Fair Notes

The fair is an exhibition for the people and by the people, and all the people should attend. The exhibits at a fair farrour zeal for knowledge, and cali our attention forcibly to the living probiem of industrial and agricultural education. If you do not feel like attending more than one fair this year, it should be your home fair. It will suffer no extortionate charges and all may rely upon having a pleasant and profitable time . The. great pictorial lessons afforded by our f airs, render the autumnal season, during which they are held, a vast school in which nearly every branch of practical learning is taught in some degree. The fair is not a school room hemmed in by fournarrow walls, butin the open air, beneath a sky of Italian softness, smiling down upon a country af beautiEul and serene as the sun ever shone apon. It is not a sch ooi for people of any special age or class, but men, women and children of every age, station or condition, flock here for rest, recuperation and inspiration as well as for information. Now is the time to begin to prepare exhibits for our. fair. Select the best speecimens of the producís of your fields and household, coliect them together, and when the time arrivés, bring ;hem to the fair. While we are extravagant in the description and praise of our fair, yet we risk nuthing in saying that everybody svho visits it this year will find what ;hey[seein reality f ar exceeding any conjeption of it formed reading this paper. No other country of the world bóasts )f an institution similar to onr fairs, nd we certainy have no grander achievenent. In them we see the animal proof of America's intellectual progress, and the expansión of our minds toward perfection. The live stock feature of a fair'is always a popular one. A long row of Btalls fllled with the cholcest possessions of stock raisers, is au attraction that is always inviting and interesting, and a grand parade of premium animáis is a scène that has no superior Our American genius has created a peculiarly American institution in om agricultural fairs, and nobody should permit our show for this year to pass by without its having a chance to exert upon him to the widest extent all its enlightening and elevating influences. We aim not only to equal all former exhibitions, but to excel any and all of them, in all points where superiority is possible. The best proof of the sincerity of our pretensions can be found by attending the fair this year, and testing for yourself, by comparing it with the exhibitions you have witnessed apon our grounds inprevious years. The fair we hold is devoted to the interest of the commuity in which you live, and no one can reasonably afforcï to ignore its claims for patronage. No matter how many other fairs and expositions one may attend, the home fair has the best and strongest claim upon him, and he should give it attendance also. There is as much variety in fairs as there is in human nature, and many of them are annual repetitions of the familiar scènes of other years, but we aim to give a fair that will be new to the visitor because there will be new objects to be eeen, new sights to witnesg, and new lessona for thought and contemplation. The time was when a fair was merely a pumpkin or a potato show, bat that time has gone by forever. Today they embrace the intelligence, industry, fashion and flnancial prosperity ofthe age. There is scarcely a resemblance etween them and the shows of thirty years ago. They have progressed and will still progress and become more and more popular, as they deserve to, as ;he years come and go. The word agrictilture is broad in its meaning and includes everything growng from the soil. At our fair it includes not only the varied producís' of ;he fields, gardéns, orchards, greenlouses and oonservatories, but it means the best of every variety that can be rown in our söil and climate. It is a place where you can see what yóur community is capable of raising and this is well worth the admission fee, although it is but a small fraction of what you can see and learn for the money. Make your en tries early. Don' -wait until the fair commences. Avoid the rush. It is impossible to have justioe done you in the push and jam. Send to the secretary for blanks and make them out at home, when your head is clear and you know'just what you waut to do. We are obliged to make out over 4,000 entries at our fair every year and when too many are crowded into one day it is only by the earnesc work and perfect system of doing it that jnstice can be done yon. My advice is, make them out at home and be better satisfied. All you will have to do then is cali for your tags and mark your articles. The family that is tired with the work and heat of the summer should use the week of the fair as a time for a picnic, and make every day a holiday. To the men it will furnish an opportunity to wash off the soil-stains gotten on the farm, or the dirt or grime of the work shop. To the women it will furnish an escape from the wearisome anxiety, the hard work and the humdrum of the household. Everybody can turn from the care and confinements of a life of toil to the bnght sunshine of the park, enjoying the scènes and lessons for instruction interspersed with appropriate and 3wholesome amusement, intended to provide recreation, restore languishing spirits, and beget courage to endure the trials of life. The difficulty of getting some new attraction for the fair, sornething different from that of last year, increases with every season, but we expect to solve the problem for this year in a satisfactory manner. The monotomy of sameness in some departments, due to the similarity of the varieties of producís exhibited, although the specimens are different, we hope to overeóme by manipulations and new arrangements that will give everything an appearance of freshness, diffuseness and strangeness. The expense of getting attractions will not stand in the way of our having them if they are nieritorious. We aim to please the people, and though what we may expend for the comfort and pleasure of our patrons this year may not be directly returned, it will be an investment that we can count on for big profit in the future. This year will be a great fair year, and the progress of science and art will be illustrated as never before in their nearer approach to perfeotion. The sanguine soul can scarcoly overpaint the achievements of the nineteenth century that will be spread before the eyes of the world. Education will show her niethods, invention will set forth her wonders, art will present her loftiness, the opulence of luscious fruits and beautiful flowers will gladden the eye and appeal to the taste, and every avenue of trade and wealth will pour out their best contributions to the result. While our fair may not be replete with averything that would be shown at a World's fair, still it will have its peculiar features, making it so attractive that none who can reasonably reaeh it san wisely stay away.