History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 22

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574

USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 22

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Sheep-The committee on sheep did not report. C. H. Jakway made the only entry, and was entitled to the premiums offered. Best full-blood Merino buck, $3.00; and best do. do. ewe, $3.00.

Swine-Best full-blood Suffolk boar, one year old or more, William Martin, $3.00; best do., less than one year old, B. W. Ogden, $2.00; best boar of any breed, one year old or more, Samuel Sherwood.$2.00; best litter of pigs, not less than five in number, S. Sherwood, $2.00; to J. M. Bryan, for crossed Suffolk, $1.00. C. Lane and Smyser present- ed fine specimens of Suffolk pigs; also James Brown, Leicestershire and Suffolk pigs.

Field Crops-Best acre of wheat. J. M. Miller, $5.00; best do. corn, J. F. Romig, $3.00; best do. potatoes, H, S. Chase, $1.50; best acre of Vermont eight-rowed yellow flint corn, H. S. Chase. $3.00.

Vegetables and Fruits -- Best bushel of potatoes, Baxter Adams, 50 cents; best beets, .H. S. Chase, 50 cents; best bushel carrots, H. S. Chase, 50 cents; best bushel turnips, J. F. Romig, 50 cents; best sweet potatoes, E. B. Older, 50 cents; best three pumpkins, Solomon Swartz- ell, 50 cents; best two traces of seed corn, J. F. Romig. $1.00; best ten pounds of honey, David Gill, $1.00; best gallon of Chinese sugar cane syrup, H. B. Lathrop, $1.00.

Poultry-Less than one year old Shanghai, hest three fowls, cock and pair of hens, J. M. Miller, $1.50; best pair of ducks, Edward Chase, $1.50; silver grey fowls, John Reekhemmer, $1.00.

Butter and cheese-Best twenty-five pounds May or June butter, Mrs. H. S. Chase, $3.00; best sample of butter made in September, Mrs. John Symser, $1.50; twelve pounds September butter, Mrs. J. Gould, $1.00; jar of brandy cheese, J. M. Brooks, $1.00.

Mechanics' work-first-class-Best two-horse wagon, .laion Sher- wood, $1.00; best buggy, Aaron Sherwood, $1.00, best ox yoke, S. Sherwood, 50 cents; best specimen of horse-shoeing, W. Scott, $1.00.

Mechanics' work- second class-Best dressed calf-skins, J. C. Loo- mis, $1.00; best coarse boots, John Wiley, $1.00; best ladies' shoes, John Wiley, 50 cents.

Mechanics' work --- third class-Best specimen blacksmith's work, three pieces, W. Scott, $1.00.

Articles of household manufacture-Best twenty-five vards of car- peting, Mrs. G. W. Fox, $1.00; best two bed quilts, Mrs. J. Gould, $1.00; one white quilt, Mrs. S. Parker, 50 cents; one knit counterpane, Mrs. Thomas Scarcliff, 50 cents.

Domestic cookery -- Best loaf of bread, Mrs. L. W. Ilart, 50 cents; best specimen of cooking, Mrs. Purdy, 50 cents.

Miscellaneous articles-One bushel timothy seed, J. M. Miller, $2.00; map of Independence, drawn with a pen, Thornton & Ross, $2.00: bits, augurs and gun work, Aaron Barnes, $2.00; one dozen domestic cigars.J. M. ('handler. $1 00; one roast of beef, ( rr & Co., 50 cents.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

[It is evident that the controlling influence with the awarding committee was decidedly Sir Walter Raleigh-an: inasmuch as one cigar was esteemed equal to two and one-twenty-fifth yards of carpeting. The world, it is to be feared, has not moved greatly since that time, unless it may be in the wrong direction. In 1880, it is quite probable that a roll of the fragrant and flagrant weed would outweigh an entire roll of "regular stripe," or "hit and miss," which has been wrought with so much patient labor, and was destined to redeem some home from the barrenness which marks the dwellings of stolid plodders, who have no aspirations beyond the wants of the body. And in such dwellings the pipe reigns pre-eminent. Truly, in society as in philosophy, "extremes meet."]

