39S 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
addresses of exhibitors attached to the articles of most 
interest to farmers. This forced some of the exhibitors 
to withdraw their articles from competition, in order that 
they might display theirnames. This is clone, we suppose, 
to make the judges honest. "Well— they know their men 
probably; other societies appoint as judges men they 
think they can trust. At any rate, a great part of the in- 
terest and value of the fair, both to the public and to ex- 
hibitors, is thus lost by the suppression of the names even 
of successful exhibitors. The practice is all wrong. 
The Ohio Stale Fair, held at Dayton, 
the same week, was in almost every respect a splendid 
success. It came much nearer to our ideal of a State Fair 
than anything we visited the present season. The 
grounds were so near the city that almost every one could 
walk, and most people preferred walking to the exactions 
of the hackmen, who were only half as brazen as their 
thrifty cousins of Madison. The grounds, belonging to 
the Montgomery County Agricultural Society, were ample, 
embracing forty-six acres, and were fitted up with every- 
thing needed except water, which was so poorly distrib- 
uted that multitudes suffered from thirst, and other mul- 
titudes were driven to the drinking saloons. There were 
10-1 sheep pens, 70 for swine, 209 stalls for horses, 45 for 
mules and horses, 102 for cattle, and these were nearly all 
full. The show was worthy of a great Agricultural State. 
The poultry pens were not full, and the show was not 
very good. The select breeds may not have had their 
day, but they do not make much sensation at the fairs. 
Horticultural Hall had a good display of fruit, though it 
was not so full as we had anticipated. Apples were very 
fair, what there were of them. These were mostly from the 
northern part of the State, where this fruit is quite abun- 
dant. In other parts, the crop has been injured by the 
drouth. Grapes were more abundant than any other fruit, 
and in these the fruit growers of the Lake Region bore 
off the palm. There was a good show of vegetables, and 
the potatoes, as was meet, took the front rank. L. D. Scott 
&Co., of Huron, exhibited a large number of varieties, 
and had 71 named sorts, which they offer for sale. This is 
a little too much of a good thing. We are glad to see, 
however, that our gardeners arc not content with the old 
favorites, most of which are hopelessly diseased. The 
display of agricultural implements was large, as might 
have been expected in this great State. Mowingmachines 
and reapers, horse hay rakes, plows and grain drills, cov- 
ered a large area, and men who appreciated their excel- 
lences were generally on hand to explain. Conspicuous 
among these for its perfect finish was the Champion 
mower and reaper, a self-raker, which passes the bundles 
off of the apron of any desirable size. There were several 
patterns of self-rakers upon the ground, and this is get- 
ting to he a very necessary attachment to the reaper. It 
saves greatly in labor, and is one step in the right direc- 
tion. The machine will not meet the wants of the har- 
vest field until it binds the bundles. Besides these, there 
was an almost endless variety of contrivances for aiding 
the housekeeper's work, washing machines and wringers, 
fruit dryers and clothes dryers, all very ingenious and help- 
ful to human muscles. The house will soon keep itself, 
and go by steam, if Yankee wit can accomplish it. It 
was a goodly sight to see the tens of thousands swarming 
here, and enjoying the show beneath the shade of the 
grand old trees. There could not have been less than 
fifty thousand people in attendance, and the receipts were 
over $20,000. The managers certainly know how to get 
up a fair, and we congratulate them upon their success. 
The Wisconsin State Fair was held 
at Madison, the capital of the Slate, on the 23d, 24lh, 25th, 
26th, and 27th of September. In location nothing can be 
more charming than this city, on high land between two 
crystal lakes, overlooking them both, and a wide sweep 
of territory beyond. The view from the top of the State 
University is one of the finest in the West. The fair 
grounds are just on the edge of the city, perhaps a mile 
from the center, and about the same distance from the 
depot. The omnibus drivers charged fifty cents for this 
brief distance, which we should have considered extor- 
tion, if we had been obliged to pay it ; but, being blessed 
with an excellent apparatus for locomotion, we fell hack 
upon Nature 1 s own, and went up to the show, indepen- 
dent, with mild meditations upon human nature, 
and without putting down the hackmen of Madison 
among the "extortioners and unjust," where they, no 
doubt, belong. The fair grounds were admirably arranged, 
and the stables and pens for the accommodation of horses, 
cattle, sheep, and swine, all that could he asked. The 
fair ran quite too much to horse flesh. Premiums of $100 
to $200 for fast horses, and only from $20 to §25 for cattle, 
are out of proportion. We like to see Short-horns put 
upon the same footing with Black Hawks, and swine and 
sheep fairly encouraged. Large halls were put up for the 
display of horticultural products, and for domestic goods 
and the fine arts. The show of agricultural implements 
was uncommonly good for so young a State. Among the 
best things on exhibition in this department was a hinder, 
attached to one of Marsh's reapers. It is the inveution 
of S. D. Carpenter, ofMadison, and represents five years 
of hard work to bring it to perfection. The straw is cut, 
passed up on an endless apron to the back part of the 
machine, where it falls into a hopper, and when a suffi- 
cient quantity is gathered, it is bound with a wire, and 
thrown out behind. It is a self-raker and binder, and in 
addition to this, saves in the hopper several bushels of 
seed daily, which is lost in the ordinary mode of gather- 
ing. A pound of the annealed wire, costing twenty-five 
cents, will bind about S00 bundles. As it takes about 
eight men to rake and bind after a reaper, this machine 
must save the farmer about $16 a day. If thrs machine 
works as well as it promises, it cannot fail to make a rev- 
olution in the harvest fields of the West, almost as great 
as the introduction of the reaper itself. It ought to make 
flour a good deal cheaper. The West is making rapid 
strides in the improvement of agricultural implements, 
and will soon drive the Eastern manufacturer out of its 
markets. The receipts of the fair were about $10,000, and 
were quite satisfactory to the managers. 
