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NEW YORK INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.
A special report by Professor Wilson, one of the Commissioners ap- pointed to attend the Industrial Exhibition at New York, has recently appeared. It includes "raw materials," and the manufactures and pro- cesses to which they are applied, agricultural machines and implements, and "certain branches of manufacture in which chemical principles were directly involved." The subdivisions comprise a view of the geological features of the United States, an account of the mineral productions, special reference to coal, to coal-gas, iron, lead, copper, and other metals ; details connected with chemical and pharmaceutical products, substances used as food, and the more noticeable peculiarities in the construction of agricultural machines and implements. In furtherance of his object, Professor Wilson did not rest satisfied with an examination of the speci- mens contained in the building, but visited several of the States, select- ing those where most could be seen in the shortest time.
The Professor bears ample testimony to the vast mineral resources of the United States, and to the energy displayed by the population in ap- plying their advantages to the right use. The coal-fields occupy an area estimated at from 140,000 to 160,000 square miles; and iron is to be found everywhere. Hitherto the coal-supplies have been mainly derived from the deposits on the East side of the Alleghenies; proximity to the great seats of manufacture and the requirements of steam navigation necessarily giving the preference to the stores nearest at hand. This state of matters, however, is undergoing a gradual change. The Western coal-fields are coming into play, and manufacturing enterprise is deve- loped, not in conveying the fuel to new mills and workshops, but in placing these establishments in close proximity to the coal-fields.
"The manufacturing industry of the States is generally in a state of rapid progression; and, consequently, it becomes the interest of each manufac- turer to secure for himself such advantages, whether natural or produced, as will enable him most successfully to compete with others. In such case, in selecting a site, proximity to a good coal-market would doubtless be con- sidered (cteteris paribus) as an object of great importance. Several large manufacturing establishments are already in existence, and others are con- templated in districts where the exploitations of the few last years have de- veloped advantages, as regards natural sources of power, far greater than those possessed by the New England States."
The iron manufacture is represented as in a state of rapid development ; the rise in the English markets having lent an impetus. Competition with England can be successfully prosecuted as long as the price of English iron prevents its importation into the Union under twenty dollars per ton for pig iron and fifty dollars for bar iron. It is only this exceptional state of things which enables the American ironmaster to carry on his operations without a loss as compared with the price at which supplies could under ordinary circumstances be procured from Europe. This is further shown in the fact, that as regards copper, lead, and zinc, large supplies are drawn from abroad; the high rate of wages and scarcity of capital rendering that course the more profitable. One feature prominently brought out in the Exhibition was the in- creasing cultivation of the grape and its manufacture into wine. From Missouri and Ohio specimens were shown. Samples were also sent from South Carolina of the pure "Catawba," and of wines prepared in imita- tion of the wines of Europe. There are upwards of 3000 acres applied to the cultivation of the grape, and of the plant itself twelve native varieties are held in estimation. Several attempts have been made to introduce the favourite vines of Europe ; but circumstances connected with soil and climate have neutralized the effort. Mr. Longworth, an eminent experimenter, gives it as his opinion that "reliance must be placed on the native grapes of the country, and on new varieties raised from their seed." With the view of supplying hints to our own Southern Colonies, Professor Wilson made special inquiries into the cost and mode of cultivation ; and the results are stated. The profit is spoken of as satisfactory. The selling-price, "eight to twelve dollars per dozen for still, and ten to fifteen dollars for sparkling wines." It is added that the demand is greatly beyond the supply. In connexion with cotton statistics, Professor Wilson remarks-
" By these it is seen that the percentage of increase in production of United States cotton has been declining until it has arrived at only 3 per cent per annum ; while during the same period the rate of home consumption has been gradually increasing until it has reached about 9 per cent per annum. The per cent increase in production of the world for the last five years has fallen as low as 1.8 per cent per annum; while the gross percentageof increase in consumption has been just 3.8 per cent per annum ; and if we strike out of the list England, France, and the United States, we find the increase in the other cotton-consuming countries to amount to more than 9 per cent per an- num. The relative rates of production and consumption appear to contain matter worthy of consideration as such a condition of things cannot long continue ; either the rate of production must be increased, or the power of consumption will of necessity be diminished." Details connected with substances used as food lead to the remark, that "rogues in milk" are not confined to London, but are known to flourish in New York. The extent of the adulteration is estimated at one-fourth. The milk-supplies are derived from two sources—from the country by railway, and from the "8W511 milk manufactories in and about the city.' Of the latter the following is told-
" The largest establishment in the city is at the end of Sixteenth Street, by the North river • which contains, in three parallel rows, from 600 to 700 feet in length, large cow-stables, having altogether accommodation for
nearly 2000 cows, and extending from the Tenth Avenue down to the river. In these stables they are confined in very close order, in a heated and tainted atmosphere, and are fed upon the swill,' [distillery wash,' with which their feeding-troughs are liberally furnished. Occasionally a small quantity of other food, as hay, meal, &c., are given. It requires about a fortnight before the animal will take to the food ; after that, the average consumption by each cow amounts to from 28 to 30 gallons per day ; for which a chaise is made of 6 cents per day per head. No litter is al- lowed for bedding, and the accumulation of filth is painfully evident as you approach the premises. The effect upon the health of the animal soon be- comes evident; the jaws are affected, the hair falls off, and the ulcerated condition of the hoofs renders it difficult to keep it on its legs. Neverthe- less, on all occasions, when practicable, it is rendered available to the slaughterer. The loss by deaths is twelve per cent per annum. Another large establishment exists in Fortieth Street, where the cows are kept in a manner quite as bad as the foregoing ; and in Williamsburgh, adjoining an extensive distillery, may be seen a similar establishment where the cows are forced together in a still more reprehensible manner. Here, indeed, the mortality is frightful, averaging from sixty to sixty-five per cent an- nually."
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