The Mena weekly star., 1913-08-21
Poultry Section Is Almost Filled With Fine Birds-An Expert
 Will Judge All.
LOTS OF ADJUSTMENTS
Baseball Each Day, Races, Wild West Stunts, Etc.-Man Vs. Horse in Five Mile Con-
 test Friday.

The seventeenth Annual Fair and Celebration of Mena and Polk Coun- ty opened Wednesday under promis- ing circumstances and conditions, notwithstanding the dry and hot weather that has prevailed for some time. The attendance is bet ter than expected on first days Up to noon the superintendents of the several departments reported that the number of exhibits was equal To and in many instances exceeded those of the first half-day on pre- yious years. This is particularly true in the needlework and poultry sections. All department heads expected a rush in the receipt of exhibits in the afternoon.
 Doubtless the best educational fea- ture of the Fair is the exhibit made by the Mena Sub-Station of the Arkansas State Experiment Sta ton. The exhibit is in charge of Prof. Lynn NJ. Osborn, assistant in agronOmy at the state university. All of the products shown were grown at the Mena Sub-Station, which is a concrete demonstration of what can be done by proper eul- tivation and rotation of crops. A miniature plat of the station made in sand box shows the sub-divi- sions of the station, with history of the croppings and cultivatiOns of the several sections during this sea- son. No one interested in forage and cereal crops should fail to visit and study this exhibit.
 As usual, the Kansas City South ern, through it's representative, Ed IT. Wolfe has on exhibition a fine display of fruits and vegetables.
 One of the busiest men on the grounds Wednesday was c. L. Leaton in charge of the poultry department. He reports that al most all of the available space has been taken. It will be of interest to poultry fanciers to learn that all birds placed on exhibition will be judged and scored by one of the most expert poultry judges in the southwest. Mr. A. G. Parsons of TeXarkana, manager of the largest poultry farm in Texas, has been se- cured for this purpose.
 John Dodd, superintendent of the farm products department, being unable to be present, his work Is being handled by M. B. Brown, in connection with his duties as su- perintendent of the department of garden products. Mr. Brown re- ports that in his judgment his de- partments are not up to the stand ard as to variety, but he had infor- nation that many more exhibitors were coming in in the evening. Up to noon there were three entries Tn contest for the best exhibit of agrl- cultural products raised by one man in 1913. The diversity of farm products that can be raised in Polk county is graphically shown by these exhibits. The one displayed by w. A. Gatlin shows sixty differ ent products, that made by w. NJ. Taylor from near Potter contains forty-nine different varieties, and the display shown by W. T. Whit tenburg contains upward of sixty varieties with more to be brought in. The exhibits include fruits. vegetables, forage and grain crops.
 R. Osborn has charge of the fruit department in the absence of A. W. Smith. He reports that unless there is big boom in his de- partment if will not be up to the standard. This is not due to the fact that the fruit is not in the county but should be partially at tributed to the failure of fruit growers to avail themselves of the opportunity to exhibit their pro- duets and partially to the fact that the time is between seasons. It is too early for apples and pears and too late for peaches. grapes and other fruit. However, this deficiency is more than made up in the euli- nary section, where the ladies in charge report they were about Continued on Fifth page)