SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IV 307 



Self-feeding of hogs, and the hogging down of corn again were em- 

 phasized this year. When hogging down, the roUege authorities recom- 

 mend that the hogs have access to alfalfa, clover, rape, or tankage in 

 a self-feeder. Last year at the college, the hogs which had access to 

 these pastures attained a weight of 225 pounds, and were ready for 

 the high October market. They had access to self-feeders, and were 

 more profitable than those hand fed. Heavy, well-grown shotes re- 

 quired 20 pounds less corn per 100 pounds of gain, and mature, dis- 

 carded sows also made their gains on less corn. 



One of the lessons urged the importance of making more use of 

 newspapers and farm journals in spreading methods of making better 

 homes and more profitable or productive crops and live stock. It was 

 pointed out how a preacher or a lecturer could reach only a few hun- 

 dred persons at most, while printers' ink would reach hundreds of 

 thousands. 



The uses of electricity in lighting farm buildings, and in operating 

 machinery, such as the cream separator, churn and other apparatus 

 on the farm, was a feature of the exhibit. Electricity is being used 

 more and more on farms each year, and the exhibit was of great in- 

 terest to many who visited the building. 



A mechanical writing device illustrated what can be accomplished 

 iu a mechanical way by means of combining two motions. The en- 

 gineering department also exhibited a talking arc. A telephone trans- 

 mitter from a phonograph was placed so that sound waves from it 

 would pass into the bright arc light circuit. Vibrations from the 

 transmitter caused similar waves in the arc light, where the phono- 

 graph record could be plainly heard. In the same way, vibrations of 

 the human voice in another part of the building could be reproduced 

 in this arc. 



WITH THE STATE INSTITUTIONS. 



Few people appreciate the good work that is being done by Iowa's 

 state institutions. Those who visited their exhibit at the fair went 

 away impressed with the importance of their work, and nothing but 

 praise was heard from the hundreds who jammed the tent provided by 

 the Board of Control. In the past, the state institutions have held 

 their exhibits in the Industrial Building, but on account of so many 

 counter attractions there, they did not get the attention they deserved. 

 This year, two tents, each 60x90 feet, were occupied, one being as- 

 signed to the cattle and the other to agricultural and manual training 

 products. Warden Sanders, of Fort Madison; Superintendent Kuser, 

 of Eldora, and Doctor Mogridge, of Glenwood, had general supervision 

 of the exhibit as a whole. 



Each of the fourteen state institutions made a most creditable show- 

 ing, and at the same time they acquainted thousands of fair guests 

 with the nature of their work and the character of home life at the 

 state homes. The list of those with educational exhibits are: Hospital 

 for Inebriates, at Knoxville; Oakdale Sanitoriuni, at Oakdale; the 

 Girls' Industrial School, at Mitchellville; Reformatory, at Anamosa; 



