Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1872-09-19

were considered uninhabitable by
their nearest neighbors; when the
military road and the land Office
were the principal institutions; when
fishes were thrown out OF eur
streams with hay-forks; when The
jumper Of CLAIMS was the only Grim
inal, and "store clothes" luxury
that found no favor among those to
the manor born. In those halcyon
days the railway, the telegraph and
the Dolly Warden were unknown
There was blisstul ignorance Of
book agents, potato bugs, back hair
and trichina. Then the Gospel was
supposed to be contained in the New
Testament, it was preached to the
poor without money and without
price; but the deluded people in
those days were not pious enough to
see the vast difference between bet
ting on the price Of wheat in Au-
gust or pork in November, and q
shooting match at Christmas. The
HawkeYes Of that blessed day, full Of
manly purpose, with high hopes Of
the future, outlined very dimly. or.
ganized this Society, and held the
first exhibition at the principal land
Office.
History reports nearly seven acres
enclosed, four booths covered witt
canvass, seats tor two thousand per-
sons, one thousand entries, the
American Flag on a pole, and all
this at a cost Of $500. Farm ma
chinery was represented by nine en-.
tries, the committee say, ingenious.
lly, there could have been hun.
dred y But three premiums greater
than ten dollars were awarded, one
of Which was tor 336 bushels OF corn
on two acres OF ground-ten dollars
were given for ninty four bushels Of
wheat on two acres; and for lady
cquestrianshlp there were seventeen
entries. There were two hundred
and seventy five entries OF stock,
great and small, and probably not
q pedigree belonging to one OF them.
These facts are interesting in the
light of to day. Look abroad over
the spacious ground and through
these halls. See the handiwork OF
the artisan, the product Of the plow,
the loom, the anvil; see the fair fab.
RIGS fair fingers wrought; see our
walls adorned with pictures, see our
tables groan with fruits of which
our fathers despaired, see our squash
es in piles and pumpkins in pyra.
mids, and see our old grambler with
spectacle on nose sits gazing upon
them in rapture while the horse and
his rider come down the home.
stretch at the rate Of mile in ore
forty e,ght! See how the shires OF
Durham and Devon and Ayre have
been depopulated to crowd our
stalls, and the isles OF the sea have
given up their weak-eyed beauties
that Iowa's milk. maids may fill their
pals with gold. Last, but not least,
90, ye lovers and friends of the noble
steed and feast upon the beauty OF
his rv. an, the poetry of his motion h;s
more thzn wonanfy tenderness and
more than human fortitude, and
thank Him who 'hath given the
horse strength, who clothed his neck
with thunder" that he has given to
man such a friend and servant.
do not offer this contrast in a
spirit OF sels-sufficicncy or boastlng
Far from it. The men of twenty
years ago, meager as the show would
now seem, did more than we do to-
day. They did what they could
All honor 10 those good and brave
men who SO we'll LAID the foundation
on which we to-day so poorly build !
They felt the need Of the improved
and pure bred stock; they sought it
out, they found it, and we possess
it. But do we so keenly and SO gen.
orally realize our duty in the same
matter? fear not, else We would
do, as our advantages and opportu-
mites are geater than their, hum
dred fold more than they.
And, as I can discuss no matter
exhaustively upon such an occasion
as this, may be permitted simply
to state few facts ofa very practi-
cal nature bearing upon the impor.
tance Of improved stock and their
better care? In doing SO l refer to
the actor by name because it is but
| Justice to him, and because his
name must add force to the lesson
taught:
The Hon. Oliver Mills, tbs Oldest
member OF this Board, gentleman
to whom the State is indebted tor
valuable service elsewhere, offers
this experience showing the value OF
blood in cattle. Fifteen years since
he settled in Cass county, Iowa, then
but sparsely populated, and with
largo quantities of very superior
grazing lands open as public com
mons. with tho intention Of feeding
cattle. lie expected to purchase
. large proportion of his stock from
the people OF that lsection, and his
first act was to distribute twelve
valuable thorough bred Short horn
bulls among these people, free Of
cost. Mark tho result from this
single act of one man with foresight
and liberalty, the whole Nishnebota-
ny can boast of the finest grade cat.
tie in Iowa to day, and have receiv !.
ed for years an addition to their
revenues scarcely to be estimated.
Let me give an example in illustra-
ton. In April last Mr.. Mills sold 6
high grade steers OF his own breed
ing. One Of these, only thirteen
months old, weighed 1875 pounds,
and brought him $4,000. Five 9th,
ers' two years old, averaged 1850 lbs.
land sold for S97. each. A lot OF
three year old steers, sold about the
same time, weighed 205O lbs. each,
and hrouoht S1o3 90 per head. But