Tlie Michig-an State Fair was held at 
Detroit from the 10th to the 13th of October. The vicin- 
ity of a large city, and the ease of access by rail and steam, 
and the fine weather, conspired to make the attendance 
large. Had there been better facilities for reaching the 
ground from the city, the multitudes would have been 
much greater. By water, old tugs and propellers of the 
most moderate speed were emploj'ed, and by land, horse 
railroads running halfway, and omnibuses the other half. 
A little more enterprise would have put the rails up to 
the grounds, and accommodated everybody. With all 
the defects of arrangement and of material, there was a 
grand show, and the people were paid for going. The 
representation of horses eclipsed everything else upon 
the ground, and shows the continuance of the horse fever. 
There were 200 stalls for horses, and 300 animals in them 
and outside. There were only 90 for cattle, and 144 for 
sheep and swine, and many of these were empty. The 
racing was quite too prominent, and attracted the prin- 
cipal attention. Large numbers of light horses, whose 
chief excellence was speed, were exhibited, and the fast 
men had it on the track their own way. There were, 
however, some good farm and carriage horses, by whose 
legitimate use a farmer could make much more money 
than by betting. In the cattle pens, the Devons were 
well represented. Mr. Cole, of Batavia, N. Y., showed a 
herd of them, and there were about fifty in all. Mr. Cole 
took six of the prizes. There were several very fine 
Short-horn bulls, and some showed their offspring in ad- 
joining stalls, which was a very good feature. David Uhl, 
of Ypsilanti ; n. A. Pillotson, of Marshall ; T. Dinsmore, 
of Danville ; P. C. Bush, of West Jersey, were among the 
exhibitors in this department. The Michigan State Agri- 
cultural College showed a Galloway Bull, weighing 1,000 
pounds, and several other good animals. The feature of 
the cattle stalls, however, that attracted most attention, 
was a lot of eighteen fat cattle, exhibited by Wm. Smith, 
a west-end butcher of Detroit. They were gotten up for 
the occasion, and were manifestly a butcher's ideal of 
what a ripe beef ought to be. They were triumphant ani- 
mals, and we all enjoyed the sight, and Mr. Smith as 
much as any of us. They were grand to look upon, but 
we thought a little too fat to cat, considering them from 
the consumer's point of view. The same gentleman also 
made a fine show of Suffolk pigs. The Chester Whites 
were well represented, and there were specimens of the 
Essex and the Berkshire. There were many more of the 
long-wool varieties of sheep than we expected to see — 
Canada was on hand with her Cotswolds and Leicesters, 
and the show of these animals was one of the best we 
have ever met with. Even the Southdowns outnumbered 
the fine wools. We ought not, perhaps, to iufer from 
this that the fine wools are on the decline, but that mut- 
ton sheep are better appreciated. The show of agricul- 
tural implements was uncommonly good. In this depart- 
ment alone there were 473 entries. The fruit was not at 
all up to the mark, though there were some fine grapes, 
and specimens of apples and pears. We have seen a bet- 
ter show at County societies. In the hen coops there was 
abundant evidence that (he hen fever has subsided. There 
were a few good Brahmas, and these fowls seem to be at all 
the fairs the most popular of all the Asiatic importations. 
There were quite too many small shows, monkeys, cross- 
eyed puppies, fat women, and things of that sort, to suit 
the public convenience. The room was needed for some- 
thing else, and the time and money spent on mal-forma- 
tions were waited. The receipts at the gate were about 
$10,000, and from other sources, we understood, nearly 
enough would be realized to cover expenses. 
