The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1903-10-16

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on September % and will close on
October II. IL il said that this state
fair has already run longer than any
similar institution in the world, and
its popularity continues undated.
IL has been q strong factor in the
development of the state, and its in
fluence for good has been manifested
in the growth along all industrial and
agricultural lines.
Th.s success of the Texas state fair
suggests al inquiry why so few states
have kept up these valuable iustitu-
tons. A state fair is a sign of pro-
gress. Ii is an evidence of a worthy
ambition that exists among the peo-
pie to elevate the agricultural cOndi-
tiOns of the state. Iu the present
age advertisements underlie all sue
cessful business pursuits, aud expe-
rience has demonstrated that no
method il so efficient for this purpose,
from al industrial point OF view, as
the holding of eKpOsitiOns and fairs.
Fairs appeal more immediately to
the people of the state Than great
expOsiIiOns. Their tendency is to
awaken q new ambition among every
class, which leads TO healthy devel-
opment For the most part, state
fairs are used for the display OF those
products that originate iD The state.
They are short, local eNpO>itiOns, in
tensive and rrstricte: in their plans,
rapid in their movements, and sue
cessful ia theE ends. Scene succeeds
scene in quick succession, aud there
is au apmation excited that is con-
tsgisds. People will flock 10 well,
Conducted fair ss they come out on
special days to an exposition. Where
they ar held every year thrifty. we'll
to do farmers usually look forward to
the time a. they look forward to q
grand holiday occasion where the
best things are to be collected for
their instruction, edlfication and
amusement. Taken in its broadest
sense fair is a school where the
young and the old may learn new
lessons from the display of concrete
objects. a fair is a great book which
all may read and enjoy. 1t is liv.
ing treatise on all products-aesthe-
tie, mineral, vegetable and animal
gathered and classified so as to convey
to the observer the largest degree of
practical knowledge. a fair is place
where the newest experiments in
agriculture are exchanged, new ideas
disseminated and the best methods of
cdltivsting the various crops are
made known. An exhibition OF
wheat, for instance; how il was fer
tilted, how the land WAS prepared,
its variety, its TIME OF ripening aud
it, yield, may be the DUMB but potent
preceptOr to thousand farmers. The
same lessons may be taught in vary
ing degree 10y the exhibits of all
other crops that are or may be grown
within the boundaries Of the state
where the fair is held.
In the improvement of live stock,
however, the value OF fairs is of the
greatest Importance. The best ami
mails Of every breed are brought for.
ward, their good points studied, their
pedigrees made known and their ex-
celient qualities determined. The
interest taken in stock exhibitions is
the best sign of progress.
Whenever the cultivators of the
soil are stimulated 10y competition to
al improvement OF their domestic
animals the improvement of the soil
is sure to follow. No instance in the
history of agriculture can be pointed
out where an improved agriculture
did not follow in the wake of i'm
proved domestic animals. Fer long
seriod the agriculture OF England
languished and the yield of agricul-
tural products In the United King
dom WAS reduced to such low point
as 10 threaten the very existence OF
the nation.
Every well informed man knows
that at the beginning of the eight.