IMOTli AIMB SOAAiMTi 



Township and County Fairs. — Atthe Annual 

 Meeting of the Canadian Association of Fair 

 and Exhibition Managers, in Toronto, the 

 30th of February, 1902, there were several 

 hundred representative men present. A 

 deep interest was manifest in certain pro- 

 posals made by Mr. F. W. Hodson, of 

 Ottawa, a year previous, for the increased 

 usefulness of smaller fairs. 



The Agricultural Societies have not been 

 accomplishing the work designed in their in- 

 stitution, as laid down by the Agricultural 

 and Arts Act, they have concentrated their 

 whole strength upon the giving of prizes, 

 and have lost sight of the most important 

 object of their existence, viz, the education 

 of their members in the best methods of 

 Agriculture. The same lack was observed 

 in the Horticultural Societies, and led to the 

 formation of the Societies affiliated with our 

 Association, which aim at making their 

 meetings and exhibitions purely educat- 

 ive, and even go so far as to discourage 

 giving prizes altogether, claiming that 

 the funds should be spent for the equal ben- 

 efit of every member. This plan entirely 

 shuts off the professional exhibitor, and en- 

 ables the Society to make most liberal gifts 

 to each member of new and improved fruit 

 trees, plants, seeds, bulbs, etc., one of the 

 important objects contemplated in the Act. 

 They also hold monthly meetings for the dis- 

 cussion of fruit and flower topics, which form 

 a means for the interchange of experience on 

 the best methods of practice — another object 

 of their existence contemplated in the Act. 

 Why should not our Agricultural Societies 

 profit by their example ? 



cultural and Horticultural Societies, and if 

 these organizations could work In harmony a 

 grand future is before us. Mr. G. C. Creel- 

 man, the Superintendent, met with general 

 approval when he advocated that the 

 Farmers* Institutes, the Women's Institutes, 

 the Horticultural Societies, the Fruit 

 Stations, the Fruit Growers' Associations? 

 all should join forces, and make the fairs not 

 only educative but also sociable and attract- 

 ive. 



Fruit Growers' Institutes, Mr. Creelman 

 stated, were being formed in each district, 

 under the supervision of the director of the 

 Provincial Association representing the same. 

 A series of about fifty meetings will be held 

 during the month of March, so arranged as 

 to cover the Province. Now these local 

 Associations can assist the fair managers 

 by revising the prize list for fruit, making 

 it to include such varieties only as are desir- 

 able for each district. 



The Farmers' Institutes are doing much of 

 the educational work neglected by the Agri- 



Seed Fairs have been held by some four or 

 five Farmers' Institutes, and Prof. C. A. 

 Zavitz, of the O. A. C, Guelph, showed how 

 grain exhibits could be mounted and shown 

 at fairs so as to be of the greatest interest 

 to farmers. 



These should include some twenty four 

 plants, a card showing name of variety, 

 number of acres grown, yield per acre, kind 

 of soil, etc. The judging should be done by 

 experts, who could give reasons for their 

 decisions. Mr. Geo. Hood, of Guelph, said 

 the Seed Fair at his town was of the greatest 

 practical use to the farmers. It gave an 

 opportunity fpr the exchange of seed grain, 

 and farmers exhibited far more with the 

 object of selling their seed grain than fo 



