784 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Swiss were represented by a few herds. The Red Polls, which are 

 classed as a dual-purpose breed, presented a very fine appearance. The 

 entries made amounted to 133 as compared with eighty-seven in 1911. 

 Some of the classes were very large. The Red Poll show was stronger 

 than any made at Des Moines in former years. 



The swine pavilion was crowded to its capacity and must have held 

 in the neighborhood of 2,000 hogs. The Duroc-Jerseys seemed to be the 

 most numerous, though the Poland-Chinas must have been close seconds. 

 Chester-Whites, Hampshires, Berkshires, and Large Yorkshires were all 

 well represented. It is scarcely necessary to say that the hog show was 

 fully up to standard. Breeders found a strong demand for good breed- 

 ing stock at satisfactory prices. There seemed to be a pronounced dis- 

 position among buyers to look for quality rather than for low prices. 

 High-priced feed and high-priced pork are powerful stimulants to growers 

 to improve their breeding herds. 



The individual farm displays of which there were ten, were inter- 

 esting because they were nicely arranged. They were made by owners 

 of 80-acre farms and therefore called special attention to holdings of 

 that size. To those who understand how such exhibits are gotten up, 

 however, they do not make a very strong appeal. They become merely 

 a few bundles of grain and grasses nicely tied together and hung up 

 on the walls in an artistic manner. The effect of this is heightened by 

 a nice assortment of vegetables spread out on shelves or tables under- 

 neath the decorated wall space. In the background is the name of the 

 farm nicely worked out in moss or some other suitable materials. Such 

 displays are pleasing to the eye, but they convey no information of 

 value to the practical farmer. Most of the specimens one sees in such 

 displays are grown especially for the fair and in reality do not show how 

 the 80-acre farm, which they are supposed to represent, is being man- 

 aged nor whether the methods actually followed are profitable or not. 

 Besides being nice to look at, why should not these individual farm 

 exhibits show something of the actual results obtained on these farms? 



Why not pick out a dozen farms or so in various parts of the 

 state that are managed by up-to-date, progaessive men and have careful 

 records kept on them for a year or a series of years, and then show 

 definitely what has been accomplished. The rotation followed, if any, 

 could be shown. Seed bed preparation could be illustrated and yields 

 obtained could be recorded. The whole scheme of management could 

 readily be illustrated by means of contour soil maps showing the farms 

 themselves. 



The fruit exhibits in Horticultural Hall were pleasing and educational 

 in that they called special attention to the varieties best suited to Iowa 

 conditions. The display of Jonathan, Winesap, Delicious, and North- 

 western Greening apples was very fine. Those who were specially in- 