The Kentucky State Fair was held 
near Louisville, at the grounds of the Louisville and Jef- 
ferson County Association, -about three miles from the 
edge of the town. Some forty acres or more had been 
enclosed with a fence, embracing among other fixtures an 
old farm-house with its accompanying buildings. A few 
of the primitive forest trees were still left, and other fruit 
and ornamental trees adorned the grounds. A large amphi- 
theater, capable of accommodating ten thousand or more 
people, was admirably arranged for the display of horses 
and other stock. The ring was well lined with tan hark, 
and here the famous horsemen of Kentucky displayed 
their not less famous steeds. This was the chief attrac- 
tion of the fair, as might have been expected, and though 
not at all to be compared with the displays before the 
war, as we were informed, was still very fine, and well 
worth the journey of a thousand miles tosec. There was 
much less trial for speed than we had expected to see. 
The judges occupied the center of the ring, and the com- 
petitors for the premium drove or rode their horses round 
the track, under the direction of the judges, until they 
were satisfied. The object seemed to be to display the 
action and all the good points of the horse as well as his 
speed. The audience took a lively interest in the awards 
made, and announced their approbation with loud acclaim 
if they were pleased with the decision. The points of a 
good horse are so well known and appreciated in this 
State, that the audience almost invariably decided with 
the judges. We like this association of the people with 
the verdict of the judges. It is eminently fair, it fixes the 
attention, and improves the taste of the multitudes who 
come to the exhibition for the purpose of learning some- 
thing useful. We understood that the merits of the neat 
stock were decided upon in the same way, though we 
were not present on the first day of the fair, when they 
were exhibited. This confining of the show cattle to 
a single day is not a good arrangement. The majority 
who attend a fair can go only one day, and they want 
to see every department well represented. Arrangements 
should be made to keep all the animals upon the ground 
until the last day. A few good Short-horns were exhib- 
ited, but the display was not at all what the State ought 
to have afforded. There were a few good pens of Long 
and Middle Wool sheep. The show of swine was small. 
The arrangements for exhibiting them were not good. 
There was a great want of good pens, both for sheep and 
swine. The show of fruit, though small, was of superior 
quality. C. C. Cary, H. S. Duncan, and L. Young were 
prominent among the exhibitors. Thefruit of Mr. Young 
was not only very fair, but of high color,said to be secured 
by enclosing the specimens in muslin, while ripening 
upon the tree. This enhances their value for show, but 
would hardly pay for market purposes. The peaches 
were magnificent for size, and in quality superior to any 
thing grown upon the sea-board, where the excessive 
rains of the season have made all peaches deficient in 
flavor. Specimens of the White Head Heath and of the 
Grand Admirable, both clings, were about twelve inches 
in circumference. There appeared to be a considerable 
confusion in the names of the pears, but that difficulty 
time will remedy, especially if the society follows the 
very good practice of distributing standard books upon 
fruit growing forpremiums. Although the arrangements 
for reaching the fair by railroad were very good, the at- 
tendance was quite limited, showing that the State has 
not yet recovered from the effects of the war. There were 
probably not more than five thousand people present on 
the best day of the fair. But these were Kentuckians, 
fine specimens of men and women, that would have made 
any fair a success. When the next one comes off, may 
we be there to see. 
Nijni-Novgorod Fair— Moscow— General 
Notes about Russia. 
[Our readers will doubtless he interested in the follow- 
ing extracts from Mr. Judd's home letters, the first dated 
at Nijni-Novgorod, August 24th. This place is on the 
Volga River, near the eastern boundary of JEurope, in lati- 
tude 56° north, and longitude 4-1° east of Greenwich, or 
11S° cast of New York.] 
"If Americans generally knew how easily and 
cheaply one can travel, more of them would visit the Old 
World. The money that many families expend on ext~a 
carriages, furniture, and dress, during a year or two, for 
mere show, would pay the expenses of a trip across the 
Atlantic, and a considerable distance into the continent. 
If many of those who do come knew how comfortable 
and convenient are the traveling facilities, they would 
not stop merely at London, Paris, and Switzerland, but 
would strike farther cast, and get a glimpse of the Orien- 
tal people and customs. I am now nearly seven hundred 
miles east-southeast of St. Petersburg, and have with me a 
lady, and children of S, 11, and 13 years of age, and we have 
come the lastTOOmiles with just as much ease as in travel- 
ing the same distance anywhere in America, and with bet- 
ter facilities for obtaining good food at the rail-road sta- 
tions than we should find there Here we see a cendens- 
