SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI. 213 



be a shortage on the other side that is calling for about all our spare 

 meats, and the farmer and breeder of the United States are getting the 

 benefit of it. There is a smaller amount of surplus meat on hand than 

 there has been for several years past. The high prices that have pre- 

 vailed this year do not seem to curtail the demand. 



There has been quite a general report of loss of pigs of early farrow 

 on account of the severe weather of March and early April preventing the 

 pigs from getting the sunshine and exercise that give them health and 

 life. This all means something to the breeder, as it stands to reason 

 that when the farmer is getting a good price for his hogs that he will want 

 to improve his herd by getting a good boar and a few good sows, and I 

 know by experience that when a farmer is getting around six cents for 

 his hogs he is willing to pay us breeders a good price for his breeding 

 stock, if we have what he wants, and it works the same way all the way 

 up. The farmer buys of the small breeder, the small breeder of the 

 breeder that has better blood, and so on, and we are all willing to pay in 

 proportion to the market. 



Then when we look up the figures and find the first of January the 

 United States shows up with 52,102,847 head of hogs, then just think 

 of old Iowa with 7,946,781, or 6Y2 per cent of the fifty-two million. 

 Illinois comes next, with 4,683,900, or about one-half the number Iowa 

 has. Now, boys, as Iowa breeders, I think we can look the future in the 

 face and see gold dollars in her eyes. 



There was no discussion after the reading of this paper and 

 Mr. Simpson, of Des Moines, read a paper on "The World's 

 Greatest Swine Show — The Iowa State Fair — and the Value of 

 the Swine Industry in the Upbuilding of Iowa." 



THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWINE SHOW— THE IOWA STATE FAIR— 



AND THE VALUE OF THE SWINE INDUSTRY IN THE 



UPBUILDING OF IOWA. 



J. C. SIMPSON, SECRETARY IOWA STATE FAIR. 



Ihe average swine breeder, and, in fact, to almost all the breeders 

 within our own State, the world's greatest swine show is known to be the 

 annual exhibition of this mortgage-lifter and home-builder at the Iowa 

 State Fair. The great show of hogs at this exhibition is the talk of the 

 whole country, and all others look small in comparison with it. The 

 number shown annually is about 2,500, and only a person with a very vivid 

 imagination can comprehend to what a gigantic exhibition this show 

 would grow to be if space for an unlimited number of pens was provided. 

 I did not undertake to keep account of the number of hogs that were 

 turned away last year for the lack of room, but a conservative estimate 

 would not be less than five hundred. As great as the show now is, think 

 what it would be with 3,500 or 4,000 hogs on exhibition. 



In discussing Iowa's great resources with our friends from other 

 States, we at least can always feel that any statement we may make in 



