20 Missniifi A</ri.cul I II ral h'rpmi. 



Tl:('if li;i\'»' rilso liccii sciil oiil j'foiii this office iiuiuy specially prepared 

 <!iticles on afiriculture and tlic work of the Board, and tliese have been 

 used by the metropolitan and agricultural press. Several hundred 

 county papers have also used much press matter supplied from this 

 office. In this connection we wish to acknowledge the Board's indebted- 

 ness to the i)ress — local, agricultural and metropolitan, for without the 

 work of the editor, the fieldman and all others who make up our papers 

 — whose pages become the final forum of the people — the giv^at agricul- 

 tural awakening of today would have been impossible. 



It is gratifying to note that ]\Tissouri's corn yield for the year 

 1910 exceeded a quarter of a billion bushels, the average yield per acre 

 being 32.4 bushels or five bushels — or to put it in IMissouri measure, one 

 barrel — more than last year. Tliis yield is also considerably above the 

 10-year average of 28.8 bushels ]ier acre. Missouri has had a few some- 

 what more favorable seasons for corn growing, but what was lacking 

 in favorable conditions was more than made up l)y careful seed selection 

 and. better cultivation — a result, in large measure; 1 believe, of IMis- 

 souri 's corn campaign conducted by the State Board of Agriculture 

 and Agricultural College. It is a matter of pride to all ^Missourians 

 that the State has increased her corn yield per capita from 59 bushels, 

 in 1900, to 72.5 bushels in 1910, a gain of 1.3.5 bushels in a single dec- 

 ade. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



One of the great needs of today in ^lissouri is a general and uni 

 form system for the government and control or direction of county 

 fairs. If these very useful and important institutions are controlled 

 by a handful of active but sometimes selfish individuals they will fail 

 to perform their proper function. Some of our neighboring states 

 already have organizations of county and district fairs, and are getting 

 good results. For the purpose of organizing such association in this 

 State a meeting was called at Sedalia during last fair week and failed, 

 of success by reason of delay in the ai'rival of a special train. The 

 whole question was then postponed to this week, and the organization 

 meeting is called for 10 o'clock tomorrow morning in th(> auditoi'ium. 



In this connection I also wish to speak of a bill that \vill come Ix'fore 

 you for consideration. It is an act designed to regulate Mud improve 

 the county fairs and make them educational as they should l)e. It 

 does not propose to prohibit county fairs being held as they have been, 

 but by "moral 'suasion" and some small aid from the State it is hoped 

 to bring all the countv and district fairs into one familv, with a uni- 



