The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1857-11-14

.icultusai Sosistiss, which -havs bsen pre-
parcd for display and for prise. At enor-
sous cost, We know y be tEse. Thaa their
appearance there j. aninjury 70 the working
FARMER, instead Of beneat, q intended,
We believe d also true. The effect may be
injurious IN two ways. There are farmers
who labor to produce such articles for the
market as win render profitable return,
and enable to support their families COM
fortably, and there are those, who, having
acquired fortune in mercantile pursuits,
farm for : reputation. The FIRST is a. likely
to have An affection for extraordinary pro-
ducts, Is the last. Both attend Agricultural
Exhibitions, and both see remarkably fine
specimens Of farm products. The retired
merchant, turned farmer, returns to exceed
what he has seen, at any cost for his means
are ample; he is ambitious and can afford
to crafty it to the utmost. But how Is it
with the man who farms for the support OF
himself and family. If he gives due consid-
Grafton to his circumstances, and knows
what it costs to exhibit On extraordinary
animal, he returns disheartened; he feels
that there is no chance for him at yearly
shows--or else, If his desire for fame over
rides his best course, he returns to give his
attention to single beast, to the injury Of
the rest of his stock, or, at least, OF his
yearly profits. In either case he has derived
no benefit from his visit; and, as he is the
one who most requires all the advantages
of science and experiment, it would doubt
less be better were the cost Of articles ex-
hibited, to occupy more prominent place
in the minds of those who contribute and
distribute awards of merit on such occa-
sions.
cat our County Fairs, the evil from the
cause named is not go great as at those by
State Societies. In the County Exhibitions
all the farmers Of the particular locality are
interested, and they can, without much ex-
pense or risk, drive out their best team and
show the finest things they have produced.
There you can easily tell who has in reality
the best farm, and who is the best farmer
If any one has produced an extraordinary
article or animal at IN enormous price, his
neighbors all know it, and his display is
Immediately set down as very fine, but un-
profitable. The farmer who shows the best
COW in his herd, the whole of which having
been equally cared for; who brings in the
biggest pumpkin from an evenly cultivated
field, and who can prove that his samples
are the results of intelligence and industry,
and not of lavish expenditure of means, is
the favoritc. lie shows what benefits may
be derived from means within the reach Of
all, and having succeeded beyond his fellows,
he becomes Justly entitled to the first prize.
At the State Exhibitions the real merits Of
the produce exhibited-that is, how far the
seed or breed is desirable to the practical
farmer, is not so well known, because the
particulars are not SO generally understood
Ambition to have done the best, and desire
to realize high price for particular
breed, often prevents fair statement Of
how result has been obtained.
advertising breed by showing single
specimen, and that too, prepared to deceive.
is what we complain of. But, with this evil.
it is not to be presumed that Agricultural
Exhibitions are not productive of many
valuable results. Our object in referring
to that which We believe to have an injuri-
Gus tendency is not to deter any one from
attending them and seeing all that is to
be seen, but simply to guard practical far
mers against being led astray by appearan-
ces.
OF the three organizations, the County,
the State, and the National, the County Ex-
hibtion, is, we believe, best calculated to be
of immediate benefit to the farmer. There
he finds his specimens and has the means of
knowing how they were produced. When
he returns from such an Exhibition he is a
better practical farmer than before. These
the farmer should not fail to attend. The
advantages to be derived from the others
may be almost as we'll obtained from adver-
tisements of choice bulls and studs"