306 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



sheep show has improved 100 per cent in the last two years, and the con- 

 centrated efforts of these earnest shepherds merit the recognition of the 

 fair management to a degree warranting new pens and buildings for their 

 accommodation. 



In the Southdowns a very high-class competition developed between 

 the imported animals of Arnold and Phillippi. The yearling classes were 

 best and very close, the champions of each sex being developed from these 

 particular ranks. The Hampshires were i-n proper condition to win in 

 open stiff competition. The two-year-old ewe was of exceptional quality, 

 while the ram lambs maintained the size claims that the enthusiastic 

 breed advocates continually advance. The Cheviot show lacked competi- 

 tion, but Postle's entries surpassed even their usual merit. The Dorset 

 ranks were weak, but among the fine-wools the Rambouillet entries of 

 Cook and King furnished the thrills common to the International. Mc- 

 Kerrow contributed his usual high-class Oxford offering, although some 

 very worthy home-bred individuals competed against him from the Croxen 

 pens. As a whole, the excellent sheep show presages a glorious future. 



THE SWINE. 



The ravages of cholera were echoed in this section and in the feeding 

 pens scattered over the state. This disease, and a ruling requiring all show 

 hogs to be vaccinated — which later had to be revoked, as serum enough 

 could not be obtained — account for the lightest entry list in several years 

 at this fair. The quality of the exhibits with the exception of that of 

 the Poland-China was the equal if not the superior of that of former years. 



The Duroc-Jerseys made the largest showing. A ringside comment 

 which aptly fits the situation ran: "The showing of the 'reds' reveals what 

 progress may be made in hogs by consistent showing and breeding." H. 

 E. Browning of Illinois and W. W. Waltemeyer of Iowa were the most 

 successful exhibitors. The grand champion boar Big Wonder shown Dy 

 Stevens is a remarkable hog. A. J. Lovejoy, the judge, rated him especially 

 better in the way that he carried out at the tail than the other young boar 

 and smoother than the aged boar High Model. 



In the Poland-Chinas some very good animals were seen and the major 

 portion of the big prizes went to J. E. Meharry of Illinois. His pigs 

 showed especially well in their uniformity and were very wide and deep. 

 Apparently the hardest class was the twelve to eighteen-months-old sows. 

 In this show two sows owned by Mr. Barker pushed the two Meharry 

 sows hard, but they had hardly so much depth and width as their rivals, 

 although they had a slight advantage in length. 



The Chester White exhibit was noted for its uniformity, and in every 

 class there was a strong fight for the favorite ribbons. As a result the 

 prizes were well scattered among several breeders. The champion boar, 

 shown by Mr. Somerville, combines size and bone with quality and ex- 

 cellent type. The Chester Whites show a steady and consistent improve- 

 ment in the makeup of the exhibit at this fair. 



In Berkshires the lowana Farms were the largest winners, although 

 pushed hard and surpassed in some classes. While not so numerous as 



