The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday at Noon. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1920. MEANING OF THE SHOW.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 509, 27 February 1920, Page 2

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday at Noon.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1920. MEANING OF THE SHOW.

"We nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice."

Surveying the splendid stock, machinery, horticultural, Industrial and other exhibits at the Franklin Agricultural and Pastoral Society's annual show to-day, one is mentally inclined to ask for the meaning of all this display, and the answer comes that the incessant struggle for perfection—the unattainable —is responsible for these varied examples of man's laborious and agelong endeavours to improve upon Nature. The breeder of stud horses, pedigree cattle, or high-grade sheep hunis the world over for animals of particular strains which he thinks will suit local conditions and requirements; the wealthier breeder spends, not hundreds, but thousands of guineas in the pursuit of the best, and guards his pedigrees. as though they were treasured heirlooms. Similar enthusiasm and tireless diligence is displayed by dog and poultry fanciers. In the machinery section man's ingenuity, though not of Jiigher calibre than is required in high-class stock breeding, is paraded in a more apparent fashion. From the ancient principles of the lever, the Archimedean screw, and, most serviceable of all, the crank, man has superimposed the most wonderful contrivances wherewith manual labour is diminished and production increased. Here, too, rival inventors struggle for perfection, because by the. degree of utility and elegance achieved is measured their ' position in relation to supremacy. Glance at the vigorous utility plants and those cultivated for their floral beauty, and one sees the cheerful evidence of this same spirit of emulation and aspiration. The household creations—cookery preserves, and what not —these are proofs that, whatever may be the outcome of the "new woman movement," women in general have not lost pride in the sphere which is their inherited crowning glory—the home. Qn the shew ground are collected the highest material achievements of both sexes.

It is an inspiring sight, this wondrous arsay of exhibits, brought together in a spiri: of friendly rivalry engendered for the pupose of giving life and zest to the pursuit of perfection. The value of the results to the community and the nation no man can assess, but assuredly exhibitors deserve well of their country: quality of production is improved; prirary producers and industrialists are stimulated to achieve the best possible; the general level of production is raised to such a degree that ultimately the high standard reached is »effected advantageously in the prices obtained for our produce in both local and overseas markets. Men and women in city, town, village, farm, ami wayback settlement are given in aim and an interest which goes far to relieve everyday work of much of its tediousness and drudgery. A'ter all, any work may be made either a weariness or ;i pleasure, in exact proportion to the amount of interest one takes in the doing of it and the results. And what can make work more interesting than frieudly, yet keen, competition, with the reasonable assurance that the striving will prove monetarily profitable and the products a pleasure to the eye and the heart? Truly, most of us are indebted to agricultural and pastoral shows to a greater degree than we can realise. Behind all that is described or implied in the fo.egonig paragraphs, there lies one extremely obvious, but nevertheless majestically impressive truth: all the exhibits come from the soil! The food for animals and plants and the metals out of which the machinery is fashioned are obtained from Mother Eaith. The same may be said of i;he ships on the sea; though water be their element, soil is tneir origin, source of maintenance—and end. No article or institution can be greater than that which gave it birth; from the soil come all things material, and back to the soil all things must go in the fullness of time. From this dependence on the" land for our every material it follows that the work of the tiller of the soil, the agriculturalist and pastoralist, Is the most important the Architect of the Universe has given man to do. The ranks of tradesmen, industrialists, professionals, and a thousand nonproducing occupations may flourish, and all be doing useful sservice for

humanity, but all must be fed and clothed from one source, and one alone- the land. The economist and historian know that much of the present social unrest has its origin in the ever-increasing growth of thp non-producing classes, and sooner or lattr we shall have to go "back to the land" with a will. The farmer, to be sure, is no more perfect as n specimen of humanity than Is his fellow of the city; his semi-isola-tion robs him of many opportunities for self-cultivation, though motors railivays. and electricity have vastly improved his environment— but he is, despite all cheap jibes, the backbone of the country; he was so yesterday, Is to-day, and will be as long as this globe is inhabitable. Bearing in mind these facts, which no one with even an elementary grasp of the fundamentals of life will gain- J say, it is the duty of the nation at

large to endeavou'' to make the environment of the primary producers as attractive as circumstances will permit. In the Old World, md e\en in mushroom America, statesmen have long since realised what vast social hiquity has been unwittingly perpetrated by centering all the amenities of civilisation in the cities, thereby causing congestion, and increasing tthe number of non-produ-ceis, while at the same time increasing the ranks of the producers. It is claimed that New Zealand has won, by her war sacrifices, the status of nationhood. Be that as it may, let us not forget that our country's foundations have been laid, and can only be maintained in their unshakable strength, by the agriculturalist ana pastoralist.