WANGANUI SHOW

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 45, 16 November 1917, Page 8

WANGANUI SHOW

A GOOD DISPLAY

: toom Our Special Correspondent.) Wannanui, November 15. . . iWanganui Agricultural Show has just . WiiQluaed, and though the entries in the aggregate were in advance of other year's, cattle and sheep sections were not as full as ueual. The ontries for tho last r -.three years are as under:— .:."' 1915. 191 G. 1917. ■ ■ Horses' - 358 362, 252 I'■'• Cattle ■; '.. 184 13S 102 i - Sheep 280 242 178 -.--Dogs 660 680 602 ' Home industriea 605 199 938 ; Schools 187 305 566 • -Photography, art and technical 27 46 70 ; Produce 52 20 47 ; •; Totals ..2353 2052 2753 ','". An analysis of the above comparative '...statement clearly shows that in the '... three years horso entries have decreased I'by 106, cattle entries have decreased by 82, • .and sheep entries havo shrunk 104, the 1..-.-.-iotal decrease in'stock entries being 292, ; ..,*>or a falling off of just on tho verge of ; 1100 per year. ',„, There were, however, other attractions ; ...of a particularly string character, and -~ these afforded some compensation for the t ...decreased entries of stock. > ;.":: Horses, ' ': With the exception of the jumpers, the horses this year were not up to ■ tho Wa-;■•.-nganui ■ Show" standard. The main rea- •- son for this that so many ; sportsmen and horse-breeders aio.nway • at tho front. It is primarily the sport- ■'■■ ing and hunting- fraternity that tho association has to depend upon for support f in the thoroughbred and hunters' classes ; of the show, and when the names of so ' many leading riders in tho jumping com••petitions of past years are remembered, !;' it is easy to understand why so many : hunters are not entered, and -so few rid- ■ era are available. Notwithstanding ! these disabilities, some very good cxhi- ' ■'bitions of jumping and riding wero given . ' in the leaping competitions, and in this ■• -respect tho snow was quito equal to pre- ; vious rears. There were only four entries fn tho thoroughbred, classes. Mr. ■'A. E. Breraner's three-year-old filly. Lady '• Gazeley, by Gazeley (imp.)— Lady Remo, : ' by San Remo—Kuku. ,by Soult—Eanny • Eisher. was greatly admired. She is a : beautifully-shaped filly, with powerful ■quarters, and is good to look at from all ; points. The Demosthenes—Willowbank two-year-old filly, Tit-Willow, was also much admired. Owing to the unexpected death of Mr. George Chamber J ■ Jain's fine stallion San Fran, Mr. James '! Bull's fine horse, All Red, bv Stepuiak— Madder, had no opposition in the class ; for entries four years and upwards. He ' is such a magnificently-proportioned animal, however, that ho would havo taken ; a lot of beating under any circumstances. Messrs. Windlebur Bros.' well-known en- . tire pony stallion, Silver King, was un- ' opposed in his class. In the leaping competition, Mrs. Becki ker's pair of hunters wero well to th« fore. Riding tho Advance geldii/g Raveu ; herself, she secured an easy first, while ; her second string, • Braemar, ridden by ;,a gentleman rider, was second. . Some good jumping was shown in the * hunters' jumping competition during the .afternoon, Hazlewood, Twilight, and sev■eral others giving excellent displays, Mr. i J. Bryce's Twilight ultimately taking ■ first prize from Mr. J. Brice's Bill. :■'.'■ Cattle. The cattle Masses were in some respects good. Tho showing of beef cattle ; was particularly fine, but great, disappointment was felt that despite the fact ! that we are practically in the centre of a Hereford-producing, district tho type was .; absolutely unrepresented. This is regret- ' table. There was. ono huge ox exhibited

|>y Mr. Bottomely, of Hawera. The beast, if is estimated, will cut out at a ton. and is regarded as the largest animal ever seen along tho coast. Taken on the whole, the cattle classes were good. Tho lack of farm labour,- making tho preparation of animals for the show, and their conveyance to tho grounds a matter of difficulty, has materially limited tho size of the classes. Dalziell Bros., of Hunterville, wore the chief exhibitors of Shorthorns, the Blair Athols again carrying off the main prizes. Aberdeen Angus exhibits numbered three, all from Mr. Fred Moore's herd, and Eriesians were a similar number, being shown by Messrs. L. Martin and Norrish. Ayrshirea wero a very nice lot, Mr. W. H. Caines Leing the principal exhibitor. In .Terseys, Ranford Brothers, of Stratford, were the chief prize-takers. They brought down four animals and obtained four prizes and reserve champion. One pleasing feature in respect to Jerseys was the entrance into tho showring of a Jersey bull belonging to tho Agricultural Division of tho Wanganui College. This bull took championship honours, and it must bo very gratifying to the College boys that their exhibit did so well in upholding the honours of the College. • - Crossbred and grade were good, both in numbers and quality, the winning cow (Mr. H. Hodge's Beulah) being a fine animal, true to type. Milking Shorthorns were a very nood class, and the bulls an even lot. Mr. Bolton's entry a capital beast, was awarded the championship. Mr. W. J. Cooper's winning cow is a very neat specimen of tho dual purpose animal. Sheep. Sheep were poorly represented, except in the fat.classes, where competition was very keen between Messrs. G. H. Handley, J. F. M'Kelvie, and Aitken Brothers, tho first-named carrying chief honours. The flock championship, placed on the catalogue for the first time, only attracted two competitors, Messrs. R. and J. Davieß and Mr. Hugh Middleton, the former gaining the verdict. Mr. J. Knight, of Eeilding, scored most wins in the Southdo vr cmsses, the collegiate school gaining a third for tho entry of ewe and lamb over 18 months and under 30 months. The College exhibits are representatives of a new movement in connection with the College, old hoys of which have presented a Sock -which are serving as living models for theboys who are destined to' take up the role of pastoralists in future years. .. Lincolns were a good lot, Mrs. J. D. Ormond. of Hawko's Bay, being most successful, as well is in (he Border Leicester classes. There was nothing of outstanding merit in the Romney classes, though tho champion ram was a nice animal. The Championships. Shorthorn bull: Dalziell Bros, Shorthorn cow: iDalzicll Bros. Friesiau cow. L. Martin. « Ayrshire bull.: W. H. Caino. 'Ayrshire cow. TV; H. Caine. • Jersey bull: Collegiate Sohool Agricultural Department. Jersey cow: M. A, Mandeno. Milking Shorthon "bull: S. Bolton, Milking Shorthorn cow: W. J. Cooper. Lincoln ram: Mrs. J. D. Ormond. Border Leicester ram and ewe: Mrs. J, D. Ormond.