OCT. 48 
677 
THE RURal NEW-YORKER. 
industrial -Storiettes, 
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR. 
[Special Correspondence.] 
Springfield, III., Oct. 11. 
This fair opened at Springfield on Sept. 29, and 
closed on Friday. October 3d. Tbe total number 
of entries In all the Departments, was 12,840, this 
being several thousand more than at any previous 
exhibition under the auspices of the Society. 
Lack of Preparation. 
The weather throughout the week was extremely 
warm, and a brisk breeze swept clouds of dust 
from the parched earth, adding to the discomfort 
of a burning sun. Fair-goers, however, can stand 
anything but rain and mud; so they took In their 
allotted •* peck of dirt. ” and went Smilingly on with 
their work and their sight-seeing. Monday, Tues¬ 
day and Wednesday were discouraging days to 
exhibitors. A committee of Springfield citizens 
last winter gave bonds to the State Board of Agri¬ 
culture for the performance of a contract to erect 
buildings, pens and stalls, for the different depart¬ 
ments; to furnish adequate power for the running 
of machinery and so on, agreeing to have every¬ 
thing In readiness by the opening day. They 
wretchedly failed to carry out the contract. Ex¬ 
hibitors came here with the material to make one 
of the finest exhibits ever seen In the country. 
They might almost as well have landed on an open 
prairie The buildings were nearly all too small; 
the new ones were Incomplete; hundreds of addi¬ 
tional pens and stalls were needed for the accom¬ 
modation of live stock; boxes of poultry lay scat¬ 
tered about Poultry Hall, without coops for their 
display; the shafting for machinery designed to 
be shown In motion, was not In readiness, and 
when, on Wednesday, attachments to power were 
made, the power was totally Inadequate. Ma¬ 
chines that had been transported hundreds of 
miles, at great expense, were rendered almost use¬ 
less for the purposes for which they had been sent, 
A mutiny seemed imminent, and loud protests 
went up to the Board at their evening sessions, 
and It is not unlikely that snlts will be brought 
against the Board for the recovery of money use¬ 
lessly spent In making what would otherwise have 
proved most valuable exhibits. The Board 
threaten the local committee with litigation. 
Whatever may be the outcome of this talk. It Is 
certainly a fact that great damage has resulted to 
the prospects of the fair here next year. With the 
office ot secretary m this city and the Board Com¬ 
mittee on Grounds, In frequent sessions here be¬ 
fore the falr.;U seems a little strange that matters 
were allowed to drag on In this way. There are 
people who Intimate that less attention paid to 
presidential receptions and more to preparations 
for exhibitors would ;have bettered things 
materially. The presence of President Hayes 
and party probably added a trifle to the gate 
receipts; but not very largely, as the to¬ 
tal receipts for the week were below those 
of a number of previous fairs, nowever. If the 
final result is what a great many predict that It 
will he viz: a vote by the Board to locate the fair 
permanently at some central point, or to open 
three separate fair grounds In the State—one 
northern, one central and one southern—the an¬ 
noyance here will not be regretted. 
Horse Exhibits 
In many respects the horse show was the most 
remarkable ever made In the State or In the West. 
The entries footed up a trifle over i,400. There 
were 60 In the thoroughbred lot; 178 roadsters; 185 
all-work; 46 Imported draft horses; 103 home-bred 
draft: 211 agricultural-purpose horses; 35 carriage; 
57 driving teams; 21 saddle horses; the balance 
being made up of the different sweepstakes lots 
Illinois has more Norman-Fercherou horses than 
any other State. L. Dillon & Co., of McLean Co., 
began the Importation ot these horses more than 
twenty years ago and they have continued the 
business of importing and breeding them to this 
time. Mr. Dunhatu, ot DuPage Co., has done a 
great work In this line. Others too have become 
worthy competitors until we have hundreds of 
specimens as fine as can he found In France. The 
Clydesdales are not behind them In the estimation 
of many men. Their number Is less, but among 
them are some of the finest specimens of the breed 
in the world. The premium for the best draff team 
was given to a pair of Clydes owned by the Canada 
West Breeding Association, and the 2d to Dillon & 
Co., on a fine span ot Percherons. Moffatt Bros. 
Paw Paw Grove, 111., took a large share of tire 
premiums in this class on their most excellent 
F ench horses. A. &. 8. PtckreU, Mechanlcsburgh, 
were also prominent exhibitors In this class. Tbe 
thoroughbred horse Is not as largely bred here as 
In Kentucky; but the blood tells In the general 
all-purpose horses of the state. The exhibits of 
horses Indicated careful and intelligent breeding 
and were convincing evidence of the steady Im¬ 
provement that has been going on for many years 
until the general average of horses In Illinois Is 
better than In any other Western SOite. No finer 
rings were ever shown In the West than delighted 
the crowded amphitheatre at Springfield. The 
Board of Agriculture some years ago decided to 
leave out the Agricultural “ boss trot," and, as a 
result, the fast element In man that ts the Invari¬ 
able accompaniment to the fast horse, did not ap¬ 
pear here. The horse premiums went directly 
where they should go, Into the pockets of men who 
breed for userul rather than for sporting purposes. 
