1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



693 



ing plenty of springs and artesian wells and 

 watering-places along the roadside to slake 

 the thirst of multitudes of thirsty people ? 

 Dear reader, have you done all you can do in 

 providing the world with plenty of good, pure, 

 cool " living water " ? 



IS3 



NOTES Of TRAVEL 



* BY A. I. ROOT . 



ygEg^L-^a^r^ 



THE OHIO STATE FAIR. 



I am heginning to regard it as a duty to 

 make at least a brief visit to our Ohio State 

 Fair, especially as, in my special correspond- 

 ence, so many questions are being asked in 

 regard to various kinds of farm machinery. 

 Almost every day somebody is asking me 

 about tools for doing all kinds of work on the 

 farm; and by visiting the fair, and looking 

 over the implements, I am better prepared to 

 answer intelligently all such questions. 



Our recent Ohio State Fair had the largest 

 and finest exhibit of farm machinery I ever 

 saw before in my life. Another pleasant 

 thing about these exhibits is that each ma- 

 chine was, as a rule, shown and exhibited by 

 its inventor, and one full of enthusiasm over 

 the capabilities of the child of his own brain. 

 It really was a treat to me to see these men 

 make their own machines show off their capa- 

 bilities and excellencies. 



For the first time in my life I saw what I 

 should call a successful corn-husker. The 

 ears were neatly trimmed of every bit of husk 

 and silk, and piled up in a heap, while the 

 stalks and husks were shredded up just right 

 for fodder, and piled in another heap. 



There were windmills and pumps, without 

 number. The little spray-pump that has met 

 with so much favor was exhibited in a multi- 

 tude of forms for every possible purpose ; 

 fences, gates, and building material of every 

 description — material for making roads, and 

 machines for crushing stone. Why, I really 

 felt proud of our State of Ohio ; yes, and I 

 felt proud of humanity when I looked over 

 that busy scene with its forest of machinery, 

 and its hum and clatter and enterprise. I felt 

 glad, also, to note that there did not seem to 

 be any intoxicating liquors sold on the 

 grounds nor outside around the grounds. The 

 exhibit of fruits, vegetables, and last, but not 

 least, of nice honey, was also creditable to 

 our State. But there did not seem to be the 

 wideawake enthusiasm anywhere on the 

 grounds such as we saw among the machinery 

 men and the manufacturers. 



As there was to be a display of fireworks in 

 the evening, and a mock battle concluding 

 with a bombardment, Huber and I decided to 

 stay until next day. As we were pretty well 

 tired out with running about so much we de- 

 cided to take a seat in the grand stand, even 

 if it did cost 25 cts. each, so we could rest dur- 

 ing the fireworks. A new grand stand has 

 just been erected, which somebody told me 



would seat comfortably ten thousand people. 

 It did not seem to me possible that there were 

 ten thousand people willing to pay 25 cts. 

 each for a seat ; but before the ticket-offices 

 were open (for there were several of them) 

 there was a perfect jam about the windows. 

 Not only men, but women and children 

 seemed almost frantic to get up to the office 

 and get a ticket. After they secured their 

 tickets the entrances were blocked even w 7 orse, 

 and the crowd surged against the turn-stiles 

 with such vehemence that three policemen 

 were called near our own entrance to drive 

 the crowd back. For the first time in my life 

 a policeman brandished a club over my head, 

 and threatened to strike me if I did not stand 

 back. I looked up smilingly, and said, 

 "How can a little man like me stand back 

 with all this surging crowd of great burly men 

 behind him? " He looked hack over the sea 

 of faces, and evidently dtcided I had got it 

 about right. But the people away back were 

 not afraid of the club, which could not reach 

 them, and so the}' kept on pushing and crowd- 

 ing. Well, the ten thousand seats were all 

 filled, and a thousand or more people were 

 driven by the police out of the grand stand, 

 and down on the grass by the race-track. 

 They had all paid their 25 cts. each for a seat; 

 but they simply got a place inside of the in- 

 closure, right on the ground, not a whit better 

 than the crowd occupied on the right and on 

 the left, that had not paid a cent. Further- 

 more, said crowd on the right and left, before 

 the fireworks began, tore away the fence, and 

 surged around in front of those who had paid, 

 so they were really worse off than those who 

 had not paid any thing. Now, there is some- 

 thing very' unfair about this. I do not exact- 

 ly know what the remedy is, either. A suffi- 

 cient number of policemen might, perhaps, 

 have made this mob of thousands get back 

 where they belonged ; but in order to do it 

 there would have been a row, and the enter- 

 tainment would, perhaps, have been broken 

 up. The whole trouble seems to be, that just 

 at the present time excursions, shows, and 

 exhibitions of almost every kind seem to be 

 on a boom. Everybody has work, therefore 

 everybody has money ; and the general tend- 

 ency seems to be to use this money to rush in 

 mad crowds into every thing, and wherever 

 people are invited to go. Instead of saving 

 up this money for a probable "rainy day," 

 Young America — yes, and Old America too — 

 seems to be determined to get rid of it as fast 

 as possible. 



"Well, Bro. Root, this is a very good ser- 

 mon of yours ; but how does it come that you 

 too were in the crowd? Yes, and you took 

 Huber along besides." Yes, I was in the 

 crowd ; but I do not believe I shall go next 

 time. I do not know how many thousands of 

 dollars' worth were burned up in those fire- 

 works ; but I do know that the people paid 

 some three or four thousand dollars to get into 

 that grand stand to see the fireworks. Now, 

 burning up money in fireworks is not by any 

 means the worst thing that can be done with 

 it ; but yet while the people of Porto Rico are 

 starving, and we are admonished again and 



