The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1884-12-05
miscellaneous.
THE AGRICULTURAL FAIR.
A PLEASE Mt PICTURE THY ONE
WHO HAS BEEN THERE.
And who Tells us just as We Have Seen
it'll. about Floral Hall. Il e Horse
TAOstIng. the Frass ERnd and
the side show.

| Inc Agfh ui'ulhi FAIR gins IN some To-
calies as early as August, and il is delayed
in others until the middle OF October.
The fair is The farmers distinctive holiday
1t comes when the main crops have been Sc
cured, and The years results and profits can
I've substantially estimated, The hurry of
harvest is over and the dozy stiffness anS
rrsltulness OF autumn days appeal fer IL break
| in the continuous round OF activity. The
| lair lasts, usually, from three to tour DAVIS.
aud not only the farmer is there himself but
you see his wife and family also, There are
| few families in the rural districts that are
not represented for at least one day in the
series through which it continues. The far
mers daughter, especially If she is pretty, as
| she 81 frequently is, does not need seat in
| the family carry all :" for The op.huggies
of many another farmers son afford her II
| 'uore luxurious conveyance while her broth
er recipr"e'.Ies this attention by u like cour.
| iesy To The sister Of lie SISTERS "brau." The
| old people and the younger set meet tusvtt
and the guests at The homestead, and stran-
gers beyond the county or district line, are
| IN the crowd.
1t is IL diverse and motley crowd. The
ubiquitous small hoy is there with his whip,
or drum, or whistle, purchased of some iine-
rant vendcr on the gIound. Mothers are
there with babies in their arms. A little
group Vi AlTICuu utsCtuJ Is UOl wanting,
| sometimes tongregated together w them
selves, and again scattered like huckleberries
in milk through the general assemblage. In
the building, which is usually called Floral
Hall, the wonderfully monotonous bed quilts
are suspended, which take you back through
forty or fifty years of memory, if your mem.
DRY is so long and there are tides, and pin
cushions needle aud fancy work of almost
undesirable descriptions; a possibly old.
time sampler, now getting almost as rare as
it once was common structures of curious
and grotesque shape of nondescript material,
arranged for show; samples of hair work
picture frames made of sea shells; few pic.
lures on canvass and in oil, of amateur aspi-
ration; crayon and pencil sketches table.
spreads of homemade design white lace and
muslin work; rugs and carpets neither Turk
ish, Persian, nor urban and space fails us to
tell what else on the interior tables and
walls.
OF course there are abundant flowers grace.
fully arranged; specimens of bread, cake,
jellies, preverves, canned delicacies, honey
and cheese. There are apples peaches,
grapes and pears, pumpkins, potatoes, and
all manner of garden crops, and grain from
the fields. These last are in II room adjacent
or down stairs. and they show what thrift the
year just ended has added to the farmers
skill in culture and toll. The vast crowd
sometimes few thousands and always
great many hundreds in number-keeps up
perpetual circuit of these rooms, admiring
Al commenting, and stopping any number
of times on the way around to accost now
this friend and now that. The pumpkins and
bed-quilts have a strange familiar look, and
80 does the whole ensemble. As the display
was last year, so, to n large extent, it is this,
but there is always a freshness in friendship.
The people, much as they enjoy the show, do
not go for that alone. 1t is the meeting of
old friends, and the holiday away from home
that help to draw this cunvocalion and keep
il alive.
The music dealer from some interior town
brings his piano or melodeun. which dis.
courses music, and the sewing -machine agent
"orates' volubly concerning his wares The
agents for every thing thrust circulars in your
hands, and fill your buggy-box and seat with
thu m. Outside OF the building the different
mowing-machines and reapers, tanning mills
and plows are represented. while the direct ors
of the peanut, ice cream, watermelon and
lemonade stands, together with the repre-.
sentatives of The various side shows, split the
air with their vocferous appeals. The
American flag is flying in one or more places
and the American heart beats high. You Can
see the wonderful fat woman here in one
tent, anu the learneu pig III announcer, eacD Tor
ten cenls--children hill price. The last OPP
portunity" to see these, and other separate
wonders, is dwelt upon with exceeding
pathos of voice and manner by the benevo.
lent door-keepers each hour of each day.
On the piazza, in their wagon by the side
ofthe building, II brass band enlivens the air
with notes not always oversmooth and har-
monious The horses, cattle, sheep, hogs aud
poultry are represented further away, and are
usually entitled To the attention they receive.
But the chief feature of the fair 10 what Josh
Billings calls 1.-THE agricultural hoss trot."
The farmer does not need D trotting horse, rs
the gentleman of leisure in or near town
does, where smooth aud perfect roads abound,
but the fair gives more in premiums TO the
| speediest trotters than to all other interests
in the show combined. What the farmer
does need is good solid horse for all work,
and, above all, agood walking horse but for
these scant provision or none ut all Is made
The races are commonly continued ON tht
the afternoon of each day, and the entrance
| to them is not confined always to local
horses ;for those OF more or less celebrity are