New York at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904 / Report of the New York State Commission

by DeLancey M. Ellis

Superintendent

[Illustration]

The New York State Commission, in July, 1903, appointed J. H. Durkee, of Sandy Hill, N. Y., superintendent of agriculture, live stock and dairy products, with John McCann, of Elmira, Howard Moon, of Cobleskill, Theodore Horton, of Elmira, and W. A. Smith as assistants in the department of agriculture, W. W. Smallwood, of Warsaw, and W. A. McCoduck, of Sandy Hill, having direct supervision of live stock and dairy products respectively. George A. Smith, of Geneva, was superintendent for collecting dairy products. These gentlemen did the work assigned them faithfully and well, which is fully attested by the number of grand prizes and medals won in these departments.

SCOPE OF EXHIBIT

New York State has no distinctive agricultural product as has many of the other, especially some of the western, States but grows nearly everything in larger or smaller quantities that is grown in the north temperate zone.

In collecting and installing this exhibit, the aim was to gather these varied products and arrange them so as to show the real grain or vegetable to the best advantage rather than to show a fancifully arranged display of such products as would be of little or no value to those interested in practical agriculture. With this end in view, each section of the State was drawn upon for the best samples of the staple crops of that section. These samples were carefully inspected by competent judges, and only those of real merit were placed in the collection for exhibit. So thoroughly was this work of selection done that a large proportion of the samples received an award.

LABELING EACH SPECIMEN

That the exhibit might be of the greatest value to those most interested in agricultural pursuits, on each sample was placed a card giving the name and variety of the sample, also the name and post office address of the grower. Every day men could be seen with pencil and paper in hand taking names and addresses for future correspondence.

CONTINUOUS DISPLAY OF VEGETABLES

New York was one of the few States that had its exhibit complete at the opening of the Exposition, and was the only State that made a large and continuous display of fresh vegetables. Its display was greatly admired and favorably commented upon by the press, as well as by individuals. From the opening of the Exposition until the crop of 1904 was ready, the tables of the New York exhibit were kept filled with the standard vegetables of 1903, which had been placed in cold storage and were brought out as needed.