THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AN AGRICULTURAL FAIR. 
WHAT IS IT FOR ? WHAT SHOULD IT BE ? 
In giving - a “ report ” of the New York State Fair, 
I wish to start this thought—Is the farmer's fair in¬ 
tended for instruction or amusement? What does 
the State appropriate money for? Let’s see what 
there was to amuse and instruct at Syracuse last week. 
The exhibits were full and very complete. I could 
not find a single gambling device or a drunken man 
on the grounds. For “amusement,” however, the 
managers admitted the most remarkable lot of foolish 
and vulgar side shows I ever saw. 
Take first the educational side : What could the 
average 100-acre farmer learn at Syracuse? The dis¬ 
play of fruits, flowers and vegetables was immense. 
It overran the new building and filled two big tents; 
what did it show ? For example, take the Dibble 
Company’s great display of potatoes. There were 
over 200 varieties—grown at the New York State Ex¬ 
periment Station. Many a farmer spent an hour very 
profitably in taking notes of the different varieties 
that seemed suited to his market. Yet I can see that 
such an exhibit, without careful explanation, might 
be very misleading. For example, I asked Mr. Dibble 
what four varieties of potatoes he would select for 
general use. He said: 
•• i would not like to say without knowing some¬ 
thing about your soil and climate, the length of your 
season, tendency to drought, whether you plant on 
sod, whether you use manure or fertilizer, and sev¬ 
eral other things.” 
That is the point exactly. Potatoes, as well as 
hens or cows or sheep, are greatly influenced by the 
soil on which they grow. Some of the largest and 
finest of these potatoes might prove almost worthless 
on your soil—just as a big Short-horn cow with a 
yard of pedigree might prove a miserable failure on a 
bushy New England pasture. For example, the R. 
N.-Y. No. 2 potatoes in this collection were small and 
poor looking compared with many other varieties. 
Why was that? Chiefly because they were grown in 
a hard clay soil better suited to the others than to 
the No. 2. A farmer selecting seed simply by the 
appearance of these potatoes, might make a great 
mistake. Yet it is necessary for him to try the new 
varieties on his farm in order to know what is best 
for his soil. Among other varieties, Mr. Dibble 
showed a “ Calico ”—white with blotches of red— 
much like the one discarded by The R. N.-Y. some 
years ago. While of good quality and a fair yielder, 
this Calico was of little practical value. The market 
will not take it. 
There were magnificent specimens of all ordinary 
vegetables—from turnips to celery. Each specimen 
was undoubtedly the pick of the field. It did not 
show the average, but rather what was possible 
under the best conditions and most careful selection. 
A farmer might easily make a gi*eat mistake if he 
selected from these specimens, and then bought or¬ 
dinary seed of that variety. One thing is sure—such 
a show will give the farmer an idea of the great pos¬ 
sibilities for improvement in selecting the best speci¬ 
mens for seed purposes. 
o 
S. D. Willard’s collection of plums was a revela¬ 
tion to many who did not realize how this fruit is to 
fill our city markets some day. We shall see by and 
by what Georgia is planning in plum culture. Mr. 
Willard’s beautiful fruit taught lessons, not only in 
varieties, but in culture and the fighting of insects 
and fungi. In fact, here was a case where culture 
and care were more important than varieties. 
Geo. C. Snow had a fine collection of grapes. It 
was remarkable how they were able to secure such 
perfect specimens so early in the season. He said 
that the grape season with him was at least 10 days 
ahead of ordinary years. Here again this confusing 
question of varieties came up. While exhibiting a 
great number, Mr. Snow said that for practical pur¬ 
poses, four varieties were all he needed—Concord, 
Delaware, Catawba and Niagara. A large proportion 
of his grapes were made into unfermented grape juice. 
He called the Worden the best all-around eating 
grape in the world—yet it is nearly worthless for 
shipping. A show of this sort is the best place for a 
farmer to study the best specimens of different vari¬ 
eties, and then go on and test the best of them at 
home. Nor is that all ! “See that,” said Mr. Snow, 
holding up a beautiful Northern Spy apple. “ That 
was grown under the best possible conditions, and 
was sprayed four times.” Left to itself that apple 
would have been marred and dwarfed. Its beauty 
illustrated the value of spi-aying before the value of 
the variety. All these things should be made clear if 
a farmer is to profit by them. 
O 
The live stock buildings were crowded with the 
farmers’ four-footed friends. Here again were the 
best specimens of the different breeds for comparison, 
and it was, indeed, a wise man who could make up his 
mind what male to buy for the home herd of grade 
stock. Dairymen have great hopes yet, if we may 
judge from the display of dairy cattle. It seems to 
me that breeders realize at last that the Jerseys have 
been bred down too fine till there are too many deli¬ 
cate, nervous specimens of the breed. I am sorry to 
see a tendency to breed Guernseys on the same line. 