Fancy articles-Sample of worsted work, L. B. Mellish, 50 cents; fancy pin-cushion, Mrs. J. J. Whait, 50 cents; mona-chromatic paint- ing, Emma Butterfield, 50 cents; Oriental do., the same, 50 cents; Gre- cian do., the same, 50 cents; embroidered collars, the same, 50 cents; leather-work stand, Mrs. R. R. Wright, $1.00; fancy bead basket, Mary V. Randall, 50 cents; two pictures, H. Kinsley, 50 cents; leather-work picture frame, Mrs. W. Scott, 50 cents, also specimen of crayon draw- ing and embroidery, 50 cents each ; one shoe-bag, Mrs. A. J. Rowley, 50 cents; one swinging book-case, Mrs. E. B. Older, $1.00; specimen of silk embroidery. Mrs. D. Robertson, 50 cents; embroid- ered cap, Mrs. E. C. Ecklee, 50 cents; one lamp mat, Mrs. O. II. P. Roszell, 50 cents.

Plowing-Best plowing with one span of horses, J. Smyser, $2.00; best plowing with one yoke of oxen, E. Miller, $3.00.

Giving "especial praise" to the committee of arrange- ments for zeal and industry, in making the necessary preparations for the exhibition in the short time allowed them, and acknowledging the indebtedness of the socie- ty to the following gentlemen, for the loan of lumber, viz: Messrs. J. D. and D. B. Myers, M. D. Smith, T. B. Bullen, Samuel Sherwood and Sanford Clark, the account of the first exhibition of the Buchanan County Agricultural society closes with the following notice and call, signed by the secretary, L. W. Hart :

"The annual meeting of the society will be holden on the first Tues- day of January, 1859. It is hoped that every person interested in the advancement of agriculture and the mechanic arts will be present and take part in the proceedings. The officers for the next year are to be elected, and other important business transacted."

An address delivered at the close of the first annual fair of the Buchanan County Agricultural society, at In- dependence, October 14, 1858, by C. A. L. Roszell:

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: This is an agricul- tural fair, and I am invited to deliver you a brief address, more as a matter of form than from any knowledge I am expected to impart- more as a characteristic of fairs, to have a separate show-to enlarge and give variety to the general exhibition by the introduction of a new animal. A person may sometimes criticise an art without being an artist himself ; and it is said of the learned Dr. Johnson, of England, that he was no more a poet than a sheep is a goat, yet he spent a large portion of his time reading poetry, and gained something of a celebrity as a critic of that art, though it is now admitted that he was scarcely ever right, if not always wrong. And in some respect I am like the great doctor, for, being no farmer, though I myself may be dull -- yet, by stating some facts connected with agriculture, I may operate as a whetstone to sharpen the farmer's energy, if not his practical ideas.

Whether a man be a mechanic, an artist, a doctor, or a lawyer -- whether he has spent a successful life toiling in a country village or in pent up cities, regarding every other occupation as inferior to his own -when he first steps into the great valley divided by the "Father of Waters," bordering a land of the richest fertility, of unsurpassed beauty, of the finest climate- when his eye wanders over the grassy, interminable prairies, watered by springs, lakes, and majestic rivers -- he feels his mind expand, his own profession is lost in insignificance,

and the vocation of the humble agriculturist rises into the noble and. sublime. In this great region, which the plow has hardly scarred, lies our own State, spread out like a table for a feast of the gods, possess- ing all the natural advantages of a salubrious climate, strength, variety, and richness of soil-almost an agriculturist in itself-it needs but to be touched by the creative thought and energetic action of man, and its luxurious soil yields the harvest. With this immeasurable field for agricultural enterprise before them-we think our farmers should at least enquire what ought to be done to secure their own individual hap- piness and prosperity, and a permanent argicultural importance to their county and State. It is almost presumptuous for me to under- take to tell you anything about it, but if we look at the eastern States, many of them had a primitive fertility of soil equal to our own-but, the farmers hasting to get rich, and deeming the strength of the fields inexhaustible, crop followed crop in rapid succession, and they have raised their millions of bushels of grain, that have filled their own and foreign markets for three-quarters of a century, by impoverishing the soil, and replacing but little equivalent-by sapping and not replenish- ing. They have been industrious-building up magnificent internal improvements-but not prudent; and to-day their agricultural statistics show a rapid decrease in produce for the last few years. They have moved fast, but now move slower, for want of breath; and they admit that there has been a radical mistake in cultivation.

