Morning journal and courier., 1888-09-12
THE STATE FAIR.

Pronounced the Best in YeaFS-The
 BIg Tents 9nd the PavtnonS ThFomg"
 ed Yesterday-NOrth Haven Grange
 Exhibit-Other GramEes-The Cattle
 Display-The Show at the Town
 HaIl-The Races-An Unpopular De-
 efsiOn-Mr. Neely's Rocket shows Hts
 Speed.
 Meriden says that the nineteenth annual fair of the Connecticut State Agricultural society, which opened at the Meriden Park yesterday, is the best for several years, and to zee the crowds of tents, side shows, fakirs, animals, produce and people about the
 grounds fully confirmed this opinion. By 10 o'clock in the forenoon everything was in full blast, and the big tents and pa vilions were thronged with sightseers. The west portion of inc park is crowded with tents and booths. The object that attracts the attention is the mammoth tent, over 300 feet in length and 60 feet wide. It stands on the brow of the hill and is devoted to g very large exhibit of all kinds of farming implements. There are blows, harrows, ted
 ders, hay-cutters, road scrapers and other utensils of that nature in great abundance. The grange exhibit is very attractive, the number of fine horses shown is unusually
 large and the cattle show is of rare excellence in some of the classes.
 Wallingford grange, the winner of the
 first prize last year, is again the center of at
 traction at this fair, it's unique ship made of the fruits of the farm being much ad- mired.
 North Haven grange makes an excellent
 show. Pyramids of fruit and vegetables
 with massive banks os flowers are in the fore ground, while the usual display of the products of the dairy, kitchen and sewing room fill the racks.
 Berlin grange has one of the finest exhib- its at the fair. It occupies both sides of the aisle that runs the entire width of the build ing.
 Other noticeably fine granges were those of Mattabessett, Westfsld, Cromwell, Heri- den and Middleield. Cheshire grange has double arch, bearing the farmers motto: ssPillars of success in Agriculture" aeros the front. A festure of this grange's show IS big farm wagon loaded with peaches raised on the farm of J. Norris Barnes, 8 member of the grange. Upon the three respective bases of the pillars upholding the arches are the notices. "Patience," !" Intelligent 1ndus- try. :" Perseverance" all formed of bright colored produce. Among exhibitors of hns fruits at this grange were: N. 5. Platt, J. Norris Barnes, o. s. Lord, w. 5. Baldwin, Ernest Trythall.
 A fine exhibit of carriages was there from the manufactories of Manville & Dudley and the Boston Blackboard company, both of this city. Their display was very complete: l Among the cattle-President Bill of Lyme shows twenty seven head of Devons and short horns; J. W. Yale of Meriden, sixteen head; Lockwood Brothers, Watertown, four; Wal ter E. Case, Suffeld, eleven; E. s. Fosdick, Lyme, fourteen; A. E. Norton. Berlin, ten, and s. H. Peck, Watertown, nineteen, in all 101 head of this fine stock. One of the finest displays is that of Cherry Park Jerseys. "Creme de Ia creme" They are beautiful E,xx n piohn adi of the Jersey Bulletin. His line of cows all de- scended from gilt edge cream pot from differ ent bulls. MT. Bishop formerly lived in New Haven. His stock is the increase of ten years, and his plan of raising is that of the old Connecticut farmers. His COWS give 3716 per cent. of cream without corn. The town hall in Meriden is also one of the great centers of the fair. Here are grouped beautiful displays of all kinds of merchandise and artistic flowers. One of the very finest of all the many exhibits is that of Burgess & Burgess of New Haven. They show fur goods of every imaginable description and device and the number and value of these may be imagined when it is known that the samples shown are valued st 5000. Their I show this year includes muffs, sacques, robes and mufders and they have an agent on the spot to take the measure for any goods any one may desire. H. B. Shepard, also of New Haven, shows forty. three varieties of dahlias in one basket.
