THE WINTER SHOW

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 10, 12 June 1913, Page 8

THE WINTER SHOW

(Continued from pagei « wi 7.)SOME SIDELIGHTS HIM AX9 TMH» AT TO WWW, COMMENTS AND CRITICISMS.

All roads, according to the geographical philosophy of aa age loag defti, Iwl to Rome, and when you go to Rome it is matter of eommon knowledge that you must "do as Roma does." It «• unfortunate that the first thimg Mr gitla saw when they armed in Rome was twa gamiis standing on their heads at a street eorner. They passed by like the priest and the Lerite, oa the ather aide. This is only by the way, betause aowadays we hare to proride our owm Ro»e». Yesterday and to-day all roads lead ta the Rome of our Winter Show, and from the joint of tUw of the aTerage Tara* maki-ite the ehaotie and orderly disorder of peas and pumpkins and piaaos ( that are displayed in the Coroaatiaa Hall are infinitely more interesting and mora" purposeful i* life thaa th* odes «f Fr* Lippo liippi or the charred remaina of i'Zero's fiddle. -'..'•'

The import mm of befog in earnest] has become more or less classic advice, and when the Show opened yesterday 1 morning' everybody was vigorously in , earnest, from the secretary inside, wh« i was doing, twelve and tkrso-qaarter j things at one time, to the policeman out-1 side, who, like the-clown at the circus, was always at the corner of the'«arpM' after someone 6lso had started ,to roll it up. Like a bride on her wedding-day, the show was not up to time, and it was long after it opened before a perspiring body of workers had taken its hair out ■, *f pins and reduced it to soma semblance of smiling order. Then ifc'was worth while, for its very key-note was one of thorough representativeness. The querulent Plymouth Rock rooster and the succulent swede lay side by side in complacent magnificence; the Maori and the pakeha copied the lion and the lamb in their emulation of each other, and harassed judges sought hard to determine whether 3 and 2 make a better fire than 2% and 222..y 2 .. According to the average show visitor, who is a discerning person, the only qualification for a judge is that he should not know anything about the class that he is judging. Very often judges All this bill; but even though their accuracy and judgment are not generally disputed, they must bow to the common conviction that in a democratie country every man has a right to be his own judge. It is only common siense, of course, that if a man makes a pound of butter, or a frilled pillow-slip, or a colossal blnnde, he should know more about it than any extraneous person. In the ideal show, which we hope to see some day, ever man will judge, his own exhibits, everybody will get a first prize and everybody will be satisfied! Being a winter show, of course, it was j essentially a produce show, and not a I stock one. ' There were some elaborate. chickens, a few complaining dogs and a I sedate cat or two, but for the most parti the show was a land flowing literally with milk and honey. Had Nebuchadnezzar lived to-day he .would have had in equal chance with our Jersey-Hol- ■ steins of eating most excellent grass, biit he could have varied his diet with sonie delightful swedes and succulent mangolds.' This dietary wants no "sheets frotii heaven," save those sheets of warm and prolific rain that make our pastures smile and our cattle upon a thousand hills grow fat and fulsome. Any St. John crying in the wilderness , of Taranaki would have no difficulty in '; securing a plenitude of locusts and wild honey, and there are unimpeachable , samples of these luxuries, with others of greater and lesser repute, on view at the show.

Practically, this representative exhibition is a wide and vivid illustration of the immense, possibilities of the province. Birds and beasts and flowers are our staple dietary, and they are in evidence everywhere along with those, domestic comestibles in the category of cakes, the practicability of pickles, and the jolliness 'of joyous gains. And, of course,' everybody was there, from members of Parliament, who made stereotyped speeches upon stock'lines, down to babies in arms, who eyed the milking machines with much disfavor, as being not nearly as effective as the originals with which they were personally 'equipped, and upon the principle of which the modern monsters have been based. Charles Lamb once wrote, in his. delightful Essays of Elia, the story of how "crackling" was first discovered. It was due to the accidental incineration of some pigs in a Chinese fire, and having tastod the succulent burnt pork, there were fires daily in the Chinese quarters for months afterwards, it was expensive experience, of course, but it le'd to the modern method of the oven. The'text is an appropriate one for our show, for it is nothing if not an illustration of modern methods. This is where these exhibitions shine. The man who can grow a larger swede than his neighbor is a benefactor, through scientific methods, to much more than the extent of a red ticket. "The little more and how much it is" is never better exemplified than it is in the healthy emulation which is provided by exhibitions of the character of our Winter Show. They are a lesson and an education and an illumination all in one, quite apart from their social character, of which we shall see more to-day.

