Semi-weekly herald., 1912-08-22
THE COLoRADO-NEW Mexico
FAIR.

| Having been Judge of the f.rm
products at the fair last year I fssl
that as the time approaches for an
other. fair I would like to make 4
few remarks concerning it.
Fairs are usually held with the
view Of attracting trade. But I am
interested particularly in the exhibit
tors side of the subject. / believe
that farmers do not fully realize the
object of the exhibition. It Il not
to pull down the small prize that Ia
usually offered, but to point out the
ideal toward which to work. The
winner OF prize ought not to feel
elated over the fact that he has pro-
duced the best poatoes or the best
sugar bcets. Fairs are or ought u
be places Of instruction. II a man
loses he ought to know why.
Last year we had trouble in find
ng one entry. The party had entered
several things and finally found
heap of vegetables on the floor with
the exhibitors number on 1t. / did not
claw over the mass to find the ex-
hibit. felt that If 1t we're not worth
displaying properly II was hardly
worth looking for. Products ought
to be made attractive so that the
good points will appear at their best.
If man wants to sell horse he
hardly neglects to curry and brush Il
on the day the prospective buyer
calls. In case Of this exhibitor, IL the
table space was all filled, It would
have been an easy matter to Sc
cure dry goods box and neatly
arranged the vegetables upon it. Pro
ducts do not need lot of baby rib
bon or fancy crepe paper on It 70
appear well. Have It clean. Select
good types. Display neatly.
Potatoes are one Of the things up
or which the southwest prides itself.
We can produce as good potatoes rs
Carbondale or Greeley. wonder Il
that is the impression that Eugens
Grubb, the great potato grower Of
Carbondale, carried home with him
last year. I was actually ashamed
to put blue ribbon on the potatoes
that were exhibited. They were knot
ty, misshappen, and not uniform In
size or color There seemed to ps
an idea that what was wanted was
big rotatos. Sometimes In some
vegetables size is a great factor bet
MS general rule quality takes pre-
cednce.
Make the Judge tell why. Exhibit
tors ought to send stuff to the fairs
to compete. Therefore they ought to
know what things are likely TO r.
ceive consideration at the hands Of
the judge. n the Judge has any rea-
son for placing things as he does lie
will be perfectly willing to state tbs
reasons. When Judge gets angry
ana refused to tell why, you can be
pretty sure that he has no reasons
TO give. From the farmers point Of
view, If John Jones failed to ge.
blue ribbon on his favorite potatoes
he ought to know why and IL there is
a reason he ought to- come back the
next year with that reason elimi-
mated. A clear understanding be-
tween the judge and the exhibitor
will save lot Of dissatisfaction all
around.
The management ought 10 see TO
I. that only good material is al
loved on exhibition and insist tina.
IL be attractively displayed. A fair
indicates to some extent the resour-
ces Of the section, and it Is not fair
to the section to allow any but neat
displays. 1t is also the duty Of the
management to see that the exhibits
are SO numbered that the Judge can
find them without any assistance.
Most judges do not want to know
who grew the products; it leads to
possible unfounded charges against
him.
l believe in boosting. believe
that the fair is one of the best boost
ers we can have. Therefore want
to see the coming fair succeed in ev-
cry way. For these reasons / offer
the above for the consideration Of all
concerned with the coming fair, add
| hope that all people in the basin
will unite to make it the best ever.
GEO. w. GRAVES.
Fort Lewis School.