256 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[JtJLY, 
A CALIFORNIA HORSE 
OOPVKIUnT SECURED.] 
MARKET . — DRAWN FROM Life BY E. JuitP. — Engraved /or the American Agriculturist. 
of drawing a crowd, and would have our Agri- 
cultural Societies, who receive aid from the 
State, forced to keep the associations of the 
race-course entirely away from their grounds. 
The N. Y. State Society never has had trotting 
races, shows, games, or anything of the kind at 
their fairs, which have been so uniformly credit- 
able and successful. So far as possible, it has 
encouraged tilings purely agricultural, and few 
others. Mr. F. would draw the lines still 
closer, especially in regard to those articles 
upon which the decision of the Society could 
not be taken as authoritative. Steam engines 
for general use, sewing machines, and musical 
instruments, fall within this catalogue, and while 
the makers and proprietors of them should be 
induced to exhibit them, he would have no 
premiums offered. All who are familiar with 
the working of our great agricultural fairs 
know that officers and clerks are worked almost 
to death for a day or two, before and after the 
opening, in taking entries, classifying them, 
making out the judges' books, and preparing for 
and receiving the stock and articles. The judges 
cannot act before the second or third day, and 
in many cases the show is not full until that 
time. Everybody tries to attend on the third 
day, and on the contingencies of the weather 
and the ability of the railroads to carry the peo- 
ple depends the success of the show. All this 
Mr. Faile would remedy by simply requiring 
all entries to be made and the books to be closed 
some time previously. He proposes to print a 
complete catalogue of everything entered, giv- 
ing as full details as possible, and have it for 
sale the first day, and have the judges do their 
work and be ready to declare the awards be- 
fore the fair is opened. This would cause all 
the days to possess an equal interest. Thursday 
would no longer be the great day, to the dis- 
comfort of all and the disappointment of many 
who, on account of the crowd, see half the 
show. The business of four days would not 
be crowded into one, and the Society, the ho- 
tels, the railroads, would at the same time be 
greatly, relieved, and much better patronized. 
We heartily second all Sir. Faile's efforts to se- 
cure greater efficiency in the management of 
the Agricultural Societies of the country for the 
objects for which they were established. These 
are not money-making, horse-racing, and the 
political advancement of their officers, but the 
diffusion among the people of useful know- 
ledge upon matters pertaining to agriculture. 
A California Horse Market. 
" The artist has, in the above picture, given us 
a scene which will be readily recognized by 
those who visited California in its early days. 
The Mexican ways of managing horses were 
followed for a long time after the Americans 
came into the country. AVith all their rough- 
ness and cruelty, the Mexicans had some good 
things about their horse management and equip- 
ment, and these were adopted by the Ameri- 
cans. The lasso was found to be useful, and 
the manner of throwing it was quickly learned, 
and the Mexican saddle, somewhat modified, 
is the perfection of saddles. The half-wild 
horses and mules are kept at night in a strong 
"corral," an enclosure formed by a strong 
stockade of timber. When an animal is desired 
for use or for sale, the herd is driven into the 
enclosure, aud the designated one selected by 
the unerring aim of the " Tioiiibre" with the lasso. 
The writer has witnessed such a scene many 
times; the picturesque costumes, the strange 
looking horse gear, the skill displayed in the 
use of the lasso, the rushing of the affrighted 
herd, aud the struggles of the captured animal, 
all combine to make it one of great interest. 
