CANTERBURY A. AND P. ASSOCIATION’S SHOW OPENS AT ADDINGTON

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28434, 14 November 1957, Page 8

CANTERBURY A. AND P. ASSOCIATION’S SHOW OPENS AT ADDINGTON

HIGH REPUTATION MAINTAINED

Harness horses, the pride of early shows, gave way to a buzzing helicopter, the herald of aerial farming in the future, at the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s ninety-fifth metropolitan show, which opened at the Show Grounds vesterday.

The show has long been regarded as one of the biggest, and is often claimed as one of the best, in the Southern Hemisphere, and the association’s exhibitors fully justified the organisation’s reputation during judging at Addington yesterday.

The outstanding feature, both in spectacle and in significance for future primary production, was undoubtedly the plastic-domed helicopter with its birdcage assembly and spray pipe system.

The plane appeared over the grounds soon after midday and was brought down by its Texan pilot, Mr Lloyd Vanardo, to a special wire-fenced enclosure of its own behind the sheep pavilion. It remained on the ground as a static display for the afternoon. It will be on show again today and tomorrow.

The main activities yesterday were judging of stock and produce, and getting the competitions under way.

The dog trial, cattle, wool, pig and sheep sections together with the produce and poultry sections were all judged with expedition.

In the afternoon, the cattle champions gave way to horses in the big centre ring. It was cool after a short shower, and four or five dozen persons sat in the main grandstand to watch oilskinned riders taking their mounts over the jumps in the hunter events.

The morning was cloudy and warm and conditions were most pleasant for final preparations, judging and general wandering about inspecting exhibits.

At noon a cool wind sprang up and a couple of hours later the first spots of rain began to fall.

After a brief shower, which did little more than dampen the grass, the weather remained overcast and chilly for the rest of the day.

The layout of the show is much the same as regular visitors will remember, except there is less parking space for motor-cars at the Lincoln road end of the ground. The old yards at the north end of the ground, entered fromj Wrights road, have been found unnecessary now that stock does not travel by rail to the yards a day or two before the show. They have been removed to make way for 200 more cars. Traffic was light and wellbehaved yesterday and officers of the Christchurch City Council’s ■ti ansport department reported no difficulties. Heavier traffic is expected today and tomorrow. Experience in past years has led a number of traffic officers and shew officials to believe that members of the public with motorcars would travel to the show far more quickly and with far less trouble in bumper-to-bumper driving and difficulty in parking some, distance from the grounds if they travelled by bus from Cathedral square. Long-term Planning Planning for the show, considered by many old-timers to have the makings of one of the best in memory, began last April. A robust general committee under the president (Mr C. H. Bethell> has produced a show that is to the credit of the associations 4000 members. The brunt of the work has been borne by the secretary (Mr H. McC. Studholme >, the chairmen of the light horse, cattle and sheep committees < Messrs T. C. Grigg, of Hororata: F. E. Martyn, of Rangiora: and H. V. Murray, of Scargill). and the caretaker (Mr Sam Wood). For many of the exhibitors selection and the start of preparation of beasts for judging day began nearly a year ago. Feeding, special shearing, washing and

pasturing were all specially carried out with a number before the final occupiers of show pens were chosen and given special treatment to bring them out at their best.

“The greatest purebred sheep show” in the Southern Hemisphere fully lived up to its name for the presentation of sound quality animals. The Merinos were particularly mentioned as the best shown for many years. Competition was very keen in most classes, the biggest being again formed by the Corriedales, of which there were about 300. With entries from 15 representative breeds the Canterbury show was bigger than either the famous Sydney or Melbourne shows, in spite of the fact that the catalogue showed a drop in numbers from 1184 last year to 1167 this shew. Cattle Entries Down Cattle entries showed another substantial drop to a figure this year that is down to almost half the total cattle entries in 1955 From 939 entries in the Royal show year the cattle have gone to 592 last year and then to 447. The reason for the steep decline is the difficulty many farmers have experienced in getting their herds tested for tuberculosis, a requirement for the associations exhibitors.

is amazing when the wide range of machinery on view is studied. A list would run into several dozen items with the common Aractor and plough almost passed over in the other equipment.

