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Show Remarkable Growth of County Fairs Factor In Agricultural Education ity, county, state, district, national and international fairs which cover practically every section of the country. The development of the fair in the United States has been one of normal growth and expansion, according to Samuel R. Guard, director of the Sear,s-Roebuck Agricultural Foundation Founda-tion and one of the leading exponents of agricultural exhibits in America. The successful contestant in a local fair naturally wishes to compare his products with those of the winners in other local fairs. That was liow the county fair came to be. The state fair with its wider appeal was the next logical step, and there county winners win-ners went to settle disputes on the relative merrits of their products. Eventually this lead to competition between states, culminating first in the inter-state fair, later in the national na-tional show and finally in the international inter-national exhibit. Many a national fnampion grain grower or livestock 'breeder today can trace his success to some little honor captured at the county fair years ago. In 1810, one fain; in 1925, two thousand fairs. In 1810, an attendance of about five thousand; in 1925 an estimated attendance of approximately twenty-five twenty-five million. These figures, in a nutshell, tell the story of the marvelous growth of the American fair from the humblest beginning to its present-day status as an important factor in agricultural education. They are of especial interest inter-est here in view of the approaching held at Manti, Sept. 15, 16 and 17th. Sanpete County Fair, which will be While the fair idea has been taken hold of tremendously in the United States, it is not native to this country. coun-try. Fairs run back to ancient days, but in the olden times they were more after the manner of a bazaar or market, mar-ket, only held with less frequency, very much like the fairs in vogue in Germany and other European countries coun-tries today. The American fair traces its ancestry back only to about the' middle of the eighteenth century, when a group of progressive farmers in the Tees River valley in northeastern northeast-ern Britian joined to bring their, livestock together for comparison. It has been termed the first agricultural fair and was the model after which were patterned the hundreds of country coun-try fairs both here and in England. Elkanah Watson of New York has been credited with being the father of the American fair. In 1815 Watson organized the agricultural society of Albany, N. Y., and proceeded to establish es-tablish fairs and cattle shows in the neighboring; counties. In 1819, clue mainly to his influence, the New The appealing thing arjout the county fair is the opportunity it offers of-fers the farmer to compare his own work with that of his neighbors and so inspires in him a healthy ambition to improve himself and his work, states Mr. Guard. Within easy distance dis-tance of his home, he can examine the best animals, grains, fruits and vegetables, poultry and honey and determine de-termine where he falls short of the mark. Likewise his wife can put her needlework, her baking and pastry, her canned fruits and vegetables against those of other farm women and enjoy the thrill and reward that comes of victory. Altogether the country fair stimulates friendly competition com-petition that has been responsible for much of the farm progress in the past century, he says, j The educational value of the farm i implement and equipment displays! j that are part of all the better fairs ! is one of the most commendable features, according to Mr. Guard. ! State and federal government exhibits bring home to the farmer lessons in growing his products more economically economi-cally and efficiently, and household furnishings and labor saving devices on view work directly for the improvement im-provement of country life. York legislature appropriated ten thousand dollars a year for six years for premiums on agricultural and home manufacture products. In 1832 the state agricultural society was founded and work started in other eastern states. But while Watsin was busy converting farmers and legislators legis-lators to the value of fairs, the Columbian Col-umbian Agricultural Society held what is believed to be the first exhibition ex-hibition of its kind in Washington, D. C, in 1810. Pittsfield, Mass., shortly thereafter inaugurated regular agricultural exhibits, ex-hibits, and from these first small efforts ef-forts grew up our system of commun- |
