220 New Yoek at the Woeld's Columbian Exposition. 



The means employed for securing exhibits were various. Individuals 

 whose crops of products were known to have special value were 

 addressed by letter, the officers of the county agricultural societies 

 were asked to co-operate, and many of the prize exhibits at the county 

 fairs were secured, while Col. Bowen personally visited many of the 

 most important districts of the State. All the exhibits obtained were 

 forwarded by express to a commodious warehouse in the city of 

 Rochester, where each was carefully inspected, and such as had no 

 special merit were returned to their senders, while all that _ were 

 approved were thoroughly cleaned and fitted for exhibition. This was 

 a laborious matter, requiring much skill and special care accurately to 

 preserve identity and to prevent any mixing. This work was satisfac- 

 torily done by Col. Bowen and his assistants. 



In collecting exhibits it was deemed of great importance to obtain 

 every item of information concerning each that any intelligent investi- 

 gator could desire. A mere display is of very little consequence. The 

 educational value of an exhibit mainly determines its importance. 

 With this object in view it was ascertained, often with great labor, the 

 kind and character of soil upon which the crops' were grown, the date of 

 planting, the method of cultivation, date of harvesting and yield per 

 acre, with the weight per bushel, together with the elevation of the 

 locality, the average annual temperature, the average rain-fall, the 

 average snow-fall, and whether the crop was produced by irrigation. 

 The secretary of the bureau worked out much of the meteorological 

 information from the voluminous reports made to State institutions 

 and to the general government. 



In preparing for the display of the exhibits at the Exposition it was 

 considered of the first importance to so present every exhibit that its 

 individual merits could be readily seen and thoroughly examined. The 

 temptation of seeking for massed effects was avoided and show-cases of 

 original design were constructed of polished oak and clear glass, while 

 the grains were shown in boxes with plate glass sides so as to let each 

 kernel and berry be seen in its true proportions without the distortion 

 invariably produced by glass in bottles or in any tubular form. These 

 cases and boxes proved to be most satisfactory for the purposes desired. 



The collected exhibit of grains, grasses and grass seeds was sent to 

 Chicago in one shipment from Rochester by the middle of March, 

 1893. The show-cases were speedily put in place and the exhibits 

 installed as rapidly as was consistent with accuracy and careful classifi- 

 cation. The work was completed and the whole display ready for 

 inspection by May first, the date announced for the opening of the Expo- 

 sition. It is believed that this was the only State or National exhibit 

 in the Agricultural Building that was in perfect order by the appointed 

 time. 



In addition to the wide range of exhibits in grain, grass seeds, field 

 peas and beans, it is proper to make special mention of a very com- 

 plete and valuable collection of the grasses of the State, admirably- 

 prepared by Daniel Batcheler of Utica. Besides the specimens of 

 grass in suitable bunches, the seed of each variety was shown attached 

 to white card-board by transparent glue, furnishing every facility for 



