TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART II 77 



authorities whose opinion on the merits of this or that i^idchine can be 

 secured at once. All this means an economy of time and money to the 

 farmer, and on the other hand the industrial concerns reap a manifold 

 harvest of orders as the result of their display at one place during one 

 period. 



MEETING PLACE FOR FARMERS. 



From another angle the fair is of even greater benefit to the rural 

 populace. It furnishes a meeting place for co-operative organizations 

 which can demonstrate their theories to their members through the fa- 

 cilities of the buildings and equipment. The annual meeting of the Farm 

 Bureaus are held here, and national speakers address the gatherings on 

 questions of farm labor, produce pools, loans, marketing organizations 

 and transportation facilities. The rural editors of Iowa meet at the fair 

 to discuss problems of journalism in their communities. The breeders 

 or growers who specialize in one product or strain have at the fair an 

 opportunity to exchange opinions about their one particular interest. 



The Tulsa representatives ascertained the feeling of the state popu- 

 lation by personal interviews, and farmers told C. H. Howard that the 

 fair had meant a 25 per cent increased production to them and praised 

 the competitive spirit which the fair had fostered. Lewis Cline obtained 

 the same result from his queries, and he was greatly impressed with the 

 development of the competition for boys and girls in stock raising and 

 farming activities. D, A. Wilson made a special inquiry into the influ- 

 ence of the fair on horticulture and gardening. He found that the flower, 

 seed, vegetable and fruit industries of the state had developed step by 

 step with the fair. One concern now does a $100,000 annual business 

 through the floral show at Des Moines. Seed houses have been equally 

 successful. 



The information gained by every Tulsan at Des Moines pointed to the 

 prestige of the Iowa State Fair and to its place as an institution of great 

 service. Almost every delagate gathered evidence bearing on a different 

 angle of that service. 



