328 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The Iowa farmer can afford to come to the State Fair for the sole 

 purpose of studying the exhibit of farm implements and machinery. In 

 these days of scarce and high-priced' help, the machine which will save 

 human labor or which will make it more efficient is worth hunting for, 

 and worth buying when found. It is not many years since the machinery 

 section could be "done" in an hour or so. This year a full day, or more, 

 was required to do it justice. The buildings devoted to this exhibit were 

 filled to overflowing. The larger concerns had immense tents of their 

 own, while in the open air there were acres on acres of the larger imple- 

 ments — tractors, silage machinery, threshing machines, plows, etc., etc. 

 Any farmer who made a careful inspection of the machinery exhibit 

 gathered up information worth a lot of money to him. Incidentally, 

 this exhibit shows a steady increase in the manufacturing industry of 

 Iowa. 



The swine exhibit was not up to former years in numbers. The 

 wide distribution of hog cholera was largely responsible for this. The 

 fair authorities established a rule to the effect that only hogs which 

 had been immunized thirty days before the fair would be admitted. 

 Many intending exhibitors found difficulty in getting serum. When this 

 condition developed, the rule was modified, but too late for some herds 

 to be fitted. About 80 per cent of the hogs shown had been treated. 

 Those who brought un-vaccinated hogs had an opportunity to have them 

 vaccinated by the fair veterinarians at the cost of serum only. Instruc- 

 tors from the Agricultural College gave a series of lectures and demon- 

 strations on vaccinating swine, in a tent adjoining the hog pavilion. 



In the horse section there is plenty of quality, but in some divisions 

 the numbers are not up to former years. Dairy cattle are out in force, 

 but the beef cattle exhibit does not show very marked improvement 

 except in the Angus classes, which are apparently stronger than last year. 

 Interest in the stock show continues unabated. When anything is going 

 forward in the arena, the seats in the stock pavilion are usually filled. 

 The love for fine domestic animals, whether horses, cattle, or hogs, seems 

 to be inborn in Iowa people, whether they live in the city or in the 

 country, and to many the State Fair offers the only opportunity to feed 

 this taste. We are not ready to say that the cultural influence of an 

 exhibit of beautiful specimens of flesh and blood molded by the brain 

 and hand of the breeder who has studied nature's laws of breeding is 

 not fully as great as that of a fine art gallery of masterpieces of canvas 

 and pigment. 



The total attendance at the Iowa State Fair this year was about 280,000, 

 and the total receipts about $190,000', making this the record-breaking 

 year, although neither receipts nor attendance are much above last year. 

 Tuesday was the big day, with an attendance of 66,265, the Monday 

 crowd of 57,707 being next largest. The Iowa State Fair is a very good 

 barometer of agricultural and business conditions in Iowa, and record- 

 Lrcaking crowds this year may be taken as authoritative notice that there 



