782 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



No fair grounds with which we are familiar could be beautified so 

 effectively as those at Des Moines, and it is gratifying to learn that O. 

 C. Simonds, the foremost landscapist in this country, has been commis- 

 sioned by the Iowa fair board to design the highest artistic effects of 

 which these grounds are capable. A Greater Iowa is growing a Greater 

 Iowa State Fair — a fair which intends to be both beautiful and useful. 



THE BEEF CATTLE DIVISION. 



THE SHORT-HORNS. 



Rising in notable strength to every occasion which invites their pres- 

 ence, the Short-horns were in impressive appearance at the Des Moines 

 show. They came from nine states in numbers representative of the 

 breed's numerical supremacy. Seventeen of the 24 exhibitors were "at 

 home"; a similar preponderance of Iowa stock over that from other 

 states was sustained in each section, so that it was conspicuously a state 

 exhibition. Coming together at this the opening show on the great 

 western circuit, and beginning a campaign which promises its full 

 measure of interest, the Short-horns formed an exhibit well up to the 

 high standard of the breed at this fair. It was a magnificent wealth of 

 material presented in rather less than customary showyard condition 

 which received assay labels in the big pavilion. As the season advances 

 considerable flesh improvement is sure to be made. Many a more fav- 

 orable summer than the present in which to fit cattle has been enjoyed 

 by exhibitors, and herds in the cornbelt have passed through many a 

 kindlier winter than last. In these circumstances it was inevitable that 

 a few rough edges should be noticed in so large a collection of cattle as 

 the breed contributed to the competitive struggles seen here. On the 

 whole, however, it was a creditable effort on the part of breeders, and 

 in some classes the excellence of individuals ran up to unusual heights. 



For the first time in the history of our state fairs the Short-horns 

 were judged by a foreigner, J. Deane Willis, Brampton Manor, Codford, 

 Wiltshire, England, who came by special invitation of the board to per- 

 form this important service. He is to act in the same capacity at 

 the Toronto Exposition in Canada this week. It is Mr. Willis' first 

 trip to America. His unbroken identification with the Short-horn trade 

 in Great Britain for more than 32 years, his keen personal interest 

 in all the problems which arise in breeding, feeding and showing, and 

 his wide experience as a judge in his own country qualified him for the 

 intelligent and highly satisfactory work which he did at this show. At 

 no time did he exhibit the slightest confusion. Going at his task with 

 confidence and in a spirit of genial concern, he impressed all who saw 

 his work as one who knew his business. We doubt whether a collection 

 of American breeding cattle has ever received an examination that, from 

 a breeder's point of view, was so thorough, so consistent, so instructive 

 to spectators, and, withal, so acceptable to exhibitors as Mr. Willis be- 



