FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART I. 79 



and square feet. The erection of the street car station necessitated the 

 moving of three horse barns; new sills and foundations were placed 

 under six cattle barns. Two additional wells were put down, one in 

 the speed, and the other in the machinery department; many hundred 

 loads of cinders were hauled on the streets, and new ones were graded. 

 The inside fence of the race track was rebuilt, and a new judges' stand 

 replaced the one blown down; needed changes were made in the water 

 mains and electric light lines, including the purchase of twelve addi- 

 tional arc lamps. A glance a the financial statement will show that all 

 these changes and improvements necessitated the expenditure of a large 

 sum of money. If new buildings are not erected in the near future, it 

 will just about take the entire surplus each year to keep up the repairs, 

 leaving nothing with which to make needed improvements. Insurance 

 to the amount of seventy-eight thousand dollars is now being carried on 

 the fair ground buildings. 



The exhibit of horses at the last State fair was the best in years, 

 this being especially true of the draft and coach breeds. While the 

 number of entries in the cattle classes was no larger than a year ago. 

 the herd showing was stronger. Twenty-five hundred and seventy hogs 

 were on exhibition, this being the greatest number ever shown at any 

 fair, and exceeds the combined number shown at the Minnesota. Wis- 

 consin, Illinois. International and American Royal shows. No one 

 Tisiting the fair had any reason to doubt Iowa's greatness as a pork 

 producing State. 



It was utterly impossible to provide coop room for all the poultry 

 iDrought to the fair. If people could comprehend the magnitude of the 

 poultry industry in our State they would more readily understand the 

 reason for so large an exhibit. To give you some idea of what poultry 

 is doing fo the farmers of Iowa I will state that in the year 1899 the 

 value of poultry raised and eggs produced amounted to over nineteen 

 million four hundred thousand dollars, or only about three millions less 

 than the total value of the oat crop for 1902. 



At no State fair was there ever a larger and more diversified show- 

 ing of farm implements, buggies, carriages, fences, etc., than was on 

 exhibition this year. It would be difficult to conceive of any agri- 

 cultural implement now used on the farm that was not shown. Never 

 has there been a year when it was more difficult to gather an exhibit 

 of agricultural and horticultural products than the past, and, all things 

 •considered, the showing made :n the agricultural and horticultural halls 

 was very good. An unusually large and tastefully arranged exhibit 

 was to be seen in the exposition building. 



A new and popular feature added to the program this year was the' 

 Iowa State College Scholarship, awarded to the boy scoring the highest 

 in the judging contest. Out of the twenty-eight boys who had entered, 

 twenty-six of them were on hand ready for business at the designated 

 time. Mr. Ellis Rail of Birmingham, Iowa, received the highest score 

 and was awarded the scholarship. T,he rules and regulations governing 

 this contest, together with the score of each contestant, will be published 



