1851. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
243 
jurors as they are called, are at work daily. lam on 
the committee on agricultural implements} but the Eng¬ 
lish judges had a trial of their implements, and one or 
two Belgian ones, before the exhibition opened—’and I am 
informed have made up their awards. Mr. Pusey is 
chairman. I informed him that we should insist upon 
having our implements tried as soon as we had persons 
on the ground to attend to them. He has not called his 
committee together yet, but informed me that he was in 
favor of testing our implements 5 but I should fear that 
the decisions already made might be embarrassing. 
The gentlemen selected as the English and foreign ju¬ 
rors, are generally very intelligent, and so far as I have 
been made acquainted with them, are disposed to do 
even justice to all. The English have a decided advan¬ 
tage, as their jurors have been selected from those best 
informed on the subjects submitted to them, while the 
other nations have to depend upon gentlemen present, 
who may not, in all cases, be best qualified for the ex¬ 
amination of the subjects on which they are called to 
judge. It is expected that it will take the jurors from 
four to six weeks to complete their examinations, though 
I hope it may be finished sooner. Every facility, so far 
as I can discover, is most readily afforded by the British 
Commissioners, to have a fair hearing on every matter 
submitted to them. 
I went to day with one of the jury on articles used for 
food, through all the grain divisions, and we came to the 
conclusion that the best samples of wheat and corn ex¬ 
hibited, were in the United States exhibition. None, 
except the wheat from Australia, was equal to some of 
our samples. The Australian wheat, the same kind pre¬ 
cisely as that we have at the Rooms, and which Mr. 
Thompson of Long Island, raises, was very fine indeed. 
The Canadian wheat was very good in some instances, 
though most of it was of mixed varieties, which detracts 
from its appearance. A sample grown in England, call¬ 
ed the Prolific, I believe, is marked as weighing 67A lbs. 
per bushel, and was very fine. The yield of Mr. Hotch¬ 
kiss, of Lewiston, in our state, 63^ bushels per acre,ex¬ 
ceeds in quantity any on exhibition, and the sample, as 
you know, is a very fair one. Mr. Bell of Westchester 
county, has some very choice specimens of grain. A 
sample of White Spring-wheat, excels any I have before 
seen, and his specimens of Winter-wheat, White-Flint, 
Soules and Mediterranean, are remarkably good. In 
barley and oats I think the Scotch and English excel us. 
Their grain is much heavier than ours, and the malsters 
say that our barley does not malt as well as theirs. How 
this is I do not know. Our samples of buckwheat are 
better than any other which I saw. I have not had an 
opportunity of examining very critically, the flour as 
yet} but I think some of ours is equal to any I ever saw, 
and such is the opinion of an intelligent Scotchman from 
Edinburgh, who has charge of a stand filled with the 
products of Scotland. 
The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland 
have a very extensive show. I should judge that they 
had removed their entire Museum here. They have wax 
preparations of potatoes, turneps, peas, *&c., that are 
very life-lide, and their exhibition of grain in the ear is 
very extensive, and is deserving, as it receives, much at¬ 
tention. Samples of forty day maize, ripened in Eng¬ 
land, are on exhibition, and appear very well. The ears 
not as long- as ours, but the corn is perfectly ripened— 
the husks exhibited showing that it reached its full ma¬ 
turity. In grass seeds the exhibition is very extensive, 
and many of the samples are unusually excellent. Mil¬ 
let, rape, and other seeds, are on exhibition. From the 
East-Indies, Australia, &c., there are large contributions 
of their products, some of which are worthy of especial 
notice, which doubtless they will receive. I regret that 
we have not a more extended contribution in this de¬ 
partment, as I am sure we could have added largely to 
our exhibition, and have satisfied all that we can raise 
of the first quality the best of grains used for the sus¬ 
tenance of man or beast. 
Last Monday the Smithfield market had the finest lot 
of cattle ever exhibited, except at the Christmas show, 
and nearly equal to that. It was a sight that a lover of 
good beef and mutton would go a long way to see. The 
Scotch were ahead of all. The more I see of the Gallo¬ 
ways and West-IIighlanders, the better I am convinced 
that there are no cattle in this country that compares 
with them for beef. The Short-horns, Devons and Here- 
fords, are remarkably fine j all the cattle are better fat¬ 
tened than I have ever before seen in this market , or in 
any other. 
I saw a day or two since, at Sion House, and at Kew 
also, the 11 Victoria Regia,” and it is a sight worth see¬ 
ing, truly. The leaves of the plant at Sion House were, 
I should judge, nearly three feet in diameter, and 
would, I doubt not, as represented in the plates we have 
seen, support a child four or five years old. The water 
is kept in agitation by a small water-wheel on top of the 
water, supplied by a lead pipe, which conducts the water 
to the tank. The plant has to be cheated, they say, by 
this operation, believing it is in its native waters, which 
are constantly agitated. 
Sion House, one of the Duke of Northumberland’s 
seats, is near Brentford, famous for John Gilpin’s race, 
and the old town looks as if John might run again, and 
with equal eclat. The house and grounds are thrown 
open to the public, and tickets are procured of the 
foreign ministers, or at book-stores, which allow free ac¬ 
cess. There are about 300 acres connected with the gar¬ 
dens and parks. The paintings in the house are from 
the old masters, comprising portraits of Charles the 
First and his family, Charles the Second, the early Dukes 
of Northumberland, &c. and are, many of them, of rare 
excellence. These paintings occupy the walls of three 
large rooms. The library is 120 feet long, facing the 
lawn and park, which extend to the Thames, and with 
a far reaching view beyond, over the country, studded 
with country-seats, &c. It is one of the finest views of 
the kind I have yet seen. The drawing room, dining 
room, and vestibule, are richly furnished, and everything 
that wealth can supply to a refined taste, seems here to 
find a place. The duke visits here at this season three 
days in the week; the rest of the time in town. He does 
not occupy it more than six weeks in the year, I am 
told—the rest of the time being spent in the town, or at 
his splendid estate*!n the interior of the kingdom. 
The garden is filled with every variety of plant, flower, 
and shrub that can contribute to its beauty. His green¬ 
house of palms and tropical plants, is very rich in its 
