Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-09-22
Belmont County Fair.

For the thirty-thi time the Chronicle give
gan account of the Belmont County Fair. When
Ethirty three years ago. the first exhibition wa
'Sheld in the Court House, there was no prOphe
to paint the beautiful grove, expensive halls
Eaiid magnificent ring that now attract Thousands
4of people each year. The exhibits mark th'
.change in the products, and in the tastes OF tn;
Speople as we'll. The stock shows wonderful
Improvement. The domestic department ha:
5almost yielded to the fancy, and where we onc'
saw elaborate quilts and neatly knitted hosiery
Yarn spun by the housewife and linsey woveI
Sby'the same fingers, we now have dainty tides
Embroidered pillows and exquisite air castles
+ But to furnish a short record of this years ex-
5hibition, let us begin with
i FLORAL HALL.
We find this much better filled in all depart
ments than last year. 1t may seem strange
that this is true, as regards the fruit, but moi
sonly were the exhibits in this line more num-
aerous, but the fruit was finer and more perfect
! The air-tight fruit department was overaowing
I In this was included jellies, catsups, pickles
spreserves, etc. A cucumber bearing close
resemblance to a snake attracted much atten-
dtion. 1t was probably two feet long and as
sthick as mans thumb. The bread and cake
exhibits were in this hall. These were excel
3lent, and showed great skill in this useful art
4rhe fancy department was gay with many pretty
ARTICLES. The limits of our report will not al
flow Us to enumerate. The works of art-cray-
ons and paintings-contributed by Miss Lulu
Brown and pupils were highly meritorious. Miss
Lulu excels as portrait painter, as was shown
lin the family portraits on exhibition. OuI
3town should be proud of such an artist. But
$one of our home merchants showed sufficient
Enterprise to help fill this hall with their wares
sGeorge Brown & Son had a case of fine silver
ware and iewlery which made handsome ap-
pearence Mendel & Co.; Wheeling, had a par
3lor and champer suite; and Sheib, also from
Z Wheeling, had organs and other musical instru-
2ments. Among other articles perhaps worthy
of notice, were two cases, one of butterflies, the
Z other of bugs In examining the latter lady
remarked: There's everything there but bed
5bug." On closer examination, however. even
: that was found. We warrant it would be hard
Ito discover from whence it came. Another case
contained very handsome silk quilt and wooden
ylressiRg gown-the former presented to Mrs
sRev. Belph, by the young ladies of the U. P.
5Church, and the latter to Rev. Balph, by the
fyoung men of the congregation. This hall was
most of the time so completely jammed with
people that it was hard to see what was there
4 Passing from this up the hill, we came to the
department of
FARM IMPLEMENTS.
1 The show in this line was certainly very
smeagre. Unless buggies may be called farm
Implement, we believe plows and one reaper
were all. Mr.. McComas had a hay fork, full
4 size, which was so shown that what it could do
was seen at glance. 1t seemed to be meeting
Z with favorable notice from many farmers. A
few steps more brings us to
FARMERS HALL.
Here we were agreeably surprised to find so
good show of vegetables and grain. Notwith-
standing the dry weather, everything was fine.
[Out of about dozen varieties of Irish potatoes
lit would be hard to tell which was the best, un-
less they could be cooked. Homegrown sweet
potatoes were very large, and showed no reason
@why they were not so palatable as the Jerseys.
!Cabbage, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes and
melons made person hungry to look at them.
Specimens of corn, wheat, oats and barley gave
Ino sign of drouth. Several rolls of fine rag
carpet were here. Two of our home merchants
had exhibits in this hall. A show of groceries
land queensware was from COwen Bros, and P.
|Dickey had decorated gueensware. Leaving
this hall and passing down the hill We come
first to the
None were exhibited but the fine wooled
animals. The exhibitors were Jos. II. Close,
Henry B. Close, VIM. E. Bundy. L. & N. W.
|Bundy and John ). Close. The latter did not
|enter his for premium. The varieties shown
Iwere the Spanish merinO, registered and un-
Registered, and the Southdowns. To an un-
II hn,I 10 Aho col
|n these, but the owners easily convinced any
|one that such difference existed. The WOOL
was evidently much superior to that of the sheep
commonly raised upon our farms. Next, as WEI
go along, came the
The old sharp-nosed, slab sided porkers SEEM
Ito have become extinct. The varieties takingi
their places are large, compact and neat, if suehl
IA term may be applied to a hog. The Essex
pig seemed to be the favorite. Next came the
CATTLE.
Here the observer could easily be lost in ad-
miration. Be they Short horn Durhams, Longi
horned Broad backed variety or the neat littlei
Alderney, they all bore marks of their superb
ority. So far as we observed every ANIMAL
seemed to have taken premium of some kind
It must have puzzled the judges to decide. Wei
now come to the
HORSES.
We admit peculiar fancy for fine horses!
but where all are SO fine it is hard to write of
them. The exhibition of blooded stock wasl
very full and highly credtable. OF course, asI
is usual at fairs, the horses that could run al
mile in the shortest time were the ones that
took with the crowd. The result of the races!
on the second and third days, was as follows:
THREE MINUTE PACE.
Calico Maid, L. Gregg 1st premi
Wild Billy, W. V. Kilgere. ....... End prennl
Harry Scott, do 100 Srd premll
TWO FoRTY-FIyE TRoT.
Sorrell Jim, Alex, Darrah ..... 1st prenI
Kitty Wells, W. v. Klgore. .2nd premI
Capt. Jack, John Hatcher ..... .3rd premI
SWEEPSTAKES TRoT.
Silver Sides, A. L. Spillman. lst premE