422 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



of it, carrying off more first pries tlian any other exhibitor, liis herd 

 being the strongest perhaps he has ever brought out, and his showing 

 was a decidedly creditable one. 



HOLSTEINS. 



The Holstein show was the strongest that it has been in a number 

 of years. The good Iowa herds of Messrs. Barney & Co., of Hampton, 

 and McKay Bros., of Buckingham, and the two outside herds, made 

 competition in all the classes close and interesting. F. H. Scribner, of 

 Wisconsin, well known as judge of dairy cattle, made the awards, and 

 his work on the whole was satisfactory. 



THE HOG SHOW. 



With Iowa first in corn and first in hogs it is fitting that the 

 State's annual swine exhibit should be the greatest show on earth. 

 The magnitude of the show is always a matter of comment, but the an- 

 nouncement that there were about three thousand head of swine in 

 the pens at the Iowa State Fair this year will occasion no surprise. 

 It is only the expected that has happened. There were nearly that 

 many a year ago, and this year, as last, some were kept away because 

 of lack of pens. Such is the growth of the Iowa hog show and the State 

 Fair in general that the management is taxed to the utmost to keep up 

 with the annual requirements of the show. New pens are needed, and 

 what there are are old and leaky. The judging is done in the open 

 when it should be done under roof. 



POLAND CHINAS. 



The Poland Chinas have always outnumbered any other breed at 

 the Iowa State Fair, but the difference was less this year than ever 

 before. There probably never was a year when the Poland China ex- 

 hibits were so uniformly good throughout. Ed Klever of Ohio, did the 

 judging, with W. E. Spicer ojf Illinois, acting as consulting judge. Mr. 

 Klever had acted as judge at Des Moines before, and while he is ac- 

 knowledged to be an expert judge, there was some criticism of the 

 management because an eastern instead of a western man is almost 

 invariably selected to do the judging at this fair. Mr. Klever's type 

 is regarded by some as being more of the medium or small type than is in 

 keeping with the requirement of the western trade, but a large hog 

 with the quality and finish was not barred by any means, and there 

 are a number of prize winners big enough to suit anyone. There 

 were entirely too many good ones for all of special merit to get a 

 place, and for this reason, perhaps, all those not in finished show 

 condition were sent back to the pens without a ribbon. If we had 

 any criticism to make it would seem that those in thin condition seemed 

 to be discriminated against more than were the overfitted ones, thus 

 putting a premium on the "big fat" or an overfitted condition. With 

 very few exceptions the classes were all large and strong, some of them 

 numbering well up towards a hundred entries. 



