usual, sustained the reputation of the Reserve as a cheese producing country. The bread and butter were good; and the beets sweet; and Irish potatoes and other vegetables, huge. The samples of corn ears are enormous; of wheat, numerous and excellent. The table devoted to preserves and pickles, is loaded with good things, among which are two samples of sorghum sugar, and several of syrup.

FRUIT HALL.

The display of fruit was very good. The samples of all kinds being unusually large and finely colored, excited the admiration of the crowds of spectators. Nor was there any marked deficiency in quantity, although for a State exhibition, there ought to have been a larger display in this department, with so favorable a season. We noticed but few exhibiters present from distant parts of the State, and from other States.

Grapes seemed to attract special attention here, as elsewhere, among the hors cultural fraternity, and the display of fine, ripe Catawbas, Isabellas, Delawares, Dianas, Rebeccas, and half a dozen other fine hardy varieties, by our friend Chas. Carpenter of Kelley's Island, was such as to confirm the reputation which that favorable isle has attained for the production of this fruit, and to convince the Cincinnati vignorons that they must look well to their laurels. Mr. Carpenter was awarded the first premium on new seedling grapes, for a variety produced by him and not yet named-a reddish purple fruit, of medium size, and fine flavor, giving promise of excellence. The second premium on seedlings was awarded to Mr. John Kelley of Cleveland, for the new white grape, called the Cuyahoga. The same gentleman received the first premium for display of ten varieties of hardy grapes. Mr. G. W. Campbell of Delaware, also gained honors in the same line; and Mr. Wm. Heaver of Cincinnati, bore off the prize as usual for the fine display of foreign grapes under glass.

Of Pears and Plums, the finest display ever seen in Ohio was made by Ellwanger & Barry of Rochester, N. Y. (R. Blair, agent), consisting of one hundred and sixty varieties of pears, and forty of plums, all remarkably well grown, and distinctly labeled. They also exhibited one hundred varieties of apples, but these were completely eclipsed in size and color by the specimens from the warmer climate and richer soils of Ohio and Indiana. Good assortments of pears were also exhibited by Mr. Heaver and some others. and second best basket of pears were awarded to R. W. Steele, Esq., of Dayton, whose tempting heaps of Seckels, Doyennes and Beurre Diels, were a feast to behold. The first premium basket was of Doyennes, by G. W. Turner of Springfield.

The premiums for the best dish.

Apples, of course, composed the great feature of the show, and such apples.

ought at least to silence, for years to come, the croaking about the deterioration of this fruit in Ohio. With such a magnificent crop in this State, it seems a little to the discredit of our fruit growers, that the first premium for assortment of apples was awarded to an amateur from another State-Mr. H. Myers of South Bend, Indiana. Several Ohio collections exceeded this in number of sorts, but were deemed inferior in selection of varieties and in correctness of nomenclature. Mr. Myers also obtained the premium for the best basket of ten varieties of apples. Mr. W. F. Bowen of Hamilton county, exhibited eighty-six varieties of apples, and some other fruits. Smaller collections were quite numerous.

There was a fair show of peaches, considering the season. Quinces, too, were plenty and beautifully golden.

A collection of wild fruits-eighty or one hundred species-grapes, persimmons, berries of all kinds, nuts, acorns, &c., excited much interest. It was the work of Thomas Bushnell of Ashland, Ohio, who richly merits the premium awarded him.

A suggestion for the future may not be out of place. As the great object of these exhibitions is to afford instruction to the people, it ought to be required of the exhibiters of fruits, that the names of the varieties should be not only correct, but also plainly written or printed, and placed so that spectators can read them as they view the fruit, without the necessity of handling the specimens, which they are very properly forbidden to do. Would it not be well hereafter, in the schedule of premiums, to specify that the best labeled assortments will stand the best chance for the premiums ?

[From the Cincinnati Commercial.]

DAYTON, Sept. 25, 1860.

The Eleventh Annual Fair, under the direction of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, opened this morning under the happiest auspices. The elements seem to have conspired with other adventitious circumstances, to promote our State exposition of its manifold products. The skies were brilliant, and the fresh atmosphere redolent with the pleasant odors of early autumn. The forests were embellished with radiant tints of ripe verdure, crimson and chrome, and the pregnant corn-fields clad with gold-dusty hues, stolen from a departed summer's sun. The rich valley of the Great Miami was arrayed in its most showy garniture, and the people were cheered by agreeable anticipations and bright prospects.

Before the gates were opened, the Secretary's office was besieged by eager exhibiters seeking places upon the entry books. Long cavalcades of noble horses,

fine cattle and other live stock, and great caravanseries of machinery blockaded the highway leading to the grounds. Soon afterwards visitors began to flock in from the country, and at noon the display of honest yeomanry imparted new ani. mation to the prospect.

THE FAIR GROUNDS.

I had not seen the Fair Grounds until this morning. They are very handsomethe most comely and the best arranged of any upon which the State Board have yet located. They occupy Phillips' Hill, three-quarters of a mile south of the Dayton Court House. It is a locality sacred to the memory of Henry Clay, who, in 1840, electrified thousands of people by his noble oratory, in the grove which crowns the summit of the eminence. It embraces an area of thirty-five acres. The western and northern verge is encircled by the Miami Canal, forming a bright zone of clear water. The Great Miami winds around the base; and the eastern side is skirted by the Lebanon pike. The area is subdivided into mound and valley. The eminence is upon the north side, and commands the city of Dayton and a delightful prospect of pleasant villas, cultivated fields, and noble forests spread out upon every hand in rich autumn panoply.

