THE EXHIBITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8387, 23 March 1907, Page 5

THE EXHIBITION.

By Telegraph—Special Service.

CHRISTCHURCH, March 22. The Fire Brigades Competitions were concluded on the Sports Ground, to-day, under the most auspicious circumstances. In the evening a banquet was held in the main corridor, over which the Deputy-Mayor (Mr Payling) presided, and at which the Acting-Premier (Hon. W. Hall Jones) was one of the speakers. The whole of the lower half of the main avenue was occupied by the banquet. - In the Concert Hall, to-night, Mr Purcell Webb, the Nelson organist, gave the last of his series of organ recitals before a large attendance. lhe school cadet encampment at the Exhibition is fully occupied at present, the battalions in camp comprising Taranaki and Wanganui corps to the number of 572 with 30 officers, and 113 Nelson lads with seven officers. A large number of schools from different, parts of Canterbury and Otago have visited the Exhibition during the past few weeks, being accommodated at the Exhibition "Home." Children from no less than four schools arrived to-day, and notice has been received of the intention of several other schools to make a visit shortly. Two fine exhibits of perennial rye grass, grown in Southland, have been placed in the Southland court by an Invercargill firm. The weight of one sample is 331bs to the imperial bushel, and of the other 341bs. Weights such as these are very rarely met with. At the production of "Elijah," in the Concert Hall, on Tuesday and Wednesday next, Miss Amy Murphy will take soprano. Mrs Lecren contralto, Mr J. Carl Pusehell tenor, and Mr John Prouse baritone. An oratorio ,will be given by y the Exhibition Or-1 chestra and a choir of 140 voices, with Mr Henry Wells, the well-known j Christchurch organist, as conductor, j Purchasers of tickets for any part of the house will be admitted free to the Exhibition. There was a large attendance at "Wonderland," this evening, to take part in the search for the buried treasure and new physical development competitions. The display of ladies' arms and ankles did not take place, the Manager of "Wonderland" explaining, when the curtain, rose on the special platform erected, that the ActingPremier had prohibited this feature. A clever representation of classical statuary was given instead by a lady specially engaged and a number of leading physical culturists exhibited the development of their muscles in different poses, prizes being awarded to the best developed. Several hundred men and women purchased licenses to dig for the buried nugget. No nugget was really buried, possibly because if one had been a difficulty might have been experienced in discovering the finder. Instead, twenty-four wooden blocks, each having a number, were buried in a large enclosure, and the holders of licenses dug for these energetically till time was called at the end of twenty minutes. It was explained beforehand that the numbers of all blocks found would be placed in a box and a lady from the audience invited to draw a number, the holder of the block with the corresponding number would then receive £lO. When twenty minutes had expired five men and a boy were the only persons who had found blocks. A draw was made by a lady, in the presence of an independent committee, and the prize fell to the boy, for whom loud cheers were given. A display of one hundred typical sorts of pears and apples will be made, to-morrow, in the Agricultural Department's court. With the fine exhibits of fruit in the Hawke's Bay, North Canterbury and South Canterbury courts, these should prove of groat interest to growers. The attendance to-day numbered 12,700.