THE DISTRICT COURTS. OMATA WINS A CLOSE COMPETl- ;■■'■■'■'■, TION:' ■

Standing right out amongst the many I meritorious features of this year's Win-1 1 ter Show are the two exhibits in the district farm competition, and the three' entries for the best collection of farm' products grown on one farm. Messrs.C. Goodson, Carter and Gibson were the judges, and they found their task pleasant in that they wore asked to judge excellent displays, but difficult in that they had to spend hours in awarding the prizes. Speaking to a "News" renresentative, they said: "We hare great satisfaction in expressing our pleasure that any one district could produce such fine collections of produce. They svre the finest exhibits we have ev«r had to judge, and in order that the public might have some idea of the position in which the judges were placed, it might bo.

itatett thai i* took three hours to Jeefih that Omata had gained the victory ot« Bell Blo«k. M Tha judge* went cm .*« iay that their Irit impression as regardi arrangement and effect was that Bel Block had the better exhibit, but or nvestigating and looking closer int« he respective merits, they found thai he arraagemett «f the Ouata lisyltj fas a long way superior to that »i Jell Block, the exhibits of the formei >eing classified in such a way that thej ould lay their hand on them withoui he least trouble. Coming to the dairj iroduce, the Bell Block people were in ortunately handicapped in not haying i cheese factory in their district, an<! hey consequently lost points. Bott rere very fins exhibits. As regards ta< oots and fodder, the displays were al nost. even, the award going to Omati •ytwe points, and that was made uj hroagh quality. As to grain a»dpasses >nly one point separated the contestants Irasses were weak, but the grain wai air, Omata excelling in tba number o' lamples. Speaking of the game an< toultry, two points separated the eonrta The winners' dressed poultry were ii \, better condition, this being very notiee Me. Bell Bloek scored in the quality >f 'hams and bacon submitted, but Ossati lad the level peggiig result bj. There was a difference of fpui leiato it the jams aid jellies, the leal foiaff t« Ouata, whose exhibits ia tail slasa were beautifully got up am licely staged. Omata again stored, ii iau«es and pickles, their bottles bei«| tetter sealed down. Both courts showei >ver 48 different varieties of timber i»a a draw was recorded ia . *hi; ilass.. Bell Block sepr*d . a well nerited win in 1 bread, cakes and sweets !b was suggested that if they tastei hese articles it might have made a goo< leal of difference. No points wen iwarded. for "any novelty in farm pro lucts," for the reason that neither thi udges nor the competitors themselvei iould show anything that could scor,e i >oint in this class. Fruit and vegctabli lonors went to Bell Block, who had i lisplay of nice clean fruit, well-staged md altogether a credit to the district n honey, Bell Block scored once more The judges explained that they were a i disadvantage—judging the preserve* ruits and wines—as they had no cork icrew. It might be a suggestion to nex rear's competitors to put in a cork mller—as a "novelty." The winner lad all the best of this class, but in horn ndustries Bell Block were ahead. .Thi udges mentioned that they were hardlj [ualified to goMnto the details of tht nerits of the fancy-work, but did their >e_st under trying circumstances. The niscellaneous collections, including anyhing not provided under the other headngs, were wall worthy of speeial menion.

So far as the single farms were ooncerned, the judges stated that there was not the slightest doubt that what applied to the two big courts, also applied to the single farms. Any farmer might be proud that he could produce on a farm such a variety of produce as was placed on the shelves. They were a long way ahead of last year, but the judges thought that a greater effort should be madc fc to secure "larger entries in both departments, for it was quite certain that the two courts and the single exhibits were the centre of interest. The following arc the details of these classes:— J. H. Street 137 T. N. Blackball (Burrell &Co.) 109 A. S. Frost • 102

TECHNICAL COLLEGE DISPLAY.

