THE EXHIBITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8376, 9 March 1907, Page 5

THE EXHIBITION.

• ♦ By Telegraph--Special Service. CHRISTCHURCH, March 8. It is too late to say that the Exhibition will not be a success. Today witnessed another large attendance, and ic is confidently anticipated that the high average of visitors now being experienced will be triumphantly maintained until the great fair closes' on the 15th prox.; indeed, the opinion has been axpressed in he highest quarters that in view of the attractions still to come, and the natural rush towards the close of any great event the next five weeks will be the most consistently maintained of any five weeks since the opening of the ' Exhibition. If a total of two million is not reached, and there are expectations that it will be, a total of one million nine hundi'ed thousand visitors is looked upon as well within the bounds of possibility. The Pet Show of "Wonderland," under the control of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was the main event to-day, attracted a very large attendance, both in the afternoon and evening. The show was formally declared ©pen by the Hon. G. Fowlds. The exhibits were mostly contained in two large marquees, one of which' was given up almost entirely to dogs of every size and breed, while the other was a veritable Noah's Ark of birds and animals, ranging from a. four-legged hen to hedgehogs. For the essay competition essays were received from every part of the colony, and the judging is not yet completed. The General Manager, Mr Munro, has received a telegram from the General Manager of New Zealand Railways, stating that an excursion, numbering 230 persons, from Auckland left Wellington last night. In connection with the Exhibition, farmers from all parts of the colony have been taking a great interest lately in the experimental plots attached to the Agricultural Department's Court. Quite a number of visitors from Otago and Wairarapa were taking written notes of the growth of different crops, this mornjng, and this has now become a common sight. Several local schools have adopted a plan of visiting the different parts of the Exhibition in turn for the purpose of intelligent study, and the pupils of the Milton Girl's High School, now in Christchurch, have been copying this admirable example. Arrangements have been made for the second visit of the Turakina School girls, whose poi dancing was a pleasant feature at the Maori pah some time ago. Five Dunedin and Wellington Football Clubs will play their annual match with the local clubs on the Sports Ground at Easter. Two matches will be played on Saturday, and three on 1 Easter Monday. It is suggested that the Exhibition Orchestra shall give two sacred concerts on the Sports Ground on the afternoon and evening of Good Friday. It is expected that the Orhestra will have the largest audiences it has ever known on these occasions. No. 1 Battalion Wanganui School Cadets, numberng 280 boys and 12 officers arrived from Wellington this morning. Over 500 boys, who have been in camp during the past week, took a'regretful departure.