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Press, Volume LX, Issue 18232, 17 November 1924, Page 10

Some comparisons of the .two summer Shows which have just been held may be made with advantage to both the Associations responsible for their carrying out. 'in the first place it may be pointed out that the M&nawa'tu Association has the advantage at present of possessing the most convenient ground on which to hold a Eoyal Show on account, of the extensiveness of its buildings, which allows it to house practically thpi- whole of the live stock, which • such an exhibition attracts in very large numbers. It is expected that the Canterbury Association —to which the next Royal fixture is allotted —which has made considerable improvements during thq. last year or two, will further add to its buildings to remove the disability which now exists: This Association possesses a very great advantage over its northern confrere in having a railway siding to its grounds, so that stock, can go straight from the trucks to .their quarters, while in Palmerston North the show grounds are some distance from the railway yards. liive Stock Entries. A comparison of . the entries at the two Show's recently held indicates that Canterbury, has a slight advantage in what forms an integral part of an agricultural show, as the following figures reveal:—.. Palmerstoi' North. Christchurch. Sheep— Merinos . . ... 15 152 . English Leiceaters 18 102 •Border lieicesters 29; 89, iincolns .. -56 38 Eoriiney Marsh ; . 167 " 24 Southdowjip ~-124. 95 Shropshire Downs 24 .... 49 Byelands ■■■ .. 38 44 Corriedales .. 43 265 Halfbreds. . Fat Sheep .. 11l ' 53 Competitions .. Horses 630 .593 Cattle •••" .V v.' '444' • 322 -Pigs . • ... r ... " 128 . • - 'SB Totals .. . 1827 . ..... 2006 At the Manawatu Show, naturally,, the most important sections in the sheep were Eomn,ey Marsh, Sbuthdowns, and Lincolns, while fat sheep were extremely well represented. At Christchurch Corriddalps predpminated, with merinos, English and Border Leicesters coming liext.. None'. of the prominent breeds in the south caia be grown successfully in the north, although frequent attempts have been made to introduce them, as the conditions are not suitable, the result being that the Komney is the principal sheep for wool, while crossing with the Down breeds is adopted for the production of fat lambs, and the satisfactory results were seen by the very fine exhibit of fat sheep and. lambs at the Eoyal Show. Canterbury, which once was famous for its fat lamb exhibits, on the present occasion made a very poor show, and will have to face a serious i competitor-, in. the North Island in- the near future if the stuff exhibited at the two Shows is to be taken as any indication. Cattle.

So far as cattle are the beef breeds were much more in evidence at the Northern Show, and the quality was decidedly better. At Manawatu there was a magnificent show of both Herefords and Aberdeen Angus, which seem'to have completely gone out in the South Island, although many years ago they; were a'feature of the' Shows here. It is a weU-inown fact that, the Canterbury market is now receiving a fair portion of r it's supplies from' the North Island, where '• every endeavour is being made : to bring animals to early maturity for the markets. In the milking classes there were good entries at both Shows, but the Shorthorns were -rather better in the North. In FrieBians, Red Polls, Ayrshires, and Jerseys, Manawatu considerably more than held its own. Horses. If outside exhibits in the draughthorse section had been eliminated, Calmer ston .North would have,had but a .poor show, but the entries at Christchurch. showed a great . improvement ,bpth;in; numbers and quality. In.- the light horse sections, more especially -in the. saddle classes the entries at the Northern Show were, considerably large,r and acording to Mr H. Hassell, the veteran horseman, who was present at both "events and judged at Christchnrch, although the horsea were better brought out, as a rule they were lacking in education, and were not well handled except in a few individual cases. Taken on the whole, the hacks were decidedly superior at the Northern Show. -Th/* Attendance. Although, the attendance at Palmerston North was a record, the takings for the three days being £lßl3, it was completely overshadowed by the two days' receipts at Christchurch, "which were over £2665, and also formed a record for this Association. It was estimated that on People's Day (Friday), there were over 35,000 people on the ground. The Management. Having" compared the entries at the two Shows,-it is-now-necessary to say . something-about-'the-way in whieh the 'arrangements were carried out,;and in -doing-'so -some shortcomings which can be readily-remedied may be pointed-out At the Eoyal Show the Australian judges were loud in their complaints about the limited spaee provided for the stock judging rings, whieh were mostly placed in the alleyways between -buildinga, This, did not afford interested onlookers and breeders sufficient room to gather round the small rings and .take advantage of the education to lie derived from seeing the judges

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at work. In Christchurch, however, the whole, of the judging of horses and cattle is done in commodious rings inside the big oval, affording the opportunity for thousands of people to see, instead of the view being confined to two or three hundred people. The same judges complained with no-uncer-tain sound: of the -delay between, the various • classes of stock- entering the rings, which was most vexations, .and prolonged the work considerably. At Christchurch, however, efficient and enthusiastic class stewards saw that there was no delay, and the next class to come in was ready at the ring-side to take the place of the one just finished. The delay in recording, the results at Palmers ten, North was most marked, and. caused a good deal. of dissatisfaction, some of the results not being available to the public or the Pres3 representatives for fully a couple of hours, and in this matfcgr the Northern people could take a leaf, out of the Canterbury -- book, w-hore everything worked like clockwork. This is due in a great measufe'to the system adopted and to; the wholehearted ...manner in which the class stewards and marshals do their duty, and there, is no reason why the same expedition should not be used at Palmerston North.