A growing division within the implements and machinery section is the prefabricated and portable gear. The range is from hay sheds to sheep dips, irrigation systems to seed cleaning outfits. Attractive Displays

Suppliers have gone to a lot of trouble to set their displays of heavy equipment in pleasing surroundings. Early morning preparations yesterday (most of the gear was in place on Tuesday) included last-minute touching up of dusty parts and scarred tracks with spray guns and paint brushes. Pots of shrubs and trees were easily taken to their right places with a loader dozer.

One oil company had gone to the trouble of setting out around a flagpole a complete circular garden with small-flowering plants. * Except for a few cheap lines (“30s—two bolts as extra to rake”) there were hardly any price tags displayed for the machinery on display. The competition classes provided some interesting work with unusual machines for the judges. Silver medals were awarded to the Department of Agriculture which produced a high country drill and sod seeder, and to C. W. F. Hamilton and Company which developed a side-mounted ditch cleaner.

Certificates of merit were awarded as follows: Andrews and Beaven (seeder, seed and fertiliser box); R. G. Deans, Homebush (muck spreader adapted for feeding out silage): and Machinery Development, Ltd. (horizontal wool baler).

Province’s Best Stock On Display

The show will continue today with “Farmers’ Day.” The Gov-ernor-General (Viscount Cobham) is due to arrive on the ground at ! noon. He will be entertained at luncheon by the general committee of the association and later officially welcomed at his box in the main stand by the president (Mr Bethell). Then he will watch a number of events and make a tour of exhibits and displays. Features of the day will include the cattle parade in the ring at 1 p.m. and the open horse jumping competition under international rules. The latter is one of the most interesting events for public appreciation.

Friday will be Peoples Day. Although the show is open to the public every day tomorrow will be especially devoted to the urban community with the object of displaying to city dwellers the best showpieces and aids to rural life on which much of their livelihood depends. Gate takings for the first day amounted to £lOl. This compared with £BB last year, £lBl for the Royal Show in 1955 and £lO7 in 1954. SHEEP The Christchurch sheep show, reputed to be one of the finest in the Southern Hemisphere, lives up to its reputation again this I year. Thoungh entries at 1167 are a few less than a year ago it' is again a vast array of the pro-i vince’s finest sheep drawn from no fewer than 15 breeds. As is fitting in a stronghold of the Corriedale this breed holds P'ide of place in numbers and four judges spent many hours in (assessing their merits yesterday j One of the Corriedale judges did not finish his task until about 5 p.m.

Though to the layman the sheep generally look tremendously impressive a few of the judges observed that the recent cold unseasonable weather had not been the most favourable for sheep. In some of them the effects of these conditions are to be seen in their wool.

Throughout the show the judges had much to say in praise of the sheep, but perhaps to a greater extent than usual they were also prepared to offer some comment on faults.

Only a few sheep sections remain to be judged. The Australian Merino judge. Mr Murray Thomas, did not have time yesterday to complete all his classes and will resume judging this morning. He was pleased with the quality of the New Zealand Merinos he saw yesterday. An innovation this year in the Corriedale section is the practice of judges wearing white coats. The coats have been provided by the Corriedale Sheep Society.

been an outstanding sheep in his] younger days. One of the best classes seen by Mr Thomas was that for medium woolled ewes with lambs at foot. From this class he selected two sheep from A. A. Urquhart to fill both championship placings. In the fine combing section Mr Thomas gave the ewe championship to A. A. Urquhart with J. G. Hood in reserve. Corriedale In the big Corriedale section—there were almost 300 entries—top honours this year went to J. F. G. Blakely (Clifton. WaikariL I who exhibited the ram champion, land the estate of James Reid. Ltd. (Riversleigh, Darfield), who was awarded the ewe championI ship.

The Clifton stud champion was a ram hogget. The judge, Mr B. S. Trolove, of Kekeiangu, said he had had to take the unusual course of awarding the title to a hogget because he could not find an older ram that merited the title. The Blakely ram had great size, a good head, and an excellent fleece of wool, said the judge. Another Clifton ram exhibited by A. J. Blakely filled the reserve placing.

Mr Trolove said that with ? background of 30 years of judging at A. and P. shows, he believed that the Corriedale breed had shown a vast improvement in the last few years, but he was disappointed yesterday in the iged and one-shear ram classes. Too many rams had faulty mouths, were wool blind, and had bad pigmentation. In the circumstances he had been forced, for the first time for many years, to award prizes to sheep with these faults. There had, however, been good competition in all classes, and apart from the faults men-

Merino Mr Murray Thomas, of Clare. (South Australia, will complete the judging of the Merino classes this morning. He has only part of the strong combing section to conclude. I At the end of a long day’s work (Mr Thomas said that while the standard of the sheep was not as high as at leading Australian shows it was better generally than he had expected in numbers and in quality. In the majority of 'cases in the fine and medium •combing classes the condition of I the wool was surprisingly good jshowing excellent care and attention.

