TENTH WINTER SHOW

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1919, Page 3

TENTH WINTER SHOW

AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS. l &ECORD OPENING DAY. The president and officials of the TaraBaki Agricultural Society, who during J the past few years have" battled so en- ' thusiastically in the .nterest3 of the Agricultural Society, deserve ta be congratulated on the success that attended the opening of the tenth Winter Show in the Coronation Hall, New Plymouth. This Show easily promises to be the best held under the auspices of the Society, for entries throughout are in excess of last year, while the quality of the exhibits also shows improvement. The arrangement of the Show this year b splendid, and a tribute is due to tho work of the spacing committee (Messrs W. B. Grant, L. Jackson, and W. Browne). Their task was a difficult one, owing to the increased number of exhibits, which make it imperative that additional space should be provided. The attendance yesterday for an opening day was very good, being much in excess of last year's. The arrangements for the conduct of th* Show were all that could be desired. The stewards all knew their work and carried it out well, with the result that judging, though in many cases very •lose, was expeditiously dealt with and everything was in readiness by the time of the official opening. Mr. J. S. Connett, president, was indefatigable in attending to the comfort of a)l, while Mr. W. P. Okey, the secretary, bad his department well in hand. _ In the evening the Citizens' Band played a splendid programme, under the baton of Mr. P. W. G. McLeod. The catering is in the hands of the ladies' committee. They are also running a sweets and soft drink stall in the main hall in aid of the Society's funds. Messrs Smellie, C. Sadler, and B. Bennoch are in charge of a competition, a freak cow having been presented to the Society by Mr. E. D. Ansford.

THE OPENING. Tie Show was opened at 2.30 by bis Worihip the May6r (Mr. C. H. Burgess). The president of the A. and P. Society tint addressed the gathering. He referred to the marked progress that bad j been made and the improvement discernible in many sections as compared with past years. They had made additions to the building, but 'were still handicapped for want of space. He was glad to have the Mayor with them, and hoped that he and the townspeople would join with th> association in providing farther acewnmodaiion. He acknowledged the assistance that had been given, making special reference to the ladies. In the work fte association had in view cooperation with tiie town was necessary. They wanted to work together for the good of Taranaki. The Mayor said it gave him great pleasure, on behalf of the town, to welcome the country visitors to the Show. The interests of the town and country Were identical, and prosperity with either was reflected in the other. * With their mutual interests they should try and work; together for the general good The country had shown appreciation of the town by the solid vote for the harbor loan (applause), and for this the town was greatly indebted to it As a result, fhey would have, in a few years, a safe harbor for the largest vessels trading wH& New Zealand. He appealed to the people of New Plymouth to show their appreciation of the country's support by working in.the interests of the country. He wag satisfied that New Plymouth was going to be a- large and prosperous town. There was need for great activity industrially and in other ways. Ik declaring the Show open, the Mayor Mad he was not a fanner, and would pass no opinion on the exhibits, but he wished to congratulate the society on their success during the past few years, which was due largely to the energy and zeal of the president, who had been supported by a strong committee. With the sympathy and help of the townspeople, tint society should go on and prosjerfor many yean to come.

