C2 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



i'ur niiiuy years these fairs were largely attended, aud their good 

 effect was seen iu the increased interest that was excited by the 

 exhibits there displayed. Gradually this feature of the old-time 

 fair came to be supplanted by the public horse and cattle sale, and 

 the town and city market. At the latter could be seen daily, a 

 great variety of fruits and vegetables prepared in attractive style, 

 and of the best quality known. As a consequence, the mere display 

 of corn and wheat and vegetables became very common, and to a 

 great extent lost its power to attract. Horses and cattle still hold 

 their own, and implements, for the purposes of the farm, particularly 

 if they are in motion, are a never failing source of interest to all. 

 Choice fruits are still of interest if carefully selected and well 

 marked, and exhibited by a man who understands his business. lo 

 fact, it has come to substantially this, that any article or exhibit, 

 unassisted by an exhibitor, is not likely to secure more than a mere 

 passing notice. If it be at all worthy of a place inside the enclosure 

 of a county fair, it must not be left to tell its story for itself, but 

 ought to have a competent expert to explain its peculiar virtues, and 

 if an implement, show the visitor how it works. A county fair pro- 

 perly equipped, and with twenty capable men and women to show it 

 off, will be a success, without the aid of fakirs or disreputable shows. 



EXHIBIT SHOULD BE EDUCATIONAL. 



A county fair should, first of all, be educational. If this feature 

 is properly developed there can then be associated with it sufficient 

 suitable entertainment to add to the variety and interest, and to 

 remove any temporary dullness or monotony that may exist. 



Fair managers must recognize the fact, that their visitors want 

 to be kept busy seeing and hearing things that are out of the com- 

 mon. Accordingly, they must strive to secure this interest by the 

 introduction of high grade articles, acd place with each class, some 

 one who knows how to call attention to the superior quality, which 

 each article possesses over others. If some farmer has raised forty 

 bushels of wheat to the acre, he will have plenty of auditors, if he 

 will tell how he did it, or how it may be done by others. If some 

 one has developed a herd of dairy cows, from a production of 120 

 lbs. of butter per year to 400 lbs. per year, he will not lack for in- 

 terested hearers. It is the unusual that attracts and interests, and it 

 is the unusual that must be presented, or the fair will fail, both as to 

 the number of those who attend, and in its educational value as well. 



STATE AID. 



The question arises, how can this be secured without resorting to 

 sensational and disreputable shows? 1 suggest that the State ap- 

 propriate to the Department of Agriculture for the development 