The champion fine combing ram from Robert Jopp and Son (Alexandra) was a specially outstanding exhibit, said Mr Thomas. It had beautiful wool of 66’s quality of outstanding colour and style. Mr Thomas also praised the champion medium woolled ram from A. A. Urquhart (Mount Somers) and the reserve winner from J. G. Hood (Mount Somers). The younger ram in the aged ram class had taken the top honour as it was shown in more attractive show condition, he said. It was very well balanced and of beautiful conformation. He had been particularly impressed with the quality of the aged ram which had been placed second to him and had gone on to win the reserve placing. He showed magnificent breediness and must have

tioned sheep had been well brought out.

Mr Duncan Ensor (Glenrock, Rakaia Gorge) selected both the champion ewe from Estate James Reid, Ltd.. and the reserve from J. F. G. Blakely in the twotooth ewe class, which he found a very strong one with a lot of good-type ewes failing to secure a placing in the face of the strong competition. Mr Ensor also found lhe ewe hogget class a very good one with all the top sheep being of a high standard with the top two —from D. S. Johns and the estate James Reid—being particularly good. On the other hand the judge observed that the older I ewes had been rather disappointing and he had bad considerable difficulty in placing them in order.

Mr Ensor said that there had been practically no wool blindness in the sections he had reviewed but the cold spring had affected the condition of the wool, causing it to be discoloured and generally out of order. This was more noticeable in the older ewes. Like Mr Ensor, Mr F. K. Forrester (Hawarden) had a long job deciding the placings in the shorn classes. He said that generally it was a difficult section to judge. The ewe from the estate James Reid. Ltd., which won the class above 18 months and under 30 months was the outstanding sheep in the class, he said. It ha<? a good carcase and head and to his mind it was a good Corriedale type of sheep. The same

breeder also provided a good sheep to *win the ewe hogget class.

With what Mr Forrester de- t scribed as “a very good bold type t of sheep.” H. C. A. Sidey won * the old ram class. In this sec- g tion the judge noted that some ] of the teeth were “overshot.” In j the class for rams between 18 and 30 months the judge" had some ‘ difficulty in separating the win- ( ning sheep from O. T. Evans and the second place winner, which ‘ he said were both very good I sheep. In other ram classes, there I were some very good young sheep j on display. Mr H. C. Barton, of Seddon. said that the natural condition 1 ewe hogget section which he £ judged had proved a very strong I one with the sheep being a credit 1 to the exhibitors. In it. Miss • Betty Spence, of Patearoa, won 1 pride of place, taking the first. ; second, fourth and fifth placings. . “That speaks for itself,” said Mr ; Barton commenting on Miss ■ Spence’s performance. “They were a credit to her.” ■ Border Leicester This was one of the best exhibitions of the Border Leicester breed ever to be seen at a Can terbury show, said Mr J. B. Callaghan, judge of the section. I The over-all standard was high. I the animals were exceptionally I well brought-out, and there was very strong competition in all I classes. Canterbury breeders were to be complimented on retaining such excellent breeding stock in the face of the lucrative Australian market. If anything, the ewes had been slightly better than the rams in quality, he said, but individual rams had been outstanding examples of the breed. All the sheep had shown good heads and bone structure with excellent mouths, but some had shown a trace of kemp in the fleece. There had been an increased number of entries and exhibitors compared with recent years and the condition of the animals had been a credit to those who had shown them, said Mr Callaghan. English Leicester The judge of the English Leicester section, Mr J. B. Laidlaw, of Blenheim, described the section as being of an exceptionally high standard. The entries were not numerous, but were just the best, he said. “1 have never judged better examples of the breed and I can truthfully say there was not a bad sheep in the whole section. The champion animals of both sexes were exceptional. and in the case of the champion ewe, a better fourtooth animal with bealtiful fleece and good carcase I could not imagine. The champion ram was splendid, but the reserve champion ram was just too short in the body not to qualify for champion status.” Mr Laidlaw said. Suffolk Suffolk ram classes on the whole had not been quite up to the standard of recent North Island prize winners, but individual representation was good and was worthy of the breed, said Mr E. N. Rout, of Greytown, judge of the section. The champion ewe and ram could have faced competition anywhere on their merits and were well brought-out sheep. "A greater interest in the breed in the North : Island has produced a considerable increase in the number of registered flocks and this has I given more competition at shows,” he said. “However, I feel that j more South Island breeders will . turn to the Suffolk and the number of entries and exhibitors at shows will increase.” Ryeland » There was a good showing of > sheep right through the Ryeland • classes and the judge, Mr J. T. f Brown, of Temuka. found the geni eral quality of the sheep very > pleasing. He. however, noted a - tendency in some of the sheep for ? the wool not to be tight enough on the pelt for the true Ryeland.

