JSTew York State Fair 505 



of the society shows that tlie average yearly expense for ten years liad been 

 $13,018.08 and the average income, $14,511.57, the average yearly premiums 

 had been $4,572.45, and the assets had grown from .$3,771.59 to $12,910.51. 



The 1S68 fair held at Rochester was profitable. In connection witli the 

 fairs, the society had evening agricultural discussions. It held similar dis- 

 cussions at its winter meetings and collected statistics of benefit to the 

 farmers. At Elniira the next year the attendance in one day waa estimated 

 at 25,000. The fair in 1870 was held at Utica where a sum exceeding its 

 assets, at this time $20,000, was received. The premiums had grown to 

 $8,007.12. The next year, when the society went to Albany, it had several 

 e.xperts in its employ collecting material of benefit to the farmers, to say 

 nothing of its numerous voluntary essays and other contributions to agri- 

 cultural science. 



The next few years the fair was held as follows: 1872, Elmira; 1873, 

 Albany; 1874, Rochester; 1875, Elmira; 1876, Albany; 1877, Rochester. In 

 1872 a new system was adopted whereby the fair was held at certain fixed 

 points, upon permanent grounds. By authority of the legislature, Chemung 

 County bonded itself for $50,000 in 1872, with the provision that the fair be 

 held there once every three years for twelve years and as often thereafter 

 as at any other place. Of this svim, $20,500 was spent for fifty acres of 

 land and the rest given to the society for permanent buildings, upon which 

 $38,417.78 was spent that year. In 1873 the experiment of a seven days' fair 

 was tried at Albany. There was a deficit at Rochester in 1874. The society 

 had arranged with local societies in these two cities for permanent grounds. 



The fair was then held as follows: 1878, Elmira; 1879, Utica; 1880, 

 Albany; 1881, Elmira; 1882, Utica; 1883, Rochester. In 1877 the legislature 

 appropriated $10,000 to help the fair, but the governor vetoed the bill. The 

 state, however, furnished the premiums and an annual appropriation there- 

 after. In 1884, the fair was at Elmira; 1885, Albany; 1886, Utica. The 

 experiment of having a seven days' fair beginning in one week and ending in 

 another was tried successfully. In 1887 the place was Rochester; 18SS, 

 Elmira; 1889, Albany. 



After long consideration, February 25, 1889, the executive committee voted 

 to accept the oflTer of Syracuse citizens, giving the society the perpetual use 

 of one hundred acres of land (the present site). Subsequently the society 

 bought three and a half acres at $300 an acre and fifteen acres at $600 an 

 acre Here the fair was held permanently for the first time in 1890. The 

 live stock buildings were considered the most complete in the country. 

 It was the largest exhibit ever made in the state, there being 5,096 entries 

 in the catalog. Senator Chauncey M. DepeAv was the orator on this occasion. 

 The total expenditures that year were $112,620.61, of which $6,966.82 was 

 for construction, $51,865 for buildings and $10,372.38 for land and surveys. 

 The society now had 660 annual members and 123 life members. 



The fair continued to he held annually in August or September under the 

 auspices of the society, with large attendance and a huge exhibition list, 

 numbering 8,171 entries, for instance, in 1895, until 1899, when the state 

 took over the institution which it has since conducted through a commis- 

 sion. This step w.as taken because the society had encountered adversities 

 which it could not overcome. The state had made appropriations to help the 

 fair, but under its own control these have increased. 



