64 BOAlli) OS" AGRICULTURE. 



that for every hundred dollars worth of that corn that is sold for thirty- 

 five cents a bushel we are selling off sixty-four dollars worth of fertility 

 from our laud? Can we afford to do this? 



Now I have gone over this problem in a brief way, and have pointed 

 out the fact that there is a waning fertility. If you will study the 

 question you will find that on going westward wherever they have sold 

 off grain crops continually the land is being worn out, and the tendency 

 of the farmers is to go farther on to newer soil. But there is going to 

 be a back action after a while. You will find some of it today. Some 

 of the wealthy farmers of the West are going to Ohio and buying up 

 the land and putting live stocli on it. We should watch this matter 

 carefully. You will find in the best corn growing sections of Illinois 

 the farmers are trying to bring bacli^ the fertility of their soil, and are 

 taking the only way of doing it, raising live stock with the gi-ain crops. 

 I have not tried to say anything that will help you in a practical way 

 to do this when you go home; I am simply pointing out the necessity 

 for this method of farming, and hope you will profit by it. I know 

 there are some men in the State who think the agricultural colleges 

 teach mere theory. That is not so. Why is it that Iowa has put so 

 much money into .live stock in her agricultural college? Simply because 

 she knows that to do that means greater wealth to her people. What 

 is the State Board of Kansas doing for that State? Studying the ques- 

 tion. Look and see what can be done along that line. The opportuni- 

 ties of the agricultural college of Indiana are enormous. I hope the 

 live stock associations and the corngrowers' association will do all they 

 can to make the State fairs more successful, and will do everything 

 possible to encourage the men who are trying to bring back fertility to 

 the soil by raising live stock. 



INDIANA STATE ASSOCIATION OF FAIR MANAGERS. 



- The Indiana State Fair Managers' Association held its annual 

 session at 2 p. m. Tuesday, January 6th. 



The meeting was called to order by President J. J. Insley. 



President Insley called Mr. Blachstock to the chair while he 

 read the following annual address : 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRPISS. 

 Officers and Members of the Association of Fair Managers and Gen- 

 tlemen : 



The circumstances under which we hold our meeting this year are 

 peculiarly auspicious: old debts that for years have hung upon many 

 of our associations, like the Old Man of the Sea upon the shoulders of 



