TARANAKI AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1919, Page 2

TARANAKI AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

ANNUAL REPORT. The 44th. annual report of the general committee of the Taranakl Agricuitural Society, to bo presented to the annual meeting of the Society on tho 23rd, inst., is as follows: In presenting to you the 44th annual balancesheet and statement of accounts, we are pleased to be able to record a further continuance of tho success which has attended the society for thy past few years. In the annual reports placed before you each year for tho past, four years, It has been our unpleasant duty to refer to tho fearful war .that was then raying throughout the world, and each succeeding year we have expressed the sincere hope that ere the next report was presented the diabolical struggle would he ended in our favor. Happily, we this year are able to rejoice In the. realisation of the war being ended, of ptaco having been signed, and of Germany having been defeated. The labor unrest which almost invariably follows each war is rather much in evidence. This is only to be expected, but we trust that in "the near future employer and employee will unite in one common cause in serving our great Empire just as much in peaco as in war. The year just brought to a close has been one full - t of events that will live In our .memory for all time. The signing of,the armistice and subsequently the signing of peace has alone the year historical. The dreadful infiueuza. . epidemic , which raged thrqughout our Dominion in November of last.year, will .not, r#9>dily be forgotten. We extend our heartfdlt sympathy to those who Suffered during this anxious time. The work of. the. .society: Meraebershlp.— The receipts from members' subscriptions have been exceedingly gratifying, tho amount received from this source being £B2O 7s. Many new members have been enrolled for the onsuing year, and with the addition of a number of morabers now returned from tho war, our receipts next year should be even greater. It is pleasurable to note tho continuation of a large proportion of our members to pay through their respective dairy companies. Donations.—While notj quit© up to last year, the receipts from donations' have been most satisfactory- Soveral dairy factory companies Wave donated amounts per ton of output ranging from 3d per ton to (id per ton. Gifts of stock have been generously donated throughout the year. These animals have not all been disposed of. Tho society has taken delivery of most of them, and has been grazing them on tho showgrounds, awaiting the most favorable opportunity to realise on thorn. Stock amounting to £B2 7s Gel is yet. to be disposed of. amounting to £75 have been donated to the society throughout the year, the donors being .Messrs C. Houeyfleld £25, C. Hoskiu £25, and T. Luxton £25. These gentlemen have been elected llfo members of the society. We havo to tender our sincere thanks tp all donors for their practical sympathy and support. Autumn Show. —Tho 44{h annual show was held on the society's showgrounds at Walwakaiho on March 5 and G, under glorious weather conditions. Tho show was a true indication of tho oE the dairying industry in Taranakl. It is doubtful whether a larger collection of pure-bred dairy cattle has ever been penned in the Dominion. The Jersey predominated, but there was also a great show' of Friesians and Ayrshires, and to a lesser degree, of milking Shorthorns. The particulars of 'the various sections were as follows Bulls. Cows. Grades. Tl. Jerseys 45 100 46 191 Friesians 19 33 5 77 Ayrshires 21 43 4 68 Shorthorns .... 13 30 6 49 Fat Cattle Totals 98 226 86 410 The grand parade of prize-winners on the second day, which Included nearly 100 head of cattle, was a great spectacle. Sheep were good, and provided outstanding competiton, 219 entries as against 161 last year. Some strong classes came forward in hacks, but draughts were only a fair lot. There were some good horses in the harness classes. The leaping competitions were Interesting, especially the high jumping, a competition tried out for the first time last year. The • Citizens' Band was in attendance, and rendered a first-class programme of music. | 9.he success of tills show was a splendid advertisement fbr future shows. Winter! Show.—The tenth annual winter show Was held as usual in the Coronation Hall oh June 11, 12, 13, 14, and was from all points of view up to previous years. lue weather throughout was fine and large crowds visited the show each day.. Entries in all divisions were good. The outstanding feature of the show was tho record exhibit of poultry. The society having been favored with the New Zealand Leghorn Club's championships, as well as a number of the North Island Poultry, Pigeon, and Canary Association's championships, entries were drawn from all over the North Island. Considerable alteration had to be effected in tho poultry annexe. New benching was erected and addljoinai pens were secured in anticipation ot the record entries. The society was fortunate in obtaining the use of 120 poultry Ppds from the Opunake Club, which club kindly granted the free use of same for the show. Officials from the New Zealand Leghorn Club and the N.I.P.P. and C. Association were exceedingly pleased with the arrangements that our poultry committee had made, and theso officials voted it the best poultry show at which the New Zealand Leghorn Club had ever been represented. Other features of the show were the butter and cheeso exhibits, technical school classes, garden vegetable section, schools rural section, and last but not least the display of field roots, more particularly turnips, which was easily the best display ever exhibited' a*, a Taranakl show. The Native court exhibited by Mr. W. Pratt, of Bell Block, was also of very great interest. Our winter show has reached a point which calls for serious consideration. To merely hold ground with a show is to lose interest. Advancement is the mainspring of success, and interest must bo continually kept up by the introduction of new ideas and attractive competitions. Your committee has fully realised this. The winter show for the past few years, although it has been a success financially, has not shown the advancement desired. The reason attributefl to this causa is that tho building spacfe, being so limited, Is each year takon up with the main exhibits, no space being available for any expansion in tho shape of additional attractions in exhibits and machinery. Your committee have endeavoured very seriously to surmount this difficulty, and have come to the conclusion that either an Improved and larger building must be provided, or the winter show abandoned and the time and labor now. spent on it directed toward a further expansion of our autumn show. committee again arranged for a series of lectures to be held during the winter show week, and this year the followr lng were delivered: "How to obtain the best 1 results when using milking machines/' by Mr. r' M Dunn, of Auroa; and "Laying down and i maintaining of permanent pastures," by Mr. J. ! w Deem, Government Fields Supervisor. These i lectures were well attended and listened to I with a great dal of intrest. Our thanks are due to Mr. Deem and Mr. Dunn for having : favored us with their experience on these matters. „ , , Ladies' Committee.—The band of lady supporters who worked with such magnificent results last year'has nenln this year rendered signal servlco on behalf of the society. At | <he autumn show the ladies carried out the j catering arrangements with complete success | and profit to the society. Besides the catering a soft drinks, fruits, and sweets' stall was J conducted, and this also was completely successful and profitable. At the winter show our lady supporters were again to the fore attending to the catering raffles, jumble stall', guessing competitions, etc. i The net profit earned by them for the society during the year amounted to £299 0s Id. This ; result is indeed very gratifying and deserving 1 of' the fullest recognition by members of the | 9 ° General — l The committee appointed at the I last annual meeting has been fully occupied during the year with matters relating to the welfare of the society and tho organisation of the two shows. The success of the socloty's ; operations has been largely due to the splendid work so freely given by the stewards, committeemen and tho Indies. Their efforts have gained for-the society another year of success and progress. We are again Indebted to our many friends ?nd supporters for their generous support throughout-another year. In this connection wr thank exhibitors, judges, stewards, donors of green feed, secretaries of dairy companies, thoso who provided p:i (blocking accommodation during autumn show time, donors of specials, the ladles, xand the Press, and any persons or organisation who helped In any measure to achieve the success of the year just brought to a close.