Year: 1874

Horse Raeiag at A1ricnltaHA 4sa4sss.:


Upon this subject Alexander Hyde
says in the New York Times:


In the first place,it must be ever kept
in mind that the great object Of agri-
cultural societies and fairs is education.
al. The fair days are not mere holi-
days, as some suppose. Relaxation and
amusement are incidental to these oc-
casions,. not their chief end. Since the
custom has prevailed Of owning grounds
and buildings and charging admission
fees in order to pay the greatly increas-
ed expenses, the tendency has been to
make the fair attractive by the intro
duction Of sideshows so as to draw the
crowd, and the success Of q fair has
been measured not by the quality of
the stock, etc, exhibited, but by the
receipts at the gate and from rents.
Hence the introduction Of CREASED poles,
sack races, revolving swings, ETC., which
have no more connection with agricul-
turc than has Barnum's circus.


Horse racing is another side issue,
which was introduced in the first place
for much the same purpose, and at some
fairs has so encroached upon the exhi-
bition as to put the farmers and their
stock and products in the background,
and in some instances has driven them
from the grounds. There is a shadow
Of reason for introducing trotting at a
fair, as the horse is legitimate product
Of the farm and speed one Of the desira-
bic attributes of horse. but 50 much
being granted, We contend that the
race course is DO more an alley Of agri
culture than that constellation in the
heavens which is called the Great Bear
is component parl of a farmers
stock. 1t is an entirely separate insti-
tuition from fair, has different laws,
different associations, and totally diff
ferent result. The race draws a big
crowd, but this crowd is not composed
Of farmers. When hundreds Of dollars
are offered for the fastest trotting horse,
and only $40 for the best COW, SIS for
the best sheep, So for the best exhibi-
ton Of fruit, So for the best butter,
and ST. for the best vegetables, farmers
may we'll conclude that their products
are a: discount with the managers Of
fairs.


The horse is a noble animal, and is
an indispensable adjunct Of the farm;
but trotting horse, one Of the 2:40
kind, in no sense belongs to the farm.
No farmer can afford either to tend or
use trotting horses, and when it is pre-
tended that the race course favors the
breeding of superior animals it is all
fudge. What the farmer wants, and
what fairs should give premiums for, is
good family-carriage or farm horses,
worth 5000 or $500; one that can draw a
plow all day, and eat and sleep we'll at
night that can move on the road at
the rate Of five or six miles an hour for
four or five consecutive hours without
excessive fatigue. Speed is not the
great criterion Of good horse, as the
large premiums offered would seem to
indicate. Neither the owner nor the
spectator gems anything by this forced
2:40 speed. It is mere momentary
spurt, and for it's production an amount
Of training is required which no farmer
can afford.


The answer to this, that it draws the
crowd and pays, is not sufficient. This
is superficial view of the matter. As
a temporary expedieat, it may pay. AS
long as the novelty lasts the crowd will
assemble and huzza; but it is a noisy
crowd, and not Of the most refined
character, and it is question well
worthy of the consideration of our fair
managers whether the race does not
keep away about as many as it attracts,
and whether, in the long run, it will not
run the fairs into the ground. A track
where the action, natural speed, train
ing and strength of q horse can be ex-
hibited is valuable adj met Of fair
grounds; but if a horse which is Of lit
tie value except fora short squirt is to
absorb most of the attention and
money, farmers will not bring their
stock and products, and the fair ceases
to be an agricultural institution.


"But we must have little fun," say
some. We do not object to fun.
''There is time to laugh" says the
wise man; but we do not exactly see
where the laugh comes in at a horse
race. 1t is anything but pleasurable to
us to see horses exerting themselves
beyond all reasonable bounds to compass
q mile in an unreasonable short space
Of time, There is some excite ment
about race, We grant, and, if there
are those who must live on excitement,
let them have race course away from
the fair grounds. The fair will flourish
more, and accomplish its legitimate re-
suits better, without than with racing.
If the exhibition Of good stock, farming
tools. and farm products, the meeting
Of friends, and the generous rivalry for
premiums do not furnish attraction and
excitement enough to draw out those
interested in agriculture, then it is
time that our fairs should cease, and it
is no longer worth while for the State