Many of our lowa farmers are from the east. They have come where land is cheap, to seek a wider field for their lahors, to establish a permanent home, to amass wealth. Their old homsteads were too limited, and, worn out by old age and debility, the soil failed to pro- duce, and it was thought out of the question to infuse into it new life and vigor. They are here, certainly, not to repeat the old system of decay that is urging the soil of the east into sterility, but to grow lux- uriant crops, and yet retain the pristine vigor of the fields by nourishing them with proper aliment. Yet, with all the prudence and foresight exercised, with all the accuracy of geological conclusions, and chemical combinations, the exact depth of plowing, and precise time of sowing, the farmer's occupation has its ups and downs, its calamities and de- pressions-the seeds do not germinate, and in spite of the barometer, by which a man can get a little start of time, and look forward a week or two into the weather, the ripening crops are cut off by the frost, wind and rain. The effects of these accidents can be in part counter- acted by devoting a portion of the attention to growing horses, cattle, sheep and swine-which is a concomitant of agriculture, and may he said to be comprised under that general term.

In this State, where pasture and meadow land is immeasurable, and grass nearly as free as the air we breathe, a fine herd of live stock must certainly be a source of immense profit. 1 am not intending to recommend any particular breed, for whether the best breed of cattle is the Durham or Devonshire, the short, long, rough or smooth horn, I can not tell.

A good breed is always desirable, but many are under the mistake that because it cost, for instance, ten dollars to fatten a hog of a poor breed, it will cost twice that amount to fatten a good one. The reverse of this proposition, however, is always true; for while a swine of mis- erable breed is decidedly the most consumate hog in the world, so far as eating is concerned, it is at the same time the most contemptible as a porker.

I know there are many so-called aristocratie people in our capitals, who regard the farmer's calling as beneath them, and their refined sen- sibilities are shocked at the mention of hogs and sheep. There prob- ably always will be such a class, but to you there is nothing discourag- ing in it. Your opulence is in the line of their stupidity. Turn your attention then as much as you please to growing live stock; that same aristocratic class of hungry men will keep your millions of swine in a perpetual squeal. The delicate appitites of those exquisite ladies will keep your countless lambs in an eternal bleat. But some of you may not like the idea that you are the class upon which other classes de- pend, thinking it a menial position. The sun is our planet's source of light and fecundity; the moon and planets glow and stars twinkle with its light; the morning borrows from it its tints of silver, crimson and gold; yet, as it moves in brilliant mystery through the heavens, 1 im- agine no one can say it occupies an ignoble position in space.

Raising grain and stock is a source of emolument to the agriculturist -it results in a profit to be counted in dollars and cents. But there are other elements than those of gain, intimately connected with his calling. I take it for granted that most of our first-rate farmers have found a permanent home, for I believe it to be admitted that those who continually move from State to State are more itinerants than agricul- turists. However this may be, a farmer wants a home. Castles and

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA

palaces, surrounded with grand parks and extensive lawns, may not at first be built; but, by enclosing his grounds with neat fences or hedges, planting shrubbery and fruit trees, and cultivating a tasteful garden, he may give his home, however lowly, an air of beauty and cheerfulness while in its youth, and when developed an air even of luxury, elegance, and grandeur. If the farmer's children become averse to the farmer's employment, it is perhaps because too little attention is given to mak- ing home attractive; and where its general features show a want of life and energy -- a sort of monotonous decay-you must admit there is nothing inviting in it. To be sure, kindness and harmony, at this day, reign in the household of the farmer, and no one can take exceptions to his calling on that account. But it has not always been so. I find what was formerly considered the height of domestic economy - disa- greement and dissimilarity of taste -- expressed in the old English ballad-

"Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no lean, And so, betwixt them both, you see They licked the platter clean."

