14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Sept., 



the approval of the attending public, then its management 

 should be congratulated by the management of all other fairs. 

 The object of all fairs should be the advancement and progress 

 of the people. A fair that has amusement of the people for its 

 main object loses sight of the purpose for which fairs were 

 established. * 



The impressions which young people get from visiting a 

 town, county or state fair are never obliterated. If you get 

 a farm boy or girl really interested in some of the exhibits 

 which are better than those they enjoy at home, there is more 

 than an even chance that next year some of the better exhib- 

 its will be those shown by those same young people. A good 

 fair in any community is an inspiration to its people. The 

 prize animal, regardless of its breed, has a long history behind 

 it. Its well developed form, its glossy and well groomed 

 coat, does it not denote the interest which its owner must 

 have taken in it to have reared such an animal? A visit to 

 the agricultural implement department where we see the 

 latest in cutters, harrows, haying machinery and plows of all 

 kinds, perhaps suggests to the observer the time that has 

 passed since the first plow was made from a crooked tree, 

 and a man, a dog or an ox furnished the motive power. Do 

 not the displays of fruits, vegetables, canned goods and the 

 exhibits in the domestic science department demonstrate the 

 fact that those receiving the honors are the exhibits of the 

 people who have learned how to do things and do them well? 



There were thirty-eight exhibits or fairs held during the 

 fair season of 1917. From the reports submitted to us, we 

 find the aggregate value of the property belonging to fair 

 associations to be $326,706.46. These fairs received in ad- 

 missions $73,441.39 and expended for premiums on livestock 

 and agricultural products $32,865.88. These fairs received 

 $15,000.00 from the state. The number of people in attend- 

 ance at these fairs as indicated by these returns were 260,564. 

 We believe that there is no agricultural activity in our state 

 that does more to encourage the raising of better farm crops 

 than a good agricultural fair exhibit. Where fairs have en- 

 couraged higher sta'ndards in the exhibits of dairy cattle a 

 decided improvement has been the result in those localities. 