 Roosa & Flynn's orchestra furnished con-
 aert music during the evening. Tonight the Military band will play and Thursday night
 the Germania orchestra of Hartford.
 Among the exhibitors of agricultural i'm
 plements at the park are the Syracuse Chill
 ed Flow company, George Tyler & Co.,, Bos-
 ton; Birdsey & Foster, Meriden; the Belcher
 & Taylor Co.,, Chicopee Falls, Mass; N. P.
 Burr, Meriden; o. w. Goslee, Buckingham,
 Conn.,; Higganum Manufacturing Co.,; Rich
 ardson Manufacturing Co.,, Worcester; Will
 liam Deering & Co.,, Chicago; Adriance, ,Platt
 & Co.,, New York; A. W. Gray E Sons, Mid dletoWn Springs, Vt.; Vermont Farm Ma chine Go. and P. Steadman, Chicopee Falls,
 Mass.
 About half-past two o'clock the first call
 bell for the races was sounded. Out of the eight horses entered for the minute class
 but three appeared on the track. Hillie HeleVan's b. g. Joe O., took the ing second, and ". B. Halls ch. g. T. Brigham third
 In the first heat, Joe c. fell back little at the start, hut ". H. R. and kept second in the procession, headed by T. Brisham. In the second heat the start was even, but kept to the finish. The third heat was also taken by the same horse, which made 6 fine appearance during the entire race. The summary is:
 W. B. HaT. Msrideu, oh g T. BrighAm...... 1
 Nlilif H HslsTssS: Rosssaet EisSca s4issO Sof Time -2:495<, 2:451<, 2:4eI<.
 Seven out of the eight booked were in
 the class of gentlemen's driving horses tG road wagon. Mr. William Neeiy's handsome
 black gelding Rocket, driven by ,. A. Doo- | little, ir., of this oity, was conspicuous among the number. Its trotting was beau | tiful and 1t took the first two heats in fine | style, without break. In the first heat W. | A. Penheld's bay gelding Fiction came in
 second and in the second heat Allen Risk's bay mare Maggie took this place.
 In the third heat some little time was \ spent in getting the horses to score properly
 and when the word was finally given Mir. Neely's Rocket was somewhat behind. Be-
 fore the quarter was reached he was drawing
 towards the front when the black
 mare Maggie foulsd with him, tearing of one
 boot and crowding him into the fence He
 recovered. however, and in as pretty race I as one ever saw, though breaking twice, gradually took the lead. When opposite the
 distance stand on the last round, the driver,
 Doolittle of this city, bent over to look at his
 horse's boot, which had been torn of and a
 strap left dragging by the foul at the start.
 Rocket here veered siightly towards Fiction,
 the horse close behind but not enough to bal the course of everything on the track. She passed the wire ahead amid great applause.
 Judge Morris Holcomb of Bloomfield, how | ever, CoD91Q6rSQ 0or aS 1ouI1DR Wtbn CIcblOn | on the home stretch. He distanced both Maggie and Rocket. The decision was sab- | iect to much exception and Rocket did mol \ appear again. Mr. Nicely says he did not en.
 ter her for any of the other races during the
 week. The decision against Rocket was uni
 versally unpopular, and the pretty black gelding was everybody's favorite. Driver | Doolittle said that the slight turn was entire- | ly unavoidable on his part and shouldn't
 have been so harshly treated by the judge. The fourth heat was won by Fiction, Jack \ B. taking second place. In the fifth heat Dare was distanced for running and Fiction \ was fined $5 for the same offence. Jack B. was declared winner. He also took the next
 heat, thus necessitating another heat to be called for this morning at 11:30. Fiction, it ' is thought, will win this easily. The summary of this class was: W. A. Penfield, Meriden, b g FIc-
 | o. ". Bennett, Rockville, Ct, br g.
 Matt Darcy, Hartford. oh rn Daisy William Nicely, New Haven, blk g
 ] Roekst Sloa,.,; si,1,;i:,a.,,; M 9 9 9