But the old regime of economy has passed away, and it is now ac- knowledged that harmony and union contribute most largely to eco- nomical power, and henceforth, throughout the limits of the domestic and general management of the farmer, new elements will be brought to bear-farming must be done on more wise and scientific principles. Scientific-a word with a sharkish-looking Latin head; but it is as good natured as modern Anglo-Saxon, and won't harm anybody, and it is becoming deservedly popular in agriculture. Our material world moves about the sun now in the path it described thousands of years ago, and the stars chase each other in the same circle round the pole; but the world of science has been advancing in a straight line, and agriculture at last begins to feel its influence. 1 sav at last, for the most important developments in agricultural science belong to the last half century. The fields of heaven had been largely explored. Planets, constella- tions and satellites had their places on the maps of the astronomer ; masses were weighed and orbits defined ; the fine arts attained a high degree of perfection ; paintings and statues adorned the cathedrals and temples. The Grecians had their national exhibitions of physical strength ; the Romans had their circus maximus and gladiatorial shows; but no crystal palaces were built where the agriculturist might exhibit to the world the products of the soil. The Helots of Greece and the Roman plebeians could follow tilling the soil from day to day, and per- form all the physical functions required in sowing .and reaping ; but they understood no law that governed matter, and knew nothing of the elements that produced the harvest. Fettered in ignorance and scourged by crazy despotism, they were worked, rather than working, trailing after them their fetters, and gnashing their teeth. There was no stim- ulus to encourage investigations of animal or vegetable life. There has been enough of these kinds of farming, and we all admit that they are the ones which, with an iron arm, have held our grandest art in thrall, contributing not a penny-worth, not a grain of sand, to the temple of human knowledge and industries.

The genius of modern Yankee progress alone is the conjurer that must fully unlock the spell and startle up this agricultural science from its sleep of centuries. This spirit of improvement declares that the world has been too much occupied with heroes and conquerors; that the strife of great men has been too long a terror to the earth, and not a benefit-coming like a whirlwind, or like conflagrations that consume cities, rather than seeking those truths which bless mankind. There is no longer a field for such ambition -- we have no more need of mighty conquerors-the dust of the Cæsars is blown away, and to-day it is more a matter of praise to be an Alexander in the science of raising grain, horses, cattle and sheep, than to desolate the empire of an in- nocent people with a victorious army.

Many of the countries of Europe have made great advancement in scientific agriculture, their governments sustaining colleges where the deductions of science are applied to the processes of agriculture in all of its departments. England, Russia, Belgium and several of the German States have taken the first steps toward elevating agriculture to the place which, from its importance and inherent dignity, it should right- fully occupy. In Belgium, it may be said that farming is fashionable, and there they till the earth-work it over just as ladies do their butter; and this is quite possible to them, for the quantities are nearly equal. In other countries the labor of farming is done by the lower classes. England is one of these; and she sometimes laughs at our country with its nineteen millions of agriculturists, saying, the Yankee is shockingly practical; that he gazes on Niagara's cataract and exclaims, What a stream to turn a mill !- on the variegated and gorgeous land-

scape, and cries, What a splendid pasture for cattle, swine and sheep ! -that his speculative genius being engrossed in enterprises and con- quests for the almighty dollar, all National refinement is lost sight of -and last, that he is unmilitary.

It does not follow, however, that because we are practical we may not be theoretical; practice is the natural sequence of theory-the thought of the thinker taking palpable shape; and the aim of our insti- tutions is to make men both theoretical and practical. To a monarchy that loves old forms, and clings to the decaying spirit of the feudal system, our country appears weak in a military point of view. We maintain no standing armies to make pompous displays, as suction pumps to drain with an onerous tax the purses of an industrious people; yet, if made the object of foreign assault or foreign levy, this people, so practical, so strongly agricultural in its natural unpampered strength, is instinctively a military giant, which, when it moves its limbs and turns itself about, can cause earth to tremble, and make thrones totter. The possession of a vast body of intelligent agricul- turists is not, then, a National weakness, but rather a bulwark of un- told strength. And manly toil under the blue sky, in the bright sunshine and pure atmosphere of heaven, is it disgraceful? If the mind loves philosophy, it can there grasp nature in its widest extent ; if the soul is poetic, the muse's voice is heard in the rippling rills and the rushing river, and romance lurks around the dewy meadows. Is there, then, anything degrading in agriculture? It is the vital element of internal improvement, creating a want that builds railroads through swamps, and canals over mountains-the enchanter that lifts up cities; it withdraws its hand from them, and they sink into insignificance; it extends it, and the choicest treasures of the earth are thefe piled up, and commerce is the breath of its nostrils.

