The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-29
Natural History of the State Fair.

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| To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journea:
| OF the $119 distributed in twenty prizes,
natural history department State fair, Mr.. F.
| Noe, the superintendent of the department, took
ten prizes, consisting of S72, and occupied one
half the available space and cases. Mr.. d. K.
Green, with the finest display of Falls of the
Ohio fossils ever brought to this city, occupied
most of the remaining space, and took $21 in
| three prizes. The remaining $25 went to five
! different persons.
| That the prizes were justly awarded under the
rules by Professor o. Hay, of Butler University,
and Mr.. Ernest Morris, the weI-known South
American traveller and collector, no one doubts.
These men know the cost and labor of amassing
varied collectionsin natural history. The fault
is with the prize list, which is evidently stuffed
and doctored worse than the specimens them
selves The premium list says: at ishoned, to
bring out cabinets of amateurs and county asso-
Citations, and insure new interest" Small coll
lections will receive all the credit for novelty
they merit"
To this end would it NOT be we'll to debar the
main exhibitor from being the appointer of
judges and acting suuerintendeut, even if the
State Geoogistsis the nominal and irresponsible
hgurehead of the department. Also, to let
Messrs. Hay and Morris rearrange the premium
list, as these gentlemen scientists and would
give each department of natural science due en-
cOuragSfn6nt. In6y WOulQ not GUend On6-thl I'd
| the money professional ia xidermy, or sn ar
range the lists to throw all the prizes in the
same old channels. The most credtabe display
and the one which implied the greatest amount
of scientific knowledge and active collecting was
not in bird skins or Indian arrow-heads, but in
analyt ical botany. The solons who in assigning
premiums for purely agrieultu ral fair, gave S35
to the art of taxidermy and So TO the art of
botany, are in error, and certainly put the three
before the wrong five.
In the interests of agriculture there should be
prizes for first and second best collections of in
scots injurious TO vegetation In Indiana; also, a
prize for the best collection of Indiana grasses
and sedges, and four five small prizes for
herbarlums of our local fora, following Prof
j. Coulters list of Indiana plants. Moreover, no
naturalist much less a taxidernst, should be- al
lowed to divide his collection and take both rst
and second premiums and much to the dispust
OF the judges, as this year.
| 1t may be said in concluding, that the writer
is not an exhibitor, and never took prize at a
fair, and has no ak to grind. this year next,
but is only interested that this game of Greece
out" put up young collectors aud amateur
naturallsts be warmed up little before another
prlze-iist is formed, and that the Cabinets of
amateurs" may be brought. OUT" as the fair
book says. dozen parties living in the city,
and many out, who have exhibited in years
before, retired In disgust on seeing the lay Of the
| land this year.
| If the committee on natural history will in
| vite either of our science teachers-Hay of But
| leT Coulter of Wabash; Baker, of Ashury;
| Barnes, OF Purdue; Young. of Hanover, Jor-
| dan, of Bloomington-to arrange the list, we
| VIII warrant that no prize will exceed $40; that
| no one will take both first and second prizes;
that taxidermy will not overbaance botany,
| and that no exhibitor will have a monopoly of
space or cases, or advertise his collections his
art, and that cases full OF old war newspapers
aud Indian arrow heads will be promptly ruled
| out. In this way we might secure some of the
score or more of classified collections OF BIRDS
| herbariums fresh water shells, etc, from out
| side Indianapolis. As it this year, the com
| hittee expended nearly BOO for labor franco
and cases to exhibit at State fair the hackney ed
! collections of II few private citizens of Indian
apolis, While not single natural history society
and but one outside individual was represented.
AMATEUR.