NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



373 



THE FIRST OHIO STATE FAIR-A NEW 

 ERA IN THE AGRICULTURE OF OHIO. 



Well, the State Fair -is over, and the tens of thou- 

 sands of farnici-s, mechanics, and others who a-sombled 

 at " Camp Washington," during the memorable three 

 days, to witness the triumphs of productive industry, 

 have returned to their homes, well pleased, we trust, 

 with the exhibition, and inspired with new resolu- 

 tions in favor of prui/rMs and improccment. Certain 

 we are that the heart of every true Ohioan must have 

 glowed with pride and exultation in view of what 

 was there shown as already accomplished by the in- 

 dustry and skill of his noble state, and the assurance 

 of greater things to be accomplished in the future. 



The weather was highly j^ropitious for the Pair. 

 The number of persons in attendance was very groat ; 

 fully equalling our expectations. At times, we should 

 judge, there were from twenty to thirty thousand 

 l)eople on the ground, and probably not less than 

 forty to fifty thousand entered the enclosure during 

 the exhibition. The low stage of water in the Ohio 

 River prevented thousands from attending who would 

 otherwise have been there ; and we learn that it was 

 found impossible to convey all upon the railroad who 

 wish to go by that mode from Springfield down- 

 wards. 



The amount of receipts from the sale of tickets and 

 badges, including exhibitor's fees, was about $8000 ; 

 to which may be added receipts from subscriptions 

 of citizens of Cincinnati, say $1600, and from sale of 

 lumber, &c., $liOO ; —total receipts, about $11,000. 



The beauty and fitness of the grounds, and the 

 liberal and convenient arrangements of the committee, 

 ■yvere admired and commended by all. The spectacle 

 presented to the beholder during the height of the 

 I'air was very grand and animating. The spacious 

 enclosure, with its grassy slopes and inviting shade 

 trees ; its numerous tents and booths with waving 

 flags and .streamers ; the throngs of cheerful specta- 

 tors ; the countless carriages, omnibuses and canal 

 boats, all moving and swarming with people ; the 

 prancing horses, and lines of stately cattle, the whirl 

 and clatter of machinery, and the sound of martial 

 music, — all combined to produce an effect on the 

 minds of sjiectators not easily forgotten by such as 

 never before attended an exhibition of the kind. — 

 Oltio Calticatur. 



BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL FAIRS. 



Horace Grecly, of the Xew York Tribune, in writ- 

 ing from the N. Y. State Fair, thus speaks of the 

 utility of such exhibitions : — 



"There cannot be less than two or three hundred 

 different kinds of agricultural implements on exhi- 

 bition here — horse-rakes, cultivators, straw-cutters, 

 siiljsoil and other ploughs, new beehives, horse-i)Ower 

 saws, &.C., &e. I have considered this altogether the 

 most important feature of the Fair. A great ox may 

 be reared by a greater fool ; but no man who ever 

 worked a year at farming can spend a day among the 

 implements and inventions without being stimulated 

 to think. The great end of all such exhibitions is an 

 improvement of the breed of farmers — of men. Now, 

 the man who has been t^kinrming over a hundred 

 acres of land fir the last twenty or thirty years, plough- 

 ing six inches deep, manuring with his good wishes, 

 and growing fifteen or twenty bushels of corn to the 

 acre, cannot spend a day in one of these Fair enclo- 

 sures without being startled and ashamed. These 

 iubsoil ploughs, one of which, properly used, would 

 double his product of corn and vegetables, and in dry 

 »c,asons treble it — these straw-cutters, with one of 

 which his scanty crop of hay might have been made, 

 ■«iTh the ui I oi straw, sta»ks, ii:c., to winter his stock 



bountifully — those cultivators, seed-planters, horsc- 

 rakes, and other labor-saving implements, must set 

 him thinking. 



" What sort of crop do those fiirmers obtain who use 

 such implements r Who make the most by fanning 

 — the fifteen or the fifty bushel corn-growcre ? What 

 sort of farmers is it who are able to buy hmid wh«i 

 any is for s>-.le low for cash ? What sort of farming 

 leaves land in a condition to sell advantageously r 

 These questions arise spontaneously in the- simplest 

 minds, and they can be answered. I don't believe a 

 farmer can attend three successive Fairs and not re- 

 solve to farm better thaouirh all his life ai'terwardsv" 



SUGGESTIONS FOR FARMERS, 



If you have any bean straw, do not permit it to bo 

 wasted, but feed it to your sheep. These aniirsiils 

 are remarkably fond of it, and will ])artake of it freely 

 when they refuse the best En2;lish hay, or oven grain. 

 It is sometimes passed through a chuffing machsiie, 

 and fed to them while suckling their lambs ; but I 

 consider this superfluous, as I have nc^'er yet kno^vn 

 them to refuse it even when they have been too sick 

 to partake of other food. Mouldy beans miiy bo 

 cleansed, freed from theu* disagreeable odor, and ren- 

 dered excellent feed for sheep, simply by pouring hot 

 water over them. If not very strongly tainted, they 

 may possibly be rendered fit for culinary purposes. 



I'cas that are "buggy" make an excellent feed 

 for swine. The nutritive matter contained in the pea 

 is greater, per pound, than that of any other vegeta- 

 ble, and when ground into meal, or niolhfied by .soak- 

 ing, it becomes one of the best articles for fattening 

 swine possible to be obtained. Peas v>hiuh have 

 " bugs " in them are utterly unfit for human food ; 

 and there is no disjiosing of them in the market*; so 

 that, all things considered, their appropriation in this 

 manner is the most economical that can be devised. 



Yards. — See that all your yards arc now replen- 

 ished with some substance that will absorb and retain 

 the liquid excrement voided by your animals doling 

 the fall and winter. It will subserve a double pur- 

 pose — furnish a good bed for the animals to repose 

 on before the snow falls, and during the cold, chilling 

 nights of the later autumn, and supply an excellent 

 manure for your field crops in the spring. More at- 

 tention should be accorded to this subject, and I trust 

 farmers will soon awake to fresh ai)i>iication of its 

 importance, and graduate their course accordingly. 



— Germantown Telegraph. 



A NEW AND ECONOMICAL MODE OF 

 FORCING VEGETABLES. 



It has been suggested by a foreign pajier, that the 

 waste steam of manufactories may be advantageously 

 applied to the roots of plants ; and without any ex- 

 pense for artificial heat, large (luautitics of tropical 

 fruits and vegetables may be raised at all times, bo- 

 sides such of our own as we can otherwise have in 

 perfection only during the summer months. A 

 series of common draining tile, laid within .suitable 

 distances underneath properly i)rej)arcd beds, con- 

 taining the plants, which should admit or .shut off 

 the exhausted steam by cocks, would be all that is 

 necessary for the underground arrangements. Mois- 

 ture would bo thus communicated as well as heat, 

 and a slight covering of wood, or l)rick, and glass, to 

 protect the plants from frosts or cold air, would b« 

 all that is essential to securing the most prolific 

 ■.rio\vth. — Hura! .\ctc- lorkirr. 