If agriculture, then, is not degrading, but ennobling-if it is the leading interest of our State, why not educate men for scientific re- search in this art? Why should not the farmer be taught to study proper fertilizers by analyzing earths adding and combining varieties containing those elements necessary for growing certain products, that they may be scientific and therefore skilful farmers? Let us place the plow boy at least on an intellectual and social level with the sleek fel- low who cuts lace behind the counter, or sells candy and cigars in a confectionery-on the same platform with him also, who depends so largely upon the magnitude of his client's pocket ; and let learned ag- riculturists be sent to legislate in Congress in the interests of this great industry, and of those of his constituents, who, like himself belong to a class which the citizens of this great Republic will always hold in especial honor.

Farmers of Buchanan county, you can aid in bringing about these results, and to this end the instituting of an annual agricultural fair is of no idle importance. It shows a desire to improve which must lead to great advances in all that pertains to agriculture. There is the crust of the earth. Millions of years have passed over it. Mathematically it cannot be measured ; agriculturally, it is but partially explored ; for its profound depths are fathomless as the caverns of the sea. It is a field for the loftiest intellect, the most scientific experiments and the most inventive genius. Do not stoop to farming, then, but elevate it, with yourselves, to a plane of commanding dignity, by com- bining intellectual capacity with physical energy. Thus you will not only enhance your individual wealth and happiness, but you will contribute to the high consideration in which your county and State will be held, both at home and abroad, and for innumerable years to come, every freight car that rolls from west to east, and every American trade ship that plows the sea, shall bear to other peoples and climes, some tribute to the wisdom and industry of the great agricultural people of Iowa.

LATER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

The first society to whose organization and first fair we have deemed it proper to devote considerable space, continued in existence bat about four years. A good degree of interest was manifested, and the displays were very creditable considering the imperfect development which had, at that time, been made of the agricultural resources of the county. It was found difficult, how- ever, to keep up the interest, for the lack of funds to offer attractive premiums. This organization, therefore, was soon abandoned.

A second society was organized in 1866, held two

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

fairs, very much of the same character as the previous ones, and was then abandoned like the other. Neither of these societies owned any ground, or other real estate. Their means for defraying expenses, paying premiums, etc., were derived from membership fees (one dollar an- nually from each member) and two hundred dollars con- tributed by the State for each fair held. These sources of revenue being found insufficient, the joint stock plan of organization, now common throughout the State, was finally adopted.

THE PRESENT SOCIETY,

adopting that plan, was organized in 1869, and held its first fair the following year. The first officers were as follows: L. S. Curtis, president ; J. H. Campbell, treasurer; Jed Lake, secretary. The capital stock origi- nally subscribed was six thousand dollars, to which was added soon after the organization six hundred dollars more. This was increased by a donation of one thou- sand dollars, made by the county in accordance with a law of the State. All this not being sufficient to meet the estimated expense of an equipment that should enable the society to make "a fair start in life," it pro- ceeded to borrow fifteen hundred dollars- making its entire outfit nine thousand two hundred dollars. With this money it purchased about sixty acres of land, owned by James Burns, about half a mile west of Indepen- dence, being a part of the northeast quarter of section five, township eighty-eight, range nine; enclosed it with a close substantial board fence, too high to be scaled, ex- cept bylong ladders; built along its south and western sides convenient stalls and sheds for cattle, a stable one hun- dred feet in length for horses, and an octagnal floral hall twenty-two feet on each side, graded a half-mile race track, and dug four excellent wells. The aggregate ex- pense of all this was nine thousand one hundred dollars. The main hall is two stories high, with a wing on one of its sides twenty-two feet in width by sixty in length. This wing is used for the exhibition of fruits and vegeta- bles, while the main hall is devoted to flowers, articles of domestic manufacture, works of art, etc., etc.

Fairs have been held annually ever since this society was organized, which have always been successful, pecun- iarly, and for the most part creditable to the farming interests of the county, which should be the chief care of such an association. It cannot be denied, however, that, for the past few years, the race-course has been assuming too great a prominence as an object of attrac- tion. We are not Puritanical in regard to the morality of public exhibitions of the speed of horses, but we cannot help thinking that the chief value of agricultural fairs will be lost if such exhibitions ever come to be regarded as the principal means of attracting the masses to the fair grounds. There are those who think that, even now, as many of our county fairs are conducted, they ought, in strict honesty, to call themselves the "Annual County Races." We hope that the exhibitions : of this society may still be called, without a figure of speech, "agricultural fairs." But the "truth of history" compels us to say that, if what we saw last fall is a sam- ple of the present tendency of its affairs, and if that ten-

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History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 22

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 574

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574