If the Board continue firm tuthis attempt to purify 
Its fairs by keeping out the JockeyB and their dls- 
reptuable hangers-on, the fairs will steadily In¬ 
crease In popularity and in the accomplishment of 
good work. Exhibitors of machinery, of fruits and 
farm products, of specimens of fine arts, and of 
live stock, all testify to the high order of visitors 
at this fair. They pay marked tribute to their In¬ 
telligence and the Bptrlt of candid Inquiry that was 
everywhere manifest, and they Justly attributed 
the past change to the absence of the trotting horse. 
Cattle Exhibits. 
The chief feature of the cattle department was 
the fine display of the milch breeds. The Jerseys 
took the lead with 166 entiles, and among them 
as fine aMmals as the country affords. Samuel 
Stratton, of Montgomery Co., and Churchman and | 
Jackson of Indiana, showed the largest num¬ 
ber and took the largest amount of premiums, 
though the smaller exhibitors had very choice 
animals. The Holscetns contributed 82 entries and 
were admirable specimens. They were mostly 
from the dairy regions at the north part of the 
State where they are rapidly gaining In popu¬ 
larity, their admirable combination of milking and 
beef qualities suiting those enterprising dairymen. 
Several premiums were awarded to the fine im¬ 
ported Holstelns owned by Paul Rothbarth, of 
Chicago. The Ayrshires were more numerous 
than ever before at an Illinois fair. The Devon 
herd of Mr. Ross, of Fulton, has few equals In any 
State and undoubtedly stands at the head of the 
Western herds. His strongest competitor was 
David Whitmore, of Miami Co. 0. The Herefords 
were there in full force. T. L. Miller, of Will Co., 
and Mr. Culbertson, of Cook Co., were chief among 
the exhibitors In this class. This breed Is develop¬ 
ing strongly in this State. Mr. Culbertson's late 
Importation of some of the finest animals to be 
found In England, adds much to the position 
of the Herefords In the ling contests with Short¬ 
horns. It 1s generally conceded that this was the 
finest Hereford show ever made In the United 
States. The Shorthorns were less numerous than 
was anticipated. Just why this falllng-off Is 
something of a mystery to the public. We had 
but two herds here. They were owned by Samuel 
Praltero and by J. n. Potts & Sons, of Central 
Illinois, and were as fine herds as the State can 
produce. 
The Swine Exhibits. 
were large and excellent. The Poland-Chlnas and 
the Berkshlres were about equal as to number. 
The Chester Whites were more numerous than 
I have known them for the past three or four 
years. The Duroc, or Jersey Reds exhibited by a 
Pennsylvania breeder, attracted much attention 
and will he bred In the West to a considerable 
extent at no distant day. The small breeds are not 
gaining very rapidly In the corn regions. 
The Sheep Exhibits 
were of very high character though not as large 
as at some former shows. There w ere four ex¬ 
hibitions of Merinos; two of Shropshires and two 
of Barupshlres; four of South Downs and half a 
dozen of Cotswolds and Lelcesters. 
Both the Swine Breeders’ and Sheep Breeders’ 
Associations held evening meetings on the ground, 
at which International papers were read. Both 
Interests exhibited a healthful energy. 
The Poultry Exhibits 
at Illinois fairs have usually been very mediocre, 
but on this occasion the collection was uncom¬ 
monly large and of most excellent and varied 
character. In Brahmas. Light and Dark, Cochins 
and Games, the show was very superior; while In 
all the other popular breeds competition was 
lively. 
The Fruit Exhibit 
was. of course, very largely made up of apples, 
t hough the display of grapes was good. The Warsaw 
Horticultural Society sent some valuable contribu¬ 
tions, as did many of our most prominent orchard- 
lst3 and nurserymen. In all respects this exhibit 
was much finer than last year’s. In plants and 
flowers I noticed little change from the usual dis¬ 
play. This feature Is an attractive one, and adds 
especially to the pleasure ot the ladles. 
The Dairy Exhibit 
was meagre, far more so than should have been 
the case In thl3 state, where the dairy Interest is 
of such magnitude. It Is to he hoped that the 
show at Chicago soon will he more creditable, as 
no doubt It will he. 
The Agricultural .Machinery Department 
was simply Immense, and it was varied beyond 
any precedent within the state, But the space 
for it was limited and Its arrangement far from 
satisfactory to either managers or exhibitors. 
Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri and 
other States contributed ot their best. Nexr to 
St. Louts, manufacturers delight In exhlbll^ig to 
an Illinois crowd So far as they were concerned j 
they would have made this the most satisfactory 
machinery exhibit of the season As It was, the 
people enjoyed it greatly and they ordered largely 
of every class of machinery. Here are grouped to¬ 
gether a few special mentions of prominent ex. 
hlblts In this department. Messrs. John Deere & 
Co., of Moline, HI., made a magnificent display of 
sulky and hand plows, walking and tiding culti¬ 
vators, etc., In their building on the grounds. 
