SOCIETY'S JUBILEE EXHIBITION.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14822, 13 November 1913, Page 12

SOCIETY'S JUBILEE EXHIBITION.

FIRST DAY.

Official- —President, Mr J. Grigs; Tice-presi-dent, Mr W. F. Parkinson; treasurer, Mt Arnaud McKellar; eecrctary, Mr 0. B. Pembcrton. The Jubilee Show of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association was opened at the Addington Show Grounds yesterday. Early, in the morning tho weather looked anything but promising for tho opening day of this memorable event, as it was raining heavily and the clouds were spread overhead like a grey pail, with hardly -; break. However, about nine o'clock there were signs of better things to come; the welcome sun made his appearance an hour or so later, aud it looked very much as if the luck of tlie Association would hold out alter all. Naturally the downpour had mado the ground very wet underfoot, but it neshened up everything wonderlully, and shouTd tho weather be fine for the second and third days of the Show,, the showers will be an unmixed bless- j ing after all, for it will mean tho suppression of the dust fiend, which so often causes aniioyauce on People's Day. Tho Ground Committee of tho Association must bo congratulated oh tho manner iv which its members have performed their duties, for the -"Show Grounds aro looking in tip-top condi-. tion, and the various improvements made should be appreciated by tne public, especially tbe additional exits and entrances between the Show Grounds and the Trotting Club's racecourse, where so much unpleasant crowding has taken place in the past. , It is never expected that the public will attend the first day, because it is what may be termed a preparation day pure and simple, and the only real business that is done is accomplished by the exhibiting firms and the sideshowmen, who aro all busily engaged in erecting tents, arranging exhibits and generally doing tho thousand and ono things that crop up at the ; last moment. The grounds on the first day are certainly a scene of activity, but hardly of an activity that would appeal to the general public, even though a large eection of it is admittedly keen on seeing other peoplo work. A few of the cattle were on the ground, and the attendants were occupied in washing and grooming their charges, while over at the western end of tho enclosure tho sheep men were hard at work on the show sheep, repairing tho ravages that the heavy rain had caused, in spite of covers and other usual precautions. Though not a record, the Jubilee Show should bo one of the best that the Association has so far held for the entries are the second biggest in the history of the Association, being 2272, as compared with 2096 last year, and 2536 in the year of the Exhibition, which latter figure stands as a record up to the present. Tho strike, which at one time was thought would havo an adverse effect on the Show did really very much less damage than was anticipated, and has only resulted in a few blanks in some of the sheep classes and tho detention of some of the industrial exhibits, such as motors, a bigishipment of which aro held up Wellington, and consequently cannot be displayed hero. Two of-tho North Island judges havo also been unable to get down to attend to their duties, these being Mr R. Wilson, of Bulls, one of the judges of cobs and ponies, and Mr -W". H. Booth, of Carterton, one of the judges of Jerseys, Guernseys, and Holsteins. The judging yesterday was confined to making the awards on implements and machinery, New Zealand manufactures, aud carriages, and today will be the , big day for the adjudicators,- for then the draughthorses, cattle, sheop,-,dairy-produc*e, cookery, preserves, pigsvhlood horses, cobs, ponies, saddle and harness horses, and numerous competitions will be decided. The young farmers or farmers' sons will judge a yearling shorthorn bull class, a Border Leicester ram class, and a, 'lalf-bred ram class, and it is gratifying to see that good entries havo been received for these events, the students of Canterbury Agricultural College being particularly prominent in tho entry list. A shearing competition of un- . common interest for blades and machines will also be , held this afternoon, and a unique feature will be the competitions by the bullock teams from tho Peninsula. Two classes are provided in this section, one for the best team of eight bullocks, and one for the , best handled team. This feature will be a real bit of "Old Canterbury," # and has always been a great attraction at the Show of tho Banks Peninsula A. and P. Association. Still another at- . traction for the public for this afternoon will be fivo classes in the 1 jumping events, tboso being the maiden ( hunters: best jumper, steeplechase . style, and pony jumping. t THE MOTOR EJECTION. For several years past the automobile ! soction at the Show has been a very ' remarkable feature of the general dis- ' play, and it may be termed, without £ exaggeration, a show within a show. In fact it is the one time in the year when the public of Canterbury are treated! to a sort of miniature edition of Olynipia and the eight is one to gladden * the heart of the mechanically mained J and to mako that o*"- the light . horse breeder sink within him. Not > only is the display of the agents for 1 molor-cars and cycles a fine one in every i respect, but the array of cars actually ' in use and owned by members of the A public, which may be seen in tho on- ' closures set apart for motors, is a mag- 1 nificent one and is a tribute not only 1 to th© prosperity of the province but to the exc_lenc© of-the'roads throughout Canterbury.. At every district show and at ©very race meeting very much the same thing occurs, and it- is an incontrovertible fact that the motor t has come to stay with us. Tho use of 1 the automobile is not confined to the c wealthy section of the community by < any means at the present time, but it f |s almost universal -, farmer and business < man, stock agent* and commercial c traveller, all have found that tho _ reliable internal combustion engine i has solved the problem of < rapid transit, and has increased t their radius of action which in . turn has increased their opportunities •< of doinji business. Probably if a census f wero taken of auto, users in Canterbury it would be found that the ■•joyriders*' who used their " autos. for pleasure purposes only were in a decided minority, and in the vast ma- 1 jority of cases the car or motor-cycle c has to earn its keep. In the bad old c days the man behind the horse had the t laugh of the nerepirins; automobilist; n tho former could depend on getting to 1 his destination in. a certain time, bar- c ring unusual accidents; tho latter hoped « that he would get to his destination, t and sometimes his optimism was rewarded, and then he mentioned the. fact in his diary. Now, what a difference there is I A. motor, if at all intelligently medj is quite aa reliable as a r horse, and infinitely awifter and more t convenient in every way, and no one v who had hard work to do would ever n dream of going back to the.old method c of locomotion if the roads were at all r usable. Much has been written about k the invasion by the cheaper grades of o American cars of the Dominion, and it n is true that they have a largo vogue; vv hut it- would seem that the higher- n

priced English or Continental car still has its numerous devotees, and is holding its own in spite of the difference in the price. The use of electricity on cars, especially on American csrs, is a feature of the later models; selfstarters, electric lighting and electric warming apparatus aro moderately common, while in the near future gearchanging will be accomplished by the aid of this useful force. In other directions, the additional excellence of tho springing and upholstering is in marked contrast to old models, and tho modern car may justly bo said to be a thing of beauty, if not precisely a joy for ever.