Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1920-10-01

Editors Note.-We esteem our
selves as being especially fortunate
in being able to present a review Of
the county fair by w. P. Kirkwood
of the department of! Rural Journal
ism of the State University. Prof.
Kirkwood was sent out by the Ex-
tension Division of the University in
order to formulate plans for develop
ing more strongly the educative fea-
lures of county fairs.)
The Stevens county fair, held last
week at Morris, offered exhibits
which should be a matter of pride
to the people of the county and which
were evidence that the fair holds
great possibilities for the future. This
is the opinion of the group of men
and women who judged the various
exhibits. Qualification should be
felt, the judges said, over the mani
fest interest displayed by the people
of the county in various kinds of
club work. The boys and girls in
the baby beef and pig raising con-
tests offered perhaps the star fea-
lures of the fair, but offerings of
some of the canning clubs were
enough to awaken enthusiasm. Six
attractive booths, arranged by as
many active farmers clubs, were an
other manifestation of the wide
spread interest in the fair as a med
ium through which the county's in
dustrial activities and local enter
prises may be brought to the atten-
tion of the public. The schools, both
of town and country, used the same
medium to acquaint the people of the
county with the vocational work they
are doing.
The various exhibits referred to, in
fact; almost eclipsed the more gen
eral exhibits of the fair-those en-
tered by men and women as indivi-
duals-but not altogether. There
was enough competition among in
dividua1 exhibitors to show that in
terest on the part of farmers and
others in the county was alive and
active.
1t was in the unusual interest
shown in the exhibits of the various
groups mentioned and in the con-
tinuing interest on the part of the in
dividuals that the Judges saw posi-
bilities of the rapid development.
EXHIBITING A FARMERS DUTY
1t is the duty of farmers and others
to make exhibits at such fairs, saiG
W. A. McKerrow, livestock specialist
of the extension division at Univer,
sity Farm, st. Paul, who acted as
judge of the dairy and beef cattle
at the fair last week. It is theil
duty for two reasons: because il
helps the county to advertise itself
and because by helping to advertise
the county's resources the farmer
adds to the value of his investments
Furthermore, said Mr.. McKerrow, the
person who brings in for exhibit his
products whether livestock or crops
! has an opportunity to compare his
results with those of others, and BY
doing so, to discover wherein he may
improve the output of his farm en-.
terprise both as to quantity ant
/ quality. If he gets nothing of this
kind, if his quantity and quality are
top notch, he furnishes some Other
man who is exhibiting, an oppor
tunity to get pointers of value II
other words, every farmer who ex
hibits helps to advertise his county
helps to increase the value Of his owl
farm investments, and helps to edu
cate himself or others. All three
things, Mr.. McKerrow says, arr
worth doing.
JUNIORS SHOW BABY BEEF
About twenty-four calves wer,
shown by the boys and girls in tn,
baby beef contest, and they were ;
snappy looking bunch of animals
Mr.. McKerrow said that the exhibi
of this year showed 100 per cen
improvement over that of last yea
in the quality of the calves fed AM
in their condition.
Among the twenty-five pigss en-
tered in the fat pig contest were tel
or twelve Of good quality and four o
five which we're outstanding, accord
ing to Andrew Boss, vice-director o
the Minnesota experiment stations
who judged the hogs. Representa-
tive animals from the baby beef an,
the fat pig exhibits will be show
at the junior livestock show at tn
South st. Paul stockyards in Novem
Der. 1t is worth while for the young
sters who were exhibiting, therefore
to know what the judges at the Stew
ems county fair thought the boys an
girls whose animals were showr
were somewhat too saving of feet
In other words, both calves and pig