466 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



Oregon made a fine show of fruit. They put out a car load of fruit 

 one week that was simply immense. They were fine specimens. The 

 skin was perfectly clear and colored with the highest color and they 

 seemed to be perfect in every respect. Of course it is understood that 

 they do not have the quality that the Indiana fruit has. The western 

 fruit, as a rule, does not. They showed them in boxes— a large portion 

 showing the difi'erent styles of packing, and it was cei'tainly a great dis- 

 play. They had apples that were immense in size. Such apples as the 

 Spitzenburg, .Jonathan. Winesap and others were placed in boxes with 

 shelf paper around them, to take the eye of the customer, and of course 

 they could sell them at a high figure. I was much impressed with their 

 style of packing, and I am sure that apples will sell better when packed 

 so nicely. If we would pack our fruit in packages that could be carried 

 away in hand we could sell much more of it and get better prices. I think 

 this is one thing we should learn. It is very hard to get apples packed 

 correctly. These Avestern packers have become so expert that they know 

 from a glance at the size of an apple just how to place it in the package 

 to make it fit. They have learned it from experience. 



Mr. Swaim: It seems to me that there is not a great deal to be added 

 to what has already been said here. I was at the Fair for two weeks. 

 I am of the same opinion as Mr. Stout, that it is a mistake to begin an 

 exhibit of that kind without a superintendent that will stay there and 

 follow out his own plans throughout the entire time. Of course the men 

 that took care of this exhibit were competent and good men, but they 

 all had different ideas as to how things should be conducted and it would 

 naturally break up the continuity of the exhibit. Of coin-se, as Mr. 

 Stevens has explained, that mistake was made from the lack of funds. 

 We were seriously handicapped, and I believe as Mrs. Stevens said last 

 night, Indiana made the best show for the money invested of any State 

 exhibiting there. If we could have had just a little bit more and em- 

 ployed a superintendent to stay there we would have had a far better 

 show. 



There were some few things that were of special interest there in our 

 exhibit, among them was the watermelon. Now I was there when the 

 car load of Southern Indlanh watermelons were received, and I'll tell 

 you they were fine. Many of the superintendents and jurors tested then* 

 and the highest compliments Avere paid on every hand to Indiana water- 

 melons. 



We found very many people that wore really ignorant as to the native 

 nuts, such as chestnuts, beech nuts, walnuts and hickory nuts, and a 

 great many people from this State, especially the yoimger generation, 

 were ignorant of what they were. They had never seen them in the State 

 exhibit and they attracted a great deal of attention. 



There was another thing attracted attention and that was the Hoosier 

 banana, or tlie pawpaAv. This is all I have to say in this regard. 



