188 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



fine horses and fine cattle, g"ood whisky and pretty women,. I think they 

 have the last two yet, but they are not in it with the first. The reputation 

 of Kentucky has virtually moved to Missouri. I do not think we are 

 aware of the position that we really occupy in the live stock department 

 of the world. Take the Missouri mule, we are first. Take Hereford 

 cattle — while I am not a Hereford man, I am always proud of a good 

 breed. Few men know this, but this is Missouri's history, we have more 

 good Hereford cattle than all the other states combined. 1 did not 

 know that till the Hereford men told me, but it is absolutely a fact, and 

 the register will show it, that we took every prize in Hereford cattle at 

 Omaha. We took our share of prizes at Chicago, Missouri came out 

 away ahead of any other two or three states and I do not know but that 

 ]\Iissouri took more prizes at Chicago than all the other states combined. 

 Take the Berkshire hog in Missouri, and where is there another state 

 that can compare with Missouri for Berkshire hogs? We have a citizen 

 here with us, our prominent Berkshire breeder who took ten first prizes 

 at the Chicago World's Fair and seven other prizes were taken by per- 

 sons who had purchased these hogs from him. This is a fact. There 

 was one ring of cattle shown there and the first, second, third, fourth 

 and fifth prizes were won by Missouri cattle and there was another ring 

 in which the first, second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh prizes were 

 won by Alissouri cattle, all except the fifth and eighth. There were 

 eight prizes given. It is a pity that our officials and the Legislature do 

 not properly appreciate the conditions or consider the position that we 

 occupy. 



Take our State Fair. \\'e worked for years to get a State Fair. 

 Fifty thousand dollars was the first appropriation that was made. The 

 first appropriation to the Illinois State Fair was two hundred and fifty 

 thousand dollars. But we worked and hammered away and last year 

 when we ought to have gotten one hundred and fifty thousand dollars 

 we were ashamed and afraid to ask for anything that would be really in 

 line because we were afraid that it would appear that it was so entirely 

 out of line that everything would be rejected. They put us down to the 

 small sum of fifty thousand dollars. That is not in line for Missouri. 

 Missouri today stands first in mules, first in cattle, first in hogs and it is 

 entitled to more consideration than it gets, but if the influence of every 

 county could be brought to bear upon the Legislature, through our rep- 

 resentatives, if the farmers would take hold of it and show some interest 

 in the matter, and would intercede with their representatives in the Leg- 

 islature to make an effort to get appropriations for our State Fairs and 

 for our Agricultural College, why they would just simply get it. But 

 we will never get it unless we want it or show that we want it. 