The judges award prizes on finer and delicate points, 
and are too likely to discredit the points that indi¬ 
cate excessive vigor and constitution. This will prove 
a great mistake if breeders mate their animals so as 
to please such judges. The' Ayrshire cattle are fine, 
hardy animals, and so are the Devons. One can well 
believe that both these breeds are needed in Ameri¬ 
can farming, especially on rough land where activ¬ 
ity in cattle is demanded. I don’t like the small teats 
on the Ayrshire, and the horns of both breeds are a 
great objection. Speaking of horns—there was a 
herd of Ilerefords at this fair that had been dis¬ 
horned. To my mind, this greatly improved the cattle 
in every way—yet I was told that the judges cut down 
their score because the horns were lacking. A breeder 
of Dutch Belted cattle said—pointing to one cow, “ I 
wouldn’t have her horns cut off for $100.” This man’s 
argument was that cows were born with horns—they 
were intended for their heads and ought to stay 
there ! If a man wants “ no horns,” there seems no 
good reason why the Red Polled or black Scotch cat¬ 
tle should not satisfy him. The Aberdeen-Angus 
cattle are perfect blocks of beef while their hides are 
very useful in making robes or coats, The Holsteius 
were very much in evidence. When the Babcock test 
first became popular, many thought the per cent of 
fat alone was to sell the better class of milk. Events 
have proved that consumers are going to demand 
health rather than fat. For my own family use, I do 
not want a very fat milk—I would rather buy cream 
by itself if need be. The llolsteins are strong, rugged 
cattle, but little given to disease. They are great 
foragers, and will not only stand forcing, but make 
the most of coarse and rough products. With straw 
and stalks, to be helped out by linseed, and cotton¬ 
seed meals I would expect to do better with llolsteins 
than with Jerseys. 
A feature of this show was a herd of the Sirnmen- 
thal cattle just imported from Switzerland. They are 
big, beefy looking animals, fawn and white in color, 
with soft, oily hides and with the marks of heavy 
milkers. These animals are to be used on the great 
Havemeyer farm in New Jersey. Thousands of dol¬ 
lars have been spent for Jerseys at this farm, but 
now I understand the best Jersey cows are to be bred 
to these big Simmenthal bulls in the expectation of 
producing a large and heavy milking grade. This 
seems to me like too violent a cross. If the Simmen¬ 
thal blood is wanted, I would think large grade Jer¬ 
sey cows would be better. 
O 
The sheep display was not so good as in former 
years. The plain lesson to New York farmers is that 
the little wrinkled Merino has passed out of profit. 
There is room yet for the larger-bodied Merino sheep 
but the little fellows are out of it. Yet, a great pro¬ 
portion of the sheep in New York State have this 
unprofitable blood in them. It is too valuable to be 
used for fertilizer for, if properly mixed with other 
blood, it will give the best foundation stock for a 
new flock. What blood shall be used? Just now the 
Shropshires seem to be in the lead, though other 
“ Down” breeds have their advocates. Sheep men 
pretty generally agree that, for early lamb raising, 
there is nothing better than a well-bred Dorset ram. 
There is no denying the fact, however, that many are 
suspicious of Dorsets, because they do not like the 
management of the Dorset Breeders’ Association. 
The bicycle and the electric car have not killed off 
the horse business—though they have injured it. Some 
beautiful horses were shown at Syracuse. There is 
said to be still a good demand for big dray horses and 
handsome animals for driving. Well matched teams 
are called for, as well as good saddle horses. Trotters 
are very cheap just now. No one seems to care to 
offer any opinion as to the future of horse breeding. 
One man was sure of old-time prices again, because 
he said that the supply of good horses is lower than 
ever. Another looked for even worse times in the trade 
when the European “ horseless” carriages become 
general here. My own opinion is that it will be risky 
to depend on the farm colt to pay the taxes during 
the next few years. 
There were tons and tons of live pork grunting for 
recognition. I stood between the Wills wood Farm 
Berkshires and E. L. Clarkson’s great Jersey Reds, 
and wondered how on earth an unprejudiced man is 
to tell what boar to buy. With Cheshires, Yorkshires, 
Essex, Chester Whites, Poland-Chinas all scrubbed 
and dressed for inspection, what carcass will you have 
your pork served in ? It all comes back to the question 
of adaptability. Each one of these breeds has some 
extra qualification—one matures earlier, another is a 
better grass feeder, another gives more lean meat, 
another gives more ham, another is an easier keeper, 
and so on. Just as with the potatoes, a breed cannot 
be selected from these prize specimens. We must go 
further and study the characteristics of the breed as 
well as the pedigree. 
