16 TRANSACTIONS OT THE 



attracted to the Societj^, and its sphere of uset'uhiess will be greatly 

 increased and enlarged. Recognizing the agricultural interests as the 

 foundation of prosperity to all others, the officers of the Board, a short 

 time before the last fair, issued a circular letter to every G range in the 

 State, assuring them of an earnest desire on the part of the Society to 

 cooperate with the Grange organization in the promotion of the best 

 interests of the producing classes, and in turn asking their coopera- 

 tion with the Society in an honest effort to develop the State's known 

 and latent agricultural resources. 



From the assurances received by letter, and from the increased 

 attendance and exhibitions of these classes at the fair, we are con- 

 vinced that the action in this respect, if judiciously followed up, will 

 result in great good to the Society by disabusing the public mind in 

 all portions of the State of an idea which had obtained to a consid- 

 erable extent, that the Society was managed in the interest of some 

 particular locality, section, or class of industries or persons. The 

 same policy has been continued by using the Grange organization 

 as a medium through which to distribute the transactions of the 

 Society to the farmers of the State generally, and the Secretary is 

 now receiving many letters thanking the Board for volumes 

 received in this manner, and promising hearty sympathy and sup- 

 port in the future. The Board last season suggested the idea of 

 establishing a camping ground within easy distance and access to 

 the fair, for the benefit and convenience of families and camping 

 parties from a distance. It is believed that the idea is an eminently 

 practical one, especially in this State and during the fair season. 

 Our climate favors the plan, and parties from a distance, by adopting 

 it, can attend the fairs and enjoy their amusements and benefits at 

 much less expense than in any other way. Were this idea to be put 

 into practice and become fashionable, we are of opinion that the 

 fairs would be much more numerously attended by people from dis- 

 tant sections, and indeed from all sections of the State, and more 

 especially by people who heretofore have not felt able to spare the 

 time and incur the expense of attending the fairs. We are also sat- 

 isfied that the same change will add greatly to the bulk and variety 

 of the exhibitions, thus proving highly beneficial to the Society 

 financially, and enlarging the held of its usefulness, and conferring 

 benefits upon classes it has not heretofore reached. 



The Fair of 1879, as an exhibition, was a reasonable success. In 

 the cattle department, owing to circumstances over which the owners 

 had no control, two of the largest and best herds in the State were not 

 brought on tiie grounds, though one of them had applied for and had 

 been awarded stalls to the number of forty to fifty. Had not this 

 unfortunate circumstance occurred, the exhibition in this depart- 

 ment would have been by far the fullest and best ever made by the 

 Society. The exhibition at the Pavilion, as a whole, surpassed for 

 variety and excellence anj^ of its predecessors for years, and in the art 

 department was pronounced the best ever made on the coast. There 

 were a number of circumstances that operated against the efforts of 

 the Board in working up the fair. Two very exciting general elec- 

 tions had absorbed the attention of the people, keeping them in a 

 state of excitement during the whole summer; the last coming but 

 three days before the opening of the fair. Prices of all kinds of pro- 

 duce had for a long time been exceptionally low, and were still so at 

 the time of the fair, with no discernible prospects of a favorable 



