The home journal. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn.) 1857-1857, 1857-03-06
BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL
FAIRS.

A State Fuilisa great event, whoih-
CT considered in relation TO The gcner'
al interest which it exci;es; The large
numbers whom it assemblcs; he large
area from which il gamers It's product
and It's people; the important interests
which it represents; or the influences
which flow from it. Ii is the great hoI-
iday Of the farmer---iho day toward
which he looks for weeks and months,
as q day Of recreation and triumph
In the mower which a State Fair has
to beget and cherish such expectations
lies an important source OF its inlu-
encc. Without recurring at length
tothc local and temporal questions Of
interest which belong to the exhibit
tons which have just closed, we will
dwell somewhat at length on the good
results Of such gatherings.
The first good result of State Fairs,
is, that they enlarge mems ideas
Of the population, resources and ca
paciiies OF the State. When man
or boy comes on the fair ground and
finds twenty or thirty thousand per-
sons, he gets larger and clearer idea
Of Tie millions they represent. Be-
fore, he read and heard of them: now,
he begins TO see and feel the reality.
In the small compassof fifteen or twen-
ty acres he sees the products Of the
skill and enterprise and capacity of
$4,000 square miles. The idea of vari'
ety and richness Of the soil and climate
Of his native State, strikes him with
new power and meaning. Here he
sees the perfection to which good seed
and good culture may bring such pro-
ducts; here lie learns that common hor-
ses, common cows, common grains.
grasses and vegetables, may. BY care
and knowledge, be developed into pre-
MUM stock and farm products. lie
learns that there is an education and
graduation Of these things, not unlike
an academic Or collegiate course
lie is taught to believe in scientific
farming" Altogether, this agrcul-
tural anniversary cnlarges his ideas
as it will, in turn, enlarge his pump
Rins, apples, beets and onions.
The second good result Estate Fairs,
is that they enrich mems minds as we'll
as enlarge. This results mainly from
the interchange OF ideas. Before men
come Up to Fair, their notions are
apt to be circumscribed by the limits
Of the shops or farm fences. Here
they see other beside homebred no.
tions, embodied in success beyond
their own. The man who has bred
fine horses in Lake county, is richer
man for knowing that rs fine horses
are bred in Hamlion;croSsing ideas
is as good as crossing stuck. Mixing
up notions with others, thong prhaps
inferior in some respects, often works
as happily as mixing soils. Now the
commerce Of ideas is one of the prin-
cipal results of these Fairs. On the
Fair ground, a man can see at a glance
the attachments of the State, and
learn, better than from book, how
things are done. We will venture to
say that, in ten thousand families this
winter, the hcart-stonc will glow
brighter and warmer for the thoughts
which men and women carried home
with them from the Fair. The refresh.
ing influences of the Fair will make
their mind bud in dozen places where
before they We're barren. Possibly
some may brood in little disappoint.
ment and discomfort over their defeat:
but large idea is better than large
pumpkin, or even large OK; and by
the time an other Fair arrives, they
will think so too. These Fairs arc a
means Of learning the peculiar adap.
tations of soils and modes of cultiva.
ton. and in this way, much misdirec.
ted labor will be saved. Popular and
scientific knowledge is dilIused, iol
here, theory and practice stand side b.
side. Principles and their products