Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-10-08
The Grant County Fair.

consin Farmer of Sept. 2S:
We had the pleasure of attending
the Grant County Fair, which was
held at Lancaster on Wednesday
Thursday and Friday of last week
we say "the pleasure" for pleasure
ii was, Notwithstanding the extreme
untowardness of the weather, which
was enough to make failure of all
most any enterprise Leaving Mad-
ison on Tuesday night at 1920 we
took stageat Boscobel at 3 A, M. for
Lancaster, over road which was up
hill and down. especially up, through
mud and slop and newly made gull
leys and Owe '0cks of more ancient
date, for eight les to the summit OF
the bluffs and In open prairie, with
the rain above and the rain below
bogus dinuor somewhere along,
which may have been paid for with a
bogus so cts-"may be-don't know
can't tell'-p plenty of them around,
and brought Up at Lancaster at p
NJ. and were comfortably housed with
our hospitable friend over, of the
HeraT.
The rain of Tuesday night was
more severe in the western part OF
the State than here, making the roads
very muddy. In addition to this, on
Wednesday, the day for bringing in
stock and other products and making
entries, the rain continued to pour
down most Of the day, and between
rain and the effects of rain, it requir>
ed good deal Of pluck to stir out or
get anything on the ground.
Thursday morning the clouds broke
away, much to the delight of every
one, and before nine O'clock we were
winding our way with the multitude
to the fair ground, an enclosure of
some ten or twelve acres on an un>
broken prairie just on the outskirts
of the town. The site is we'll chosen
and enclosed with high. tight board
fence and we'll fitted up with build
ings and stalls, and we were surprised
to find them so well filled under
such unfavorable circumstances, and
the collection, both of spectators and
objects of interest, continued to in
crease during the day.
There We're some very good horses
on exhibition, chiefly stock animals,
among which we noticed two stall
lions, black and bay, that possess>
ed particularly fine points. Could not
learn the names of either the horses
or their owners. There were but
few colts or yearlings present, but
what there y ere possessed great mer.
it. Among the cattle were some
pure blood cows, heifers and bulls of
the Devon and Durham breeds that
would do farmer good TO look at
The deep, peculiar red and satin tex
ture of coat, the straight backs, plump
forms and smooth, delicate limbs of
the Devons and the notified coats of
the same satin texture, the massive
frames, broad hams of the Durhams,
marked them as the genuine blood
These breeds were brought into the
country by Mr.. John Welsh, an Eng.
lishman, some twenty years ago, and
we were told by gentleman we'll &C
quainted with their history, that these
were the descendants of that original
stock which has been kept pure,
while grades of the same have been
widely diffused through the country.
1t shows wbat can be done in the way
of improving stock over wide era,
by the enterprise of one man.
Among the sheep on exhibition
were some pure merinos of the polar
breed, raised ny Mr.. Kyle. The wool
is the finest and most beautiful that
can be imagined 1t has Il yellow
tinge and a. one parts and looks into
the golden fl zee, it makes his back
itch for coal from that same. The
carcass il small, but Mr.. X. informed
US that they would shear ten and
eleven pounGs to the head, and we
noticed that The wool around the bel>
ly and down to the hoots was all the
same fine quality. We saw several
grades OF this breed in which the quail
tiles of the wool were in proportion
to the grade and the quality of the
cross. We also saw some pure South
Downs-plump, square built carcass,
wool very thick, but of medium qual-
ity.
OF swine we noticed only the
Berkshire and Chester Whites--the
former the same black, thin haired,
short nosed, sharp cared, round bod
led, plump quartered, kink tailed
workers we procured from Albany
twenty five years ago, and found
them better for breaking up prairie
and tearing downrai fences than they
were for pork and lard. The latter
are large, long bodied, lop cared ami
mails, and we should think might be
lazy enough to make pork.
/ he display in the department of
horticulture was large, and yet there
were some very fine specimens OF
fruits and plants.
The domestic department showed
that the ladies of Old Grant are not
idle nor lacking in skill and taste
The display Of domestic hannels
yarns, socks, quilts, counterpanes
and fancy work was very credi.able
and was doubtless greatly increased
ton Friday.
The exhibition OF agricultural i'm,
plcmcnt was small A cork -screw
horse fork, a gang pillow with some
very fine single plows, IA post driver
folding gate, and new sheep racl
and feeder were the principal object:
of attr action in that Inc.
The driving track makes the cir
cult of the grounds in one>third of f;
mile. We did not see the trottin:
that was to come off, but we saw
something more novel An old song
goes thus:
There were three blind men went to
Three cripples race"
} On this OCCASION cripple ran race
though there were no blind men Their
. to see. \ young maa, some sixteei
, or eighteen years old, was on tn
| ground with ms right leg so twiste