330 
TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL SHOW AND FAIR OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 
Among these, we noticed the recently introduced 
manufactures from gutta percha. This has al¬ 
ready assumed a great variety of forms under the 
plastic hands of Yankee ingenuity. We observed 
belts of all sizes, lengths, and thickness; carriage, 
wagon and dray springs; hoots and shoes, and 
clothing of different forms. This material seems 
destined, hereafter, to become an important element 
among the useful arts of the United States. The 
display of India-rubber articles was also good, and 
among other items made from it, we noticed an in¬ 
flated boat, capable of carrying several persons. 
This, we conceive, would be a valuable article for 
exploring expeditions, where shallow, rocky streams 
are to be passed, which precludes breakage and 
leakage from grounding. It is light and portable, 
and easily carried by hand; and a compact, yet 
strong and easily-expanding frame work, when in¬ 
serted, keeps the outer covering in proper shape, 
and when separated, either may be folded and car¬ 
ried in the hand. A new material called Blake’s 
patent fire and weather proof paint, or artificial 
slate, formed from a peculiar mineral, found near 
Akron, Ohio, when applied to wood gives it the 
appearance and durability «f highly-polished slate, 
or compact marble, and is said to be enduring, 
e*. There were beautiful specimens of scagliola , or 
artificial marble columns, made from broken mar¬ 
ble, sand, and cement, fully equalling the best spe¬ 
cimens of the original in brilliancy, naturalness of 
color, and high polish of surface. Mosaic work 
tables of the same material, at a short distance could 
not be distinguished from the genuine marble. 
Papier-mache chairs, inlaid with pearl, and 
boxes of various kinds were exhibited, and they are 
said to be the first ever made in this country. 
Numerous other specimens of handy work from ar¬ 
tists of almost every kind, useful and ornamental, 
were displayed in their usual profusion. There 
was one specimen of art which stared every one in 
the face as they entered, which, to our taste, at 
least, was in the highest degree objectionable. 
This was a wax loafer, in a red flannel shirt, and 
trowsers, with a segar in his mouth, cocked up in 
the most approved style of independent blackguard¬ 
ism. The workmanship of this may be good—we 
have such a disgust to the genus, we did not scan 
it closely—and the specimen may have been attrac¬ 
tive enough to many of the visitors from a kindred 
sympathy ; but we put it to the managers in all cour¬ 
tesy, whether this species of loaferism is not in¬ 
stinct and rampant enough in democratic Amer¬ 
ica, without fostering its development or even 
gratifying its sympathies under their grave and rev¬ 
erend auspices. It ought to have been put into the 
glass hearse, which was equally conspicuous and 
offensive to good taste in this exhibition, and sent 
to potter’s field for mutual deposit. 
A napping machine for finishing broadcloths 
and cassimeres was shown, composed of a series of 
circular saws, like that of a cotton gin, but closely 
compacted together so as to form a solid cylinder. 
They appear indestructible from the use to which 
they are subjected. These machines are said to 
have superseded the use of teasles. 
We noticed beautiful specimens of water-rotted 
hemp, of which 300 tons were furnished to the 
United States Navy Yard, at Charlestown, alone. 
There were, also, very choice samples of flax, wa¬ 
ter rotted, and dressed by the American company 
in four days. A new impetus seems to have been 
given to the preparation of these, and their 
manufacture into various articles heretofore import¬ 
ed and largely consumed in this country. There 
is no reason why we should not raise all the flax 
and hemp we consume, and none why we should 
not manufacture it to the fullest extent of our own 
wants, aye, and export the fabrics abroad, as we 
now do those of our cotton. There were fine sam¬ 
ples of raw and manufactured silk of various kinds, 
vestings, ribbons, handkerchiefs, fringes, sewings, 
&c. On one of these, we noticed a statement that 
$3,000 worth of silk fabrics are turned out weekly 
from one establishment in the city of New York. We 
regret to add the fact, that a large proportion of the 
raw material used in these various manufactures, 
is brought from abroad. Why this continues to 
be the case among an intelligent population, with 
whom many of the staple productions are almost a 
drug in the market, passes our comprehension. 
The seed may be sown, or cuttings thickly trans¬ 
planted, and. from either, a dense mulberry h&dge 
May be reared'within two years, capable of feeding 
an indefinite quantity of worms. It is conceded, 
that no country in the world is better suited, in soil 
and clirhate for the culture of the mulberry, from 
Maine to Louisiana, than our own. It is also 
proved to be a profitable employment; for, two fe¬ 
males, without any additional aid of any kind, 
raised $600 worth of raw silk in four months. It 
is also a reasonably safe business, being equally 
removed from violent fluctuations in the market on 
one hand, and casualties from the loss of worms 
(the only disaster that can befal the pursuit), on 
the other. And it is proved we need the article for 
home consumption. Then why are we left so far 
behind the legitimate demand for this valuable pro¬ 
duct ? American farmers and spinsters must an¬ 
swer, not we. 
Of cheeses, we saw some of the largest ever 
exhibited; 600, 700, 1,500, 1,700 lbs. were 
the weights appended to them. We can almost 
credit the man’s butter story, whose father used to 
have so large churnings that he set a saw mill on 
the hill side, below his house, which was entirely 
carried by buttermilk. They were made by 
Messrs. Austin & Co., genuine Yankees, on the 
Ohio Reserve. Such a mass of concrete casein 
seldom occurs, and should it happen to become/os- 
silized , some remote geologists, in the dim futurity 
of ages to come, would certainly assume that 
a race of human mastodons once inhabited this 
sphere. 
The show of agricultural implements was very 
good. Some novelties were exhibited here for the 
first time. We saw no implements, however, whose 
merits had been so far tested as to command them 
to special attention. 
Flovjers, -Fruits, Vegetables , fyc .-—There was a 
very large display of fruiis, which were in a con¬ 
siderable degree contributed by the pomological 
society. The exhibition of fruit was limited pretty 
much to apples and pears, though a few peaches, 
grapes and plums were shown. Some choice vegeta¬ 
bles made their appearance in the shape of mammoth 
pumpkins, beets, &c., surmounted with giant com 
