242 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
July 
The Great London Exhibition. 
We make the following extracts from letters received 
by us from Mr. Johnson, the Agent from the State of 
New-York, to this exhibition. They will be read with 
interest. Eds. 
London, May 6, 1851. 
Dear Sir —Ere this reaches you, you will have seen 
the account of the opening of the Crystal Palace, which 
will answer as well as any description I can give. No 
pen, however, can do justice to the whole display. It 
has never, in all its parts, been before excelled, and 
probably never will be. The day was exceedingly fine, 
and the out-door display magnificent. Within, every¬ 
thing in complete order when Her Majesty arrived, and 
the representatives of every nation and government, I 
believe, except Naples, were present, to mingle together 
their shouts of applause at the opening of an Exhibition 
of the Industry of all. 
The show is visited daily by multitudes. I have not 
yet had time to look over all that has been arranged; 
but have seen enough to be satisfied that it exceeds all 
the expectations I had formed, although they were, as 
I thought, very highly raised. England has done what 
we expected—presented her best things in absolute pro¬ 
fusion. Agricultural implements and machinery, her 
engines and machinery for her factories, exceed in finish 
any thing I ever before saw. Whole establishments 
have been almost, if not quite, literally brought here. 
In the hasty examination of the implements, I do not 
discover any new ones that we have not heard of—ex¬ 
cept an iron horse-rake, much like the spring-tooth rake 
of our country, which is a far more available implement 
than any heretofore in use—and some new plows of light¬ 
er make, and I think an improvement upon those hereto- 
fore made. I shall, as soon as practicable, begin with 
the different exhibitors, and go through their articles, 
—carefully noting each, and, as far as in my power, as¬ 
certaining its qualities, price, &c. &c. 
In the manufacturing department—(woolen, cotton, 
linen, and silk,)-—there is a wonderful display—not only 
in the English, but in the Foreign departments. France 
has showed herself alive to this great Exhibition, and if 
John Bull beats her, he must have the credit of doing 
what no other nation can approximate to. The French 
exhibition is not nearly arranged; but every day opens 
some new and wonderful display of fine goods, statuary, 
&c., which attracts multitudes, who stand and gaze and 
are lost in admiration at the ingenuity and skill of these 
Frenchmen. Austria, Prussia, Switzerland, Belgium, 
&c., have many very fine things. The United States, I 
am sorry to say, have not fulfilled our expectations, nor 
justified John Bull’s fears, in the exhibition they have 
made. Not half the space alloted us has been occupied j 
and France and England are filling up the vacancies. 
We have, I think it is admitted generally, the finest 
piece of sculpture—“ The Greek Slave,” by Powers. 
A dying Indian, made from American marble, by a young 
artist, his first effort— (P. Stephenson, Boston,) No. 
467 on the Catalogue—is a masterly work, much ad¬ 
mired, and the London Times, which says all the unkind 
things necessary of the United States show, admits it 
has merit. The best foreign artists here say it has great 
merit; and, so far as I have heard, they admit that the 
Greek Slave is the best statue exhibited. 
Mr. Riddle, the U. S. Commissioner, has selected 
Horace Greeley, Esq., as Chairman of the American 
Judges. I will give the names of all the Judges as soon 
as they are.announced by the British Commissioners. 
I saw Col. Reid, Chairman of the British Commis¬ 
sioners, to-day, who informed me that any articles from 
our country would be received at any time, and that he 
was very desirous our country should be better repre¬ 
sented: as having travelled there, he knew that the Ex¬ 
hibition did not fairly represent us, or our progress in 
agriculture, manufactures, &c. I wish the collection of 
wheat in the straw in the Agricultural Society’s Rooms 
could be sent here in good condition; and also samples 
of our hay and manure forks, shovels, spades, &c., of 
which there area few, but very indifferent indeed. A 
show, too, of our manufactured goods should be made. 
The shawls from West Troy, broadcloths, &c., ought to 
be here. 
I was at Windsor Castle yesterday, with a party of 
Americans, and was much gratified with the examina¬ 
tion of the State apartments, splendid paintings, &c. 
We went through the Park, called at the Royal Garden 
at Frogmore, and saw Mr. Ingraham, the head garden¬ 
er, to whom I had a letter of introduction. We received 
every attention: but had not time fully to make thorough 
examinations. Here are grapes in great profusion, ripe 
strawberries also, and everything in perfection, and wor¬ 
thy of the most critical examination. I shall visit there 
again soon, and am promised admission, through Gen. 
Wemys, to visit and examine the stock of his Royal 
Highness Prince Albert, and the poultry establishment 
of Her Majesty, one of the most perfect, probably, in 
the world. 
London, May 16,1851. 
On Wednesday I attended the weekly meeting of the 
Royal Agricultural Society, and heard two very interest¬ 
ing lectures from Prof. Way and Prof. Simonds, on the 
use of salt as a manure and for animals. Professor Way 
took the first part, and gave a brief history of the facts 
recorded as to salt, and of its chemical qualities, and the 
manner of its action, which he said was an indirect one, 
not direct. Prof. Simonds took the latter part of the 
subject, which he very clearly illustrated, showing the 
advantages of salt for the use of animals, and concluding 
as a general rule, it would be well to give free access to 
it, rather than give it at intervals. As a lecturer, Prof. 
S. is much the most interesting—as he is a ready speak¬ 
er, and explains with great clearness his subject. Prof. 
Way is rather hesitating in his manner, but clear in the 
illustration of his subject, and very careful in stating his 
propositions and conclusions. The lectures were follow¬ 
ed by a discussion, in which Col. Challoner, Mr. Fisher 
Hobbs, Mr. Mechi, Mr. Huxtable and others, took part 
—resulting, as do similar discussions in our own coun¬ 
try, in a great variety of opinions in regard to the use 
of salt, directly contradictory to each other. The meet¬ 
ing was a very interesting one, lasting about two hours. 
Earl Ducie and several other distinguished landlords 
were present. 
The judges on the part of the United States were ap¬ 
pointed on Monday, and several of the committees, or 