South Suffolk ' id “The South Suffolk is a breed 11, that will go a long way in the c near future,” said Mr Rout, s “There has been a great interest e shown in the breed in the North t Island in recent years, especially s in Hawke’s Bay where it has been t prominent in fat lamb competi- c tions. The demand for rams for c crossing with Romney ewes has e grown immensely,” he said. All s the classes shown had been of high quality and were the strong- 1 est he had ever seen at a Canter- c bury A. and P. show. The r champion ram shown by Mr G. D. I Neave, of Irwell, had been out- ‘ standing and the reserve champion had been a ram under 18 months in the wool in first class show condition, also owned by Mr Neave. The champion ewe. shown by Mrs M. L. Croy, of Oxford, had won its prize on its merits and was well-woolled in fine condition. The ewes with lambs had been most impressive and had appeared to be doing their lambs really well, he said. Dorset Horn T. P. Lowe (Ashburton) gained the main honours in good competition in the Dorset Horn section. His sheep were judged champion and reserve champion ewe. and he also exhibited the champion ram. The reserve champion ram came from J. D. Galpin Southbridge). Although it was a minor breed, Dorset Horn enthusiasts had made a very good showing, said Mr P. G. Stevens, of Canterbury Agricultural College, who judged the entry. All of the prize-winning ] sheep were first-class examples of i the breed and were brought out . in excellent order, said the ; judge. Cheviot The Cheviot entry was a small one—four sheep from two exhibitors. The breed was not unduly distributed in Canterbury, said the judge, Mr Stevens, but • it might be used more on the harder country, particularly where there was a heavier Though the exhibition was so small, Mr Stevens said that all the sheep were typical examples of the breed and it was commendable that the breeders should have sent them in. E. A. and D. A. Taterson (Hundalee) were awarded the ram championship and the top ewe came from O. Griffiths (Geraldine). Dorset Down The standard of the Dorset Downs was the equal of the sheep shown last year, said the noted Southdown breeder. Mr H. J. Andrew. of Maheno. who judged the Dorsets again this year, but he added that breeders might find it difficult in the future to keep up the standard of their sheep without being able to import and with only a strictly limited number of flocks in New Zealand to breed from. In the view of the judge the > quality of the ewes was a little i superior, to the rams.. The top honour among the I females went to T. W. Stephen- [ son and Sons Ltd., of Hornby, with a ewe which the judge said ’ was “a very nice type of sheep. ’ perhaps beginning to show her ' age.” The same exhibitors showed f two winning ewe hoggets which . Mr Andrews described as the animal having the best carcase of 1 any sheep in the section —she was ’ low set, carrying good quality t wool and “generally a nice type ’ of Dorset Down.” J Hampshire Down ? F. G. Eutt, Seddon, sent forward 1 the champion ram and also the ' reserve champion ewe. A. Steph- ! enson’s sheep occupied the re--1 serve ram title.

Mr Brown considered that the females were rather better than the males and the adult sheep superior to the younger ones, which tended to show more variation.

Of the champion and reserve champion ewes—both exhibited by A. C. Greenwood (Southbridge)—the judge said that they were ideal Ryelands, true to type carrying good wool and showing good constitution. The leading ram also came from the same breeder with Estate T. A. Stephens (Irwell) showing the reserve title winner. The judge said that the champion was showing a little lameness—it might have been hurt in transport—but it was a good sheep following through from front to back nicely with a good Ryeland fleece. The reserve was also a very long sheep and a good fat lamb prody/jer.

