Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-09-27

The Fair to-day is in full blast. No more
entries are received, and those articles al
ready here are mostly arranged, and ready
Tor inspection. The crowd of visitors is
very large. The receipts at the gate up
to three o'clock this afternoon were "a $50
equal to 1900 tickets, and with comRttee-
men, exhibitors children and dead-heads.
there must have been at least 10000 people
on the ground.
We can now begin to estimate the general
condition of all the different departments.
The display of stock in every class is fiue;
altogether, 1t is as good, perhaps better, than
at any fair ever before held in the State. The
display of horses, sheep and swine, especially,
is very good. In Power Hall the display is
rather meager, and the show of agricultural
implements is rot quite what was expected.
Pathological and Horticultural halls make
good show, as do the Floral and Fine-art
galleries. and the exhibition of mechanics
work and miscellaneous machines is large
and interesting. In the Mechanics Hall,
we noticed to-day, a little contrivance
which, though some may deem it of trifling
importance, is really, perhaps, of more real
service to the farmer and manufacturer than
some more pretentious machines. 1t is a
clasp for fastening bags instead of tying
them. II is permanently attached to the
bag, and therefore always ready for use. 1t
can be fastened or unfastened in an in
stant-in the dark, if necessary-with one
hand, and with glove or mitten on, that re-
quires no knife to pick it open, so that all
danger OF cutting the bag is avoided, and
can never become unloOsed of ITSELF Millers,
grain-dealers, ommissiOn-merchants, &C.,
will understand the value of such a con-
trivance. II is exhibited by Thomas Hop
kins, of Cincinnati.
Among the agricultural indictments l
noticed two machines for hay-makers, which
seem well worthy the attention of farmers,
as they seem capable Of greatly reducing the
expense ofgathering this, perhaps the most
important, of all our crops. The first of
these is a hay-teeder, or scattering machine
designed to make or cure the hay by throw
ing II up TO the sun and air. thus shaking
the water out oft and leaving it lying light
ana loose TO dry. 1t is drawn by one horse
and, following the moving machine, stirs
up the grass nearly as fast as the mower cuts
II, thus doing the work Of eight or ten men,
and doing IL, too, much better than men or
boys generally do it.
The other machine is a horse-rake, at
lached to pair of wheels and so peculiarly
arranged, that all the labor usually Der-
formed by the man who manages the rake,
Is mere done by the horse at the will of the
dflVefi and so easily is this done, that in
s'tad Oi the stout man generally required to
manage hoTse-Take, any boy, who knows
bowio drive, can operate this one. The driver
Sis comfortably on a cushioned seat lust
over the axletree, and by setting one foot on
70 little treadle in front Of him, the rake is
held down while gathering its burden of hay,
until he wishes to empty II, when be simply
shifls his feet to another treadle, and the
rake IS instantly thrown up and its load re-
iesseu; The rake can be thus raised either
IN backing or moving forward. IL conforms
TO the surface of background. indenendentIv
OF the wheels, and being placed In front of
them, gathers up the grass before the wheels
pass over 1t. These machines are both the
invention of Mr.. j. @. Stoddard, of Wor-
cester, Mass who is already known TO the
community as the patentee Of several other
useful machines.