AUCTION SALES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 44, 15 November 1919, Page 10

AUCTION SALES

rOETDCOIIINQ FIXTURES i" -i' TO-DAY. . Bangitikei Street, Palmerston North, 12 nb'o'u.—Property: sale (N.Z. Loan' Co.). Waterloo ltoad, Lower Hutt, 1.45 p.m.— Furniture-'salo (H.E. Leighton').'. : %■ rr tcEsday. . ' Ek'etatiuna Yards, 11 a.m.—Cattlo sale (Wairarapa,'Farmers'). Lovln Yards, 12.15 p.m.—Stock-aalo (N.Z. Loan Co.). Taihape Yards, 1. p.m.—Cattlo sale (Abraham and' Williams).' ■ ; :u I .'. • Colombo Road' Yards, Jlasterton.—Cattle salo (Wright, Stephenson). METROPOLITAN SHOWS MANAWATU AND CANTERBURY INTERESTING COMPARISONS •Br Talecraph—Special Correspondent. • Christchurch, November 14. .The metropolitan shows'of tho North ■ and. South Islands, as those of the Manuwuttrand Canterbury A, and P. tAssocnitions, have como to bo looked upon, nro now 'among tho things of tho past for 1919,itheretore it is a fitting time to compare; these two fixtures, between which - so much rivalry has existed for many years. The Canterbury association was theSmore fortunate in the matter of > .weather than was tho northern > association,' 1 and as its show has the advantage of being held during Canterbury's Carnival/Week it is'not. surprising that tho attendance was' larger thaii that at Palmerston North, whore the show was tho only/attraction to bring visitors to the North Island town. It'.can be said unhesitatingly that.tho Palmerston show grounds have an advantage over Christchurch in tho matter ~ of in which the latter, aro sadly deficient.. The cattlo pavlion at ' the northern ground is undoubtedly the finest in the Dominion, while the Christchurch ground is Sadly lacking ih this respect, neither cattle nor 6heep being under cover, and the buildings generally &re :ont of date, and not up ,to requirements. Another important matter in which- Manawatu leads is tho money provided for prizes. Tho committee of that: body is vory much alive to the Importance of this matter, and for tho last show collected over .£ISOO, while at 1 . Chnstchurch the committee was satisfied with a modest .£l5O. In a district like ' Canterbury it appears surprising that snoh.n small amount should bo. raised. Bo far as tho entries go, Palmerston has the • advantage. At Christchurch there were 1876 exhibits, as against 1176 : for tho .provions 6how, whilo. at Palmerston the figures were 4162 for 1919, against 850ft'for 1918. "'Naturally sheep were a much stronger section here than nt tho northern enow, Including som6 very fine specimens of merinos, Engl ; «h Leicester, Border Leicester, Shropshire, half-breds. and a grand, co?lection of Corriedales, which breeds are not affected in the north, where the principal class is Komneys. This-class was but a small ono at Canterbury. and the quality did not compare favourably with the specimens shown,at Palmerstorf, whero the section Bomney Harsh in natural condition was one of tho .finest ever, seen in the Dominion. It must be admitted that the, Canterbury is|. and is likely to be, the premier sheep show-of the Dominion, if not of Australasia, but for other stock Jfan'nivatu can easily hold its own. However, the name, which Canterbury-has attained _ for mutton ted one. to expect a much 7 better; display of fat sheep, but this section was; really no better thnn was the 'case at''Jfanawatu. Cattle, however, were a very strong section, tho prinoipal feature boin? the very-large 'entries'in'-.the pedigree Short-' ■ horn classes, in which there were 1--M head. The class for aired, bull brought out eleven-, f a-9 h ion ably-bred animals, all in excellent condition. Two-year-old bulls were represented .by over, a dozen, while the yearling were a "magnificent class, of 4fl. .Competition was keen throughout and the quality :of the young stock was certainly aff"ihipTovement on Palmerston. In bulls to be judged for milking quali- ' ties, ; 86 competed, and the class was a specially pood one. The female classes were equally strong in proportion. Tlfo milking Shorthorns were about on a par at both shows. Tho Red' Polled were a > «mall but good section. Tho Jerseys were * only a small entry, and the quality did not compare favourably with Palmerston. The samo remark applies to Ayrshires. Priesians were limited to an entry of 40, qualjty on tho whole was 'below that of the northern show. Tho Cluny Park entries did not put in an appearance. < Draught horses were not up to the average ;as to numbers, and the competitors from Dunedin and Taieri, which Jtavo been such a feature of this show in the past,- were absent. The quality of all but the junior female breeding classes was; poor, but the two-year-old ' fillies stood alone as a class. The light harness horses section was about on a par. with that at Palmerston. Canterbury does not cater for arts and crafts, and the public school sections and dairy produce sections were -.p00r... The pigs were no improvement on Ihe northern show, either in quality or auantity, and: the same remarks apply to the home industry section. The returned soldiers' section was much smaller here. The new class'for exhibits of. work iu native timber w.i 3 n small but good' section, and might well bo copied with advantage. Somo years ago this slow was famous for the display of agricultural implements, for which a special day was allotted, but now; in common with most shows, this class is sparsely filled. On the whole, there can be no question, thai: tho big' Canterbury show has ' gone back, and- unless the conservative methods adopted at present are modernised it will still further deteriorate. Tho management leaves a lot to bo wished , for. and unless Canterbury is prepared! to lose the good name it has lind'in tho past the association.will have to adopt moro up-to-flato methods. In past years a, result board has been' utilised in all judging rings, and is a Meat convenience to the public, but on the present occapion these useful method"! of cohveving information to the public have been Abandoned. On Ihe other linad. the Mnnnwatn association has shown that it - is prepared .to take le«ons from other ~ 6hows,~ and with its live committee is making further improvements in th« ninnngement in various ways, n.pd evidently intends bringing its show well up to the times. i