HAMS AND BACONS. Competition in this section is not very strong, but His quality of tlw produce shown is excellent. FRUIT, TnOt, also, to not a very strong section, but there is good competition in apples and lemons', the section being •.great improvement on last year. GARDEN VEGETABLES. The display of garden vegetables certetoly upholds Taranaki's claim to be the garden of New Zealand, for it is xeaOy an excellent display. Competition » strong in practically every class, but b parthmlarry strong in onions and shallots, in -which Mr. G. L. Tate, of Waitara, again scores heavily, but has opposition. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and ftarsnrpe evoke strong eonrpetitfen, asr, miosis do all classes. HELD SOOTS. Bl» Show is usually very strong in field roots, the exhibition this year being the best ever benched, and from the splendid show it is evident that cattle in North Taranaki this winter should not starve owing to lack of root crops. Mangolds are not so good as previously, owing to the cold weather in the early ■mmner, but the swedes are excellent, both as regards size and quality. In the superlative swede section the judge remarked that any of the 25 exhibits was worthy of a first price and that the eeßection was the finest he had ever teen. In another class he considered the swedes, both for qusfity and number of ■tries, the best to had seen along the lABM PRODUCE AND FARMERS' SECTION. Entries hi these etaees also show a decided bnprovement in every class, and competition is also very keen in chaff and grain. Ensilage shows a alight falling off. FANCY WORK. todies will find much to interest them fa the fancy work, which is weQ displayed in the body of the halL The judge remarked fhat.it was a splendid exhibition—the best she had seen for years. A fine piece of eyelet embroidery is beautifully done. The competition in : socks was very keen, the work being so beautifully finished that adjudkatioo was Bffienlfc _j ■■'"'.•. THE HONEY SECTIOH. The honey section, to which great credit is due to the North Taranaki Beeteepers» Assoristfon, which has succeedid a putting new life into Che industry,

view, one of the best in the Show. One of the objects of the association is to encouraga the small bee-keeper, the district not being suited to bee-farming on a large scale. There are now fifty members, and of these no less than sixteen were exhibitors at the Show. That eleven individual exhibitors were among the prize winners shows that excellence is not a monopoly. Altogether, there: were '0 entries. The honey was of a very high grade, and was considered as good as any produced. Undoubtedly the association's activities in inculcating sound principles were largely responsible for the great increase in" the entries. Another aim of the association is to induce bee-keopers to do away with the old box hives and substitute the regulation hive, thus making it easy to combat disease. The Government has recognised the value of the work the association is doing by appointing three members as honorary inspectors to visit bee-keepers and advise and help them where possible. The was is collected from the different members and sent on to Hawera in bulk, where it is made up inio foundation comb. In another year the association expects to see the last of the oldfashioned hive. An exhibition hive, formed wholly of glass, shows how much has been accomplished in four years. In this hive there is no concealment for the bees, which may be seen at work from all sides. The queen has been caged, ynd the theory that the bees will not leave her is demonstrated by the number of bees which continually cluster round her. A display of honey, varying in quality and appearance according to the flowers from which it is gathered, was most interesting. Without exception, the native flora gives a very dark honey. Other features of the association's exhibit were the Hand bottom board for the prevention of swarming, the super-clearer to prevent robbing, and the Solar wax extractor. It is intended to give exhibitions of handling beef within a wire cage. It should be mentioned that Mr. E. Beale, who won the challenge o'up, had a very fine collection of honey for exhibition only. The granulated honey for which the prize was awarded was described by the judge as a very fine sample. The exhibit by the association was for educational purposes only. The president of the association (Dr. Blackley) and the vicepresidents (Me'srs Johns and Hetriek)i are all enthusiastic bee-keepers.

BELL BLOCK DISPLAY. The exhibition by the settlers of Bell Bloek was worthy of any show, and could not fail to gain recognition against any competition. The preparation of the exhibit must have entailed a great deal of labor, and in the class!Bcation and arrangement good work was shown. One might conclude from the numerous products that nearly everything worth producing can be obtained from Bell Block. In any case, so many of our staple foods are obtainable there that in this respect they are largely independent of the outside world. In a central position cheese and butter were shown. The butter, contained in boi«s, in pats, or formed into a variety of figures, by the deft fingers of Mrs Street, was of course of a quality for which the local factory is noted. Poultry of many kinds, a pig and a lamb naturally find a place in an exhibit for a district that prides itself on its fine pastures and the quality of its stock. Sub-tropical fruit such a 9 oranges and lemons were suspended from the ceiling as well as passion fruit, all of which were grown in the district. Of the industry of the wives'and daughters l of the settlers there could be no doubt after studying endless bottles of preserves, fine samples ol home-made bread, cakes and general cookery; also some beautiful needlework. Included in the cookery exhibits was a large iced cake made by Mrs Roller. Bags of flower and wheatmcal in conjunction with sheaves of wheat and oats disclosed the fact that the settlers not only produced cereals hut the finished article. For comprehensiveness the display would be hard to beat and reflected great credit on the Bell Block settlers. NATIVE EXHIBIT.

