Increasingly popular in recent years are the harvest festivals in various towns. These are held in September and October, when the garden products have reached maturity, and therefore often surpass the earlier fairs in the quality of exhibits. The junior chambers of commerce of the State sponsor a Golden Grain Festival which is held the latter part of August, each year in a different city of the State. In September comes the Grand Forks Harvest Festival, and the extension division of the agricultural college sponsors a similar event in Fargo early in October. Bismarck is the scene of the annual Corn Show in October. Alfalfa Day at Fessenden in March features displays of alfalfa hay and seed, and also includes small grains, corn, and potatoes. The midwinter fair at Park River is sponsored by the Walsh County Agricultural College, and consists of exhibits from farmers throughout the Red River Valley. Other outstanding exhibits include the Barnes County Corn and Lamb Show held in Valley City the fourth week in September, and the Emmons County Breeders Association Stock Show which takes place in Hazelton each June. INDUSTRY AND LABOR On any cold winter night in the early 1800's it was not uncommon to see a fur trader set out from Pembina, with his dogsled loaded with valuable pelts, to make the long trek to St. Paul or Fort Garry. With no roads, few landmarks, and the constant danger of Indian attack, such a night trip was extremely hazardous. Daylight, however, presented even more dangers, for the reflection of the winter sun upon the snowy ground often caused snow-blindness; daytime temperatures softened the drifts so that the dogs sank deep into them, while at night they could skim easily over the frozen surface. Despite the dangers of the fur trade, many men engaged in it, taking their cargoes to the frontier cities and bringing back sled-loads of supplies to be exchanged for the furs that Indians brought to the trading posts. The first stores were at these posts, where the Indians came to barter for blankets, trinkets, food, and alcohol, using the valuable beaver skin as the standard of reckoning. To avoid long discussions over the price of goods, the traders devised a system of marking which could be readily understood by the natives: a single horizontal line drawn on an article indicated a value of one beaver skin, two parallel lines placed the price at two skins, and so on. The quality of some English-made blankets is still designated by a survival of this early system, with lines known as "points" woven into the border.