All of the sheep in the Hampshire Down section came from the Ashburton breeder, J. C. Guinness. Here again Mr Andrew found that the standard was similar to last year and in this breed also, for the same reasons he had mentioned in the Dorse tDown section, he predicted that breeders might have trouble in holding the standard of their sheep.

The champion ewe had twin lambs with her and in the light of this was doing well, said Mr Andrew. There was little between the older rams, but the champion gained his title because he had a superior carcase. Lincoln A sad lack of competitio in the Lincoln section was noted by the judge, Mr J. B. Laidlaw, of Blenheim. There were no entries from Canterbury and all the animals shown were from Marlborough. The overall quality of the nsetcion was no so high as the English Leicester section, which Mr Laidlaw also judged, but the individual animals were very good. In particular, the champion ram owned by Miss Mary Goulter. of the Hawkesbury stud, was a fine sheep able to face competition inywhere in New Zea- ' land, he sifid.

Romney Marsh “One of the best shows of woolly ewes that I have seen , this season,” was the description ' of the Romney ewes given by 1 the North Island judge, Mr < Arthur Southey, of Masterton. ‘‘ln , the woolly classes you would not see any bigger numbers of sheep • at North Island shows.” he added. 1 Mr Southey gave both ewe titles to R. and G. McKendry (Rakaia), < whose sheep he said were very 1 evenly matched with the wool and length of the champion just overshadowing his stablemate. A class that caught the eye of the judge was that for woolly ewe hoggets and here an entry from the estate of E. S. Taylor (Woodend) excelled. Another North Island judge, Mr J. B. Mitchell, of Kairanga, said that on the whole he was very pleased with the Romney rams that were put in front of him. The champion ram from Raymond Oakley (Ashburton) was a very fine specimen of the breed indeed, and would be hard to beat anywhere, said Mr Mitchell. It was all-over a good sheep with a great head and body and a heavy fleece of wool. Winner of the reserve title was Ronald W. Oakley, also of Ashburton. The Romney sections were well supported with a total of almost 100 entries. Southdown Both the judge of the Southdown ram classes, Mr J. H. Bart--1 lett, of Kiwitea, and the judge J of the ewe classes, Mr N. B. 111- • ston, of Marton, considered the t entries to be worthy examples of i the breed. Classes were big, but ' all the sheep shown were well i brought-out and offering strong - competition. The standard of r quality was more than compars able with previous years, they 1 said.

The champion ram, exhibited by Messrs R. J. Lowe and Sons, of Rakaia, was worthy of special mention, said Mr Bartlett. It could have forced competition anywhere and had won its prize on its merits. A feature of the whole section had been the shear-

CATTLE The Friesians, Ayrshires and Shorthorns were a credit to their breeders in this year’s show. Other classes were small generally, but for the most part judges were pleased with the quality on display. The Friesians dominated the dairy entries. They tended to be cleaner boned than before and better finished about the tail than this breed has appeared in recent years. ■ i The Jersey section was slightly down on last year but there are signs tha this section will increase again. Some exhibitors had not had time to arrange TB tests although they had intended to show. The Devons, though few. attracted attention with their fine shape and suggested that their introduction in the last two or three years may prove of increasing popularity. Another new breed were the Galloways, which showed promise of great numbers in the future. Beef Shorthorn Entries in the class were lower than usual. but the top cattle were right up to standard, said Mr C. H. Bennett, of Westbury. Tasmania, judge of the class. The champion bull, Messrs R. S. and K. M. Dysart’s Moy Rescue, could have been champion at any Royal ■ Show. He had previously judged • Moy Rescue at Perth. Scotland, in • 1956. where it had been champion ■ aged bull, and it had won the f Meat and Wool Cup at the Royal i Show at Hastings this year. L The reserve champion, Glamis ' Prince Norman, shown by A. H. t Giles and Son. had also impressed - him. said Mr Bennett. Both bulls r were of a very good type and showed all the characterislics of I the breed. The winner in the cow , class. Mr Giles's Sarratt Butter--1 fly sth. was an aged cow. but its I flesh had kept all its quality and i smoothness. The reserve cham- > pion was a promising yearling. Mr > H. L. Frampton's Rosedale Queen - 60th. bred by the exhibitor.

