SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IX. 989 



IOWA FARMERS SUPPORT ANOTHER GREAT STATE FAIR. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER, CHICAGO, ILL. 



It is a wholesome sign of the times when about 150,000 people attend a 

 state fair in five days. That is the record made by Iowa this year at 

 Des Moines. There inheres in this fact nutritious food for reflection. 

 Those who look beneath the surface would say, perhaps, that such 

 liberal support of Iowa's fifty-first annual state fair indicated at least 

 three important things; prosperity among Hawkeye farmers, appreci- 

 ation of agriculture educational agencies and an unusual degree of state 

 pride as well as fine loyalty to state institutions. The truth is that 

 one need not investigate beneath the surface to discover these con- 

 ditions; they are apparent to the most casual observer. Their lumi- 

 nous existence indeed made it possible for the fair to score the record- 

 breaking success which we shall note. 



Iowa is a farming and live stock breeding state; this fact was in 

 impressive evidence at the fair, and agricultural statistics annually 

 published buttress it. Yet Iowa agriculture is fairly well diversified 

 as shown in the exhibits at Des Moines. Corn, pork and beef are by 

 no means the only, although the chief, products of Iowa soil. Fruit is 

 grown with good success quite generally, poultry raising is a giant indus- 

 try and an enormous potato crop annually is produced. Moreover, 

 dairying is a strong adjunct to general farming in many sections. Bee 

 culture also is conducted upon a considerable scale. Altogether, con- 

 sidering the adaptability of the soil to the production of corn and oats 

 it is somewhat remarkable that diversified farming has gained any foot- 

 ing in the state. 



In every sense the fair was a state institution, more so than we 

 have ever found it to be. In no department was this more evident 

 than in the live stock section, where Iowa-grown animals constituted 

 the great bulk of the admirable display. Outside herds, flocks and 

 studs were excellently and generously represented, to be sure, but not 

 in numbers seen at previous fairs. State classes for cattle and sheep 

 have proved effective in bringing out big exhibits from Iowa breed- 

 ing farms. Exhibitors making their initial appearance in the show- 

 yards take very kindly to the plan which enables them to get two 

 chances at prizes. Beginners usually have a special eagerness for at 

 least sufficient prize monej' to defray their expenses, and the Iowa fair 

 managers seem to regard it as quite proper to give them opportunity 

 to secure it. 



Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were record-breaking days, each 

 of them, so far as attendance and receipts are concerned. Thursday 

 was up to the standard, and Friday paid well. Altogether more than 

 150,000 people saw the fair, and the management found a surplus in 

 its treasury at the end of the week amounting to more than $30,000. 

 It was the banner year from a financial point of view, and the exhibits 



