344: 



THE ILLINOIS Fi^RlSIEIl. 



SPRINGFIELD, OCTOBER 1, 1859, 



""-'■ The State Fair. 



The State Fair was held at Frecport 

 m the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th of Sep- 

 tember, ult. It was a successful fair — 

 it was emphatically a Farmer's and 

 Mechanic's Fair. Other industrial in- 

 terests were well represented, but those 

 named were largely in the ascendant. 

 The list of premiums awarded has been 

 already given in most of the papers. 

 In pamphlet form, it will be sent to ev- 

 ery individual to whom a premium was 

 awarded. 



We have said that the fair was a suc- 

 cess. There were at Freeport the finest 

 herds of cattle to be found any where 

 in the United States. Central Illinois 

 carried off" a large portion of the premi- 

 ums. The herds of J. N. Brown and J. 

 D. Smith of Sangamon county; of S. 

 Dunlap and J. P. Henderson, of Mor- 

 gan county ; J. H. Speer and J. C. Bone, 

 of Menard county, and J. M, Hill, of 

 Cass county, (counties around us) were 

 conspicuous. There were other fine 

 cattle present. In the Horse Depart- 

 ment there were many entries and some 

 fine horses. The Sheep Department 

 was well-filled. A larger number of 

 Hogs were present than at any former 

 exhibition. Of Poultry, there were 

 many varieties, but we saw nothing in 

 this class that was extraordinary. In 

 the Department of Farm Products there 

 were many noble speciilaens of Vegeta- 

 bles, Corn and Wheat. The wheat was 

 the finest we have seen. Many speci- 

 mens of farm products, came from 

 Egypt. In fact "Egypt" was nobly 

 represented. The articles from thence 

 in the various departments were conspic- 

 uous features of the Pair. The Butter 

 and Cheese in this Department showed 

 that there was no other necessity of go- 

 ing out of the State for these articles 

 than arises from the neglect of our farm- 

 ers to improve the advantages oflfered by 

 our State to prosecute the business of 

 the Dairy. The Horticultural Depart- 

 ment was most nobly got up and sus- 

 tained. We never noticed a more 

 beautiful and extensive arbor than was 

 arranged by the Superintendent of this 

 Department. The very large hall was 

 dressed with evergreens and flowers most 



artistically. The Central Pyramid of 

 Pot Plants, in flower, was most beautiful 

 — the contribution of the President. Cut 

 flowers were everywhere; and a finer 

 collection of fruit than we supposed 

 could be gathered in this State the pres- 

 ent year. The Department of Mechan- 

 ical Articles, which included machinery 

 of every kind, and embracing Agricul- 

 tural Implements, was more extensive 

 than was ever witnessed at a previous 

 fair. It was a wonderful collection, 

 evincing in the most striking manner 

 the enterprise and genius of our coun- 

 trymen, applied for the benefit of the 

 laboring masses. In the Hall for Tex- 

 tile Fabrics, there was a good show. 

 The articles were arranged in the best 

 manner, and there were many beautiful 

 specimens of the handiwork of our fair 

 countrywomen. There was a fair 6ollec- 

 tion of Paintings and other 'articles in 

 the Art Hall. The Plowing Match was 

 an exciting one. Good plowing was 

 done. In this contest the successful 

 competitor may well be proud. 



Fawkes' Steam Plow was on hand, as 

 also the Steam Digger of Glover & Van 

 Doren, from Chicago. The steam plow 

 was a conspicuous object, and it moved 

 about the grounds in the style and dig- 

 nity of a mammoth — plowing at times, 

 and at others, using its power to move 

 machinery. On Saturday, fixed for a 

 final trial, some of the machinery failed, 

 and the trial was continued at Chicago. 



In the evenings of the fair, interesting 

 discussions were held in the Society's 

 large tent, which were well attended. 

 These were a feature of the fair. 



The Camping Grounds were another 

 distinguishing feature of the Freeport 

 Fair. They lay between the Fair 

 Grounds and the city. It is said that 

 more than 2,000 people were encamped 

 upon these grounds. The great tents 

 from Winnebago and Carroll counties 

 were there. There were numerous other 

 fine convenient tents. The Winnebago 

 tent is a long and high one, capable of 

 accommodating four hundred persons. 

 The Carroll county tent is circular, and 

 when we visited it was well inhabited, 

 in groups, by farmers and farmers' 

 wives and children, from Carroll county. 

 It presented an interesting and pleasant 

 scene, which we shall not soon forget. 

 Why should not every county Agricul- 



tural Society have its great tent for such 

 occasions ? 



When we recollect our late disastrous 

 seasons, and the present dry and frosty 

 summer and fall in the north, and the 

 general pecuniary distress among our 

 farmers, we may well rejoice in the suc- 

 cess of the Great Northwestern State 

 Fair. ^ i 



We can only thus give a general notice 

 of the fair from general observation, 

 obtainedjin some brief moments, when 

 other duties did not press upon the at- 

 tention of the writer. We were grati- 

 fied with the success of the fair ; with 

 the acquaintances we made in the north- 

 west section of the State; with the 

 marked moral character of the great 

 gathering of the people ; and with the 

 courteous, hospitable and generous 

 treatment accorded not only to the 

 masses gathered at Freeport, but to the 

 officers of the State Agricultural Socie- 

 ty, by the citizens of Freeport. The 

 committee, representing its citizens, in 

 their intercourse with the officers of the 

 society, acted with a promptness and 

 liberality that will ever command our 

 respect. 



-••.- 



The United States' Fair. 



We made a few brief visits to the fair 

 grounds of the United States* Fair. We 

 saw there most of the stock that was at 

 Freeport, and some considerable addi- 

 tions. The Mechanical Department, 

 embracing agricultural implements, was 

 very extensive. Indeed, all the Depart- 

 ments were well filled. The fair was a 

 decided success. Vast numbers of peo- 

 ple were present. The city population 

 were there, and the cars from every sec- 

 tion brought immense numbers of visi- 

 tors. The crowd, indeed, was so great 

 that it was difficult to examine the arti- 

 cles exhibition. 



As at Freepoi-t, the Durham stock of 

 Central Illinois came in for a large por- 

 tion of the premiums. And the same 

 herds that were conspicuous at Freeport, 

 held their position at the Chicago Fair. 

 We do not marvel that the stock of J. 

 N. Brown, Esq. is destined for the St. 

 Louis Fair. This herd, ranking among 

 the best of which our country can boast, 



will be among the conquerors there. 

 .•* 



Potatoes are now worth 40 cents per 

 bushel in this market. At that price 

 this is a paying crop. 



X. 