ling ram hogget class, in which had all been very even sheep and fine specimens of the breed. Breeders were keen and were on the right track, he said. The champion ewe, exhibited by Mr T. E. M. Brooks, of Brookside, had been an outstanding animal, said Mr Illston. It had been well woolled and had a good body, he said. The shearling ewe classes had been well supported and competition had been keen. Halfbred There had been a vast improvement in the standard of halfbred sh'eep shown at the Christchurch show since he last judged them in 1951, said the judge of the section, Mr Andrew jopp, of Alexandra. The animals were well brought-out and the over-all quality was of an extremely high standard, but it was disappointing that the numbers shown were not a true indication of the importance of the breed to the Canterbury province. The champion and reserve champion rams deserved special mention and were a credit to their owner, Mr C. Burrows, of Culverden. Both animals were good examples of their breed and there had not been much to choose between them, he said.

Aberdeen Angus The number of bulls entered disappointed the judge. Mr H. Bayly, from Wairoa. The champion bull was Eregli of Harviestoun, shown for only the second time in this country by Mr Robert Fraser. This animal was imported from Scotland at a cost of 7500gns by Mr Fraser about 18 months ago. It was the winner of its class at the Perth sales and recently was champion at Timaru.

This beast did not come out in full show condition after being in service, said the judge. It had. however, a good sized outlook, good skin, bone and coat. The females were of very good quality and would compare favourably with North Island show cattle, he said. The champion female, exhibited by Mr Gordon G. Grieve, was a very square heifer which stood wide on its legs. It was good under jaw but failed a little over the tail, said Mr Bayly. Both the senior and junior heifer classes were won by Mr Fraser. The two winning animals were outstanding, said the judge. They had fine coats and w.ere well brought out.

Guernsey “'Entries in the Guernsey class were light, and I would have liked to see more milking cows.” said Mr R. J. Gilbert, of Leeston, judge of the class. He had been forced to place a dry cow, Mr C. C. A. McLachlan's Glenroy Haughty, first in the class. ”1 think it will put up a very good vessel, however.” he said.

[ The champion bull. Mr McLachlan’s Glen Lachlan Bernard, was very good, but a shade thick in the shoulder, said Mr Gilbert. Mr McLachlan’s two year old heifer. Glenroy Julianna, would have shown herself off better if she had been in milk. He had been very impressed with the yearling heifers, said Mr Gilbert. The winner. Mr M. C. Rennell’s Marians Juliette, was of excellent quality and would put up a good vessel. “I would, however, have liked to see Mr McLachlan’s champion cow from last year entered again, as it would have developed into an * excellent milker by now,” he ' said.

Hereford There were six exhibitors in this section showing 19 animals. There were only four entries in the class, all by Mr D. W. Morrow, and the standard was not as high as at other shows. I “I am sorry there were not more entries to make the competition stronger.” said the judge. Mr I. A. Barnett, of Dannevirke. There had been very strong j Hereford classes at the recent ; Royal Show at Hastings, and when he had judged at Hamilton last week the Hereford class had been the strongest of the beef breeds. Hcrefords were more popular in Southland and the North Island than in Canterbury, apparently. The top cattle in the class were very fair types, considering that the breed had only recently been introduced into New Zealand, said the judge. Mr J. H. Littlejohn of Wanganui.

The champion female. Mr J. S. Hunt’s Blanch 3rd of Fork Farm, was a very lovely two-year-old heifer, he said. It was outstanding in the class, and showed great promise. The champion bull. Mr R. G. Carrington s Rex of Little Mount Royal. was typical of the breed and a naturally robust animal.

Friesian The Friesians were the dominan* breed among the dairy cattle and there were 117 animals on show The judge, Mr A. W. Montgomerie of Mangere. said that they outnumbered showings this "season elsewhere in the Dominion. The numbers were however slightly down on last year’s show. was the result of the absence of a prominent Temuka breeder, who was late with his entries.

There was no doubt that the breeders were paying attention te the udder, said the judge. Thi s was evident in the younger classes and it was to these that the judge had to turn to find the champion He was disappointed with the aged class cows, which had been excellent but were now a bn beyond their peak and past showing. The breeders were looking for a cow that would produce well and at the same time last well, he said.

The champion cow was a three-year-old. Pitcairns Twilight, shown by Mr Eric L. Adams. The judge described it as an outstanding female. This cow has a production record in line with its show ability. It produced 503 lb of butterfat on first calving Pitcairn Twilight also won the Christchurch Friesian Club’s award, the Canterbury Friesian Oaks, a combined type and production class. Mr M. B. Leslie’s Lesdale B. C. Dawn was second in this class and was another 1 animal in the very top class.

