of many of its hard- 

 ships. I repeat, that the general introduction of the patent flour 

 must work an important revolution in domestic economy, and add 

 much to the health and comfort of all who use it. 



Of miscellaneous articles we always have an abundance. A 

 number of hams, put up for long voyages by a patent process, 

 would seem to deserve more than a passing notice. The hams 

 themselves were of tine quality, but their chief value for long 

 voyages must depend, of course, upon the covering in which they 

 are incased. As the capability and durability of these patent co- 

 verings could only be certainly proved by an ocean voyage, the 

 judges could not safely do more than state, after a careful exami- 

 nation, that they seemed well adapted to fulfill the purpose for 

 which they were designed. Anything which has for its object the 

 lessening of the hardships and privations of ocean life, should be 

 duly encouraged. 



I take pleasure in alluding to a remarkable tine show of wire- 

 work, for gardens, containing almost the only really useful arti- 

 cles of the kind I have ever seen. What generally goes under the 

 name of wire-work, is of little practical use, being mostly made 

 for show, and not often in good taste. Mr. Burnett, however, had 

 some things that were new, as well as useful, tasteful, and orna- 

 mental. The pointed archway combined beauty and utility, and 

 was a superior piece of work In this connection I will mention 

 an improved watering pot, made by Mr. Poole. This is a most 

 useful article, and needs only a few other improvements to make 

 it perfect of its kind. It is so superior, however, to any other 

 now in use, that it is deserving of special notice. It has two 



