STATE HOETICULTTJRAL SOCIETY. 197 



The people are to be held responsible for fair faults, upon the 

 principle of " like people like priest." Faulty methods have 

 been active and have come to the front, while better methods 

 have been lagging behind. The State supports our fairs by ap- 

 propriations, presumably as agricultural educators, and our fair 

 managers, as a rule, desire that they shall be such; still it is evi- 

 dent that the educational element is largely wanting. This is 

 not saying that our fairs are failures, for they usually succeed, 

 according to the commonly accepted standard of success, that is, 

 they pay expenses and perhaps a little more. The managers 

 work hard, for no pay, and the people get a horse race, rarely 

 of high order — usually more or less scrub — with an agricultural 

 attachment and fair fakirs admitted. Our fairs have the horse 

 element in them in such large proportion that they arfe some- 

 times called "agricultural horse trots." 



EACIXG AT FAIRS. 



A manly, robust nature usually loves a horse. The well- 

 trained and well-bred roadster is one of the needs of the day. A 

 cold-blooded, straight-shouldered, paunchy horse is out of place 

 in these days of steam and drive. To raise and train a good 

 horse is as laudable as to raise grain. I believe that true train- 

 ing consists in speeding in natural form, without weights or arti- 

 ficial aids. Intelligent breeding will produce the form associated 

 with the recxuisite nervous force that speeds itself. Some of our 

 best trotters maintain their highest speed in natural form alone. 

 Good form, mental equilibrium and nervous energy are valu- 

 able, for they can be transmitted. Such a value is positive, 

 and its measure of value is often unknown. Hambletouian 

 and old Justin Morgan had so great value that even to-day their 

 value is unknown. Weights and other aids are an open confes- 

 sion of fault in the horse speeded. The true idea should be, not 

 to improve horses by weighting, which is transient, but by 

 breeding, which is permanent. Put the premiums upon horses 

 of permanent values; this would naturally recognize the stallions 

 and mares as first on the list; drive out the pool-seller and 

 jockey, of dark and doubtful methods, and we still would have 

 the horse as an attraction with a value worthy of recognition, 

 and the race of the fair would.be an "agricultural horse trot" 

 without reproach. 



