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 60 FAIR time of the annual pilgrimages. Although it has declined from its ancient magnitude, the average concourse still amounts to 100,000. The largest fair in India is held at the vernal equinox at llurdvvar, on the upper Ganges. It is the season of the yearly pilgrimage, and from 200,000 to 300,000 strangers are then assembled in the town ; every 12th year, which is ac- counted peculiarly holy, nearly 2,000,000 pil- grims and dealers visit the place. This fair is supplied with every article of home produce, and not only elephants but tigers and other wild beasts are offered for sale. Previous to the British occupation, the fairs usually ended in bloodshed; but owing to the precautions adopted, perfect order is now preserved. Ac- cording to Prescott's " History of the Conquest of Mexico," fairs were held in the principal cities of ancient Mexico every fifth day (there having been no shops), and were thronged. "A particular quarter was allotted to each kind of article. The transactions were con- ducted under the inspection of magistrates ap- pointed for the purpose. The traffic was car- ried on partly by barter, and partly by means of a regulated currency of different values. This consisted of transparent quills of gold dust ; of bits of tin, cut in the form of a T 5 and of bags of cacao, containing a specific num- ber of grains." Fairs were regularly held at Azcapozalco, not far from the capital, for the sale of slaves. The gatherings in the market of Tlascala were a sort of fairs, where pottery which was considered equal to the best in Eu- rope formed one of the principal articles of trade, and every description of domestic pro- duce and manufacture was brought there for sale. But the greatest fair was held in the city of Mexico. The visitors there were esti- mated at from 40,000 to 50,000, but the most perfect order reigned throughout. A court of 12 judges sat in one part of the tianguez, clothed with absolute power, which they exercised with great rigor. In Prescott's " History of the Conquest of Peru " it is said that the incas in- stituted fairs for the facilitation of agricultural exchanges. They took place three times a month in some of the most populous places, where, as money was unknown, a rude kind of commerce was carried on by barter. The only fairs in the United States, properly so called, are assemblages for the sale and pur- chase of goods, generally contributed gratui- tously, for the benefit of some particular ob- ject, as the building or furnishing of a church, or the promotion of some charitable enterprise. During the civil war very large sums were raised by the so-called sanitary fairs, for the benefit of the sick and wounded. The word fair is also applied to exhibitions of articles not specially intended for sale, and sometimes strictly prohibited from sale at the place of ex- hibition. The state and county fairs in the United States are for competitive exhibition rather than general traffic. (See INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS.) FAIRFAX FAIRBAIRN, Sir William, a British civil en- gineer and machinist, born in Kelso on the Tweed, Feb. 19, 1789. He learned engineer- ing at the Percy main colliery, Newcastle, where he remained seven years. In 1817 he commenced business in Manchester as a ma- chine maker, and for upward of 20 years his firm was the most important of the kind in that town. Among the improvements he in- troduced may be mentioned simpler contri- vances for driving the machinery of factories, modifications in the valves of steam engines, the double-flued boiler, the use of ventilated buckets in water wheels, and the invention of the riveting machine. In 1830-'31, his atten- tion having been drawn to the advantage of iron as a material for building ships, he con- structed a small iron vessel, which was success- fully launched, and was one of the first of its class in England. He afterward constructed at Millwall many large vessels of the same ma- terial. He was also one of the first to attempt buildings of iron. His experience in the iron manufacture caused him to be consulted with regard to the construction of the tubular bridge over the Menai strait ; and in connection with Mr. Hodgkinson he engaged in a number of experiments, the result of which has been to introduce into general use wronght-iron plate girders in ordinary building operations, as well as in railway engineering. He de- livered lectures in 1858 on the " Resistance of Tubes to Collapse," on the "Floating Corn Mill for the Navy," on the "Progress of Me- chanical Science," &c. He has published " Cast and Wrought Iron for Building Pur- poses" (London, 1852; New York, 1854); "Useful Information for Engineers" (1856); "Iron, its History and Manufacture" (Edin- burgh, 1863) ; " Mills and Mill Work " (2 vols., London, 1864-'5) ; and " Iron Ship Building " (1865). He was made a baronet in 1869. See Smiles's "Lives of Engineers." FAIRFAX^ a N. E. county of Virginia, sepa- rated from Maryland and the District of Co- lumbia by the Potomac river ; area, 430 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 12,952, of whom 4,284 were colored. The Occoquan river touches it on the S. W. The Orange, Alexandria, and Ma- nassas, and the Washington and Ohio railroads pass through it. On the bank of the Potomac, in this county, and 15 m. below Washington city, stands Mount Yernon, the residence of George Washington. The surface is generally hilly. The soil in some places is sandy, and in others is nearly worn out ; but there are many fertile and well cultivated districts. The chief productions in 1870 were 69,982 bushels of wheat, 295,330 of Indian corn, 120,072 of oats, 71,227 of potatoes, 8,097 tons of hay, and 178,345 Ibs. of butter. There were 2,811 horses, 3,907 milch cows, 3,325 other cattle, 2,414 sheep, and 7,152 swine; 4 flour and 6 saw mills, 12 manufactories of carriages and wagons, and 2 of bricks. Capital, Fairfax Court House.