THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1912. VALUABLE RECORDS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10714, 25 October 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1912. VALUABLE RECORDS.

In spite of the army of historians and -collectors who have 'been at work in recent years, a London paper says it is still to pick up for nothing or for a mere .triHo valuable documents 'belonging to the historic past. This year has witnessed quite a remarkable number of interesting finds of this kind. Certainly some of the discoveries of last century were enough to make the wanderer in England keep a sharp look-out for treasures in this shape. While waiting , for" a pair of boots he had left to bo mended, a well-known collector had his attention attracted to the piece of parchment which the bott-repairer was about to insert between two leather soles. It proved to bo a portion of a.seventeenth century manuscript, and for a comparatively small sum lie acquired the whole of the cobbler's 1 fairly large stock of parchment, ■which consisted of unpublished por- j tions of Pepys's Diary. The remainder of this unique script, which was being used by the proprietor of a friend fish shop for the purpose of wrapping up Ids wares, was discovered and purchased about the same time by a rival collector. Years ago ' a mail passing by the India Office happened to pick up some papers that, had blown off a cart standing in front of that building. Ho took them to a. latter ed acquaintance, who eventually disposed of the documents for a large sum. One of tlie manuscripts wan a letter from Nell G wynne, and formed part of a budget of old East India, correspondence that had been sold by the India Office to a waste paper dealer. Another collector noticed that fishmonger in Hungerford market iras using th® manuscript of an Bxchequer account of Henry VIII. Trrraj) up fisif, Mi# fech-

toils of old .manuscripts from Somerset House. The collector awaj with him a sackful eontrtfnir'.'t; valuable papers relating to the keeping of prisoners in the Tower of London from the time of Henry VII. to that of William IV., autograph accounts of Nell Gwynne, several receipts signed by Wren, Dryden, and Sir Isaac Newton, a treatise on the Eucharist in the handwriting of Edwartl VI.. a manuscript disquisition of Queen Elizabeth oh the Order of the Garter, letters from Cardinal Wolsey to Pope Clement concerning Henry's divorce, and a lio-t of other ValunMo documents. However, that kind of thin,? no longer occurs at Somerset Hou&e, at any rate. But it was only the other day that a witness before an official committee told how when Holvrood Palace was impaired recently the repairers were a<lx>ut to burn a pile of interesting documents, when hj" intervened to save them. But in oh ? offices in England, in the lumberrooms of old mansions, and in othecorners, there is probably still a wealth of historical documents, some of which may-at any moment be sent to the destructor.

AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. There is little room for doubt thai the farmer, 'be he the holder of thousands of acres, or the -possessor of comparatively small dairy farm, is keenly alive to the 'benefits which he may gain from supporting an agricultural isoeiety. Evidence (of this is borne out by tlie numbers in which he turns out to be present at annual shows. At Carterton yesterday farmers, and especially dairy farmers, were present from all parts of the North and South Island. These men have little thought for the social side of tho gathering,, utb are intent upon finding out expert information, which will, bo of immense value to them in j developing their resources, and obtain-, ing the very 'best results from their herd of cows. This information is to be gained at agricultural shows, as there the farmer meets the expert dairymiui-, 'who is ?ible to tell him V;,, J-. 1 ? stock, and iiow to feoeive the highest test from iiis iiiiiklilg herd .3 he veterinary surgeon, £oo> is-to be met'with, *i»d the farmer gets a hint or two on how to attend, to his sick animals. ..The sheep farmer is a.ble -to see the best breeds, and gets 1 into touch with the leading breeders. In this and other wavs, too numerous mention, the settler gains that valuable assistance which is gradually placing New Zealand in the forefront as a scientific agricultural country.