346 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Nov. 
The New- York State Fair. 
In every feature presenting more or less of interest 
and merit, and, in most departments, exhibiting a 
gratifying advance upon its predecessors, the State 
Fair held last week at Syracuse, was not only an ex¬ 
ample of the advantages of a central location, but 
also a most creditable witness to the agricultural im¬ 
provement of the immediate locality in which it was 
held. Now that it is over, and we have all returned 
once more to our usual duties, the general results of 
the week that is passed can but claim a review; and 
it is matter of congratulation to the farmers of the 
State that there is room for so much commendation, 
and that we are saying words, not of compliment but 
of “ truth and soberness,” when we add, that seldom, 
if ever, has such an anniversary been the occasion of 
so thorough and general satisfaction. 
The Exhibition. —In Cattle , which stand first upon 
the Premium List, the Exhibition as a whole was pro¬ 
bably never excelled in this country. The only breed 
wholly or entirely wanting to complete the list was the 
Alderney, which had we think not a representative 
on the grounds,—but in Short-Horns, Devons, Here- 
fords and Ayrshires, the first two especially, the turn¬ 
out was good and large. And no one could have pass¬ 
ed the stalls devoted to the Grades, without renewed 
conviction of the benefit which the importation of im¬ 
proved breeds has been to the country. The different 
classes of Working Oxen, so far as the writer could as¬ 
certain, were remarkably well filled. Some of the Fat 
Cattle were of immense frame, and perfectly loaded 
with flesh. In Horses the different classes were gen¬ 
erally full—if we except Thorough-breds, which were 
almost or entirely wanting. The show of Stallions of 
all work, and of Morgans or Black Hawks, is spoken 
of as very good, and there were some excellent match¬ 
ed horses, geldings and mares. Mules and Jacks were 
rather deficient. In Sheep , the show was very good 
and extensive, and this was also the case in Swine. In 
Poultry, the Superintendent assured us he had never 
seen a better display, including a wide collection of 
different varieties, and good competition in nearly all. 
The Weather and Attendance. —The heavy show¬ 
ers of the preceding week had, it was hoped, open¬ 
ed the way for clearer skies during our Exhibition, 
and Tuesday we began to think the promise good for 
the three succeeding days. Wednesday was very fine, 
but the wind shifted at evening to south and east, and 
Thursday we woke to a rain-storm, every hour of which 
from early dawn until noon, diminished the attendance 
by thousands. With the fine receipts up to Wednes¬ 
day evening, and the evident feeling along all the lines 
of Railroad centering in Syracuse, as well as among 
the farmers of Onondaga and adjoining counties, there 
was every reason to anticipate the largest receipts the 
Society’s treasury had ever known. The result as it 
proved to be, was, in view of the weather, most encour¬ 
aging—the total being $10,815 81. 
Mowers and Reapers. —The collection of these 
was extensive and valuable. There were several that 
were new, of which some appeared to possess much 
merit. Among the newer machines, were those of 
Bullock & Bros, from Chautauque Co.; J. &. G. Lord 
of Watertown, who exhibited a cam machine, with an 
ingenious self-raking attachment; Willard & Ross, 
Yergennes, Vt.; Gore’s New-England mower, a one- 
. . 
horse machine ; Wheeler’s patent from Shourds & Mo¬ 
sher, Cayuga county ; the iron mower of H. Marcel- 
lus, of Amsterdam, N. Y.; Parkhurst’s Buffalo mower ; 
Tyler’s patent, from Washington county; J. V. Wem- 
ple’s, from Fonda; Hubbard’s machine, and others. 
The older and well-known mowers and reapers of Al¬ 
len, Kirby, Wood, Hussey, Ketchum, Miller and Ault- 
man, and others were also on the ground, including 
the one-horse machines of Kirby and Ketchum. Some 
of the new machines were in many particulars imita¬ 
tions of the best older ones, with important improve¬ 
ments in some particulars, and complex encumber- 
ments in others. Sherwood’s reaper and binder, for 
attaching to any reaping machine, excited much at¬ 
tention. The operator, by its assistance, will bind as 
fast as the larger machines will cut, and thus save the 
labor of several men. Annealed wire is used for the 
bands, and costs but 15 cents per acre. 
The costly and complex corn-huskers which were 
shown last year at Buffalo, have given place to the 
cheaper and simpler ones exhibited this year. One of 
the best of these was the simple and compact iron 
husker of G Bellows, of Seneca Falls, which cuts the 
cob, and shoots out the ear with one blow of the lever- 
handle. A less compact, but equally efficient and per¬ 
haps better machine is Gould’s patent, also from 
Seneca Falls. We were rather disappointed with the 
operation of Perkin’s machine, which requires two dis¬ 
tinct blows of a mallet to push an ear. 
Morrison’s patent corn-sheller was one of the best 
we saw in operation, clearing the cob in a neat and 
perfect manner, and with ease to the operator—the 
price $12. Another, known as the “ Young America,” 
and invented by J. P. Smith, although hardly as effi¬ 
cient as the former, was greatly superior in compact¬ 
ness, and is offered at $10. 
Cahoon’s Sowing Machine, both for horse and hand 
power, was exhibited—the horse machine has proved 
of great efficiency, and the latter would be also, but 
for the hard labor it involves to the operator. There 
were three modifications of the rotating harrow, the 
amount of merit of which is not yet fully determined. 
Winegar’s gate excited much attention, from the ease 
of its operation to the driver of carriages without dis¬ 
mounting. The “ Parallelogram Gate,” of W. Tobey, 
Naples, N. Y., a new contrivance, is opened and shut 
by riding on perpendicular levers—it is very simple in 
construction, but requires further trial to determine its 
value. There were several modifications of portable 
fences, the pannels locking together at the ends; some 
zig-zag and others straight. The exhibitors stated 
their cost, variously at 45 to 70 cents a rod, but we did 
not find any that appeared to be faultless—those mere¬ 
ly resting on the ground being liable to be upset, and 
others intended for staking or pinning to the ground 
being consequently attended with much labor in get¬ 
ting up. It is proper to add, however, that the former 
may answer well in sheltered valleys, excluded from 
winds. 
Two hand-sawing machines were in operation, one 
of them from Heth, Hall & Co., and the other from 
Porter, Kellogg & Co., both of Jefferson county. The 
former is worked by both hands and feet, the operator 
standing on a reciprocating platform—the latter by 
working a lever something like the motion of a pump- 
handle. The exhibitors claim that the application of 
the force is so much more efficient than with a common 
