The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1875-10-07

The Races, Riding and other Con
tests.
Floral Hall and it's Contents.
The Organization Of the Arkansa
Valley District Fair Association.
The same duty that impels US t.
give cur readers an account of The fai
held here last week, compels MS 10 sa,
that in nearly every respect it prove'
a sad failure. Instead of proving al
occasion and means for valuable III
formation of practical agriculture a
conducted in Sedgwick county ant
the Arkansas Valley instead of prov
ing a time 10 gain useful knowledge o
industrial pursuits and for the exhibi
ton of the products of our farms
manufactures and mills; instead o.
being a place where our men could
meet 10 compare notes, results and ex.
perience--to swap thoughts for mutu'
al advantage, and where our wives
mothers and daughters could meet in
social intercourse, truth compels us to
say that the Sedgwick County Fair, OF
1875, consisted more of a hurrah and q
flourish Of trumpets, a big blow, a big
horse race of five days duration, and a
| fat out in the end.
Outside of the display made by the
ladies and few merchants in the
Floral Hall there appeared to be no
generous spirit of emulation, no inter-
est or pains taken TO bring together
samples of the wonderful productions
of the soil, pastures or shops. We
have to-day, in the EAGLE Office, a
better display of the grain capabilities
of Sedgwick county than the entire
fair could show.
The reasons for this unfavorable re-
suit, this miserable failure, we shall
not attempt TO give. The grounds are
commodious and well protected, and
there could have been a fair that
would have eclipsed anything ever at
tempted in the State. 1t is useless TO
blame the officers, useless to blame the
farmers, and more than nonsense to
blame Wichita. As far as the attend
ance was concerned there is no fault
to find. Not only did our own people
attend in large numbers, but many
were here from surrounding counties.
And there's the rub. But for these
many intelligent visitors we might
have kept quiet and resolved to do
better in the future.
But enough of this. We spent two
or three hours of one afternoon upon
the grounds, and for the benefit of our
many readers in this county who were
not present we will endeavor to tell
what we saw and heard.
CAPTAIN ANTHoNY's SPEECH
proved all that the EAGLE promised.
Unfortunately just before the hour set
for his address the wind raised from
the north, aud for the entire afternoon
filled the atmosphere with dust. The
stand having been erected adjoining
the track the dust was not only blind
ing, but not one person in ten present
could catch the words of the speaker
There being no place provided for re-
porters we got no notes and shall not
attempt giving even synopsis of the
able, admirable and practical talk. 1t
was the concentrated wisdom of
mind that has been, for years, storing
up all the valuable information touch
ing Kansas farming.
Capt. Anthony did not tell us that
we had splendid fair-a magnificent
success. No, he just declared square
out that we ought TO be ashamed of
the display; that he could from half
dozen farms, or at our green grocers,
pick up a better show in half a day.
We wish every wife and mother in the
county could have heard his opinion
of what constitutes a home. his advice
thereon and the scoring he gave that
class of men who neglect their homes,
and the cultivation of home surround
ings for the sake of loafing at the
corner store or town saloon. exam
sas" he said chad proved a paradise
for men and dogs, but hell for women
and horses" Ills speech was of the
highest interest throughout.and lasted
one hour and twenty minutes. There
was not dry sentence or WORKOUT
platitude in il. He wound up by Civ
ing some interesting figures touching
the counties of Butler, Cowley, Sum-
ner and Sedgwick-a few Of (which we
tell in characters that
cannot be mistaken something of our
growth, Scdgwick county was organ
lied in 1870 with population of l ,093.
1t now has population of S,206. We
harvested 16,485 acres of fall wheat
this season; 6,403 of oats 80 of barley;
2S, SS5 acres, or IA, 425 bushels Of corn.
Think ofthat for fiye-year- old county.
OF Irish potatoes we have 5S7 acres
sweet potatoes 40 acres; millet and
1856 acres and 100,690 rods
of growing hedge fence. The value of
our garden produce marketed was set
down at 7,167 and poultry marketed
st, 1864. We had made of butter, for
the year ending March 1st, 93,2l9
pounds. We have in the county 2,476
horses; 4S7 mules; 1922 mich COWS;
], $50 hogs; 6S5 sheep and 92S dogs-a
bad show for the sheep. Sedgwick
county has 1,090 acres of young or
chards. But we have not space to fol-
low HIM farther. The speech was all
that it could be-splendid, and our
only regret in the connection is that
more of our practical farmers could
not have heard it.
We started out to look over the
stock. Whatever may be said of a
show in other departments,
that of sheep and hogs was not bad.
Indeed, considering the newness of the
country and the scourgc of last season
which drove hundreds of fine hogs