REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK To the Honorable Legislature of the State of New York: The Trustees of the American Institute, in conformity with law, beg leave to present their Annual Report for the years 1862-3. No public exhibition or fair was held during the past year, but, nevertheless, the Institute has been true to its mission; and the report of the Board of Managers, and the Proceedings of the Farmers' Club and Polytechnic Association, will show to what extent and in what manner it has afforded encouragement and given aid to the industrious pursuits, which have heretofore received its favors and its benefits. In the month of May last, the Trustees presented to the common council of the city of New York the following memorial: To the Honorable the Common Council of the City of New York: The undersigned, Trustees of the American Institute of the city of New York, respectfully represent to your honorable body: That the promotion of agriculture, commerce and the mechanic and manufacturing arts, are the objects contemplated by the charter of the Institute; and that for a period of upwards of thirty years the steady aim of its members and managers has been devoted to the advancement of these interests; that the exhibitions and fairs of the Institute have contributed largely to the prosperity of the city of New York, by attracting to it many thousands of strangers annually, and by concentrating at this point the earliest improvements and the best inventive genius of the nation. Your memorialists would further represent that, since the conversion of Castle Garden to its present use, and the destruction of the crystal palace by fire, there are no buildings or inclosures of sufficient magnitude in the city of New York to answer for such exhibitions as are now demanded by the public, and such as the Institute desires to present. Relying, therefore, upon the co-operation of your honorable body to aid their endeavors to meet the demands of the country in this regard, they pray your honorable body to grant them a lease of Reservoir Square, at a nominal rent, under such restrictions and limitations as to your honorable body may seem just and proper. This petition is accompanied by a plan of the character of the building to be erected by the Institute. And your petitioners will ever pray. This memorial was referred to a special committee, which committee have not yet reported. Should the action of the common council be adverse to the prayer of the petitioners, this board would respectfully suggest to their successors, the new Board of Trustees, that application be made for the privilege of erecting a suitable building for the Institute, on the grounds of the Battery, and that a sufficient space, say three hundred feet square, be allotted for that purpose. The Trustees deem it of the utmost importance to the prosperity of the Institute that the annual fairs should be continued, provided such accommodations for an exhibition can be procured in an eligible position as will afford the necessary space. They deem any effort to get up a fair, which shall not be complete and comprehensive, as impolitic and unwise; they, therefore, heartily approve of the course of the Board of Managers, for the last two years, in resisting all attempts to present an exhibition, which, for the want of proper accommodations, could only have resulted in loss to the Institute, and in disappointment to the public. The Trustees, during the past year, appeared before the commissioners of taxes and succeeded in procuring a reduction of $260.60 in the tax levy of the past year. The report of the Finance Committee exhibits the financial condition of the Institute, while that of the Library Committee gives encouraging information of the continued usefulness of this branch of our Institute. The property of the Institute, No. 351 Broadway and No. 891 Leonard street, has been leased for two years, from May last, at an annual rent of $5,500. The Trustees cannot close their report without alluding to the loss of one of the members of their own Board. The announcement of the death of Prof. James Renwick, Corresponding Secretary of the Institute, and by virtue of this office one of its Trustees, has already been officially communicated to the Institute. He performed his last literary labors at his desk in this building. He was the earnest and active friend of science, and his extensive information, especially on all matters pertaining to chemistry and natural philosophy, rendered him among the most respected of the members of the Institute, and one of its most esteemed and useful officers. All of which is respectfully submitted. WM. HALL, D. S. GREGORY, THOMAS MCELRATH, Trustees. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTE. