SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SHOW OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 
261 
have been taught at length to their dismay, that 
they can not contend with them. We have not 
much sympathy for them in their utter defeat— 
it can not be helped, and we trust it may teach 
their owners to adopt some means for their im¬ 
provement hereafter, 
Herefords, there were none present:; of Devons, 
not a pure-bred one to our knowledge. The bal¬ 
ance was an odd mixture, of which we thought 
the crosses of the old Dutch blood the best, so far 
as milking properties were concerned. The one 
entered by Alderman Peters is an excellent cow 
in this respect, and not a bad one in some others. 
Mr. Emmet’s cow, Celeste, attracted much atten¬ 
tion, as she gave upward of 30 quarts of milk of a 
good quality per day, then on the ground. Fat 
cattle, there were none present, at which we: 
were quite surprised, as there is usually a pretty 
good show of these. The working oxen were few 
in number., but of a good quality. We particularly 
admired a beautiful pair of red cattle from New 
Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Van Winkle’s brindle 
cattle, which won the first prize-at the Plowing 
Match, were present, and all these yoked up, with 
several pairs of the buffaloes, made quite a team 
for display. 
Horses.— Some of these were very fine, yet 
nothing like the number we usually have on these 
occasions. There was one present 40 years old. 
He can go 4 miles an hour comfortably. Dr. 
pool’s Spanish Jack was there, one of the largest 
in the United States, and a capital specimen of 
his kind. He is full 15 hands high, and has a 
bray and ears in proportion. 
Sheep.— These were a good display, especially 
in the South-Down and Long-Woolled breeds. 
The former and their crosses are getting into great 
favor in this vicinity, on account of their superior 
mutton qualities. Some of the Leicesters present 
were unusually large. Mr. Thomas Dunn of Al¬ 
bany, showed one which weighed 301 \ lbs. We 
have seen at his farm those still heavier, if we rec¬ 
ollect right, one weighing 334 lbs. 
Swine. —The grunters turned out in consider¬ 
able force and variety, Berkshires, Woburns, &c. 
The former seemed to attract the most attention. 
One beautiful little white creature was present, 
called the Mocho breed, but in fact is a white Chi¬ 
nese. She was extremely fine, and as fat as a 
corn-fed coon; and she kept as quietly coiled down 
in her corner, as a young cub stowed away in a 
hollow log for a winter’s siesta. 
Poultry. —The birds were a better show than 
we have ever seen; and among them we noted 
the Chinese, Bremen, wild, and mongrel geese; 
Muscovy and other ducks; Dorking, Poland, Pheas¬ 
ant, Bucks county, Egyptian, Chinese, and other 
fowls. Among those entered was a hen said to 
lay two eggs per day, and another with four legs, 
which a bystander anticipated would lay three . 
Some enormous capons were shown; also a red 
flamingo, and a curacoa, a curious bird something 
like a half-grown black turkey. 
After the Show was over, a considerable num¬ 
ber of sales were made at fair prices, and more 
would have been effected, had it not been an¬ 
nounced by Mr. Miller, that a sale at auction would 
take place the next day. With this the American 
Institute had nothing to do, and their officers pub¬ 
licly disavowed any sanction whatever of it; but 
as their contract for the Gardens ended on the 
evening of the second day of the Show, of course 
they had no control in the matter, and if parties 
chose to sell on the third day, they could not help 
it. Considerable dissatisfaction was expressed by 
those Avho did not wi^k to sell their stock at auc¬ 
tion, and we are authorized by the officers of the 
Institute to say thus much to free them from any 
blame in the matter. We look upon the auction 
system of sales upon an occasion like this as deci¬ 
dedly bad , and the stock-men ought to put their 
faces against it. Fair sales we believe never have 
been made under the hammer at the show-yard, 
and we are free to say that they never will be; 
the moment animals are thus put up, gentlemen at 
once become shy to purchase, and will not bid 
with half the confidence and liberality as at pri¬ 
vate sale. Ft is much better for the contracting 
parties to meet each other face to face, and make 
their own bargains; and it is the intention of the 
Institute to engage their grounds for three days 
another year, so as to give those time enough, 
bringing stock here, to conduct their sales in a pri¬ 
vate way. In attending the different agricultural 
shows this season, many things have occurred to 
us which, if adopted, we are satisfied would be a 
great improvement. We shall revert to this sub¬ 
ject hereafter. 
Address of the President. —Friday the 27th, 
the show closed by reading the awards of the dif¬ 
ferent competitors, and an address from the Presi¬ 
dent of the Institute, General Tallmadge. We 
wish we could publish this able matter-of-fact 
document; but for want of space are obliged to 
forego doing so. It will be found, however, in 
our city papers. It was listened to by a very 
large and crowded audience of ladies and gentle¬ 
men, who expressed their approbation of the sen- 
