The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1867-10-26
fFrom tho Columbia Press.1
Linn County Fair.
J. NJ. s.
Yours traly,

Linn County Fair.
ALBANY, Oct. G.
The Fhir Of Linn county, which has
just closed, has been the theme of no lit.
tie discourse, aud judging from my own
feelings and observations, was not as cred
table to the county rs it might have
been made. Lion county is the. largest
aud most populous county in tho State
but judging from the products Of the soil
on exhibition, We would judge it to be
one of the smallest. We have Travelled
through the eounty-ssen its orchards, its
fields, aDd its ffocks--and knOpc il stands
number ono. Why Eot take deeper in.
teress iu your State aud County Fairs
The answer to that question ( have
heard FROM several. Our Fair In Linn
county has dcgencratcd into three day i
horse race, in which TURNER'S are iHuited
to match their young stock against train
al and joekeyees old horses" BE this
charge as it may, we can but regard the
horse racing mania as detrimental to ey-
cry other branch of the exhibition.-
Nothing attracts attention bat a horse
race, The track " is thSonged, while
the hogs, sheep aud cattle, are hardly
visited often enough TO be fed. The on
ly time the Judges stand aud track seem
ed to DO deserted was WHOM the closiag
address was announced, and We will bet
what we " won" that nine.tenths Of the
people on the ground were, during the
delivery Of the address, making their bets
on Pluck and Red Jacket. But we turn
away from the track-we have had our
say, and will nov search for something TO
praise.
On this question we are sound, as will
be seen by the Rump papers, in which
VIC arc said TO go the whole hog. Among
others we noticed an Essex SOW and boar,
from the pen Of \. Price They were
indeed iue specimens. Dir. =. had also
on exhibition Berkshire and Grazier,
weight FIVE hundred pounds. Mr. la
Follct had five seven weeks pigs from
the above stock, which looked well We
believe that these two gentlemen were
the only ones having hogs on exhibition.
SHEEP.
In sheep there was fine display, but
mostly by two or three men. A ram be-
longing to j. Parrish, three -fourths
French Meripo With American common,
carried its fleece forty months and shear
cd seventy pounds.
FRuIT, GRAINS AND VEGETABLES,
So far as thia branch Of the Fair is
coneei ned, We regard il discreditable 10
tho county. There was not ten bushels
Of fruit only faw sacks Of wheat, while
the vegetables would hardly supply a
common hotel table one day.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.
In this branch we were more than pleas.
ed at the energy aud intelligence of Ore
gon inventors. The Haines, or Lupcr
Reaper has been we'll received, but the
Cherry patent, made at the Albany Iron
Works, bids fair 10 eclipse them all
The Haines REAPER, it will be remember
ed, il pushed instead of drawn, or rather
the Reaper is ahead of the horses, and it
cuts twelve foot swath. Cherry's is on
the same principle, with this improve
ment-the apron to which the knives are
attached ia all the time on level, and
capable Of being altered instantly from a
I" header" toa mower or reaper. BY
very simple machinery the rear aud front
of the apron are lowered, leaving the
apron level, while in the Haines 1t has
but one position, in which it is level, thus
making it difficult for the raker to per.
form its or his part. We are not mcchan.
ic enough to describe, but are enthusiast
enough to admire the invention. OF
some other implements made at the Al
bany Foundry we will speak when refcr-
ring to the State Fair.
HORSES.
In the horse line, Linn county showed
herself She can (mind you this is our
opinion, and may be all wrongl challenge
with success the State, for one or three
mile heats on the track, or for fast car
riage horses, or strong and seryiceable
draught horses. There were several en-
tered to compete for the premium for best
carriage horses, single or double, and all
of them fine animals, but it is useless to
strive while Gird keeps the "grays."
Mr.. Hugh Fields, of Brownsville, is the
owner of the horse JEFF Davis-the best
and, We believe, the fastest horse for
three miles there is in the country. Mr..
Fields gives us the pedigree of the horse:
Sired by Rifcman; dam, Old Timoleon; /;
the grandam of jeff. was Tecumseh; Te-
cumseh by Old Archy. He is an Orc
gon horse, and is fine animal. We
have mentioned this horse in particular,
as many of our farmers east of the noun
tains, are interested to great extent in
stock raising,
But this letter is getting little
!" lengthy" and must end. We have
written some structures on the style of
conducting the Fair, and have done it
with the best of intentions and good feel
ing. Farmers must take more interest,
and make it farmers fair, or its days