EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART II 71 



that used to be filled with choice specimens of the various draft 

 breeds from across the Atlantic were occupied by home bred ani- 

 mals, with Iowa-bred horses in the majority. 



There was a grand show of Belgians, the best by far that Iowa 

 has ever seen. The younger animals in particular, almost without 

 exception, were bred and grown in Iowa and are superior to any- 

 thing the rest of the world can produce in that line. And they 

 clinched forever the claim made by enthusiastic horsemen of the 

 state that Iowa can be depended on to preserve the Belgian drafter 

 for the future. And it might be added that Iowa will not only 

 preserve but improve the Belgian, for the best specimens of this 

 breed to be found in Iowa today are in many respects superior to 

 the type originally brought into the Middle AVest from the other 

 side. 



The Percherons were a splendid lot. An occasional aged animal 

 could be found hailing from across the water, but the bulk of the 

 exhibits were bred in the Middle West. And no man of unbiased 

 judgment is willing to go on record as saying that they are inferior 

 to the imported stock that formerly filled the stalls. A few were 

 lacking in size and weight, but there were plenty of big ones. Class 

 for aged stallions brought out twenty-three contenders and first, 

 second and third monies were given to home-bred animals. Not 

 many three-year-old stallions, but a big string of two-year-olds and 

 a fair showing of yearlings. 



CATTLE SHOW UP TO STANDARD. 



Dairj^ cattle were out in fewer numbers than last year, but empty 

 stalls were scarce in the barns that housed the beef breeds. In ad- 

 dition to high-priced feed and scarcity of competent fitters there 

 is another reason that undoubtedly kept some cattle exhibitors 

 away this year, and that is the lack of suitable quarters for all the 

 herds. The ancient wooden structures well back towards the rear 

 of the cattle section are poor places to stable priceless animals, not 

 to mention the fact that they are so far out of the way of the sight- 

 seeing public that few visitors find them. The breeder who has to 

 accept stalls in those dark old shacks has more reasons than one 

 to kick. The crying need of the Iowa State Fair is a cattle barn 

 in keeping with the annual exhibits and the cattle industry of the 

 state. Without it exhibits in this department will surely slump in 

 the future and the enviable reputation gained by the greatest of all 

 state fairs suffer accordingly. 



