The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-08-25

Now, the boy who is preparing
pig or calf for the fair has more
complicated task than the one who
enters some corn. With the corn
boy, the whole problem is selecting
the right ears. With the others it is
not only selecting the right individ-
ual, but doing great many things
to put that individual in the best pos
sibie form, and to keep it So
Weeks and even months in advance
of the fair, the boy must start get
ting his calf or pig tame. At par
ticular time, it may be necessary to
pare the pigs toenails so that he will
stand up straight without too much
bend at the pasterns. But he must be
careful not to pare them too close.
A limping pig is not likely to be
prize winner. Several weeks before
the fair he should trim the hair out
of the pigs ears, being careful to do
it in such a way that the ears will
not be irregular in outline. He should
provide a clean wallow for the pig
to keep the hair and skin soft and
plable-and he ought to know the
trick of the trade that a little oil
on the surface of the water helps a
great deal; also that little linseed
meal, properly fed to the pig, puts a
peculiar gloss on the hair.
He must remember to have the
right kind of crate ready in plenty
of time. Many boys have failed to
get their pigs to the fair because,
when the time came to ship, there
was no crate. The Department has
special sets Of specifications for pig
crates, and others. A very import
ant thing to remember in connection
with the crate is that the pig grows
at pretty rapid clip. The crate
must be built big enough for the pig,
not when the crate is made, but al
lowing for growth between then and
fair time. And it must not be big
enough to permit the pig to turn
around. The boy must remember
that the pig should not be fed just
before shipping. No matter how
much the little rascal cries for corn,
he must not be INDUCED. If he is
fed, he is very likely to get sick on
the train and go through the whole
fair in a droopy, drowsy, unprizelike
way.
PRIZES ARE NOT ALL
These are just a few of the things
that must be remembered in prepar-
ing a pig for the fair. And there are
equally many with regard to the calf
| or the dairy COW, or the poultry, or
any of the things, practically, that
the boy or girl, man or woman, wants
to exhibit at the fair.
Even with all the care possible, the
animal or other product may not be
a prize winner. There can't be priz-
es for every exhibitor. The fair
that tries to arrange things so that
everybody can get prize does not
amount to much usually. 1t does
not mean anything to win prize
when you are the only exhibitor in
your class. And, as the experts IN
the Department of Agriculture point
out, the prize is not the main thing
after ALL To be sure, the boys and
girls and men and women who get
things ready for the fair are contri-
buting to an education for the pub
lic-but the main thing for them is
the education they get themselves.
"Take part in the contest" say
the experts, "for your own sake. You
will have a better pig, better calf,
! better pound of butter, better can
of peaches next year by reason of
having exhibited this year, whether
you win or not. And, with proper
attention to preparation, the prizes
are sure to come, too, sooner or
I later"