CHAPTER VI. 



JUDGING AND SELECTION FOR EXHIBITION. 



Send forth the best ye breed. 



— Kipling. 



193. The Object of Exhibiting at Agricultural Shows. — The chap. 

 agricultural show does not exist solely nor primarily for the VI ' 

 purpose of winning and awarding prizes. Unfortunately there 

 are too many people who exhibit merely for the sake of prize- 

 winning, having in view either the value of the prize itself, 

 or the advertising of their seeds and other farm products. 

 Those who take all the prizes year after year discourage others 

 who have not equal facilities for preparing special exhibits, 

 but whose work is, nevertheless, worthy of a prize ; therefore 

 the number of prizes which can be drawn by any one ex- 

 hibitor in any section should be limited. 



The main object of the agricultural show should be educa- 

 tional : the farmer should be able to learn from the exhibits 



(1) the need for, and the means of, improving his own crops, 



(2) the relative merits of new breeds, and (3) where to obtain 

 good seed. He may not realize the need for improving his 

 methods and seed until he sees that other farmers' results are 

 better than his own, and an agricultural show should be the 

 best place for him to see this. 



We agree with the American writer who says that exhibits 

 arranged with respect to the ready comparison of typical 

 samples of different breeds, offer one of the most effective 

 methods of diffusing knowledge with regard to the character- 

 istics of different breeds. 



The main points enumerated in this chapter are already 

 familiar to maize judges of experience, but are given here for 

 reference. Owing to the short time usually allotted to judg- 

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