An: illustration of what can be accomplished with intensive farming was afforded by Mr. W. Pratt, a Native who farms a .small area of an acre and a half in Kaipakopako, Bell Block. So multitudinous were his exhibits that he was unable in the space allotted to produce the best effect or to convey an adequate idea of the variety and excellence of his products. The exhibition in many respects would have done credit to a professional gardener, and those who inight be inclined to think Natives indolent would, after seeing the fruits of Mr. Pratt's small area, have to greatly modify their opinions and at least admit that the Native can be an example of industry even to the pakeha. In this exhibition, quantity, variety, and quality were considered more than effective display, and unless examined carefully many interesting features might be overlooked. Native ideas and customs were [ expressed in the display, in the centre I of which was a miniature Native pah, with neat models of a Native cookhouse, a meeting-house, a whata (for preserving seed) and a pataka (for storing food). The game and poultry, though not of great variety, were of the kind the small farmer finds most profitable, and included turkeys, geese, and fowls of different breeds. The cereals comprised 21 varieties of maize, and much instruction CjOuld be gained from a study of the results obtained as revealed by the corncobs, supplemented by the information Mr. Pratt was most willing to give. Over 200 varieties of gourds, pumpkins, vegetable marrows, kumaras, taras, kohl rabi, and cabbages were shown, and in ordinary garden vegetables nothing was wanting. Articles manufactured by the Natives, such as kits, found a place in • the huge collection. The suitability of the land Mr. Pratt farms to grow the finest root crops was proved by almost a dozen swedes; of good shape and enormous size. BOY SCOOTS. The Taranaki Boy Scouts endeavored, with much success, to give the public some insight into the training a Boy Scoot undergoes. In the exhibitions illustrations were given of the way in which a scout wins his badges as a handyman, gardener, path-findes, sea scout, bee-fanner, and poultryman. The movement is one that is worthy of wide support. TECHNICAL SCHOOL EXHIBIT. Anyone who spends a. few minutes examining the work of the pupils attending the New Plymouth Technical College must be convinced of the great value of the instruction to fit young people for their future avocations. The leather goods, consisting of cushions, handbags, and photograph albums, or which pretty floral and other designs have been worked with great exactness tot attract attention. The drawings axe astonishingly good, and pne entitles ; "A Swiss Scene in Prance," signed N Martin, showed much artistic nterit There was a drawing of a different kind and equally praiseworthy, of a moden iilMOtffe St & ± Gtoprg* 5*

accomplished his task in sixteen and a half hours. The practical work by the engineering class showed that the pupils had in some cases made considerable progress. The articles included samples of tools made by first year pupils all beautifully finished, and a steam engine in course of construction. The judge remarked that the work of the engineering department showed keen interest on the part of the students, and reflects great credit on the part of the instructor, the work for exhibition only being particularly good. The drawing also shows a considerable amount or merit. It was difficult to discriminate, the work being very evenly finished and showing great promise with practice. SCHOOLS' RURAL SECTION. This important section, which was only introduced into the schedule during the last year or two, has developed very much, and this year the exhibit is quite in keeping with tihe prominence that has been given to the study of agriculture in the schools and well worthy of the attention of patrons of the Show. Schools from various parts of North Taranaki and also from South Taranaki arc well represented, and the prizes are well distributed. PRTMaVRff .SCHOOL SECTION. .

The section as a whole is distinctly good, and the judge considers that the Show Committee is to be congratulated on the prominence given this branch. He suggests that the Society give challenge cups for competition and that schools be divided into grades according to size. This year the writing stands out for general excellent and affords a striking testimony to the quality of the instruction in this district. The judge doubts if in? nther district could produce a better set of specimens. Standard fV work is particularly good. The work in brushwork and plan and elevation of a house is quite above the average. In mapping, he suggests that mountains and rivers should be inserted in addition to the features at present demanded, the printing requiring attention.