St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-09-15
The Seasons Fairs.

There will be an old-tashiOned
Thanksgiving day this year in town
and country. The cup of prosperity
| is already brimming. On every side
the signs of good times may be dis
cerned. In the cities there is activity
in the streets and on the wharves !;
business is steadily increasing in flow
and in volume ard, what is the surest
indication of surplus wealth and capi-
tai, the building trade is straining its
energies in every centre of population
to meet the unprecedented demands
that are made upon it. In the agri-
cultural belts the evidence of wonder
full crops is universal. 1t is now
thought that the wheat crop will be
about GOO, 200, 900 bushels. California
yields a surplus of p, 200, 900 bushels,
and in Oregon and Washington terri
tory there will be an excess of ii ,0O0,
600 bushels for export, the crop having
exceeded the expectations even of the
most sanguine of the new settlers.
The mid-continental prairies are more
fruitful than they have been for many
year. The country vies with the
town in material gains and substantial
progress. Each is dependent upon the
others good fortune, for bountiful
crops like those of the present year not
only enrich the farmers, but add to the
wealth of the cities by stimulating
every department of trade.
While the prairie may join the town
at the annual feast after IL year of eX-
ceptional prosperity, it gives express
sion betimes to its good feeling and
satisfaction in a characteristic way.
One of the most significant evidences
of the welfare and progress of the
farmers is the interest manifested this
season in county and state fairs. When
the times are dull and agricultural
prospects all look as blue as the dis
tant hills, these rural institutions Ian
guiSh. When the farmers are eXcep-
tionally prosperous they take an hon
est pride in their vocation and make
every effort to interest themselves i'll
county and state exhibits of farm pro-
duce and agricultural implements.
This year county fairs are being
planned east and west on an unpre-
cedented scale. Enthusiasm is always
infectious. Even the southern planters
have caught the fever, and agricultural
shows are to be held i'll sections of the
NollOll llatNN hNNNi
been organized before. In many of
the northern states there will not be II
single county in which fair will not
he held, and with very few exceptions
the preparations exceed i'll animation
and magnitude those of previous years.
This is Il sign of the times which we
are very glad to see. American farm
ers do not have many local institutions,
and such as they do have should re-
ceive hearty and enthusiastic support.
| The ability to organize and direct pub
! lie works and enterprises of utility is ii
Yankee talent which should be cult
waited in villages as well as i'll cities.
An agricultural fair should be made an
annual show in which every farmers
family i'll the county can take genuine
interest. No pains should be spared
to multiply the attractions and to give
the exhibit as comprehensive il charac-
ter as possible. Horse-racing should
not be made so prominent feature as
it usually is at these rural festivities.
In some instances it occupies in the
hand-circulars and ShOw-billS so large
il place that the essential character OF
the fair is lost. Horse racing should
not he allowed to become the upper
most idea. The fair should remain Il
rural exchange, where exhibits of farm
and garden produce and farmhouse
industry can be compared, and farm
ers may become acquainted with new
tools, new ideas, and new methods. a
farmer who is content to till his land
by the sweat of his brow will not get
on in these days. What lies back OF
the brow should not lie fallOw. The
farmer must plough his farm with good
brain as well as good muscle. He must
keep abreast with times that are teen
ing with new ideas. He must get Out
of the ruts and make the most of every
new process. 1t is because the county
fairs are instrumental in imparting tC
the farmer new ideas and adding to hi.
industrial efficiency that we hail will
satisfaction the widespread evidence
afforded this season of their popularity
Let the farmers throughout the cOun
try get all the good they can ont o
their annual shows, and then they vii
Join the town at the end of the season
with added intelligence as well as fer
vor, in the Thanksgiving grace: "Fo
this ere slice of luck, let us all sa,
Alleluiah. . New York Tribune.