398 ANNUAL REPORT OF THiE Off. Doc. 



"We made an exhibit of live stock not only at the State Fair, but at the West 

 Michigan Fair and half a dozen other fairs, which were perhaps the largest 

 in point of attendance of the county fairs. This was done under a special 

 State appropriation for the purpose. We had pens of swine, illustrating- the 

 influence of different rations. We had cattle, not only fat cattle, but dairy 

 cattle, dairy cattle with records, scrub cows, pure bred cows, and fattened 

 animals. Naturally we had large placards over these animals giving the records 

 and showing why they were exhibited. A scrub cow would have no place at a 

 fair except to illustrate the advantages of the pure bred animal and this we did 

 by means of charts, and the same way with sheep. Thousands of visitors viewed 

 these pens and plots. We had men stationed about both places to answer ques- 

 tions, and possibly no more instructive feature was possible, at least none was 

 presented at any fair which competed with our exhibit in value of the on- 

 lookers. 



"A third feature of our exhibit was made by the station and college jointly 

 and consisted of pressed plants, yarn frames, model of a horse to illustrate the 

 line of draft, corn to illustrate the different types, a large exhibit from the 

 Women's Department, showing how sewing is taught and giving some specimens 

 of the skill in needlework, views of the college, literature of the college, a very 

 large fruit exhibit from the Experiment Station, three or four hundred plates 

 of apples, grapes, peaches, with illustrations of spraying materials and methods 

 of making spraying materials, exhibition of nozzles and methods of spraying, 

 samples of the insect and fungous enemies of fruit plantations. This, in brief, 

 is about the scope of our exhibit. I am very glad with you that the people 

 of our State are much interested in the Experiment Station as is manifested by 

 the fact that we have forty-three thousand names on our mailing list and that 

 our list of students is gradually growing longer. 



"Yours truly, 



"(Signed) C. D. SMITH." 



"Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 "Chas. E. Thome, Director. "Wooster, Ohio, 



"Jan. 14, 1907. 

 "Mr. B. S. Bayard: 



"Dear Sir: Replying to yours of the 10th inst., I would say that the exhibit of 

 this Station at the Ohio State Fair has been a matter of evolution. When I took 

 charge of the farm of the State University, in 1877, I hegan at once making 

 small exhibits at the State Fair, the first exhibits being limited to samples of 

 different varieties of wheat which were being grown on the University Farm. 

 When the Experiment Station was established in 1882, it took up this work. I 

 think that the college farm relinquished it at once entirely, or nearly so, to the 

 Experiment Station at that time; then when the entire farm was turned over to 

 the control of the Station the exhibits, of course, went with it. I believe they 

 have been kept up continuously, with little or no intermission, since the period 

 I have mentioned, and have grown from a little show, occupying 6 or 8 linear 

 feet of space in one of the buildings of the fair to the one of last year, which 

 extended around two sides of their great horticultural building occupying a 

 total of 160 linear feet. I could only give the crudest estimate of the number of 

 visitors which seek information at this exhibit, but during busy days of the 

 fair for many years past there has been a constant stream of visitors passing 

 for six or eight hours each day, many of whom stop to ask for information. In 

 our first exhibits one or two men at most were amply sufficient to take care 

 of the whole exhibit, but for the last two years almost the entire scientific staff 

 of the Station has been present, -with their assistants, and each man has been 

 taxed to the limit of his physical strength to keep up the work. 



"At the urgent solicitation of numerous county agricultural societies we have 

 sent this exhibit to as many such as could be accommodated during the fair 

 season. Last fall we chartered a freight car for this purpose, moving it from one 

 fair to another during the season. I already have on file several applications 

 for next season's exhibit. 



"Tours truly, 



"CHARLES E. THORNE, 

 Director." 



"University of Illinois, 

 "College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 "E. Davenport, Dean and Director. 



"Urbana, 111., Jan. 16, 1907. 

 "Mr. E. S. Bayard: 



"Dear Sir: In answer to your questions will say (1) the Illinois experiment 

 station exhibited at the Illinois State Fair in 1899 for the first time; (2) the 

 amount of space given to the station by the State Board of Agriculture is 40 

 feet square. We have had this space from the first time that we exhibited with- 