An interesting class was that for a cow and two progeny, said Mr Montgomerie. This showed how well the dairy ability had been passed on. The winning I cow here was that of C. W. Humm and Sons and had been secona highest cow tested in New Zealand in the 1955-56 season, producing 8471 b of butterfat. Mr Leslie’s entry here was second and of high quality. The champion bull, a two-year-old. Glenhope Cape Edith, was again selected from the young entries, and would hold its own in any show in New Zealand, said Mr Montgomerie. It was especially well built, with height, depth and dairy quality. The quality of the male classes promised high standards in the future, said the judge. Milking Shorthorn The number of entries in this section was disappointing from a Christchurch standpoint, as the standard for this class is generally set here. The quality of the animals displayed, and in particular the young stock, was excellent however. The champion cow, Lincoln Organdy, from Canterbury Agricultural College, was an outstanding animal, said the judge, Mr A. Murphy, of Invercargill. It showed a wonderful conformation and constitution, and was very sweet-natured as well. I The bulls were on the whole a good lot. The champion, Mr M. lA. Peach's Milbrook Dairyman 1 Duke, was beginning to show his ' age, but was still a fine bull. His length and depth were outstanding. A senior yearling white bull, Terracedale King of Mr W. J. Small, was also an excellent animal, and should be heard of in the future, as it showed great promise in winning its class. Red Poll The entry in the Red Poll section has declined since the Otahuna stud, one of the main sources of quality cattle in these classes, has been widely dispersed. Only one entry was received in the bull classes, that of Mr R. A. Stephens. It was described by the judge, Mr P. Garrett of Invercargill as a good animal, though he had seen better in Canterbury in other years. There were signs, he said, that there would be more entries in this section next year. There was a new name among the four exhibitors this year. Mr T. C. James showed three heifers formerly of the Otahuna herd. These were all good, said Mr Garrett. Generally, the yearling heifers were only average and should have had a bit more condition on them. The champion heifer was exhibited by M. M. Fleming and Son. This too had been bred at Otahuna. It had a better udder , than the rest, said the judge, and should develop into a good beast The breed might attain wider popularity and it was disappointing that so few were entered, he said. Jersey Entries were again small in the Jersey section, as a result of the ban on cattle which had not been tested for tuberculosis in the last six months. Entries have improved, however, from those of» year or two ago, and show signs of improving further. The champkn cow, Mr F. K Martyn’s Silverlea Birdie, was a very fine animal, and would stano any competition, said the judge Mr D. J. Locke, of New Plymouth. The champion bull, Mr D Hellyer’s Collingwood Rush s Design, showed his age a little but was still a very good bull. Some of the yearling heifer were among the best he had seen and showed great promise, saic IMr Locke. Ayrshire This section produced an entrj of 83. The females were quite « good class, said the judge, Mr u Brazendale, Carterton. He wapleased with the entry. He fou n no particular faults but felt tn some of the cows had loos better earlier after milkingThe champion cow, was a nn entry he said. This anima Lakeside Eliza, was exhibited Mr J. Legg, and bred by exhibitor. The champion bulll wa a three year old. Hazelbun Bruce, shown by Mrs L. E. wiu This was a good type, a clean cu bull with beautiful dairy bom said the judge. , | The yearling heifers, botn * senior and junior winners, we [outstanding and were as good I those he had seen at the Rw [Show. Devon ! Only two entries were show in this class, which has only oe introduced into New Zeaian within the last two or three yeaj They were both entered by A. G. Holmes, and were excellent quality. “There is • doubt that there is a place io this breed in this country.’ 53 the judge. Mr J. H. Littlejohn. c Wanganui.

Details:— 1955 1956 1957 Judging competition 2 2 — Sheep .. 1565 1184 1167 Cattle .. .. 929 592 447 Goats .. .. 12 6 18 Horses .. .. 1531 1306 1263 Pigs .. .. 137 147 101 Dog trials .. 55 43 31 Poultry .. .. 334 337 308 Produce, etc. .. 200 189 224 Wool 124 73 18 Photography, etc. 380 331 286 Wheat .. .. 5 7 2 Implements 26 18 13 Total . . 5267 4235 3878