HILO COUNTY FAIR AND CIVIC CONVENTION. 



On September 22 and 23, at Hilo, was held the greatest County 

 Fair ever seen in these Islands. From the occasional dog and 

 poultry show has evolved the idea of a county fair in which shall 

 be represented all the various industries of these Islands. The 

 people of this Territory have now fully awakened to the im- 

 mense advantages of such a fair as a means of advertising and 

 displaving in concrete form the results of individual efifort in 

 all branches of industry. The friendly rivalry and competition 

 for prizes will, perhaps, more than anything else, stimulate in- 

 creased activity in all branches of agricultural and mechanical art. 



The tireless work of the executive committee and the various 

 subcommittees, backed by the support of the various civic organ- 

 izations, assured the financial and educational success of the fair 

 from the start. While practically all the exhibits were features 

 in themselves, the one which created most interest and was a 

 source of considerable astonishment to many was the fine ex- 

 hibit of Hawaiian-bred livestock. This exhibit included several 

 pure-bred pedigreed Hereford bulls bred and raised on the Par- 

 ker Ranch, Hawaii. Some of the best blood to be found in the 

 United States was represented here, and as far as individual 

 merit is concerned, they would be hard to beat in any competi- 

 tion on the mainland. One of these same bulls, which was re- 

 cently purchased by Mr. Harold Rice for the improvement of 

 the stock on his Maui ranch, is as fine an animal as was ever 

 seen in this Territory. The Hawaiian-bred mules, saddle and 

 draft horses are individually superior to anything so far im- 

 ported from the mainland. Considering that the livestock indus- 

 try is only in its infancy, concerted effort in this line com- 

 mencing only ten or twelve years ago, the results so far obtained 

 are simply marvelous. 



Another exhibit of considerable interest and economic im- 

 portance was the display of various kinds of forage raised on 

 the different homesteads, particularly those of Haiku, Maui. In 

 this exhibit various varieties of legumes were represented, the 

 beans being made into coarsely and finely-ground meals and the 

 roughage into baled hay, with a palatability and nutritive value 

 equal to if not greater than alfalfa. Already experiments have 

 shown that all horse stock prefer these hays to those imported 

 from California, which they only eat when there is nothing else. 

 This new industry would seem to open another avenue of profit 

 to the homesteader. 



In passing, it may be said that the county fair has come to 

 stay. It occupies a unique position in the advancement of all 

 industrial lines, especially those agricultural, and the idea of 

 having a Territorial fair at regular intervals in Honolulu, as a 

 central point in this Territory, as suggested some years ago, and 

 so strongly advocated at the last Civic Convention, is a move in 



