The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-10-03

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All Branches ofslndustry Benefited
Through Improvement Of Farm
| Ing Conditions Aid to Corn
munity Devefopment.
By DIR. w. II. DALRTMPLE, M R. C. V. s..
| IN Southern Farmer
! The benefits to sbe derived from an
! agricultural fair 8sare much greater
and more numerous than may appear
on the surface to. the casual observer
The mere exhibition of farm pro-
! duets, is, of itself.a good thing, but If
this were the sole reason for getting
up a fair. fhe true object would be
very widely missed. .
In the first place, the fair is. or
ought be busb.es 49oposition
foG--ge farmer. and, incidentally, for
| all with whom the farmer comes in
contact in a business way, such as
| the banker, the merchant, ETC.. as
any enterprise which is calculated to
benefit the farmer, by increasing his
profits and his income generally,
can not fail to- benefit all other
branches of industry in the commu-
| nifty.
Sometimes the size of the pre-
| miums offered is the deciding factor
as to whether or not farmer will go
to the trouble and little extra ex-
pense Of preparing his product,
whether live stock or field crops. for
exhibition at the fair. But while the
premium, small as it may sometimes
| be, helps to defraY a part of the ex-
pense of preparation, it is short
sighted policy to allow the size of
the premium to- decide the question
of whether or not the farmer shall
make an exhibit.
Take, for example, man with
some good pure-hred cattle or hogs;
the first prize may only be the
moderate sum Of s5. But the win
ming of that S.. which is equivalent
to his having the best animal in it's
class at the fair, may be the means
of his being able to sell many ami
mails out of his herd at very hand
some profits. And besides this. he
has at once established permanent
market for the variety and class Of
animals he raises, and purchasers
know in future just where to go to
procure what they want In other
words, his market Is made, and it
has been made through his winning
of that little SIS first premium, which
he may have looked upon as alto
gether too small to go to the trou-
bic Of competing for.
The sole object, then, is not the
winning of the little money prize,
but what that premium may bring
to him afterwards In his business as
Ia produe ssssssssats would surely show
a lack of business sagaeity to allow a
small premium to stand in the way
Of the farmer and stock raiser MAX
ling due preparation to show the best
he owns at the fair.
The agricultural fair is great edu-
Gator, and the farmer needs it in his
business, and as a part of his bust
ness. He may have at home what he
considers an unbeatable product of
some kind, and brings it to the fair.
/ Some other farmer, with a similar
product, also exhibits, and wins the
premium, because his product is just
a little bit better than the other fell
/ lows. There is disappointment, nat
urally, but the two are. now together,
and, by comparison, the man with the
Unbeatable exhibit now sees for
/ himself why he only received the
{ second prize, He has gained an ex-
perience by actual observation which
| decides him in the determination to
return home and prepare an exhibit
/ for the following years fair which
will eclipse that of his previous
years competitor. The fair, in this
way, stimulates that spirit of
healthy rivalry amongst competitors
which makes for greater excellence
in our farm products of all kinds.
The farmer should bring to the fair
the best he has. IF he should fail
to win the first time, he should
make close observation and compar-
ison and try to find out the reasons
for his failure. He should not be-
come discouraged, but should carry
the lessons he has learned home with
him, put them into practice in the
improvement Of his product, and with
the determination to do better On a
subsequent occasion. This is the
sort Of spirit that has built up all
of our great fairs and made them
the successful and beneficent institu-
tions they are today.
The agricultural fair attracts buy
ersto community. A par:s--h may
| be sfs.ked With nest exeafent and
salable farm products OF all kinds,
but in order to turn them into money
it is necessary tfat the market
should know where they are and of
what they are composed, which is a
difficult matter unless the producer
/ exposes his wares, SO that buyers
may be informed as to their where
abouts. Why does the dry goods man,
or other tradesman, stock up and
dress his show windows with all
sorts of attractive materials? Sim
ply to attract purchasers by expos
ing, to the best advantage, what he
has for sale. The farmer has no
show windows, but he has his annual
agricultural fair for a similar purpose
if he will but take advantage OF it;
and once he has attracted the right
kind Of buyers for his products, his
market may be said to be made, il
| he will only keep up, and improve
the quality.
! The agricultural fair is a city ane