The day boys of the Technical Colle'g* made a very useful display consisting of wood and metal work and drawing. T|ie wood work is chiefly farm carpentry, the hoys being taught by Mr. F. W. Sandford. It embraces, among other things, a ladder and a wheel barrow in process of making. This will be used, for demonstration purposes, and the boys will be seen at work at 7 o'clock each evening. The metal work is chiefly the work of the plumbing class under Mr. H. Smart, and comprises bossing 1 , wiping, and burning. The girls too, have not been idle either. They have a dis-. play of hats, cookery, and preserves. There is a beautiful display of millinery in a show case which would do credit to any millinery establishment, showing that the girls are being taught to be useful by Miss Hunt, the instructress. The cookery and preserves too, look very tempting, and credit must be given to Miss Mac Donald, the instructress, and Mrs. Tiplady, assistant, who ; will be giving two demonstrations daily with the college girls electric cooker installed by the Borough Council. On the walls are hung several drawings from the pupils of the art room under Mr. Hutton. The whole exhibition was the subject of favorable comment from the numerous visitors. Mr. Grey, Technical Director, is to be congratulated on the first display given by the College since he took charge.

J DUNCAN AND DAVIES. . A very representative display of trees, • plants and flowers, which occupies a conspicuous position near the main entrance, is made by this firm. Their nursery stock is now well known throughout the North Island, for quality and hardiness i» here shown in great variety. , A charming background of asparagus ferns (six varieties) is interspersed with aspidestra,. palms, -ferns, heaths, horse shoe ferns, primula, autumn foliage plants and hanging baskets give a verv pleasing efTect. Some samples of fruit trees and hedge and shelter trees ate ' also' seen in variety. Among the numerous hardy shrubs, etc., wc noted daph-,

aes, protea, ker«nm, Mfrinaspera in van-1 tit/, Hiaulk-T** rkoaodendrona, heathi, J torn*, pinri, baana, l#uf*>iavillaa aai \ climbing plait*. Twa fat rare dwarf ' shrubs, Grevilla alptaa, and diosma uniflora., art k*r« shown la bloom, and wr| are aura it. will not b* long before the** t •T«r-bl«omiag plants art In *ve?y ground. oht Itwen arc representee ft/ kaathi, adenaadra, abattleu, primnla, grevillea, erjsanthemumß, violets, arbutus, abelia, hardenbergia and various other - blooms. We also noted a Tory tat specimen of merjU siaelairii (puka), a rare shrub from the Tare* King* Islands. This shrub is now fast besoming extinct in I its native home. This exhibit has all been grown on the high exposed ground, la tk* axfceasiv* unraeries of this firm, at Westown, and form* a leading feature •f the shew.

THI BTOBUI MUXINi MACHINE.

Messrs. J. Yonag Id Ca., ef Wanganui, are exhibiting •»« »f their Sterrie milk- , ing machines, Th* auekine shown is of ■ the bueket typi, though the bucket exhibited is the very latest model and is a decided improvement, being mueh easier to.clean tkaa Ike aid style! The vacuum pump is on* of Storrie's silent pumps, whiek keeps the vacuum at a very even gang*. It is tperated by a 4 h.p. portable Blaiksfcaae engine, which - milks M.mws twice a iay en. one tin of kerosene per week, which,is distinctly •cenomieaL Tke Sterrit, like other progressive *ompaaits, reMgnisiag the need in these days «f labor-saving machinery of providing some means of conveying the milk, without handling, have designed a, simple device whiek; 'enables' them to retain ani maintain'a tonstant vacuum throughout the shed during milinng. The milk is conveyed through high-grade coM drawn tinned brass tubes, beautifully finished. Every precaution is taken to ensure easy cleaning. The taps are arranged with large openings and are easily removable so as to enable every part to be quickly got at. The advantages of machine milking are obvious. Maehincmilking provk..,- due care is taken in attending to the machines is a much cleaner method than hand milking. With the Storrie releaser system, a single or double bucket can be used, giving facilities for keeping the milk of individual cows separate. A great advantage in i these days of weighing and testing. The milk releaser is entirely automatic and requires no attention. It is fitted with an apparatus for weighing and noting the weight, in addition to conveying, straining and cooling the milk. Mr. Young expected to have been able to i show this releaser at New Plymouth, but unfortunately.it did not come to hand in time. • It will, however., oe shown at Palmerston North next week and at Hawera the week after, Mr. Young is also agent for tke Sterrie ridger and Pennsylvania grain and fertiliser drill, : and also tha Butler double-geared windmill.

The judge*' award was as follows:— Omata. Bell.Bloek Arrangement and effect.. 2S 25 25 n IT 25 10 19 10 • 1 1* Sauce and pickles 10 S 5 8 4 6 Bread, cakes and sweets .,• w Any novelty in new Fruit and vegetables Preserved fruits and wines 8 3 10 10 6 7 10 10 10 Total (possible 185).... 171 1S6 THE SINGLE FARMS.