THE SEVENTY-SECOND SHOW

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21315, 7 November 1934, Page 7

THE SEVENTY-SECOND SHOW

Big Event of the Year at Addington PROGRESS SINCE 1853 The vitally important part which agriculture plays in the national economy has lately been more impressed upon the minds of urban dwellers than ever before; for this reason they will probably find a far greater interest than usual in the annual show of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, which opens at Addington on Thursday. But the importance of the show is not modern. Forty years »go no fewer than 20,000 persons attended on people's day The big event of the present, therefore, is not a recent achievement; it has a long history behind it.

The first cattle, sheep, horse, and pig show was held in October, 1853, less than three years after the arrival of the First Four Ships at Lyttelton. It was established in the Market Place, which is now known as Victoria square. The horses and cattle were exhibited in temporary stock yards erected on the southern side of Market Place, and the sheep and pigs were exhibited in yards made with hurdles. The first show was not a success, as it was not supported by the public, and in consequence the promoters decided to discontinue the scheme for a time. It was not revived until 1862. A public meeting was held, a committee was formed, and no time was lost in selecting a suitable area—now known as Sydenham Park. The preparation of the site was so "expeditiously carried out that tlie first show was held there on October 23, 1863. The show this year is the seventysecond in the association's history, and it has drawn record entries. The change of fashion in breeds has been consistently noted since the early days, and the result is that to-day for the variety of breeds of sheep —and dairy cattle as well—there are few shows that can excel that of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association. As a display of

sheep it is conceded that none can pass it. The town, no less than the country should be interested in the show; this fact has received wider recognition in late years. When the producers are prosperous so are the cities, and when the farmers are passing through difficulties the effect is soon communicated to the cities. Particularly is this so in a country so dependent on its primary Production as New Zealand. This year promises to be as outstanding for the display of implements, machinery and a multiplicity of accessories to modern farming practice, as for the livestock exhibited. There are surprises in store for the many who live away from the farming areas, and even for some actually engaged in agriculture, on examining the great assortment of machinery, tools, and preparations which are auxiliaries to modern farming technique. One of the most r-emarkable features, indeed, of agriculture to-day, is the extent to which developments in science and in the technology of other industries have been enlisted in the cause of better and more economical farming. If it were possible to And a farm on which every advantage had been taken of exhibits of this kind it would be an establishment hardly recognisable by the oldfashioned farmer who knew only the crude methods and implements of not very long ago. Electricity and the internal combustion engine have gone far to revolutionise farming. Opex-ations which formerly kept a gang of men busy for a week are now accomplished in a day by one or two men; and, what is equally important, the mechanisation of farming has made possible a degree of exactitude foreign to the very nature of farming in the old days. It has, moreover, enabled agriculturists to draw up, and within limits adhere to, a schedule of working, which fact makes for both efficiency and economy.

It will be realised by visitors to the show at Addington that the engineer is a very good ally to the farmer. So is the chemist. Farmers all over New Zealand are noted for their conservatism, but it is impossible for any to ignore the value of laboratory research when there is undeniable evidence —in the form of actual cultural tests for such materials as fertilisers and the like. The farmer's wife, and the city housewife as well, will find a great deal that is of interest in the show. Its scope extends to the domestic as well as to the working life of the farming community, and some of the exhibits will serve to show how much greater a measure of comfort and security can be introduced into the lives of farm dwellers to-day than was the case a generation ago.