288 PRINCIPLES OF RURAL ECONOMICS 



Too much must not be expected in this direction, however. 

 Any careful observer of the public markets and fairs of the Old 

 World must have been impressed by the great waste of time 

 involved in a system which requires so many people to sell a 

 given amount of produce. Among people with a low standard 

 of living, whose time is worth very little, this waste does not 

 seem to be a great burden ; but so long as American farming 

 remains prosperous and American farm wages high, it will prob- 

 ably never seem like a wise economy of energy for the pro- 

 ducers to spend their time on market days trying to sell their 

 products. When population becomes more dense and labor be- 

 comes cheaper in consequence, the wasting of labor will not 

 seem quite so unprofitable. 



Aside from their purely educational purposes, the county 

 and state fairs and other agricultural exhibitions have served 

 the purpose of facilitating the buying and selling of agricul- 

 tural specialties. This is particularly true of live stock. As a 

 matter of fact, it is this reason rather than the hope of winning 

 prizes, which induces the average farmer to place his products 

 on exhibition. 



