TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART II 91 



of pigs Into the pork barrel rather than the breeding herd is attractive. 

 Four breeds were represented by large numbers. Duroc-Jerseys and Po- 

 land-Chinas filled the greatest number of pens, Chester Whites and Hamp- 

 shires not being far behind. Berkshires were a creditable show, disclos- 

 ing a marked improvement over last year's exhibit. Spotted Poland- 

 Chinas drew public attention with a number of good herds. The bacon 

 breeds had much their usual showing, and one herd of Mule-footed hogs 

 was exhibited. 



The boys' and girls' pig club made an interesting division of the swine 

 show. Sixty-nine pigs were exhibited by the juniors; of these twenty were 

 Duroc-Jerseys, seventeen Hampshires, thirteen Poland-Chinas, nine Ches- 

 ter Whites, and two Tamworths were shown. 



THE SHEEP SHOW. 



One outstanding feature ,of the fair was the creditable sheep show. 

 There were 784 head on the grounds, of which 659 were mutton sheep and 

 125 fine-wools. Shropshires led, with 275; Oxfords, 121; Cotswolds, 93; 

 Merinos, 74; Hampshires, 72; Southdown, 58; Rambouillets, 28; Cheviots. 

 27; Leicesters, 6; Lincolns, 6; Angora goats, 15; milk goats, 56. Wm. E. 

 Renk, Sun Prairie, Wis., judged all the mutton breeds, and Carlos J. Faw- 

 cett, Malcolm, la., the fine wools. Mr. Fawcett also judged the wool ex- 

 hibit. Both men did excellent work. The sheep exhibit has disclosed 

 improvement each year and indicated the increasing interest that Iowa 

 farmers are taking in sheepraising. The entries were about one-third 

 larger than in any previous year. Breeders of the fine-wools were of 

 opinion that there never had been so good a show of their favorites in 

 Iowa. Sheepmen have never before had so many calls for rams and 

 ewes as they had this yea-r at the fair. Men want good individuals and 

 will pay the money. The wool show attracted a great deal of attention, 

 especially the grades of wool that the Iowa Wool Growers' Association had 

 placed on exhibition. Never before have the Iowa farmers had an oppor- 

 tunity of studying the grades of wool that they are growing. The associa- 

 tion has 3,385 members, and shipped 1,000,000 pounds of wool co-opera- 

 tively this year. A large amount has been sold. The wool exhibit should 

 have been placed where it would have been seen by more people. The 

 shearing and blocking contest was intresting and instructive. Large 

 crowds watched the men work. C. C. Croxen, West Liberty, la.; E. L. 

 Bitterman, Nora Springs, la., and John Graham, Eldora, la., three experi- 

 enced sheepmen, acted as judges. If the sheep industry continues to go 

 forward in Iowa it will soon be necessary to build an addition to the sheep 

 barn. All pens were filled this year. 



IOWA'S GREATEST STATE FAIR. 



From Wallaces' Farmer, Des Moines, Iowa. 



With a total attendance of 408,185 and total gross receipts of $320,000, 

 the 1919 Iowa State Fair closed last Friday, after setting new records in 

 practically every department of the fair. 



