WAIKATO CENTRAL SHOW.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 447, 13 March 1912, Page 5

WAIKATO CENTRAL SHOW.

A SUCCESSFUL FUNCTION

The Waikato Central Show, held at Cambridge on Friday and Saturday last, proved to be a great success. In view of the exceptionally wet season some anxiety was felt as the opening day drew near, but fortunately all fears were dispelled on Friday morning and the weather was all that could be desired. A brief analysis of the entries, buth useful and interesting, undoiibtledy indicates the trend of popular opinion, together with the requirements of modern farming. As might be expected in a great dairying region, the übiquitous cow is displacing other classes of livestock, notably sheep, that were once the mainstay of the district. It is clearly a case of the survival oC the fittest, and with the cow. its great coadjutor the pig has also come into prominence as a money producer, their combined influence being largely responsible for the wave of prosperity now passing over the Waikato district. Horses, as usual, were a strong section in the show, and here again the increasing demand and high price for draughts is reflected in the long list of draught staliions, mares and young stock, practically all of first-class quality, and highly creditable to the breeders. There is no reason to doubt that with the increase of settlement and development on rural districts the need for draught horses to till the land and haul the produce to market will maintain the value' and interest in this branch of stock raising for many years to come. The sheep exhibits were fewer in number than usual; but in respect to quality no fault could be found, and though autumn is not the best season to judge sheep for wool, the opportunity of comparing animal 3 of the very finest type of the various breeds is alone of great value. In the different live stock sections additional interest was lent by the presence of exhibits from outside districts, Wanganui and Taranaki being represented, also the whole of the Auckland province. The following championships were awarded: —'Thoroughbred entire: H. Weal's Sylviet. Draught entire: H. Rhodes' Lord Hopetoun. Jersey bull: W. J. Hall's Lord Maitland. Ayrshire bull: J. and C. Watt's Buchanan. Holstein bull: A. H. Skeet's Cliffside Laddie. Lincoln ram: C. T. Barriball. Lincoln ewe: J. R. McElwain. English Leicester ram: S. -R. Lancaster. English Leicester ewe: J. M. McCarthy. Romney Marsh ram: John Allen. Romney Marsh ewe: John Allen. Shropshire ram: Nelson Bros. Southdown ram: S. R. Lancaster. Southdown ewe: S. R. Lancaster. Berkshire boar: E. J. Rogers. Berkshire sow: R. D. Fisher. Tarn worth boar: G. W. Luxton. Tamworth sow: E. J. Rogers. Yorkshire boar: E. J. Rogers. Yorkshire sow: E. J. Rogers. Black Devon boar: T. Crosby. Black Devon sow: M. O'Grady.