O 
In spite of this excellent display of plant products, 
animals and machines, but a mere fraction of the 
25,000 people on the grounds appeared to give them 
more than a passing glance. I talked with many ex¬ 
hibitors and without exception, they were dissatisfied 
with their business, and disgusted at the way the 
crowds were drawn away from them. Where did the 
crowd go to ? As I stood meditating this point, an 
unmusical band started up and I “followed the crowd” 
to find out. We brought up before a tent covered 
with impossible pictures of half-clad women, animals 
and other objects. A hoarse-voiced man began to 
harangue us about the beauties of his show until 
more people passed inside than there were in the 
large horticultural tent in half a day. I found at 
least 30 of these shows on the place, each one enter¬ 
taining (?) a crowd larger than any exhibitor could 
gather. I would estimate that these vulgar “fakes” 
took in at least $7,500 in cash that one day. 
1 went to some of the managers of the fair and 
asked them why these things were permitted on the 
grounds. To my surprise, they defended the shows 
on the plea that they amused and entertained people 
who would not otherwise visit the fair. It was also 
said that the association is in debt and needed the 
money paid by these fakes to exhibit. They said that 
these shows were no more harmful than the cheap 
lemonade and sausages that were freely sold. On the 
strength of that, I went out and visited every question¬ 
able show on the ground to see just what they were. 
It was a little “ Parkhursting” that I don’t care to re¬ 
peat. Some of them were good—well worth the 
money. Others were only dull and ridiculous, while 
others were so vulgarly indecent that I would be 
ashamed of myself to describe them here. 
As I stood in one place, a fine looking farmer 
entered—with his wife and daughter. There was a 
look on that man’s face that said as plainly as could 
be, “ I have confidence in the men at the head of 
this fair, and believe that they have provided a good 
entertainment for us. When 1 send my boy to college, 
I believe that his teachers will give him only good. It 
ought to be the same with my wife and daughter here.” 
1 watched that man’s face as the abandoned woman 
on the stage threw herself into postures which were 
too wicked even for New York City to tolerate. I shall 
not forget the shame that forced these worthy people 
out of that tent before the miserable show was over. 
Now I do not like to see men defend such exhibi¬ 
tions, and sneer when one honestly protests against 
them. The New York State Fair managers have no 
business to invite clean, pure-hearted country people 
to their exhibition, and then put these indecent shows 
before them. As I have said, some of these shows 
were perfectly proper—they were even interesting— 
but that is all the more reason why the bad ones 
should be kept out. One more such exhibition as was 
held this year, and the New York State Fair will be 
ruined, because it will be classed as a “fake show,” 
and reputable people will keep away from it. To say 
that these shows are needed to call out the crowd and 
pay the Society’s debts, seems to me childish. Is it 
not close to an insult to the intelligent farmers of 
New York State ? If it be true, then we know how 
to increase the crowd at our farmers’institutes. Let’s 
hire “The Wild Australian Girl,” “The Half Man and 
Half Woman” and half a dozen of the poor creatures 
who make a mockery of their womanhood, and make 
their “muscle dance” a feature of the institutes so as 
to “call out a crowd.” It is just exactly as legitimate 
as it is to have them at the State Fair. I believe the 
managers made a serious mistake when they admitted 
these shows to the grounds. They probably did not 
realize what they were, and I feel confident that they 
will be quick to correct the error and keep such exhi¬ 
bitions out next year. n. w. c. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Nokman Nelson, Laney, Wis., offers choice seed potatoes cheap. 
The firm of Cornish & Co., Washington, N. J., are offering some 
special bargains in pianos and organs. Their catalogue is sent 
free. 
We are in receipt of what the manufacturer calls “ our twin 
catalogues.” They are descriptive of the Iron Age cultivators and 
the Improved Robbins Potato Planter. The twin catalogues are 
very handsomely gotten up in themselves, and describe excellent 
implements. If interested, send a postal card for them to Bate¬ 
man Manufacturing Company, Grenloch, N. J. 
That Rochester radiator is just the thing many farmers need in 
their homes, though they are not likely to appreciate its value 
until they have it in use. The sleeping room may be too cold or 
damp without heating, and it would be too hot witli a stove ; be¬ 
sides the stove takes more fuel and more work. The radiator 
comes in here. It requires no extra work when once in, and takes 
no fuel. Send to the Rochester Radiator Company, 28 Furnace 
Street, Rochester, N. Y., for description of it. 
J. M. Thoubukn & Co., 15 John Street, N. Y., issue a descriptive 
catalogue of hyacinths and tulips in great variety; arums, 
amaryllis, tuberous-rooted begonias, brodiaeas, crocus, calochor- 
tus, cyclamens, crown imperials, dahlias, freesias, gladiolus, 
grape and feathered hyacinths, irises, ixias, jonquils, lilies, 
Chinese Sacred lily, narcissus, scillas, snow-drops, and a long list 
of miscellaneous bulbs and roots. Also flower and vegetable 
seeds for frames, the greenhouse and the open ground. The cata¬ 
logue has colored illustrations of tulips, hyacinths, lilies, etc. 
