Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-10-06

JACKSON CITY AND THE MICHIGAN STATE
FAIR.

JACKSON CITY AND THE MICHIGAN STATE
FAIR.
In this centennial year the Michigan Slate
agricultural society held its 2sth annual
meeting during tho week beginning Mon
day, Sept. is, in the city of Jackson, upon
The Jackson county fair grounds. jackson
is one of the oldest towns in the State and
was originally an Indian trading post 1t
now has street called Trail street, running
along the line of the original Indian trail.
A glance at the map of the State will show
any one the location of the city and lis rail-
road connections, which are equal TO any in
the State. Its growth has not been of the
wild, speculative kind that succumbs to the
first wind of adversely, but of solid and
substantial chai acter, and il claims to-day
about Ii, 900 inhabitants. The town is large
ly engaged in the manufacture of agricut-
ural tools and farm machinery and has for
public works the Michigan Central railroad
shops, which might well be called town
ofthemselves, adding, as they do, some 1900
inhabitants TO the city. The state prison is
also here, and is to-day filled 10 its utmost
capacity, having some $50 convicts. It lisa
significant fact that 6s per cent. of these un-
fortunate men aseribe their downfall direct
ly TO alcohol. But we leave moralizing on
the subject to the reader, while we take a
view of the Slate at large as we find 1t rep
resented on the fair grounds
And here we may note that the broad
prairies of the West make broad farmers in
every sense OF the word. Farming here Is
m lo ;,,,, &
which is a continual surprise to an Eastern
man, the machinery for operating a single
farm costing in many instances from one
thousand to two thousand dollars. Having
seen the farmer at home with his thousands
of bushels of grain aud many of his grain
machines in operation, we were fully pre-
pared for the immense exhibit of machinery
which we found upon the grounds. 1t was
not TO be numbered by tens or scores, but
by hundreds, ranging from the light buggy
cultivator 10 the complicated thresher cost
ing 800, to say nothing of The various port
able steam engines. The stabling seemed
sufficient for at least a thousand head of
cattle, with horses, sheep and swine in
countless numbers, and it was all fully oc-
cupied, but in this vast ingathering of live
stock there was not a half dozen Jokes of
oxen, and these the poorest farmers in New
England would scarce be proud of. The
exhibit of thoroughbred English, Scotch
and French draft horses was superb. Two
Scottish Clyde stations three and four years
old weigh ed respectively 1000 and 100 lbs,
while their competitors in the other bloods
were their equals in weight and power.
Among the bovines we noticed two fat cows
said TO weigh over Ton each, and one of
which VIC found to measure 80 inches across
the hips, while as companion for these
lusty ladies there stood gentlemanly
brother of the short horn family years
old, weighing 24OO pounds. We will not
undertake TO note anything about the sheep
and swine further than TO say that in this
respect the show was the largest and most
complete that we have ever seen. The ex-
hibit of fruit was one that it would do the
heart of every New Highlander good TO see.
In fact, having visited various portions of
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, we
feel warranted in saying to our Eastern
friends that the apple crop here is immense
and the quality excellent.
One of the machines for which the East
ern farmer has bnt little use, and OF which
he has less knowledge, is the windmill,
while TO The Western farmer they are of the
greatest importance, as the various Compel
ing mills upon the fair grounds amply tes-
tify. Their principle use is TO run pump,
good mill and pump costing, all set and
in working order, from 500 TO $3.50. In
closing these notes will simply say Of the
machinery and fine art halls that they were
well filled with full line of everything use
full and ornamental. In word, the local
reporters pronounce this the most complete
and thoroughly successful exhibition that
the society has ever held. g.