PROCEEDINGS. 65 



Your Superintendent has only one suggestion to make regarding the judges, 

 and that is, the Superintendent of this departm<-nt should in the future have the 

 selection of the expert judge, with the concurrence of the President, and the selec- 

 tion should not be left to the different members of the Board. It makes no differ- 

 ence wheye the judge comes from, but he should be an eipert in the full meaning of 

 the term, or the practice of using single judges will certainly fall into disfavor. 

 The expert system has been perfectly satisfactory in every case where the judge 

 has been an expert. If he is a novice in the business no one is satisfied. 



Where the responsibility is placed on the Superintendent, he is naturally very 

 desirous that the best of satisfaction should be given, ^and he will scan the individ- 

 ual closely, and, unless thoroughly qualified, he will not be appointed. Not so 

 where the members of the Board are directed by the President to select judges for 

 diferent breeds of cattle, and where he is practically limited to a person residing 

 in his district. The selection of the judge requires an acquaintance not only with 

 the party to do the judging, but it especially requires that the person making the 

 selection shall huve some acquaintance (and the more the better) with the difiVrent 

 breeds of cattle to be judged. It is respectfully suggested to this Board that the 

 Superintendent of t^e Cattle Department should always be some one fully acquaint- 

 ed with the difTerent breeds of cattle, and that upon him should be placed the 

 responsibility of selecting honest, capable and determined judges. And it is 

 equally important that the Superintendent should have the privilege of bringing 

 judges from a distance, if necessary ; and to that end an allowance should be made 

 for the time and the expenses of the judges. To have your liberal premiums 

 awarded by incompetent judges is merely a farce, and brings the Association into 

 disrepute, and discourages the showing of the best stock. In the sweepstakes rings 

 for herds of beef cattle, we had nine herds of very superior cattle. The judges 

 were all men of experience, and had the will to tie the ribbons where their honest 

 judgment dictated. And while we were pleased that Indiana should have carried 

 off the first and second premiums, the judges themselves were greatly surprised 

 when they learned that both herds were owned by the same exhibitor. They only 

 knew the ownership of two of the herds in the ring, and neither award went to 

 these herds. 



Your Superintendent would call attention especially to the services of the ex- 

 pert in the Jersey rings, Mr. Pennington, of New Jersey. The different classes to 

 be judged were well filled and the competition sharp, yet he patiently examined 

 each animal, and his award carried conviction to all observers. 



For another year additional stall room must be provided in order to induce 

 exhibitors to attend your fair. Some of the cattle were kept out of doors and 

 without shelter for thirty-six hours after arrival, and were shown in the ring be- 

 fore they had been under cover. 



The manner of setting apart stalls was quite faulty, and in one case the cattle 

 of one exhibitor were scattered in three different places on the grounds. 



There should be some arrangement made for a ring where cattle can be shown. 

 The ring should be of ample size to accommodate all the cattle. At the last fair 

 it was a source of great annoyance to owners and judges that we had no adequate 



5 — AORICtTLTlTRE. 



