The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1898.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 359, 27 October 1898, Page 2

The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1898.

The breeders of stock in this district were under examination yesterday at the hands of the Judges, much as their offspring have been recently, by the Inspectors under the Education Board. Some have gained prizes or honourable mention, others have received no such recognition, although in ninny cases the judges have had considerable difficulty in deciding as to which exhibit should be decorated with the ribbon of honour. It has been suggested recently that the individual system of examination of our public school scholars should be abandoned in favour of examination by classes and the work of the teacbe"r and scholars be judged by aggregate results. Wo may fairly venture to assert that if the exhibitors at the Show were estimated on the latter system, the Waikato would receive a certificate of excellence in all classes of stock. It is admitted on all hands that the prize winners, as a rule, were only slightly above the average of the exhibits. The advantage of these competitions consists mainly in the opportunity afforded to breeders to draw comparisons, and in addition to the fact that the judges, by their decisions, set up an ideal to be attained by those who are not successful in securing badges of honour, and that those who take prizes are encouraged to leave no stone unturned to excel themselves. One of the principal incentives to exertion is success in the earlier stages of a man's ccreer. He is a poor- spirited fellow, indeed, who, having secured a footing on a pedestal by the exercise of intelligence,, pluck and perseverance, rests satisfied to allow another to displace him owing to decadence of the virtues which brought about his elevation. Agricultural shows, therefore, if our contention be correct, are a constant incentive to the successful to become more so, and to the unsuccessful to aspire to displace those who for the time being rank above them. The Waikato it will be admitted has passed its examination with honour, and the major share of that honour falls to the lot of the successful exhibitors, but there is a modicum of kudos due to the unsuccessful in that they have done much to maintain the average of excellence.