The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1941. TOWN AND COUNTRY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 272, 17 February 1941, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1941. TOWN AND COUNTRY

WEDNESDAY, will see the staging of the thirty-third annual show held under the auspices of the Whakatane and Rangitaiki A. and P. Association. The event will be held under conditions which will probably constitute the gieatest handicap in its history, yet the executive of farmers which has promoted it year after year .has faced the position squarely and decided in spite of all drawbacks to carry on. For this reason alone it is mete that the public should do its duty and afford the fixture the same whole-hearted support as in the past. Faced with the difficuties of transport, the farm labour problem and the midis-eason activities the average farmer finds little or no opportunity for shouldering new responsibilities in connection with shows, yet this year the exhibitors are making the effort again and from reports, we understand that entries will be strong and the general exhibition well worth inspecting. The district Show is perhaps the finest single advertisement it is possible to have -in any community but its success is entirely dependent upon the support it receives from the residents. On the ground is displayed the finest stock the Rangitaiki Plains are capable of producing. Dairying will naturally be to the fore, but the classes cater for beef cattle, sheep and pigs, and in this respect the Bay of Plenty can lay claim to a uniformly high standard. Perhaps the ring events have the widest appeal. From the onlookers point of view the splendid equestrian classes of the past have been the high lights of the day and many hundreds have been thrilled by the spectacular hurdling events. Horticulture, though not as well patronised as it might be, in a distriat of this nature, has always been capable of making a fair display, while the home industries, juvenile and other sections have also a good following. The show in essence, is nothing more than a reflection of the activities of the district in which we live. To the outsider it speaks of energy and enterprise, of productivity and applied science. Without it there is no guage or barometer of what the countryside is capable of doing, no lead to the rest of the Dominion as to what the district has to offer. In its pens, and on its benches will be shown the cream of the blood stock and the choicest of the crops produced from the soil. We feel that we have no further need to appeal to the people of Whakatane and the Plains to give the show the.fullest encouragement. Support for the event is needed more this year than ever before and we are confident that it will be forthcoming.