806 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Iowa stands second to no state in its admiration of and demand for 

 pure-blooded live stock. Its annual state fairs have come to be the 

 greatest cattle and horse exhibits which the world knows. "Beside this 

 the Madison Square Garden show looks like a county fair,", declared an 

 expert horseman, as he surveyed the vista of splendid animals at Des 

 Moines last week and compared the exhibit with the New York one. 

 Other men equally well posted, expressed the same opinion. "The 

 finest in the world," Mr. J. Deane Willis, of England, premier stock- 

 man and cattle judge of Europe, remarked, as he looked down the line 

 of cattle drawn up for judging. And so on throughout every class. The 

 Iowa farmer is in the market for the best blood. The world has learned 

 this and each year it sends to Des Moines the pick of its herds and 

 flocks. The competition is strenuous and visitors to the Iowa State 

 Fair are given an opportunity to study the points of animals which are 

 without peer in all the world. All this is having its visible effect in 

 raising the standards for the state. Year by year the average is becom- 

 ing higher. The state fair is essentially an educator. In no department 

 or phase of farming is this better or more conclusively proved than in 

 this matter of bettering the state's live stock. These annual object les- 

 sons cannot fail to be without lasting value. The Iowa farmer of to- 

 morrow is going to know good stock and going to own it. The state 

 fairs are awakening an interest and supplying the demand. 



The fair this year w r as a financial success, although the margin of 

 profit was small. The fore part of the week the management was vis- 

 ibly worried, but as the weather improved and the attendance increased 

 the ogre of a deficit vanished and "all's well that ends well." The Iowa 

 State Fair has come to be practically an all-around exposition. It is 

 conducted at immense expense. It is necessary that at least $125,000 

 be turned into the fair treasury in order to be on the right side of the 

 ledger. Thanks to the prosperity and the generosity of the Iowa farmer 

 and to the immense number of exhibits the fair this year was a success 

 from a money standpoint. But there will be little to turn into the general 

 treasury for the future. The largest day's attendance was approximately 

 60,000. 



The weather for the greater part of the week was unfavorable. The 

 first three days were marred by frequent rainfalls which materially cut 

 down the attendance. The latter half of the week, however, the condi- 

 tions improved. While the rains made a visit to the fair at times un- 

 comfortable the cool weather which accompanied them was a blessing. 

 It has been the usual lot of the Iowa State Fair in the past to experience 

 extremely hot weather. This year, however, the mercury did not rise 

 above the eighty mark for any considerable time throughout the entire 

 week. This made it possible to visit the fair in comfort. Thanks to 

 the .good condition of the buildings and the grounds the rain and mud 

 did not cause any inconvenience, once the fair grounds had been reached. 

 This year's experience has proved that it is highly important that the 

 buildings should be substantial and permanent and connected toy well- 

 graded highways and permanent sidewalks. Within the past few years 