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. The Committee on Agriculture of the American Institute, in pursuance of the 49th section of the by-laws, beg leave respectfully to report: Your committee entered upon their labors on the 13th day of February, 1862, and, in accordance with the duties prescribed for them, have actively carried out the purposes of the Institute intrusted to their care. That most useful adjunct of the Institute, the Farmers' Club, has held 36 meetings, the attendance at which has been generally large. Many philanthropic members of the Institute, in addition to the members of your committee, have attended the meetings of the Club, and have lent their aid in rendering the transactions instructive and interesting. Among those in attendance are some of the most able agriculturists and horticulturists of the day; and the discussions have been so conducted as to enable those in attendance to become acquainted in a single hour with the best current information on the subject under consideration. The reading and experience of all present have been rendered available to each, and we do not doubt that after the discussion of many of these subjects, that every person present knew more of its merits than any one at the commencement of the meeting. Letters are received at every meeting asking the advice of the Club on various questions, and the replies are generally pertinent to the questions. These letters are usually read during the hour devoted to miscellaneous business, and thus the hour devoted to the regular question of the day is rendered doubly valuable by being so appropriated. Among the subjects which have been fairly discussed at these meetings are the following: 17. Preparation of food for cattle, including the cutting and chaffing of hay, pulping of roots, steaming of food, &c. 18. Culture, preservation and feeding of root crops 19. Proper fall treatment of clayey soils. 20. Proper fall treatment of sandy soils. 21. Culture and care of flowers. 22. Labor-saving implements. 23. Mushrooms and their culture. 24. Truffles, 'their use, amount imported, &c., &c. 25. New methods of tilling the soil. Many of these meetings have been reported by the Clerk, Mr. Chambers, and will be found in the Transactions of the Institute, and therefore need no repetition here. In relation to No. 2 (culture of strawberries), your committee feel pleasue in saying that although it occupied an hour each day for three or more meetings, yet the interest was well sustained, and in no book extant is there as much information given on this subject as was there offered on strawberries. No. 3. Grapes included all the known methods of culture, including pruning, &c., &c., with practical and didactic operations on vines furnished by the members. Specimens of grapes of all the best known kinds were exhibited and distributed among those in attendance. No. 6. Pears and their culture have been more fully discussed in our Club than elsewhere, so far as is known to your committee. Specimens were freely sent for distribution, both of pears and all other fruits; and when items Nos. 10 and 11 were discussed, the display of fruit was highly creditable. No 9. Sorghum. The making of sugar from the sorghum and imphee was a most interesting subject, rendered doubly important by the increased manufacture of the West during the last two years. This new industry promises to render the United States. quite independent of foreign growers in the production of sugar, which can no longer be viewed as merely an article of luxury, but rather one of necessity. It has been clearly proved that the juice of the sorghum, when properly grown, is as strong as the juice of the cane in Louisiana; and Mr. J. Lovering, of Philadelphia, and others, have produced white sugar direct from the juice equal in quality to the refined sugar now in general use. No. 13. California wines. Numerous specimens were shown at the Club, and the special report of the meeting may be read with interest. The quality of these wines was far better than that of any wines before made in our country, while the extent of their manufacture promises to equal that of any well known wine districts of Europe. The sparkling wine shown resembled the celebrated sparkling Clos de Vouguet, while the clarets resembled the Chateau wines of France. One sample was of the general character of Madeira wine, another of Sherry wine; all the above of fine quality. The Tinto wine, offered as resembling the wine of Oporto, was the only failure, as this was quite inferior to the result from the Portugal grape grown in Madeira, and known as Tinto Madeira. Late accounts from California state that one grower made last year 200,000 gallons, another 140,000 gallons, while the smaller operators were very numerous. No. 15. Drain tiles and draining, This subject has occupied much of the time of the Club, and particularly in connection with sub-soil plowing. It is now very generally admitted that underdrained and sub-soiled lands never suffer from drought, while grass lands so prepared may be kept in grass, yielding full crops of hay for a long term of years, without being taken out of grass; such fields, with judicious and not expensive top dressings, may be kept at their highest rate of yield indefinitely. And when we remember that the hay crop of the middle, northern and western States has a larger value than the cotton crop, and that the foreign demand for our hay is steadily on the increase, too much importance cannot be given to a system which, wherever fairly tried, materially increases the amount of this and other crops, at the same time deepening the available soil permanently and efficiently. No. 16. Management of manures is also a most important subject. This has been fully reported, and will add interest to our annals. No. 17. Preparation of food for cattle has been fairly treated, and your committee have taken great pains to place all reliable information on this subject before the Club. During the remaining portion of the term of service of your committee, they intend to bring the various details of this subject separately before the meetings, with a view of exciting members to settle all vexed questions connected therewith by experiment. |