FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 255 



in Iowa during the fair. So we will have to do without the congressmen. 

 But the state officers and legislators will be here in all their glory, and 

 their opinion about the war will probably be worth just as much. 



Those who come to the fair with the serious purpose of getting the 

 most for their money, will do well to lay out their time carefully in 

 advance, and then stick as closely as possible to their program. There 

 gire so many distractions, and it is so easy to drift aimlessly from place 

 to place, that one is likely to find himself at the close of the day with 

 little stored away to show for the time and money spent. Tlie early 

 hours of the forenoon, and from three to six in the afternoon offer the 

 best time to see the exhibits in the buildings; during the middle of the 

 day the aisles are filled with people drifting through, and it is next to 

 impossible to get near enough to see to any purpose or to talk satis- 

 factorily to the exhibitors. That part of the machinery exhibit which is 

 not under cover can be examined very well late in the evening. The 

 middle of the day can be devoted to the live stock show and the amuse- 

 ment features that are worth while. Of the latter, some are entertaining, 

 but time spent in some of the show attractions is worse than wasted. 

 After incurring the expense of coming to the fair, the way to get it back 

 with interest is to organize one's time and spend most of it where some- 

 thing is to be learned. The program of lectures and general entertain- 

 ments will be found posted conspicuously in different parts of the grounds, 

 and dates and places of lectures will be found in this program. 



The Agricultural College building, up on the hill near the poultry 

 building, is always worth far more attention than it gets. Thousands of 

 farmers are going through this building every day, but too many give it 

 but a glance here and there, failing to grasp the many interesting and 

 valuable facts spread out before them in a way easy to understand. But 

 now and then a real seeker after knowledge comes through. He stands 

 before single exhibits a half hour at a time; he takes down figures with 

 pencil and paper; and, best of all, he talks with the college men in charge 

 of the exhibits. These young fellows know all about the exhibits under 

 their care and are eager to tell all they can about them to those who 

 show real interest. 



In the Agricultural College building is an exhibit of lime and ferti- 

 lizer. On request, the man in charge gives a list of Iowa firm's supply- 

 ing ground limestone, and describes the different ways of applying lime. 

 Different pieces of litmus paper are to be seen in contact with soils which 

 need lime and soils which need no lime. Our readers are, of course, 

 familiar with this test, but thousands of farmers are seeing it this week 

 for the first time at the college building. In pans spread out so that they 

 may be seen and felt are some of the common fertilizers, such as lime, 

 rock phosphate, acid phosphate, bone meal, and compound commercial 

 fertilizer. A practical Iowa rotation is indicated on a field divided into 