Messrs. Deere <fc Co. have the largest plow works In 
the country, and have made and sold over iso.ooo 
Implements In one year. The central point of their 
exhibit was the handsome Gilpin Sulky plow that 
was sent over to the Paris Exposition last year. 
This plow, which we noticed at the time, is one of 
the finest pieces of mechanism ever turned out in 
this country. The “Gilpin” went Into the field trial 
at Paris, and was awarded the grand prize [a 
Sevres vase, valued at one thousand francs] over 
fifty competitors. Another prominent feature of 
the exhibit was their new Deere walking culti¬ 
vator. The new features In this Implement are :— 
an Improved coupling, which admits of the shovel 
gang being adjusted to the exact width desired, 
also readily changing the hlght of ends of beams, 
thus altering pitch of shovels for depth, and, 
having long bearings both ways, this gives great 
steadiness and effect to side motion; and a spring 
which does not lose Its tension or sustaining rorce 
until the gangs are hung up, assisting In all the 
operation; a spring which ts made to carry Just as 
little of the weight ot the gangs as Is desired, by 
simply hooking the chain In different links, mak¬ 
ing the side movement for dodging crooked rows 
and hanging up the shovel3 mere ehii&’s piny; 
transferring the weight of gangs and of the pole 
to the wheel; decreasing the wear on bottoms of 
shovels, and lessening the draft. 
In connection with the new departure In dairy¬ 
ing, or the Palrlamb system of making butter by 
collecting cream from dairies, instead of the milk, 
the cans for raising tbe cream and transporting 
the same were on exhibition by Davts <t Fatrlamb, 
manufacturers, Arena, YVis., and could not fall to 
attract, the attention of dairymen looking for Im¬ 
provements in butter-making. Each can Is pro¬ 
vided with an air-chamber, and a perfectly tight 
air-cover, and au arrangement lor measuring the 
cream, the whole forming a system that Is per¬ 
fectly reliable. This system Is largely In use In 
the Northwest and should he investigated by East¬ 
ern dairymen, as It Is one of the plans of the future. 
The writer lmd an interview with a prominent 
manufacturer ot creamery butter la this State 
and his verdict was. that better butter was made 
by the Falrlamb system than could be made In 
his creamery. Ills reasons were, 1st. “ The milk 
Is set at the dairy at the time of milking.” ‘2nd. 
“No injury Is done to the cream by transporta¬ 
tion." 3d. “ The dairyman is always receiving a 
premium (tor producing the best quality ot milk, 
keeping best grade of stock and feeding higher) 
by the extra quantity' of cream he has to sen, and 
from the cream a better quality or butter Is pro¬ 
duced than by the customary way of feeding cows 
for a quantity ot milk.” 
The Stoughton Wagon made by T. G. Mandt, 
Stoughton. Wts., was delayed In transit, the wag¬ 
ons not arriving until late on Thursday afternoon— 
too late for the committee to report on them, and 
only in time to give the enterprising manufac¬ 
turer a chance to exhibit his goods to a few. If 
these wagons had oeen here before the Committee 
reported, without doubt they would have received 
the first premium. The Stoughton wagon Is well 
known among the farmers ot Wisconsin, Minne¬ 
sota and throughout the Northwest for its ease 
of draft and durability. The manufacturer is a 
pusher and spares no pains to put out a wagon 
that is first-class In every respect. He has made 
for It the best of reputations at home, and proposes 
now to extend its usefulness all over the country. 
Those who know this wagon consider It equal to 
any farm or lumber wagon built; while at the 
same time it has several points that are not found 
In other wagons. It has apatent adjustable reach 
that can be extended long enough to carry lumber 
twenty-four feet in length; also a spring to hold 
up the tongue; also a patent gear brake which Is 
an Important improvement. Tnese wagons are 
built of the very best material and In the most 
substantial manner. The manufacturer warrants 
them to be all that is represented, and will be 
happy at any time to furnish our readers with full 
information in reference to them. 
There was a fine display of tile and brlck-maklng 
machinery, which would have been a great deal 
more effective it the management had supplied 
the power, as they had agreed to. As It, was. che 
exhibitors made as fine a show as possible with the 
power at their command. The Tiffany Improved 
Tile machine with brick attachment, exhibited by 
H Brewer A Co., Tecumseh, Mich., was awarded 
the first premium. This Is an auger machine and 
attracted a great deal ot attention. In It the pres¬ 
sure Is applied to the disc upon a very small area; 
It dispenses with the bridge, or bracket, used on 
other machines. The rotary motion of the core 
pins, as the tile Issues from the disc, produces the 
same effect as when smoothing plastic material 
with a knife, thus producing a very fine tile. J. W. 
Penfleld, of Willoughby, Ohio, exhibited his new 
SNOWFLAKE. 
LATE SNOWFLAKE. 