The hill side fronting the city lifts up its crown boldly, and dips abruptly into a broad basin below. The west side plunges over bluffs into the valley of the river, and the southern side, carpeted with rich sward, slopes gently down into the level, among the halls dedicated to industry, commanding the horse ing completely. The crown of the hill is a level plateau, embellished with a fine grove of ancient oaks, just falling into "the sere and yellow leaf." Down in the valley, also, there is a fine range of oaks, furnishing abundance of shade for the great array of people seeking information or pleasure among the implement halls.

Floral Hall is almost on the brow of the hill, on the north side. It is a spacious wooden structure, about two hundred feet long, with fine space from floor to ceiling for showy display. The ladies of Dayton have taken charge of this departfingers are busily wreathing the floral gifts of the season into things of beauty. This department will not be ready until to-day.

ment, and their nimble

Horticultural Hall is hard by. It will be in order to-day. A very superior display of fruit is promised-as good as that at the National Fair, which was conceded to have been very fine. Ellwanger & Barry, of New York, have a new supply of their best fruits on exhibition.

Domestic Hall and Farm Produce Hall are in close proximity, so that the ladies will find "the labor of deviation" easy. Pickles, preserves and "garden-sass" are largely represented, and patchwork extensively spread out.

Power Hall, Farm Implements Hall and Mechanical Hall are down in the val

ley, east of the horse ring. The former is three hundred and fifty feet long by eighty wide, and does not make an imposing show-probably because the Board have not offered a sufficiently liberal scale of premiums in this department. The other departments are well represented.

LIVE STOCK DEPARTMENT.

I reiterate my last night's dispatch. The live stock exhibition is remarkable. Nothing like it in excellence and numbers has been seen in Ohio; perhaps in no other Western State. The stables are admirably arranged for convenience. The grand entry gate is on the Lebanon pike,-east side of the grounds. The cattle stalls are on the right, in two ranges-separated by an avenue, eighty feet wide. They are also on the hill. The horse stables are similarly arranged on the left of the gate, but another range is located on the southern and western side of the grounds, extending from the southeastern corner to the center of the western line. The mule stables and sheep folds continue the line to the foot of the hill. The pig styes are on the western side.

The horse ring is down in the valley. It is a third of a mile in circumference, and is somewhat rolling-not perfectly adapted to the highest display of speed. Strong scaffolding, to accommodate four thousand persons, has been constructed on the west side of the ring, and ranges of seats on the slope of the hill will accommodate a thousand or two more. The cattle ring is on the hill plateau, behind the stables. Water is abundant everywhere. To close the descriptive department, I am glad to say that the entire arrangement of the grounds is unexceptionable, both for convenience and good effect.

HORSE DEPARTMENT.

This is always the great attractive feature of an agricultural exhibition. A Fair without fine horses would be a greater absurdity than Hamlet, with Hamlet omitted.

There can be no fault found with the department here. The numbers and quality of the stock are without parallel in Ohio. The thoroughbred ring will command the approbation of all who see the specimens exhibited.

SHEEF AND HOGS.

These departments make an unparalleled display in numbers and quality. I never have seen anything to equal them. All the varieties of breeds cultivated in the West are here, but I have not yet had time to engage in hog talk, in order to get the views of breeders. It was a queer job at the National Fair. Every man there swore his breed was best. Probably it will be so here. Butler county folks qualify themselves that no such hogs as theirs root or die in other sections,

and Sol. Meredith is positive that his Russia-Poland crosses are as shorthorns to Alderneys, compared with Buckeye hogs.

GOATS.

The Cashmere goat department is more numerously represented than at the U. S. Fair. No premiums had been offered for such stock, but last night the State Board offered premiums of $20 and $10 for the best and second best males and ewes respectively.

DAYTON, O., Sept. 27, 1860.

At one o'clock this morning the moon was shining brilliantly, the sky almost cloudless. At seven o'clock it was raining in torrents. Members of the State Board looked mournfully upon the dreary prospect. Hundreds of disgusted visitors fled from the dismal scene. At the usual hour, officers, exhibiters, and attaches of the great State Congress of labor drove out to the Fair Grounds through rivers of slop, and the prospect grew more melancholy as the premises were reviewed. The Board got into session, and resolved quickly to continue the Fair a day longer. At about ten o'clock the rain checked up, and soon ceased altogether. The committees, however, did not enter the live stock rings until nearly eleven o'clock. Meantime the people were arriving in surprising numbers considering circumstances, and at two o'clock P. M. there were at least ten thousand on the ground. The Board deemed it expedient to postpone the contest for Sweepstakes and Herd premiums in the cattle ring until to-morrow, but subsequently rescinded the resolution. The great number of horses (480 head) on the ground obliged them to proceed with the Roadster classes. [Here I desire to say that my report of awards in the General Purpose ring, were erroneously printed under a sub-head, as "Roadsters." The error was mine, my blanks for premiums in the Roadster class being accidentally used instead of General Purpose blanks. Readers will therefore please observe that the premiums yesterday were for General Purpose horses, and those making part of this report are for Roadsters.]

During the morning, I took a brisk walk through the mud and miscellaneous departments. Fine Art Hall made a fine display; but there are no fine works in it. Floral Hall is very creditable, especially since the arrival of cut flowers from neighboring gardens, and from the choice beds and pots of Jackson, Cook and Heaver, of Cincinnati. Several very pretty ornamental designs, made by ladies of Dayton, contribute to the pleasing efforts of Flora's demesnes.

The Farm Implement and Mechanical Departments of the Fair are very superior. Several new machines are exhibited which command the general attention